Title: How People Change
Authors: Timothy S. Lane & Paul David Tripp
Publisher: New Growth Press
ISBN: 978-1-934885-53-6
Pages: 230
Reviewer: Jonathan Matías
Summary of the Book
Have you wondered why you’ve tried to overcome a sin in your life yet keep falling back into it? How People Change is an effective tool to help you take steps to experience lasting spiritual change. Authors Tim Lane and Paul Tripp help us see just how badly the rebellion of sin has corrupted our everyday lives. Then they show how the cross of Christ provides all the power needed to leave behind our sin and walk in newness of life.
Overview of the Book
Chapters 1 to 6 explain why we struggle to overcome sin in our lives even though old things are supposed to have “passed away” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We need to embrace God’s agenda of change for us and grasp how to apportion the power of the gospel to change us.
Chapter 1 – The Gospel Gap
Chapter 2 – Counterfeit Hopes
Chapter 3 – Here’s Where God Is Taking You
Chapter 4 – Married To Christ
Chapter 5 – Change Is A Community Project
Chapter 6 – The Big Picture
Chapters 7 to 14 walk through the biblical process of change (Jeremiah 17:5-10) and apply it to a wide variety of sinful struggles every one of us faces. The authors guide the reader through a memorable four-part description of change (Heat, Thorns, Cross, Fruit) that diagnoses our sin struggles, applies the cross, and enables us to resemble Jesus more and more.
Chapter 7 – Heat 1: God in the Real World
Chapter 8 – Heat 2: You in the Real World
Chapter 9 – Thorns 1: What Entangles You?
Chapter 10 – Thorns 2: Why Do You Get Entangled?
Chapter 11 – Cross 1: New Identity and New Potential
Chapter 12 – Cross 2: The Cross and Daily Living
Chapter 13 – Fruit 1: Real Heart Change
Chapter 14 – Fruit 2: New and Surprising Fruit
Chapters 15 to 16 show how God’s agenda for change took place in the life of a couple and a church. Through their example, we see that God is powerfully renovating his people and we can experience lasting change just like them.
Chapter 15 – One Couple’s Story
Chapter 16 – One Church’s Story
Recommendation
How People Change has been helpful for me to turn away from sinful habits and pursue Christ’s character, so much so that the church family where I serve as an elder is working through the companion study guide together. Any Christian who is investing in the life of another believer or simply wants to grow will find this an indispensable tool to help you pursue holiness for the Lord’s sake and for your joy.
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Purchase the book here.
Jonathan Matias is Pastor of Grace Church of Alexandria, a plant from Heritage Bible Church.
