This Spring, I took a distance education course through CCEF. There was quite a lot of reading required for the course including various articles and books written by David Powlison, the lecturing professor. The one reading, however, that was not authored by Powlison was The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction, by Sinclair Ferguson (1981).
I was initially puzzled why a book on doctrine would be required for a course on Biblical Counseling, though Ferguson makes clear that "Christian doctrine matters for Christian living." Too often, it seems to me that we miss the link between right living and right beliefs, between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Even in the contemporary blogosphere, writers seem to fall to one side or another. It seems on the one side, people are able to defend the minutiae of theology with surgical precision, yet lack any real connection with life. On the other side, there are those who run out the door to tell people about Jesus, but don't really know the Jesus they are telling about.
In this book, written 30 years ago, Ferguson outlines the importance of sound beliefs in informing sound practice. He sees God's word and even theology as practical for our worship of the one true God. It is certainly a worthwhile read, though I tend to prefer Dug Down Deep (Josh Harris) or Death by Love (Mark Driscoll) for books that deal with the practicalities of doctrine. 3.5 stars.
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