The Gospel for Real Life: Turn to the Liberating Power of the Cross...Every Day (Now Includes Study Guide) [Paperback]

Jerry Bridges (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 13, 2003

The gospel provides for our eternal salvation, but how does it benefit us day to day?

Find out from Navigator author Jerry Bridges how the gospel transforms you daily into Christlikeness. Learn more about the character of God and the character of Jesus as you explore this book on your own or with a discipleship partner.

• Includes study guide with discussion questions

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Why do so many believers live in quiet desperation?

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most explosive news of freedom the world has ever heard. Yet, why do so many of His followers experience so little of the gospel’s liberating power? Regrets over our past haunt us, fear and anxiety clutch at us, subtle legalism oppresses us, outright sin entangles us, and we spend much of the day without even thinking of God.

Jerry Bridges maintains that the poverty of actual Christian experience is the result of an impoverished understanding of the depths of the gospel itself. The key is not to try a little harder, but to know more fully the incredible work of Christ on the cross—and to live in a more vital awareness of that grace day by day.

Jerry does not flinch from the hard facts of human sin and God’s wrath—not exactly popular concepts today. But understanding them is absolutely crucial. For without a knowledge of the depth of our sin, we cannot experience "the unsearchable riches of Christ" that are available to us in the gospel. And when we know those riches, we are empowered to live every day "glorying in a sense of acceptance and the experience of grace."

This gospel is not just for the afterlife, but for today—it is the gospel for real life. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

What difference does the gospel make? The gospel of Jesus Christ is the door to eternal life, but what difference does it make once we're inside God's kingdom? Jerry Bridges says the gospel is the very lifeblood of our walk with God. Without doubt it is the key to our salvation, but it is also the power for our daily progress in holiness. The Gospel for Real Life will help you: ·Experience freedom from the grip of sin and know the joy of pursuing holiness ·Revel in God's acceptance of you and participate in His grace as a daily reality ·Expose the subtle acids of legalism in your life and enjoy the liberty of the cross ·Discover how to "preach the gospel to yourself daily" and so partake of its continuous transforming power ·Carry the true fullness of the gospel to a desperately needy world around you This new paperback edition includes a study guide to help you experience every day "the unsearchable riches of Christ" that are available to us in the gospel.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (October 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576835073
• ISBN-13: 978-1576835074
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jerry Bridges is a longtime staff member of the Navigators and currently serves with their collegiate ministry. In addition to his international speaking ministry, he has authored ten books and three devotionals; among them The Pursuit of Holiness, which has sold well over a million copies, and the award-winning The Discipline of Grace and I Will Follow You, O God.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My review from www.CompleteInChrist.net March 10, 2005

By Craig N. Johnson

Format:Paperback

Jerry Bridges is one of my favorite authors. He is so clear. He is so personable. He is Christ-centered and gospel-centered in everything that he writes.

I find today that many Christians do not understand how the gospel relates to every day living. The gospel saves us. We all know that. But, what does the gospel have to do with my life today? Bridges helps us with that.

The book will help you to enjoy the gospel. We sometimes skip over many of the incredible doctrines related to salvation. We don't savor the truths. We don't LOVE the truths. Our study of salvation is merely academic. After each chapter of Bridges' book, you will want to have your own little celebration with God. You will want to set the book down, and pray to your great Savior.

As I said before, one of Bridges' strengths is his clarity. This is especially important when it comes to the gospel. Can you explain the gospel clearly...from the text of Scripture? Bridges will help the truths to be clear in your mind so that you are better equipped to share them with others.

Do you find yourself having a 'ho-hum' attitude about your salvation? A 'take it or leave it' attitude? Do you yawn a lot when you read what the Bible says about justification or adoption? Those truths are amazing! Those truths are what should motivate you to live a life of worship to God.

With Bridges' you will celebrate your life with Christ.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Why live in quiet desperation? May 26, 2003

By Jacob Aitken

Format:Hardcover

I bought this book after someone recommended Jerry Bridges to me. I found this book a very basic, easy to read guideline to Covenant theology, namely the aspect of Salvation and the Christian Life.

Bridges Encourages believers to embrace the reality of Christ's finished work on the Cross, understand the meaning of reconciliation and Adoption by God, and no longer live with the knowledge and regret of past failure. Among the interesting points in the book is Bridge's interpretation of the word *propitiation* (which I fully agree, and believe it will satisfy the demands of modern, Reformed theologians). Chapters 5-9 contain the heart of the book as well as the heart of the Gospel. Bridges is able to take deep thought from modern and older reformers and put them into Everyman language.

Final Analysis: This book is basic. It contained no new truth, it just retold it in different terms (which is important). If you are familiar with the Catholic/Protestant debate over Sola Fide, then this book will not add anything new to the argument that both sides have not already heard. Try to find the book cheaper and it would well be a Sunday read which you could probably finish in a day. The book is aimed at those who are liveing their livies in quiet desperation. Only when we fully realize what Christ actually did on the cross will we ever truly live.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything old is new again! August 20, 2003

By C. M. Kern

Format:Hardcover

A previous reviewer mentioned that there was nothing new in this book but I heartily disagree. Tim Keller has said that the gospel "is a living power that continually expands its influence in our lives, just as a crop or tree would grow and spread and dominate more and more of an area with roots and fruit." Bridges is not mereley explaining doctrines in plain terms here. He is laying out the foundation for the successful Christian to walk and rest daily upon. The gospel for real life!

As he says in the book "to the extent that we understand and believe the truth regarding justification, we will experience a subjective peace--that is a sense of peace within our souls." That means we will want to experience every aspect of it, conform our wills to it, and offer it as an explanation to those in need of it.

This book has mighty implications and should be read and implemented thoughtfully!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Visionary, passionately charged with faith and hope August 7, 2003

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Hardcover

Jerry Bridges is an experienced Bible teacher and a member of the Navigator Collegiate Ministry Group. In The Gospel For Real Life: Turn To The Liberating Power Of The Cross... Every Day, Bridges offers a powerful testimony concerning human sin, God's terrible wrath, and the transcendent redemption offered by Christ on the Cross. Promoting the Gospel as directly relevant not only for the afterlife, but life today, The Gospel For Real Life is visionary, passionately charged with faith and hope, and vitally important reader for Christians of all denominations and backgrounds.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Bridges Helps Us Keep The Gospel Central May 8, 2007

By Derek Brown

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Jerry Bridges is one of my favorite authors. His writing is always clear, concise, saturated in Scripture and very edifying. The Gospel for Real Life is certainly no exception. Bridges gives his straight forward and simple thesis in the preface: "This book is not meant to be a theological treatise. To borrow an expression from the collegiate world, it is intended to be `Gospel 101.'"

Bridges' burden in the book is to help the Christian reader fully understand the gospel so that they can preach the gospel to themselves, everyday. Why? Because he is convinced that there are many sincere Christians in the church today who have a deep, troubling, yet private anxiety about their relationship with God.

He tells of a ministry colleague of his who "recently confessed that he felt overwhelmed and anxious even in the midst of fruitful ministry." He quotes Richard Lovelace to articulate the problem: "below the surface of their lives [they] are guilt ridden and insecure...[and] draw the assurance of their acceptance from God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience." Where does this come from? Bridges contends that it flows from an inadequate view of the gospel.

Therefore, Bridges seeks to unfold the riches of the gospel of Christ in 15 chapters, discussing gospel essentials such as the depth of our sin, justification, atonement, Christ's sacrifice, reconciliation and the imputation of Christ's righteousness, just to name a few. He finishes the book with a final chapter (chapter 16) focusing on our responsibility to take this glorious gospel to the world.... This responsibility, however, is not a duty to be done out of slavish fear or mere obligation, but an act of loving obedience in response to the glorious grace revealed in the gospel-the gospel that he labored to help the reader understand in the previous 15 chapters.

Personally, I have already read this book twice and I plan to read it again. It is very refreshing and strengthening. It keeps me away from the tyranny of trying to earn my righteousness and from the soul killing power of legalism. It is a simple book, and, as Bridges explains, not a theological treatise. But God help us if we think we are "beyond" such things. This is a book for baby Christians and seasoned theologians alike because it brings us back to where we are to constantly remain: relying fully on Christ and His gospel. Read more ›