So I decided to get the point out the way in the tile. Read Books. I don’t know who you might be, maybe you read loads of books when you were younger but now you don’t have time (this is me!). Maybe you hardly read any Christian books, maybe you are till reading loads of books all the time. Primarily, we tend to view reading books as a nice added extra, it has value, we know this, but we don’t have the time, and we aren’t sure we ever will, but really it is no big loss to me or to the church.
So why read Christian books?
You could just read the bible more. That would be a valid choice and I would praise God for that. But, here is my wisdom on it.
You have time to read the bible, but you may not have the time or capacity to study it in depth for long periods of time. Theologians and Authors do, it’s their job, and they have written down the insights they have gained into the revelation of God into books to edify and build up the church. You may have 30 minutes a day to read Scripture but you are not going to understand the Holiness of God or the Trinity, or the incarnation or nature of the cross as well in 30 minutes a day as you would if you were in a position to spend months in a specialist devotion to reading and meditating on that aspect of God’s character or doctrine. Reading books, therefore, enables us to benefit from others work, from others time, and that is the gift God has given them to serve the Church. Reading books therefore also deepens our understanding of Scripture and it actually helps us as we read the Bible ourselves. A fuller grasp of biblical Christian doctrine and truth can help us to see more deeply when we read God’s word. Similar to studying the Bible with other people or listening to a sermon does. It doesn’t replace the reading of God’s word, but supplements it.
Reading is something is our culture no longer values. Look at the changes in the internet and much more. Culture is moving towards sharing information in short statements of fact or short videos. Our consumption of knowledge in this way has good points and bad points, but let me focus on the negative. It is re-wiring our brains to lack the ability to focus and concentrate and we develop an addiction to distraction. It also means that the information we absorb is shallow and lacks any element of evaluation, deeper consideration and, more critically, application. Devoting time to reading books, and deep, lengthy, meaty books will offset this trend. Our final reason for reading books is that our culture is changing, Christian truth is not currently in vogue. It is likely that in years to come this vast avenue of edification and growth will shut down as books are removed from circulation.
So how to approach reading Christian books?
- Read intentionally. Maybe just 15 minutes each day. That could get you through 10–20 books a year depending on how fast you read and the length of the books you choose.
- Read widely. Three things you need to read. Theology and doctrine, Christian living, Church History.
- Read deeply. Don’t be afraid of long books that are hard. Don’t feel if you don’t understand everything, there is no value in reading.
- Think about what will work for you. Do you want to read just one book at a time, or will you value having more than one book on the go? Think about your roles in life and focus your Christian living reading there.
- Read Bereanly. No matter how good a book is, it is not THE good book. It is not the word of God, it needs to be thought about.
- Read obediently. Where there are applications to draw, don’t leave them in print but write them on your hearts and in your life.
Some book suggestions
For now, here are some recommendations
- The Cross of Christ & Knowing God
- Jerry Bridges on anything. His books feel quite similar to one another. They focus primarily on how God’s grace impacts our every day life. My best summary is every book by Bridges will help you understand Titus 2:11 better.
- Older Works. They write differently. The modern day author is all about writing accessible books that are easy to read. My pessimistic judgement is they take a drawing pin of truth and push it in. Whereas authors from the past take a 14mm by 1.4m ASSY fully threaded screw (the longest screw in the world, I checked) and they screw that truth in.
