HOW PEOPLE CHANGE

This Friday I finished Timothy S. Lane's and Paul David Tripp's 2006 book How People Change. THIS IS THE BEST BOOK ON SOUL CHANGE I'VE EVER READ. It is excellent! It is like the authors took the rich feast of Calvin's Institutes and the writings of the best Puritan divines and condensed them into a powerful pill-sized theory of soul transformation.

Lane and Tripp sustain focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ throughout their work. Their theory of change, which is the Puritan-Reformed theory, is truly Gospel-driven. Unlike many popular works on the subject it isn't merely ornamented here and there with various biblical texts. It is saturated by the deeper redemptive-historical themes of the Bible. The authors understand that humanity's problem is ultimately sin and that sin is fundamentally idolatry (i.e. worshiping something other than God). Therefore our greatest need is to recognize our idolatry for what it is and, in faith and repentance, worship the one true God for who he is. They write:

The Bible cannot be reduced to a set of directions for successful living. This does violence to the very nature of the Word of God and robs it of its power. The Bible is the world's most significant story, the story of God's power. The Bible is a "big picture" book. It introduces us to God, defines our identity, lays out the meaning and purpose of life, and shows us where to find help for the one disease that infects us all--sin. If you try to reduce the Bible to a set of directions, not only will you miss its overall wisdom, you will not make any sense of the directions. They only make sense in the context of the whole story. . . . only when you have an overall sense of what God is doing can you make sense of the details of your life (92, 93).

The authors describe four elements of the big picture of what God is doing in the world and in the lives of all those who believe in Jesus Christ. They write:

1. Heat. This is the person's situation in daily life, with difficulties, blessings, and temptations.
2. Thorns. This is the person's ungodly response to the situation. It includes behavior, the heart driving the behavior, and the consequences that result.
3. Cross. This focuses on the presence of God in his redemptive glory and love. Through Christ, he brings comfort, cleansing, and the power to change.
4. Fruit. This is the person's new godly response to the situation resulting from God's power at work in the heart. It includes behavior, the heart renewed by grace, and the harvest of consequences that follow (96).

For a better understanding of how God changes people, GET THIS BOOK.