Things of first importance

TAKING GOD SERIOUSLY
Vital things we need to know
By J.I. Packer
IVP. 175 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 844 746 095

Jim Packer is distressed about the state of the church in the Western world, particularly the Anglican communion.

There is muddle over the gospel message, doctrinal convictions and Christian lifestyle. We are spiritually undernourished, and the current symptom of our weakness is the acceptance of homosexual unions among the clergy and members of the Anglican church.

What is the cause of this malaise? Packer believes that we need to recover the old discipline of catechesis: systematic teaching of the faith. We need to be reminded of the core convictions which are the basis of our understanding of Christian life and practice. So the eight chapters in this little book are a call to take seriously: faith, doctrine, Christian unity, repentance, the church, the Holy Spirit, baptism and the Lord's Supper.

God-centred

Packer characteristically moves us back to a God-centred understanding of the faith, rooted in the reliability and authority of Scripture, rather than ‘faith’ as an expression of our human reason and experience, which are rooted in our sinful hearts and popular culture. It is helpful both as a primer for those young in the faith, and a reminder to all of us of those things which are of first importance.

This book started life as a series of essays addressed to the Anglican Church of Canada. There are many references to Anglicanism, and this is Packer's main target audience as he returns repeatedly to the presenting issue of attitudes towards homosexual relationships. However, he hopes it might be helpful to a wider circle too, and there is much in this little book which is instructive and edifying. Each chapter includes a series of study questions at the end to aid personal and small group reflection. Packer recommends that we use the book as the basis of a seven-week course for adults in the churches.