Thursday, May 3, 2018

Book Review: Renewing Your Mind

Renewing Your Mind: Basic Christian Beliefs You Need To Know. R.C. Sproul. 1973/1998. 218 pages. [Source; Bought]

First sentence: When a person embraces the Christian faith and says with assurance, "I believe...," that person has truly embarked upon life.

In The Prayer of the Lord, R.C. Sproul provided commentary on the Lord's Prayer. In Renewing Your Mind, R.C. Sproul provides commentary on the Apostle's Creed. Sproul walks believers--whether new or old--through each line of the ancient creed.

It is a thoughtful introduction or reintroduction to the essentials of the faith. These beliefs--these doctrines--form the core of Christian belief and should inform our practice. These doctrines should renew our minds as we grow in the faith.

R.C. Sproul writes, "This book is about living that life to the fullest, about renewing your mind so that your thinking conforms to the mind of Christ. Our spiritual creation in Christ inaugurates an intellectual and emotional creation, but does not complete it. Some old thought patterns and philosophical assumptions remain. To deal with those we need to move our metaphor of the Christian life from the nursery to boot camp. Now comes basic training in righteousness, the hard work of truth calisthenics to develop strong, disciplined faith muscles."

I would recommend this one! Here are some of my favorite quotes:

The Holy Spirit does not call us to faith in general, but to faith in particular--to faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (19)
Healing and prosperity are not God's purposes in "I believe..." faith. They are not God's promises. In fact, the Bible promises over and over that Christians will suffer many things. Suffering allows us to share in the humiliation and suffering of our Lord; pain makes us more effective witnesses and more mature lovers of God, dependent on him for strength. (23)
We came from somewhere significant and we are headed toward a destination of importance. (55)
The only basis for Christian hope lies in the believer's participation in the Man of Sorrows and Christus Victor--the triumph of Christ. (115)

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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