by Jerry Bridges
2007 / 192 pages

We’re not into drugs, or pornography; we’re not committing adultery or stealing or beating our children. We go to church and read the Bible at mealtimes. So we can consider ourselves good people, right?

Well, no.

In Respectable Sins, author Jerry Bridges exposes all those subtle sins that we don’t always recognize as sins – sins that we find so acceptable, especially in ourselves, like selfishness, lack of self-control, irritability, anger or envy.

Bridges explains that as Christians we are saints set apart by God for God, and that any conduct (even thoughts) that is unbecoming a saint is sin. It is so easy to look out at the “world” and see all the sins committed by the unsaved and forget that we are sinners too “but the fact still remains that the seemingly minor sins we tolerate in our lives do indeed deserve the curse of God.” He goes on to explain that these sins, if they are not recognized, repented of and fought against, will spread like a malignancy throughout our lives, especially in our families where the brunt of these sins is felt most, but also in our church and work relationships. The author completes the first part of the book by emphasizing our dependence on the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit and gives instructions on how to deal with these subtle sins, which is an effective setup for what comes next.

When he then begins to expose in detail all our “respectable sins” the reader will begin to squirm. Is there any part of our lives in which we have made God irrelevant? Have we been anxious or worried? Have we griped about the circumstances of our life? Have we bragged about anything lately? Felt smug? Put ourselves first? Lost our cool? Snapped at the kids or the spouse or anybody? Been sarcastic? Looked down our nose at somebody else? Coveted? Gossiped? Let worldly standards affect our decision making? By this time we’re ducking our heads and slinking pretty low in our chairs. We’re left with no doubt about who needs God’s grace and are thankful to receive it.

Mr. Bridges finishes off with the encouraging reminder that our progressive sanctification rests on the righteousness of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. This book is a must read for Christians!

This review appeared in the December 2011 issue.