Who am I? That question has challenged humanity since our race began. Bridges answers the question of our identity with eight answers, the first universally applying to all people and the remaining seven centered on those who are in Christ. Combining concrete teaching and conciseness is often a tricky venture, but Bridges skillfully accomplishes it with poise and candor. He pens a clear-cut, necessary reminder of exactly who (or perhaps better said as whose) we are.

No school I know of requires an overall grade of 100 to pass a course. Usually an average of 70 is sufficient. Most people naturally assume that God “grades” in a similar fashion, and what’s more, that they have probably earned a passing grade. Yet Paul says we must obey all things in God’s law perfectly, and anything less places us under God’s curse. [29]

Faith is like the two sides of a coin. On one side is “renunciation.” On the other side is “reliance.” In order to trust in Christ we must first of all renounce any trust in our perceived righteousness. Then we must rely completely on the finished work of Christ in both His life and death. That’s how we are justified. [37]

In order to experience the reality and full meaning of our adoption, we must also keep in mind our identity in Christ. This is how we counteract our own tendency to focus on our performance as a measure of God’s acceptance. We must remind ourselves that God loves us, not because we are loveable, but because we are in Christ, and the love which the Father has for His Son flows over to us because we are in Him. [51]

If we define sin largely in terms of the more flagrant sins that we don’t commit, then we will have little sense of our own sin, and little sense of forgiveness, and consequently little love for Christ. [72]

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace. [92]

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By his own admission, Bridges isn’t treading any new ground. However he is treading some very important ground, exploring the gospel and its implications for the ongoing transformation of the Christian life. Bridges carefully and attentively walks his readers down the well-trod paths of the foundational truths of the gospel. Only then does he proceed to blaze a trail down the oft-confusing road of personal transformation. Bridges admirably handles this necessary teaching with accessibility and acumen.  

Which direction is our knowledge of Scripture taking us? Is it taking us in the direction of pride, in which we know so much yet fail to apply it to our lives or even misapply it? Or is our knowledge of Scripture taking us in the direction of not only knowing but doing His will in a way that leads to growth in godliness? [KL 1623-1625]

Don’t set desire and duty in opposition to one another, but pray that through the motivation of the gospel the Holy Spirit will give you the desire to do your duty. [KL 2143-2144]

What will keep us from becoming discouraged as we see further sin in our lives? What will motivate us to persevere in our battle with remaining sin, even on those days when we don’t seem to make any progress? It is the realization that in Christ we already stand holy and blameless before God. [KL 2666-2668]

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Combing through numerous sources, Guthrie has composed a book containing a wide variety of instruction concerning suffering. Using voices both ancient and contemporary, Guthrie shows how the problem of pain has been addressed by Christians who have not only dealt with this academically but personally as well. Although most chapters are far too brief to get into any real depth, this also serves to make for bite-sized reading that may be easier to digest for some.  

Trusting God is first of all a matter of the will, and is not dependent on my feelings. I choose to trust God and my feelings eventually follow. [110]

We are responsible to obey the will of God, but we are dependent upon the Holy Spirit for the enabling power to do it. The same principle applies in the realm of trusting God. We are responsible to trust Him in times of adversity but we are dependent upon the Holy Spirit to enable us to do so. [111]

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How can Christians remain faithful to the end of their lives? Many Christians in America are preparing to retire or have already done so. Others face their senior years with little direction or purpose. The authors of this book (edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor) convincingly argue that the ‘golden years’ should be times of faithful service and increased devotion to the Lord. The result is a challenging book, recommended for believers of all ages. 

The purpose of that quiet time is not just to read a chapter in the Bible and go over a few prayer requests. Rather it should be a time of personal communion with God… Communion with God is meeting with him. It is asking God to speak to us. It is speaking to him as we read his Word, as we interact with his Word in prayer, as we pray over what God is saying to us in his Word. [20]

I should warn against the possibility of becoming legalistic about our time of communion with God. That is, we do not earn blessings from God because we have this time, nor do we forfeit his blessing on a day we miss it. God does not bless because we spend time with him, but he often blesses through that time. [22]

It’s through Christ that we have access to God the Father… We cannot come directly to God. We must always come through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. But God not only allows us to come; he invites us to come. [23]

God sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and he wants us to see ourselves clothed in the righteousness of Christ, so that we will come to him on that basis and seek to relate to him through the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ and not through our own works. All of us in our sinful nature are prone to slide towards a works-based relationship with God…Now, we want to be faithful, we want to work hard, but not in order to earn God’s approval, but because we have God’s approval. [27]

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Although certain sins are often paraded as the most morally vile or troublesome, Bridges reminds us that all sin remains sin in the eyes of God, and must be dealt with. After laying a foundation of what sin is and why it must be addressed, Bridges briefly touches on several sins that are usually tolerated as respectable (lack of self-control, pride, jealousy, etc) and examines the pitfalls of ignoring them in our lives. Concise, yet helpful.

The concept of sin among many conservative Christians has been essentially redefined to cover only the obviously gross sins of our society. The result, then, is that for many morally upright believers, the awareness of personal sin has effectively disappeared from their consciences. But it has not disappeared from the sight of God. [22]

Dealing with our sin is not an option. We are commanded to put sin to death. It is our duty to do so. But duty without desire soon becomes drudgery. And it is the truth of the gospel, reaffirmed in our hearts daily, that puts desire into our duty. [36]

God is in control of every circumstance and every event of our lives, and He uses them, often in some mysterious way, to change us more into the likeness of Christ. [44]

It is our response to our circumstances rather than the degree of difficulty that determines whether or not we are discontent. [72]

The statement “I can forgive, but I can’t forget,” simply isn’t true. If you keep rehearsing in your mind old hurts that occurred months or maybe even years ago, you haven’t forgiven. You are simply feeding your bitterness. [135]

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This book explains one of the most foundational principles of Scripture – the atonement -- in a detailed yet accessible manner. Our sin for Christ’s righteousness is the theme, and this book is very helpful in defining and emphasizing the centrality of Christ’s work. Anyone who reads it will discover a rich discussion that, even for all it says, still only begins to scratch the surface of God’s mercy and love expressed in His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Great Exchange that results from the death of the perfect sacrifice is a two-fold substitution: the charging of the believer’s sin to Christ results in God’s forgiveness, and the crediting of Christ’s righteousness to the believer results in his justification. More than being declared not guilty, in Christ believers are actually declared righteous. Redeemed sinners and their Christ have traded places. [41]

Because we are born into Adam, our representative, we are born into sin. And yet it is not as if apart from Adam we would never personally sin – it is always only a short time until we participate as sinners by our own volition. [108] 

Jesus offers no prosperity gospel. Christ is not a means to an end for the Christian – he is the end. He is the wealth we long for. [154]

Our personal righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) and is entirely worthless apart from the atoning work of Christ. If we stand on it as our hope for earning God’s mercy and eternal salvation, it will merit us only hell, because it denies and diminishes and devalues God’s own provision for the forgiveness of our sin – Christ crucified. [174]

God himself is our ultimate reward. God is what makes heaven, heaven. Without God, without Christ, heaven would be as unfulfilling as this present world. [260]

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