A Little Book on the Christian Life, Damask
A Little Book on the Christian Life, Damask book cover

A Little Book on the Christian Life, Damask

Paperback – March 2, 2017

Price
$9.00
Format
Paperback
Pages
132
Publisher
Ligonier Ministries
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1567697445
Dimensions
4.5 x 0.44 x 6.25 inches
Weight
5.6 ounces

Description

Review “What does it mean to take up your cross and follow Jesus Christ? How can you be heavenly minded and yet do much earthly good? Calvin addresses these practical questions and more in this excerpt from his classic, Institutes of the Christian Religion . I love this little book, and heartily endorse this judiciously translated and edited printing that makes Calvin even more accessible to the modern reader.” -- Dr. Joel R. Beeke “We are living in a golden age of Christian publishing. Readers are being served with new works written here in the twenty-first century and, perhaps even more importantly, with classics from days gone by. This booklet is one of those classics, and I’m grateful to Aaron Denlinger and Burk Parsons for allowing today’s Christians to rediscover it. I pray that it blesses us just as it blessed many of our forebears.” -- Tim Challies “I have often thought, ‘I would love to retranslate for the twenty-first century the life-shaping material in Calvin’s Institutes book 3, chapters 6–10,’ and I’ve done nothing! But now, Burk Parsons and Aaron Denlinger have done the job for us all. We owe them a big thank you, because every Christian needs to have a working knowledge of this little book.” -- Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson “The smooth and pleasant Latin Calvin wrote has found a just as smooth and pleasant translation in this wonderful little book. That sure is an accomplishment and will help many to enjoy even more the timeless message this treasure contains.” -- Dr. Herman Selderhuis “Calvin’s treatment of the Christian life in book 3 of his Institutes is a treasure. For more than five hundred years, Christian believers have profited from the clear way in which Calvin describes the Christian life of self-denial and cross-bearing in union with Jesus Christ. Reformation Trust Publishing’s fresh translation of this Christian classic is a most welcome addition to earlier publications of Calvin’s masterful description of life in conformity to Christ.” -- Dr. Cornelis P. Venema About the Author Dr. Aaron Clay Denlinger is department chair in Latin at Arma Dei Academy in Highlands Ranch, Colo., adjunct pro- fessor of church history at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and a research fellow for the Puritan Studies Program of the University of the Free State, South Africa. He is a regular contributor to Reformation21. Dr. Burk Parsons is senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chief publishing officer for Ligonier Ministries, editor of Tabletalk magazine, and a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow. He is author of Why Do We Have Creeds? , editor of Assured by God and John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology , and cotranslator and coeditor of A Little Book on the Christian Life by John Calvin. He is on Twitter at @BurkParsons.

Features & Highlights

  • For centuries, Christians of all ages have turned to John Calvin’s
  • A Little Book on the Christian Life
  • to help them on their journey as they follow Christ. This book is one of the great classics of the Christian faith, calling believers to pursue holiness and endure suffering as they rest in Christ alone.
  • In this new translation from the Latin, Drs. Aaron Denlinger and Burk Parsons capture Calvin’s biblical faithfulness, theological integrity, and pastor’s heart. This is a book for every Christian to pick up, read, and apply.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(391)
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(163)
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15%
(98)
★★
7%
(46)
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Most Helpful Reviews

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Tremendous intro to Calvin and a great encouragement to living the Christian life.

My relationship with Calvin has morphed over the years. First, "Calvin" was a pejorative, then a systematician, and finally a pastor. "A Little Book on the Christian Life" is Calvin as pastor, and I think that it where he shines the brightest.

At just over a hundred pages and featuring a fresh translation that demonstrates how patently un-stuffy Calvin's writings actually are, the obstacles to ingesting and enjoying this gem are minimal and the blessings are immense.

If you are looking for a place to start reading Calvin, this volume will bless you while whetting your appetite for 1500 more pages (which the Institutes gladly will provide). If you have read Calvin for any amount of time, then you do not need me to encourage a reading of this volume, you probably already have it.

Review Copy provided.
11 people found this helpful
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Five Stars

Wow, John Calvin can get to the bedrock of a topic.
1 people found this helpful
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Five Stars

an excellent book of encouragement in you christian life
1 people found this helpful
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A clear look at Christianity through the eyes of John ...

A clear look at Christianity through the eyes of John Calvin. A must for regaining orthodoxy in our liberal churches.
1 people found this helpful
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Must have

Great guide for life!
1 people found this helpful
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Five Stars

Really great little read.
1 people found this helpful
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Five Stars

Wonderful, short read I'm glad that men worked so hard to translate this for us.
1 people found this helpful
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How the Present Life and Its Comforts Should Be Used I highly recommend this book to all Christians

Hebrews 13:8-9 says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines." John Calvin died in 1564. The theology and principles contained in this book show how timeless Christ is. He is the alpha and the omega and everything in between. The foundations of Christianity that Calvin explores are still relevant to the Church and culture of today.

This short book is divided into five chapters that highlight the main principles of Christianity:
1. Scripture's Call to Christian Living
2. Self-Denial in the Christian Life
3. Bearing Our Cross is a Part of Self-Denial
4. Meditation on Our Future Life
5. How the Present Life and Its Comforts Should Be Used

I highly recommend this book to all Christians. I received this as a free ARC from Reformation Trust Publishing, Ligonier Ministries, on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
1 people found this helpful
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A Must Read

A serious disciple of Christ will find this small gem insightful and challenging.
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Edifying

Are you looking for a practical devotional that’s biblically sound and theologically driven? This work titled A Little Book on the Christian Life might something worth considering. My wife and I read this as our evening devotional and we found this an excellent work. It is an extraction from the second edition of John Calvin’s classic work The Institute of the Christian religion that was originally a chapter titled “On the life of a Christian man” in the book but later throughout Protestant history it has been adapted as a stand-alone book on the Christian life.
The book has an informative preface that gives readers the history and background of this book. I found this section to be very fascinating of how God used this work throughout history and in many different places in many different languages. It’s neat for me to read of how God used this work. The preface was by the two translators: Aaron Clay Denlinger and Burk Parsons, both of whom are academic Reformed professors and lecturers.
The meat of the book consists of five chapters. Chapter one is on “Scriptures’ call to Christian living.” I thought Calvin did a good job of emphasizing that “in order for doctrines to be fruitful to us, it must overflow into our hearts…” (13). I love how Calvin explains that doctrines drives Christian living! Chapter two is on the Christian duty of self-denial while chapter three is how bearing the cross is a part of Christian self-denial. Chapter four is titled “Meditation on Our Future Life” in which Calvin explores how our theology of the future is a powerful motivation for present holiness and righteousness. Chapter five is titled “How the Present Life and its Comforts Should be used.” There’s also a helpful Scripture index in the end of the book.
There’s so many gems that I found in this book. Here’s some notable points I benefited from this book:
• “Where self-denial does not reign, the worst vices thrive shamelessly” (26).
• Love does require self-denial since 1 Corinthians 13:5 teaches that love does not seek its own (35).
• A reason why bearing the cross constantly benefit us is that unless our weakness is regularly displayed, we easily overestimate our virtue.
• Also bearing the cross regularly disciplines us so we won’t be condemn with the world.
• Calvin practically suggested that when we are afflicted we should call to mind immediately our past and how God’s discipline was good for us (69).
• Even God’s prophet who thinks too long of the wicked in the present age can nearly slip but Psalm 73:16-17 shows us we must reflect on the end of all things and what will be the consequences for the godly and the ungodly (107-108).
There’s many more spiritual benefits from reading this book. Personally my wife and I had edifying conversations as a result of reading about 8-10 pages at a time. We both recommend this.