Respectable Sins -- Really?

by Doug Nichols

My wife Margaret and I have been convicted in reading Jerry Bridges’ book, “Respectable Sins (Confronting the Sins We Tolerate)” published by NavPress.

The first six chapters deal with sin in general with titles such as: “Ordinary Saints”, “The Disappearance of Sin”, “The Malignancy of Sin”, “The Remedy of Sin”, “The Power of the Holy Spirit”, and “Directions for Dealing with Sins”.

In the next fourteen chapters, Bridges lists “respectable sins” and how to deal with them. Sins such as Ungodliness, Anxiety and Frustration, Discontentment, Un-thankfulness, Pride, Selfishness, Lack of Self-control, Impatience and Irritability, Anger, The Weeds of Anger, Judgmentalism, Envy, Jealousy and Related Sins, Sins of the Tongue, and Worldliness.

I am encouraged by what Bridges writes about the purpose of his book. He writes, “While seeking to address these “respectable sins”, however, I want this to be a book of hope. We are never to wallow hopelessly in our sins. Rather, we are to believe the gospel through which God has dealt with both the guilt of our sins and His dominion over us.

The gospel, though, is only for sinners, for those who recognize their need of it. Many Christians think of the gospel as only for unbelievers. Once we trust in Christ, some of the thinking goes; we no longer need the gospel. But, as I seek to bring out in this book, the gospel is a vital gift from God not only for our salvation but also to enable us to deal with the ongoing activity of sin in our lives. So we still need the gospel every day.”