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Summary: Sin Is Exposed For What It Is
Comment: This is a good old-fashioned classic Navigators book that confronts the sins we tolerate! Most Christians know that fornication, drunkenness, idolatry and adultery are considered to be morally wrong.
But we are so quick to point these sins out when we see them and not so quick to notice the pride, the lack of self-control, the bitterness, and the selfishness in our own lives.
In the opening chapters, Jerry Bridges discusses how to identify these sins in our lives and then he gives a step by step process on what to do about it once we are aware of them.
He notes that the root of many of these sins comes from our godlessness, or our practical atheism. We may go to church every week and we may even read a Bible verse here and there, but we often live out the rest of our week as if God wasn't around. We don't pray for guidance during the day, we make other things in our lives a higher priority than our love for Him, and we basically live the same as everyone else.
Then Bridges devotes a chapter for each of the sins he has decided to expose in this book. He mentions the pride that we exhibit when we forget to give God the credit for all the good things that happen in our lives.
He also has a chapter on immorality and idolatry. He points out that we our idolaters whenever we make work or sports or personal goals ahead of our relationship with the Lord.
There is also a chapter on worldliness. When we get so gung ho about high school sports that we get carried away at games, that's worldliness. When we get irate at the referees and instill in our kids that winning at all costs is important, that is also worldliness. He mentions 1 John 2:15-18 as a good scriptural definition for worldliness.
Thee are also chapters on anger and self-control. Bridges even says that when we show a lack of self-control in any area of our lives (like eating too much ice cream), it opens the door and makes us more likely to show a lack of self control in other areas.
This book is another Nav classic, another Jerry Bridges classic. It's a great book to read and I also recommend picking up the study guide.
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Summary: Sometimes the truth stings!
Comment: This book is a wonderful eye opener for the grounded, mature Christian that needs a little pruning. It's refreshing to read insight aimed at inspiring us as believers to REALLY look at our hearts, even when that hurts, with the aim at being more Christ like. The author did a great job of pointing out some difficult issues tactfully. Well done!
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Summary: Sins we often Permit as Christians
Comment: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It addresses the sins we tend to overlook in our lives as Christians such as ungodliness, anxiety, frustration, discontent, unthankfulness, selfishness, lack of self-control, impatience, irritability, anger, judgmentalism, envy, jealousy, sins of the tongue, and worldliness.
What makes the book good is that they are easily explained in a Biblical manner and given life by practical illustrations of daily living. The material is also not presented in a condemning or legalistic way. It is approached from the grace of God and our need to be transformed into Christ-likeness.
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Summary: Jerry Bridges Books Always Impact My Life
Comment: This book is thought-provoking -- Jerry Bridges' writing always impacts my thinking and my life.
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Summary: Prepare to be convicted
Comment: Christians often link "sin" with the "really bad" stuff like murder, adultery, and theft. Avoid those things, and you're doing fine. But Bridges shows that sin is far deeper and more pervasive than we would like to admit. Most sins, for believers, are far more subtle - what Bridges calls "acceptable" or "respectable" sins. But these sins are also evil and offensive to God.
Why devote a whole book to the subject of sin? "The motivation for this book stems from a growing conviction that those of us whom I call conservative evangelicals may have become so preoccupied with some of the major sins of society around us that we have lost sight of the need to deal with our own more 'refined' or subtle sins" (p. 9).
In Respectable Sins, Bridges first deals with general principles of sin, forgiveness, and obedience. Then, beginning in Chapter 7, he looks as specific sins that believers often tolerate like anxiety, unthankfulness, pride, selfishness, impatience, judgmentalism, and sins of the tongue. The author concludes with a chapter on worldliness and then some practical help on where to go from here.
Having already written several Christian classics like the Pursuit of Holiness and Trusting God, Bridges has done it again with Respectable Sins. I found this to be a very fresh and convicting book. Every chapter gives a brutally honest exposure of my own sin. Bridges deals with issues in a practical way, sometimes giving personal examples of struggles in his own life. Most chapters were short and easy to read. The only drawback is that the Study Guide does not follow the same chapter order as the book. But whether you buy the study guide or use this as a stand-alone book, Respectable Sins is highly recommended.
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