THE HOLE IN OUR HOLINESS
Filling the gap between gospel passion and the pursuit of godliness
By Kevin DeYoung. Crossway. 159 pages. £11.99
ISBN 978 1 433 533 341
Kevin DeYoung pastors a church in Lancing, Michigan, and is a leading member of the Gospel Coalition in the USA.
He is a Reformed man of a younger generation and has shown himself well-attuned to the outlooks and temptations which challenge contemporary Christians in the West. So he has an easy-to-read style with illustrations from sport, blogging and ‘burger-bar life’, but at the same time he is plugged into the Bible and to Calvin and the Puritans in a way which engenders confidence.
The starting point for this book is the observation that though modern Christians are quite transparent and readily ‘fess up’ to their sins, we lack the appetite to seriously pursue a holy life. There is, therefore, a hole, a gap in our Christianity, which contrasts with what we find in the New Testament.
This leads the author into a lucid and encouraging exposition of the Bible’s teaching about what holiness is and about why and how we can make progress in holy living. It is out of the security of our salvation that we are encouraged to seek to become in practice what we are in position in Christ. And he makes holiness look a very attractive prospect. This is holiness with a smile rather than a frown.
As well as the inevitable chapter about sex, along the way there is a very perceptive section on some of the mental obstacles to sanctification in many people’s minds. ‘If all my attempts at living well are imperfect and still shot through with sin what is the point?’ ‘If all sins are equally bad and I can never be perfect in this life, why bother to try?’ I think he has put his finger on some real issues which plague many Christians here. But you will have to read the book for his very helpful answers.
We plugged (!) The Hole in Our Holiness as our church ‘book of the term’ last autumn. I would encourage other churches to do the same. It’s a cracker.
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