A Small Book with Big Ideas: Does It Matter What I Believe? by Samuel James

For this month’s book, I chose Does It Matter What I Believe? by Samuel James. I chose this particular book for two reasons: one, I think Samuel James is an excellent writer. I’ve been reading his articles online for a few years and find them to be insightful and helpful in navigating our current cultural trends. I admire how he engages with modern-day issues from a biblical worldview and expresses his ideas in a way that’s easy to understand; I don’t do this well at all, and I’m thankful for writers who can and do. And two, I was hoping this small book would distill the big ideas of Christianity into concise, shareable “bites” that might help me as I answer my older students’ questions about the basics of Christian living. I think the book does just that.

James begins the book by writing about Marie Kondo, who encourages her followers to get rid of any items in their homes that don’t “spark joy.” He says that many Christians today do this with doctrine. We get rid of the Scripture passages that don’t “spark joy,” and keep the ones that do. This ultimately limits our growth as Christians.

He also spends the beginning of the book discussing the phrase, “Doctrine divides, Jesus unites.” I had a few friends in college who abided by this rule and refused to debate any issue that might cause conflict. James denounces this popular phrase. He writes, “The fact is that every day finds you and me acting out what we believe (perhaps even unconciously) about biblical doctrine…theology lies at the foundation of every part of our lives as human beings made in the image of God.” (pg. 21)

James spends the rest of the book explaining four major doctrines of Christianity and why these four doctrines matter. They are the doctrines of Scripture, God, salvation, and the church. I found many notable quotes in each section. Here are a few of them:

“The doctrine of inspiration is the bedrock foundation of our confidence; even when the storms of doubt and confusion batter us, the foundation is immovable, and we can wait out the storms not in our own strength but on the promises of God’s perfect, inspired Word.” From “Why the Doctrine of Scripture Matters” (pg. 27)

“In sum, God’s eternal nature as Father, Son, and Spirit reveals that God’s innermost being is an awesome, life-generating love that spills over and refills himself continually. The Trinity makes creation, salvation, and sanctification possible because creation, salvation, and sanctification flow directly out of God’s nature as Trinity.” From “Why the Doctrine of God Matters” (pg. 29)

“Despite the protests of secular culture, nothing but the gospel can really fix what’s wrong in us. Only in the gospel do we see a perfect answer to the sin and brokenness that’s around us.” From “Why the Doctrine of Salvation Matters” (pg. 38)

“In the local church, all the promises of God in Jesus take a visible, touchable, hearable form, and we get a sneak peek at what our future with our risen Christ looks like. We are not left to ourselves. We have a family, and we have a home that not even death can take away.” From “Why the Doctrine of the Church Matters” (pg. 43)

I especially appreciated the second and fourth sections of the book, “Why the Doctrine of God Matters” and “Why the Doctrine of the Church Matters.” I’ve felt discouraged by both topics at different points in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything as concise as James’ explanation of why the Trinity matters. He explains that first of all, if we don’t believe in the Trinity, then we don’t believe in the God of the Bible. Then, as the quote above says, he explains how God’s attributes flow directly out of his Trinitarian nature.

James begins the section on the doctrine of the church with a story, which ends with the main character trying to decide between reading his Bible by himself on his couch at home or going to church to worship God with his fellow believers. Does it matter what our hero chooses? Of course! We live out our Christian faith as we learn to love our church families.

Second Timothy 3:16-17 is a familiar Scripture passage to many of us who grew up in the church: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” I thank God that he’s given men and women specific writing gifts that allow those of us who think less linearly to see important doctrines, such as those of Scripture and salvation, laid out in a way that’s easy to follow and understand. Does It Matter What I Believe? is a small book, both in page number and actual size, but it packs in some big ideas, well-explained. It would make a great book for those new to Christianity, those studying biblical doctrines in a small group, and people, like me, who would like a little help answering those simple but challening questions about what it means to live all of life to the glory of God.

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Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a free copy of Does It Matter What I Believe? in exchange for an honest review.