Providence Points: A Short Review 2

[shawn...@gmail.com]

Providence Points:
Biblical, Devotional & Informational
December, 11, 2007
Vol. 2, No. 19

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From the Editor: Greetings from colorful Colorado...well, monochrome
Colorado. We are receiving much snow. Prayerfully, everyone is
safe. And as this is the Christmas season, I hope all of you will
have an enjoyable and relaxing time (so, don't wait until the last
minute to buy gifts!).
Below is another short review on a timely book by Adams. Balance
in the Christian life is important as many errors result from
exaggeration. One should not exaggerate the importance of, say,
educational methods nor undervalue the importance of family nurture:
both have to be in Biblical proportion. Read on.

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A Short Review 2

Maintaining the Delicate Balance in Christian Living, Jay E. Adams

From explaining biblical love and hate to balancing community and
individual, this small book contains twenty-three useful chapters on a
host of important issues found in every Christian's life. The premise
of the book is that a healthy and mature life is based on the proper
proportion--or balance--of various doctrines and practices of our
faith. For instance, Adams points out that Christ calls believers to
be shrewd as serpents and harmless as doves; an unbalanced life would
follow one at the expense of the other (p. 2). Or some Christians
expound a heartless truth while others extol a lying love--neither is
biblically balanced. Many believers today take one truth or practice
and pit it against its biblically paired truth.
There are two beneficial aspects to this book. It presents a simple
model to help look at various problems in the Christian life. Many
Scriptural doctrines are exaggerated in America and they affect how we
live. True to the book's focus, at the conclusion Adams does admit
there are issues which are not balanced but are in complete
antithesis, such as the role of faith and works in justification.
Also, the great numbers of topics covered are sure to give the reader
plenty to chew on. Although the chapters are short, the thoughtful
reader will find many valuable gems and engaging examples for thinking
and acting in a balanced manner.
This little book will be useful for brief readings to challenge our
inconsistencies and imbalances or for Christian friends who need
encouragement to accept all the doctrines of the bible instead of
exalting one truth at the expense of the other.

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Henry Ward Beecher, "A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he
never thinks he gets as much as he deserves."