Book Review - Life in Christ - Jeremy Walker

There are various ways of thinking and writing about the Christian's life and lots of useful books are available to help us.

For example you can think of the Christian life in a very practical way, thinking of the different activities that people discover. Things like prayer, meditation, worship and so on. Books like this might include D S Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life or SDFTCL as it is commonly known.

Other approaches include that of Jerry Bridges, whose books on holiness and growth in grace are so very useful.

Or Peter Jeffrey's books, like All Things New, that lay a doctrinal foundation but also encourage the development of good Christian habits.

One could think of Ted Donnelly's book, Life in Christ, which is a federal theology tour de force, based on sermons preached at a conference. It's a book I know Jeremy appreciates hugely.

Or Sinclair Ferguson's books, like The Christian Life, a doctrinal introduction, which are so useful.

Jeremy's book, Life in Christ, reminds me of Sinclair Ferguson's. It's useful and practical, but it is also grounded in Jeremy's understanding of the doctrinal foundations of the Christian faith. The book was born from a series of sermons, and it shows. Sometimes that's a great thing, because it keeps the language accessible and direct, though Jeremy's love for reading the puritans shows through sometimes in a rather archaic style. Occasionally there's the kind of repetition that works well in the context of preaching, but less well in a book.

Jeremy covers :

Looking to Jesus - about faith and conversion
United to Christ - which is largely an exposition of 2 Corinthians 5:17
The unsearchable riches of Christ - Ephesians 3:8
The sons of God - a nice chapter largely based on 1 John 3:1
The jewel of assurance - 1 John 5:13
The marks of God's children - talking about those things that characterize true Christian experience
A work in progress - Philippians 2:13 - working out one's salvation
A life in review - 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Quotations abound, some of them rather long. Study questions may be useful for reviewing the chapter individually or if using the book as a basis for group study Jeremy's book is doctrinally careful, pastorally kind and a useful addition to your armoury. And it's available in kindle format.

Listen to some interviews with Jeremy here and here.

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