Why Read Christian Books?
September 9th, 2024Until I went to college, I had probably read a total of 4-5 books in their entirety. But pursuing an education changed that, or should I say, changed me. My outlook on reading changed from seeing it as a chore to seeing it as an opportunity… for my own growth as a person–discipleship.
But it wasn’t until about fifteen years later while at Grace Community Church and The Master’s Seminary that I came to the most important understanding I’ve experienced toward good Christian books—God uses them to help me become more like Jesus. Sounds simple, and it was/is. But notice that I’m talking about good Christian books.
One of the most important blessings of my time at GCC and TMS was that they taught me who to read, why to read, and how to read for my spiritual growth and discipleship. A new world of growing in grace opened to me. Sounds dramatic, and it was/is.
Think about it: the Lord gave us His Self-revelation in a book. So is it wrong or less-than-best by way of our time and efforts if we read the Bible and read, study from, and think about good books? My answer is no, it’s not unwise or wrong, it can actually be a tool in God’s hands to help us better know Him, serve Him, and learn to serve others for His glory.
As we turn to good Christian literature, we use that material to help us learn to think biblically as we consider the author’s teaching. For thousands of years, God has used certain people from every generation to write books to help His people learn His ways and to encourage them in dealing with the issues of life based on His truth (e.g., Calvin’s Institutes, Luther’s Bondage of the Will, and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, just to name a few).
Please carefully and prayerfully consider making the commitment for your family to join us at our Grace Gatherings on Wednesday evenings. We miss having you with us! For the next few months (and it will fly by) we will use Jerry Bridges’ Growing Your Faith to guide us in a careful, biblical study of “How to Mature in Christ” (the subtitle of the book). Is that topic something you think you might need and benefit from? Yeah, me too.
Jerry Bridges was a master at explaining hard concepts about theology and doctrine in simple and accessible ways for discipleship. Please come and grow with us, and let’s bind our hearts together and share in a time of study and sanctification around the truths of God’s Word. Can you think of a better way to spend a couple of hours on Wednesday evenings? Yeah, me neither.
Jeff Jackson, teaching pastor