Living for God, by Mark Jones

Canadian pastor Mark Jones has a simple message in Living for God: A Short Introduction to the Christian Faith.  "Good theology (that which is well received) results in good living (that which is well delivered)."  Jones writes from a perspective of solid, historical, biblical Christianity, and defines Christian faith "as that which is 1. Trinity focused, 2. Christ focused, 3. Spirit energized, 4. Church inhabited, 5. Heaven anticipated."

This list sets up the structure of the book.  Jones draws extensively from scripture, as well as from a broad cross-section of theologians and writers from throughout Christian history.  Jones keeps the focus on lay people; he doesn't want the people in the pews to be left out of the discussion.  He provides plenty of references, clear explanations, and a systematic, if nontraditional, presentation.

I like his focus and fresh approach.  He wants Christians everywhere to recognize that Christians who want to know God should strive to know about God, and that if we want to live for God, good theology is a necessary foundation.  While he writes for laypeople, I did get a sense of trying to put too much too simply in too small a package.  There is a reason that theology books tend to be much bigger than this one!  Nevertheless, this is a good place to start for the Christian who wants a strong framework for theological thinking.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!