by Rob Smith
The Christian church has an odd habit of mislaying vital Scriptural truths (often when they are most needed!) only to rediscover them at a later time. One currently mislaid truth, at least in my view, is the need for self-discipline in the Christian life. To the extent that this is true, John Dunn’s Running the Race, meets the need of the hour. Perhaps this is why it is already into its third printing!
Dunn’s book is a really practical study in Christian discipleship. It is direct and personal, and reads like one of the Puritan classics of old. It is filled with Scriptural quotations (fully printed, rather than simply referenced), which both establish and illustrate the points at hand. It is also peppered with citations from the likes of Whitefield, Spurgeon, Bonhoeffer and J.I. Packer. These alone make the book worth reading.
It accomplishes three things which many other books on this theme don’t. First, it very helpfully sets forth the ‘grace nature’ of Christian growth, carefully distinguishing ‘grace motivated effort’ from legalistic ‘works of the flesh’.
Second, it is hard hitting, whilst at the same time realistic. He rightly insists that ‘Being godly, or holy, or like Christ is not an option’. At the same time, he is quite frank about both the hardships of self-discipline and the reality of indwelling sin ‘There will always be conflict in the life of the believer’. Third, the book is immensely practical, with chapters on personal Bible study and prayer, disciplining the mind and the body, work and worship, money and time.
There is one final reason why I’m glad to see the appearance of Running the Race. Roughly 20 years ago, I was a member of a Bible study, led by John Dunn, and was taken through the book’s material (then in a very embryonic form) and know first hand how much it benefited both myself and others in the group, spurring us on to disciplined, godly living. The thought that many more may now benefit from that same teaching is a great joy to me.
The Rev Rob Smith lectures in theology at SMBC and is a senior assistant minister at St Clement’s, Mosman. Running the Race is available from Koorong.
