Basics for Believers - review

Basics for Believers by D.A. Carson is a five part exposition of the book of Philippians. Here Carson outlines five basic principles that are crucial for every Christian:

(1) Put the Gospel First (Philippians 1:1-26)

(2) Focus on the Cross (Philippians 1:27-2:18)

(3) Adopt Jesus' Death as a Test of Your Outlook (Philippians 1:27-2:18)

(4) Emulate Worthy Christian Leaders (Philippians 2:19-3:21)

(5) Never Give Up the Christian Walk (Philippians 4:1-23)


An excerpt on imitating others (chapter 4):

How did you learn to pray? If you were reared in a Christian home, doubtless you learned to pray by hearing your parents pray. Perhaps, too, they taught you some very simple prayers to be prayed at bedtime: "Now I lay me down to sleep" or "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild." If you spring from a Christian home where the King James Version introduced you to archaic English, your first public prayer (perhaps when you were six or eight years old) probably sounded like this: "We thank Thee, blessed God, that in Thy mercy Thou hast given to us Thy grace through the merits of Thy Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ." But if you were not converted until your third year at university, in an InterVarsity or Navigators or Campus Crusade group, and you spring from a home that never brought you to church at all, your first public prayer probably sounded something like this: "We just wanna thank you, Jesus, for being here." In both cases you learned to pray by listening to others. ...

So the question is not whether we shall learn from others by conscious and unconscious mimicry, but what we shall learn and from whom we shall learn it. ... [Paul's] aim is to provide clear Christian examples that younger and less-experienced Christians ought to emulate. For if they do not have such models, or if they are not encouraged to follow them, they are likely to follow poor or misleading or even dangerous examples. (pp. 70-72)

This an excellent book; it is quite short and cheap so there is little that would keep anyone from being able to enjoy Carson's insights. New Christian or old, this book helps us remember what is central to being a follower of Jesus.