This short, helpful and challenging book, answers the fundamental question, ‘How can believers be in the world but not of the world?’ Easily read in a couple of hours, it has a message requiring much thought and prayer to work out in our experience.

This book is a written from of the Aber Conference 2008 addresses, originally preached under the proactive title ‘A clarion call to worldly Christianity’ taking John 17:17-19 as his text. The title seems contradictory, however the author tells us what he means by ‘worldly Christianity’. Jesus gives a very clear call, a clarion call to His disciples. In the author’s words, they are to ‘remain in this world for the express purpose of declaring to it the saving benefits secured by the conquest of Jesus Christ’ (p.18). ‘It is the principal reason we are here and not in heaven… God has placed us here to be mouthpieces for Jesus Christ’ (p.23). These are significant and challenging statements. The author develops a very helpful emphasis, that we need to be missional and theological. The dangers of straying from this are developed in a measured way.

The author also deals with the question, ‘Can a person be simultaneously Christian and worldly?’. There’s a clear call to holiness and a helpful definition of the word ‘sanctify’. We are challenged to see that Jesus prayed to the Father for His disciples. The author goes on to make a very challenging point of application to us when he asks, ‘Have you positioned your life so that you are steadily under the influence of the Word of God?’. We are then led to see the centrality of the cross and the last chapter very helpfully deals with Hebrews 4:14-16, encouraging us to come to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace in time of need from our sympathetic great High Priest as we seek to live God glorifying lives in this fallen world.

This is a book that should be prayerfully read and then its truths worked out in our experience. The book is well illustrated and written at a popular level. One small criticism of the book is that sometimes the author uses some difficult vocabulary. However that should not distract from its appeal and the need for this book to be read and applied to our lives.

Evan Richards