Grow In Grace

Becoming a Christian is only the beginning of a process of spiritual growth that involves increasing in knowledge of God, obedience to his Word and understanding of his will. Yet some Christians’ lives seem to grind slowly to a halt, while others are disappointed because their spiritual progress has not been as straightforward or as rapid as they had hoped. The growth of others is stunted by a lack of proper spiritual nourishment. Yet others feel they do not understand how to become mature Christians. Grow in Grace explains how God helps us to develop as members of his family. Taking Jesus himself as the model for our growth, it explains some of the biblical principles of spiritual development, and gives a number of ‘case histories’ to illustrate how God works in our lives to mature us as Christians. The biblical teaching in Grow in Grace will appeal to Christians at all stages, while its straightforward explanation of the patterns of God’s work in his people makes it deal for those who are just beginning.

Publisher: Banner of Truth
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780851515571

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Sinclair B. Ferguson is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow and Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He previously served as senior minister of the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina.

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‘I read this book as a tool for discipleship with one of the guys in my church who suggested we go over this together. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the book turned out to be. An individual’s spiritual growth is the subject of this book and it is biblical, devotional and readable. I appreciated that Sinclair Ferguson (a great preacher by the way!) approached this subject in a manner that is Christ centered and Grace driven. Since it is Christ driven, it is appropriate that the first section on the book is on Jesus as the pioneer of our spiritual growth and also of how Jesus in His humanity actually grew in grace. I think we must not forget that Christ was fully man (of course while also fully God), and because of His humanity that identifies with us in every way, we can see His life as a model for our holiness and spiritual growth. It was delightful and with a worshipful heart that I read the first section. Section two of the book focuses on the basic principles of Christian growth and I imagine it would make for some great discussions if one were to use it for one on one discipleship or small group. I also appreciated Ferguson putting in section three of the book that remind believers that growing in grace require us to grow in the context of others, which is an excellent reminder in our day and age with our individualism and low church commitment. I was cautious at first with the fourth section that went over case examples in Scripture because of my fear of how some people engage in hero worship of Bible characters rather than seeing God is the hero in redemptive history. Ferguson did a good job with the exemplar for us with Daniel but he also balances that with a chapter on Peter. The biggest thing I got from this book was how Ferguson pointed out with Peter’s life that he had many failure even after he became an apostle after Jesus’ resurrection—and yet he was genuinely growing in grace. This is a good lesson for us too that even in our sin, even in our failure it is possible to still continue to grow in the grace of God.’ Slimjim