The Pursuit of Holiness Book

In The Pursuit of Holiness, author Jerry Bridges urges us to live a life of obedience to God, striving for increasing victory over sin. The first few chapters define and argue the need for holiness. The rest of the book includes exhortation and practical tips for attaining greater holiness.

I listened to the audiobook version. Narration is as important as writing style when you're listening to a book and while narration was competent I found it somewhat bland. I think this somewhat diminished my enjoyment of the book. At roughly 4 hours, however, that wasn't such an issue.

What I liked most about the book was that the call to holiness is emphatic, well argued and of greater urgency than when Bridges first wrote it. I agree with the overall message. Bridges reminds us that the pursuit of holiness require discipline, and as far as this goes, it is a good exhortation. Exhortation and practical application are the book's strengths.

The problem is, Bridges' answer pretty much boils down to, "Memorise the Bible and try really hard." That's a caricature, of course, but not an unfair one. Bridges argues that holiness is neither an automatic process that happens when we become a Christian, nor is it a matter of legalistic works. He says that we need the Holy Spirit's help and to walk in obedience to the word, both truths with which I agree, but he never really defines what relying on the Holy Spirit means beyond the conviction of the Spirit. We must exercise our minds and our reason to overcome our physical desires and emotions. Essentially, we read the Bible and the Spirit will convict us of sin, but it's up to us to do it.

It's not so much that what he says is wrong, it's that it is incomplete. There is very little discussion on prayer, especially on praying in the Spirit, which the Apostle Paul says builds us up. And while there is certainly a need to overcome our sinful appetites, there is no discussion about fixing our affections on God. There is no joy or power in the pursuit of holiness as Bridges frames it in this book.

And perhaps this is the issue I had with this book. It convicted me of the need for holiness but sucked all the fun out of it.