Grow in Grace

Richard Baxter in "The Reformed Pastor" wrote that ministers are "nurses" of "Christ's little babies", of which I would argue, that not only ministers, but also mature Christians ought to be nurses of Christ's little babies. The reason I said this is because I have a sense what Dr. Ferguson covers in "Grow in Grace," though excellent, might be too overwhelming for new converts to go through by themselves because it contains a massive amount of information that covers a significant portion of the entire Bible which they may not be familiar with, which necessitates a personal guidance from teachers and ministers of the Church. This is the right way to do discipleship; a compassionate intimate personal mentorship, that the Bible gives examples of, through the accounts of Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Timothy, Naomi and Ruth, and certainly Jesus and His disciples. Dr. Ferguson places as an utmost importance Jesus Christ as the supreme role model to follow as He himself grew in grace. It is important to note that this is not to say that the gospel is a social gospel, where one needs to imitate Jesus to be a Christian. On the contrary, it is what one should naturally become because he or she is a Christian. While the centrality of justification by faith and the cross is indispensable and other cardinal Christian doctrines ought to be clearly understood and not compromised, the goal of orthodoxy is orthopraxy to both God and men; and the purpose of right theology is doxology, not the puffing up of self that results in disparagement or condescension toward other people, as he points out, "Being a Christian, growing in grace, means becoming like Christ. But if we are modeling our lives on a Christ who was not really human, who did not really get inside our experiences, we will end up living Christian lives which are lacking in the warmth and compassion of real humanity. There are Christians just like that. We are all ashamed of it, but it is true. Some Christians do seem to have rather steely glints in their eyes. They are not like the Jesus of whom you read in the Gospels. It is not because they lack earnestness, or prayer, or zeal. It is because they are living their Christian lives on the basis of a wrong design" (p.5). There is also a valuable treatment on the necessity of the fear of God; a filial as opposed to servile fear, as well as crucifixion of the world, dying to self, that I consider particularly needful considering there is a tendency toward carelessness as a result of an over-emphasis on grace, not only from my own experience, but also something that Dr. Ferguson is aware of, "Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among gospel believers today. We want to be saved but we insist that Christ do all the dying. No cross for us, no dethronement, no dying. We remain king within the little kingdom of Mansoul and wear our tinsel crown with all the pride of a Caesar; but doom ourselves to shadows and weakness and spiritua

This is a helpful little book on the topic of spiritual growth through grace. At roughly 140 pages, it is a very accessible read and would make a great book for a Bible study or a book club. I really enjoyed thinking about the various topics Ferguson covered in this book. The book starts with two chapters concerning the spiritual growth of Jesus. Particularly helpful is where Ferguson points out the Jesus did not have any special means of spiritual growth that aren't available to us as believers, and thus Jesus is our prime example of spiritual growth. Later, Ferguson explores the topic of spiritual growth in the context of community, and also why it is that sometimes our growth can feel stunted. Lastly, Ferguson does three case studies for spiritual growth: Daniel, Peter, and Timothy. Each of these biblical figures have completely different temperaments and thus different paths to spiritual growth. These chapters were helpful in pointing out some of the character flaws these men had to overcome while growing in grace. I think that Ferguson's The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction is a better book, and if you were only going to read one of Ferguson's books I would recommend that one. "The Christian Life" is certainly more well known, for whatever that's worth. However, "Grow in Grace" is a solid book, too. As in "The Christian Life," in this book Ferguson surrounds his words with those of other well respected reformed writers, and it is comforting to see how this book fits into the reformed tradition. Enjoy!

from the back cover:Becoming a Christian is only the beginning of a process of spiritual growth that involves increasing in knowledge of God, obedience to his word and understanding of his will.Yet, some Christians' lives seem to grind slowly to a halt while others are disappointed because of their spiritual progress has not been as straightforward or as rapid as they had hoped. The growth of others is stunted by a lack of proper spiritual nourishment. Yet others feel they do not understand how to become mature Christians.Grow in Grace explains how God helps us to develop as members of his family. Taking Jesus himself as the model for our growth, it explains some of the biblical principles of spiritual development, and gives a number of 'case histories' to illustrate how God works in our lives to mature us as Christians. The biblical teachng in Grow in Grace will appeal to Christians at all stages, while its straightforward explanation of the patterns of God's work in his people makes it ideal for those who are just beginning.about the author:Sinclair B. Ferguson is minister of St. George's-Tron Church, Glasgow, Scotland. He is the author of Discovering God's Will, The Christian Life, A Heart for God, The Sermon on the Mount, Deserted by God? and other books published by Banner of Truth Trust.