Perfect Chaos

Jerry Bridges is an American author who has written many books about the Christian walk with God. This particular title has sold more than 1,500,000 copies worldwide, and it’s easy to see why. The book is very appealing to the committed Christian due to its heavy reliance on scriptural references and the simple and engaging writing style of the author.

Throughout the book, there are often scriptural references that are paraphrased with the Bible citation in brackets. I found it helpful to see these citations so I could look up the reference being paraphrased in my Bible. It’s worth pointing out that if, like me, you choose to do this as you read, the book will take much longer to read because nearly every page contains at least a couple of citations.

The book comprises seventeen short chapters, each dealing with a different aspect of holiness. The Christian battle with sin is at the heart of this book, and the author goes to some length to emphasise that holiness is an ongoing battle with our sinful tendencies that is not easily won. In closing, however, Bridges says that the pursuit of holiness is the only real way to find peace and joy in this fallen world.

I am an avid reader, but I must admit I find very few Christian books that I feel nourish me in my walk with Christ and I always find myself being drawn back to reading the Bible itself rather than other books about Christianity. I love reading widely, but I find nothing has the same kind of authority over my spiritual life as the Bible.

Having said this, however, I found Bridges’ book to be very helpful, and I think it’s a book that I would like to keep and read again. I personally feel an ongoing struggle in my life to live in a way that is holy and this book has helped me with that struggle. I would recommend this book to others, and I am interested in reading the sequel, entitled The Practice of Godliness, which focuses on the development of Christian character.

For a full list of my book reviews, covering topics including philosophy, religion, spirituality, and mental health, click here.