Books and Family

Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow - Revised & Expanded

• Author: R.C. Sproul
• Format: Hardcover
• Number of Pages: 136
• Publisher: Reformation Trust Publishing
• Publication Date: 2008
• ISBN: 156769103X

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With thanks to: Greg Bailey at Reformation Trust for providing me with this review e-copy.

I was excited to receive, read and review this book.  Being but a babe in Christ I am eager to learn from such a knowledgeable teacher.  I was drawn in right from the introduction, Sproul draws a comparison to our Christian walk with the Olympic games, and points out that like athletes we must train and embrace certain disciplines.  Those disciplines are Bible Study, Prayer, Worship, Service, and Stewardship, each with its own chapter in the book.

The book can be a quick easy read or one that requires more study, I made sure to have a highlighter handy after reading the first pages of the opening chapter.  There are many great scripture references and Sproul really paints a brilliant picture for each one of the five points.  His writing is interesting, he sprinkles personal stories that really kept me involved in the book.  There are basics laid out in every chapter, the first chapter on Bible Study includes a lay out or framework for how the bible is put together, also he sites many useful tools that will help a new believer in their study.

I enjoyed the next chapter the most out of the entire book, this one is entitled Prayer.  Prayer is a tool that as a new believer I have struggled to learn much about.  Sproul lays it out in a simple easy to understand manner, includes Martin Luther’s booklet on how to pray as a reference.  It is laid out in the chapter that Prayer is a privilege that we are blessed with.  He points out that we should approach prayer with the attitude of “I get to” rather then “I have to” or “I should”.  He delves into prayer further by pointing out that Paul uses the metaphor of marriage to illustrate this communion.  Expounding on this metaphor in a clear and understandable way with lots of scripture included for further study was very helpful in continuing my journey in prayer.

The third chapter titled “Worship” was one that I looked forward to.  As a former Roman Catholic, my understanding of worship was radically different then it is now.  In this chapter Sproul teaches that “true worship focuses on the whole counsel of God, not on isolated aspects of God with which we are comfortable.”  Again Sproul points us to places in scripture that teaches about the topic of this chapter, this time it is John 4, the story of the Samaritan woman at the well.  He expounds on the text and draws the conclusion that we are to worship in Spirit and in Truth, and that God’s presence cannot be confined to a physical location.  Sproul also takes us through some of the practical steps of worship such as preparation prior to worship and practical guidelines.

The next two chapters, Service and Stewardship, are chapters that I find myself going back to read again and again.  At the beginning of the forth chapter he points out that “The five practices we are exploring in this book are all means of grace.”  That grace is a tool that the Lord uses to strengthen and nurture us so that we grow in conformity to Christ.  All believers are called to service in ministry.  We all have a talent that can add to the body of Christ, we need each other.  Sproul teaches that we are to be unprofitable servants.  We should serve because we want to serve and Glorify Christ rather then get “bonus points”.  He ends the service chapter with a small paragraph that I had to highlight, star and have now quoted to several people.  “I would say that the greatest weakness in the church today is that many pastors keep looking over their shoulders for the approval of men.  But as soon as pastors become slaves to human opinion, trying to please human beings instead of God, the message of Christ is compromised.  No man-pleaser preaches the whole counsel of God.”  Stewardship, money, but as Sproul points out its not just about stewardship of our money.  In the first half of the chapter Sproul focuses on the effective stewardship of our time and talents, after reading this section I came to my own conclusions that not only is wasting time bad stewardship but not reading this book and reviewing it in a timely manner is bad stewardship of the resource that was so freely given to me.  I have been more focused primarily on the stewardship of my time, especially at home after dinner.  Sproul then goes on to discussing the tithe in the Old and New Testament, he does a great job of using examples to illustrate the types of tithes, how they apply now, and how they were applied then.

The final chapter in the book is entitled “Questions and Answers”  A nine page Q&A on various issues related to the means of grace and the growth in the Christian life.  Some of the questions I have sought answers to myself and found this section helpful for myself, I was eager to share it with my wife.  He seeks to answer all the questions with Scripture and where the Bible fails to provide an answer he does his best to answer it from his own experience.

Overall I found this book to be uplifting, educational and a great avenue for further study of scripture.  It seemed that something stood out to me every three pages that needed highlighting or noting for further review.  I am quite pleased with the easy to read format and the book staying very specific to the Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow.  This was my first time reading R.C. Sproul and I will look forward to the next time I am presented with an opportunity to read one of his many books.