The Practice of Godliness: Godliness Has Value for All Things 1 Timothy 4:8

I don't often give five stars, but Jerry Bridges deserves each one. His writing is simple, straightforward, biblical, and practical. I have been using "The Practice of Godliness" in my mentoring ministry for years. One thing I appreciate about this book is that it really is a Bible study. He uses his writing to illustrate, but the focus is digging into God's word. Whether you are studying by yourself or working with someone else, this is an excellent book!

So says the first words of the back cover. And indeed, this book will do everything but force you to become godly. This part is going to be left up to you. The Bible says that the fruit of the spirit are obvious, and so it ought to be. Yet sometimes, in the American society at least, it has become most difficult to keep a Christian witness and remain devoted to God. And so often the joy of Christian living is lost as we enmesh ourselves in the everyday routines of our everyday wrolds. It need not be, and Bridges does a wonderful job covering some of the virtues of the victorious Chrstian life. My suggestion is to get the workbook, get together with several other Christians, and treat this as a Bible study. It makes for wonderful discussions, as I can attest as a Sunday School teacher of adults. This is a book well worth the read.

This book is the follow-up to The Pursuit of Holiness, which deals with putting of the old-self. Here, in The Practice of Godliness, the reader sees what Godly virtues a Christian must live and exemplify and how to incorporate them into practical daily living. Upon completion of both books, I was completely broken down and made anew through God. God used Jerry Bridges as the instrument to mold me towards the Christian I must strive to be.

What is godliness? This is an excellent discussion of the character of God and how we can learn to display those characteristics. It begins with a discussion of devotion -- developing God-centeredness. Then it delves into the action of character building, with chapters on humility, contentment, thankfulness, joy, holiness, self-control, faithfulness, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness & goodness, and love. It also has a great workbook, which can be adapted for a Bible Study group.

I meant to read this book for several years before I actually got around to it. I can't believe I waited--it's one of the best Christian books I have read. Many Christian books encourage us to be godly, but they don't tell us how. Most of us know we should be joyful, for instance, but we don't know how to develop joy. We can try to act joyful on the outside, but unless it's from the heart, it is empty. This book takes a practical approach to developing godliness in our lives. Jerry Bridges defines godliness as "devotion to God which results in a life that is pleasing to him." The first several chapters deal with the devotion. Bridges emphasizes the necessity of a proper motivation, and what's more, he explains some ways in which we can develop that motivation. To me, it was a completely new way of looking at things. In the remainder of the book, Bridges focuses each chapter on one or two godly traits, such as humility, joy, thanksgiving, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, self-control, and love. Bridges uses scripture to explore the traits and how we can develop them. I have read much about these traits in the past--what amazed me about this book was the practical guidance for developing them. For instance, Bridges includes many scripture passages we can meditate on and pray through to help us understand certain godly traits and grow in those areas. He also discusses our responsibility vs. God's responsibility for the development of godliness in our lives. This book gave me a lot to think about and a new perspective on some incredibly important things. I think this book should be recommended reading for every Christian. A very good study guide is also available to supplement the book.