Being a Christian: The Basics of Christian living

Being a lover of "The Pilgrims Progress", the picture of an uphill pathway of rough, uneven stones is a very apt depiction of this book's theme. The author frankly admits that he erred and strayed during his school years, and failed to own his Lord. No doubt, he is not alone. It is not easy for teenagers to stand out against the crowd, especially in today’s society. Yet as he declares, this is the Christian's calling, especially in difficult or hostile company. Although Christians may have to stand alone, the Bible does not intend them to be stand alone Christians, that is, out of fellowship with others. Chapter 2 raises the need to join a suitable biblically based church. Practical advice, as opposed to a set of rules, is provided on page 21 about regular prayer. Other necessities are mentioned, such as sound teaching from Sermons and Bible studies, both of which underline the importance of finding a fellowship where these are of cardinal importance. "Being a Christian" speaks of the need to live out the faith, which is addressed with other themes, such as reaching out to others, the proper use of money and, not least, perseverance. That may be the greatest challenge of all, especially for those who are young in years. This is a useful book, which contains sound advice for those who have emerged, by God's grace, from darkness into His glorious light, full of desire to be of use to the Kingdom of God, but lacking knowledge on how to proceed.

Someone in your church has just become a Christian. Now, what do you do? If you are looking for a book to give to them, then I can recommend this one. In 8 concise chapters our writer lays down 8 basic things that every new believer needs to know. Chapter 1 is about identifying oneself as a Christian by living in a way that marks us out as being different, but the writer also encourages the reader to identify with Christ through baptism. Baptism can often be a neglected subject when one is dealing with new converts, so it was good to have it highlighted. The second chapter covers the subject of Church membership which this reviewer was pleased to read, as membership seems also to be a neglected area when counselling new converts. In fact, those who have been in the faith for quite some time, but have not yet joined a local Church would be helped by reading this chapter. When one identifies with Christ, then surely one ought to identify with Christ's people. Following these opening 2 chapters the writer covers the subjects of prayer, study of the Scriptures, sacrificial Christian service, and witnessing both personally and through the work of the church. Chapter 7 focuses on the subject of giving, which seems to be rarely mentioned when dealing with new believers, or older ones for that matter. There are some very helpful comments which will help all believers to see that Christ affects every aspect of our lives, including our wallets. This book is well written & God centred.

I titled my review “excellent book for new Christians” but I think this book could be useful as well for those who have been Christians for a long time. Sometimes we need a fresh look at things, and this book provided that for myself.
I am happy to recommend it for personal use, one on one discipleship, small groups and youth groups. I feel that Stephen covered the basics in enough detail to be clear yet not so much as to get unnecessarily lengthy. He kept my interest by both the anecdotes and by his writing style and most importantly he kept the Scripture foremost in every topic.

I really enjoyed the book and hope to be able to give copies away or use with my children in our home devotional time.

Give them something too heavy and you’ll make them think they’re going to need a library of books to live the Christian life. But give them this book and in 48 pages of clear, well illustrated pastoral counsel you’ll point them to all the essentials. Yes, really. The privileges of being a Christian, confessing our faith in baptism, joining a local Church and learning to serve others are all explained in an engaging way. There’s helpful encouragement for prayer and Bible reading and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in helping us persevere is also clearly explained. And most important: when you’ve read the book you don’t feel burdened you feel energised. That's exactly how you want a new Christian to feel. Buy several copies and be ready to give them away.