This book review was prepared for Evangelicals Now (https://www.e-n.org.uk/).
MATURITY
Growing Up and Going on in the Christian Life
By Sinclair Ferguson
Banner of Truth. 231 pages. £7.50
ISBN 978-1-84871-865-4
In 1980, Sinclair Ferguson published ‘Add to your Faith’, a book to encourage growth and progress in our Christian lives. Now, after a further forty years of teaching about and living out his faith, he has revised his original work and republished it as ‘Maturity’. The title is an apt one, with the author’s godly wisdom and deep understanding of the Bible, developed over many years, evident throughout. As you read its pages you cannot shake the feeling that you are receiving counsel from an older saint, one who has ran the race now stretched out before you, who has come through the same hurdles and obstacles you can see up ahead. Reading Maturity is much like visiting a godly grandparent: an opportunity to receive wise counsel from one who has lived out the depths of their faith and desires for you to do the same.
While the chapters clearly draw on Ferguson’s experiential riches, they are primarily grounded in substantial expositions of key Biblical passages. Above all else, the author wants us to see the motives for and means of maturity in Scripture. Maturity is less a conversation over a cup of tea than it is over an open Bible, with Ferguson taking us through key passages that address different challenges we face as we seek to grow in our faith.
The book starts off by explaining the importance of maturity, pointing out that this was a central goal in Paul’s ministry, before warning us of the danger of decay in our faith. Ferguson then ensures that we understand that the process of growing up is dependent upon our union with and abiding in Christ. We are left in no doubt that Christ must be the source of all our spiritual growth. From this firm foundation, Ferguson considers the different difficulties we have to deal with as we move towards maturity. In individual chapters he tackles the issues of assurance and guidance, turning what initially seem like problems into what we can understand to be privileges. We are taught how to stand firm in the face of doubts about our faith and worries over our future.
Ferguson continues to consider other difficulties, devoting four chapters to teach us how to fight indwelling sin, temptations and Satan, along with how to understand and cope with suffering. The chapter on coping with suffering is perhaps where Ferguson is at his pastoral and Biblical best, applying the truth of Scripture to bring hope in the midst of our hurt. We are warned against both forgetting about and fixating upon the suffering we pass through. Instead, we are taught how to wrestle with it within the good boundaries of God’s will. In his final section, Ferguson encourages us to press on by serving faithfully, using our gifts to encourage growth in others, and running patiently, reminding us that a key aspect to growth is to keep going. There are no shortcuts to Christian growth, persevering steadily over many years is the only path to maturity. This is the path that Ferguson encourages us to take as he closes.
As you read Maturity, ensure that you do not overlook the footnotes. Far from simply containing irrelevant references, Ferguson includes some of his best insights in them. Presumably these insertions are observations he now has forty years later on what he wrote in the original edition. These notes provide wonderful injections of wisdom into what already is an outstanding book. The only weakness that could be noted is the omission of an index of Scripture references at the end of the book, which is unfortunate given the wealth of biblical exposition throughout.
By writing Maturity, Ferguson has performed another great service for the Church, distilling down his deep knowledge of God’s Word and connecting it to the realities of the Christian life. Along with his recently published ‘Devoted to God’ (a perfect companion book which focuses on sanctification), Ferguson has produced another resource that is accessible and helpful to all. Although undoubtedly beneficial for a new Christian, Maturity would be particularly useful for a younger Christian who, having just turned the first bend in the track, has realised that the Christian life is a marathon rather than a sprint and has started to see the hurdles up ahead. In any event, regardless which mile of the marathon you are on, there is much in it to encourage you in your steady growth towards maturity.
ALEXANDER ARRELL