Christian Life
- Theology
- Publisher: Zondervan Academic (Zondervan)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
Winner of The Gospel Coalition Award of Distinction in Theological Studies • Recipient of the Southwestern Journal of Theology's award of Honorable Mention in Theological Studies What Does it Mean to Live a Christian Life? Is Christian life mostly a matter of distinct morals, or does Christian living include more than growth in virtue? How do faith and action interact? Is Christian living more about a mental attitude, or does embodied action matter? In this volume of Zondervan Academic's New Studies in Dogmatics series, theologian Kelly M. Kapic moves beyond the "how-to" of living life as a Christian to explore the "Why?" and the "Who?" at the heart of the Christian faith. Christian Life questions the pressure of modern moralism and replaces it with a "doxological" vision of faith—where theology leads directly to worship and daily life is lived, first and foremost, in response to the love of God. Shaped by the community of faith, especially through corporate worship, Christians are called to participate in this love of God and neighbor, You’ll discover that what is true of the whole discipline of theology is reflected here, in the life of the Christian: Christ is its foundation, Christ is its source of nourishment, and Christ is its goal. -ABOUT THE SERIES- New Studies in Dogmatics seeks to retrieve the riches of Christian doctrine for the sake of contemporary theological renewal. Following in the tradition of G. C. Berkouwer's Studies in Dogmatics, this series provides thoughtful, concise, and readable treatments of major theological topics, expressing the biblical, creedal, and confessional shape of Christian doctrine for a contemporary evangelical audience. The editors and contributors share a common conviction that the way forward in constructive systematic theology lies in building upon the foundations laid in the church's historic understanding of the Word of God as professed in its creeds, councils, and confessions, and by its most trusted teachers.
Endorsements (16)
“I’m always interested in what Kelly Kapic writes, and his Christian Life exceeds my usual high expectations! One key reason is the originality and conventionality of his approach, which yields “a theology of Christian life [that] will feel fresh and vibrant yet also somewhat familiar” to us. So we are well acquainted with traditional topics such as love, grace, worship of and communion with the triune God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the church, and Christian rituals. At the same time, a freshness emerges as discussions exhibit cultural awareness without becoming contextually bound, presentations are corporately oriented as well as personally appropriated, and directives stimulate a faith that is both catholic and particular. Be sure to read this book!”
“At a time when Christian life, worship, and ecclesial identity are often reduced to polarized options, Kelly Kapic offers a theologically rich and pastorally grounded vision of communion with the triune God as the source, means, and end of life in Christ. Through Christ’s prophetic, priestly, and kingly work and the Spirit’s enlivening presence, we are called to worship and to lives poured out in love for God, neighbor, and creation. Saturated with Scripture and drawing deeply from the wisdom of the historic Christian faith, this book is a beacon amid today’s troubled waters—abounding in theological insight, pastoral clarity, and joy.”
“Christian life is the grateful response to the love of the triune God and is anchored in the church as worshiping community. This theology has far-reaching implications, especially for modern evangelicals whose spirituality is often experience-centered and individualistic. But it is not just a book for evangelicals. Its balanced approach and ecumenical breadth would appeal to Christians of other traditions. This book is such a delight. Over and over I felt like shouting “Amen and Amen.”
“of Christian worship. A work of a theologian par excellence operating at the height of his powers, you will find yourself comforted, convicted, and encouraged to pursue a life of communion with God rooted in our union with Christ. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
“Gathering the jewels of scriptural teaching as well as a glittering array of sources across the centuries, Kapic gives us here a masterpiece. Deconstructing familiar dichotomies, this is the most edifying exploration of the Christian life I have seen in a long time. Let Kapic show you the riches of Christ for you and in his body, the church.”
“The richness of Christian life is on display in this marvelous work of Reformed theological scholarship. Kapic writes about what he knows—and so this book is filled with the humility of love, with a liturgical sensibility, with the Spirit’s power in uniting us to Christ our Savior, and with a realistic and vibrant appreciation of the church. There is much here for all Christians and for all who are seeking true life!”
“This alert and elegant theology of Christian life begins and ends in the right place: with the life and love of God the Holy Trinity. In light of God’s goodness and grace, Kelly Kapic offers a rich theological vision—both Reformed and catholic—of Christian life as life in communion with God and with one another in Christ and by the Spirit. Highly recommended.”
“Kelly Kapic’s Christian Life lays out, as winsomely as finite words can convey, the enormity of the triune God’s love for us and our invitation to respond. How wonderfully fitting, then, that a book about the whole of Christian life being an act of worship would draw readers to that same end.”
“This wonderful book is brimming with theological insight and pastoral guidance. Animated by the conviction that the Christian life is a response to God’s love, Kelly Kapic sets forth a comprehensive theological vision that trains readers to receive and embrace life in communion with God. A wise and timely study.”
“Kelly Kapic’s book offers a rich and thought-provoking reflection on the foundations of Christian life, grounded in Scripture and in a capacious, generous, and ecumenical appropriation of Christian theological traditions.”
“What a relief! We have long needed such an account of Christian life: resting in the threefold work of the triune God, responding to grace, reconciling law and gospel. This book is more than just the next clever theological program. Kapic is clever enough to know how to keep out of the way and let the big, central doctrines do the work.”
“part of the story. However, in Kelly Kapic’s volume on the Christian life, he gets to the root of it all: the love of God toward humanity. This book is a deeply biblical and soundly theological reflection on the triune God’s love and how this love shapes Christian life and worship. Kapic’s ability to move between theology and doxology is masterful and should be a model for others.”
“Christ giving a clarion call to respond to the God of love.”
“We have long needed an entryway to show that the Christian life is holistic—not one-sidedly about learning doctrine or about practices, not merely about one local expression or another, and not merely about prioritizing the present over the past or vice versa. In the most accessible volume in the New Studies in Dogmatics series yet, Kapic shows us in holistic ways that the Christian life is about responding to the love of God, doing justice to the corporate yet personal, catholic yet particular, and reasoned and embodied nature of what it means to live in light of God’s mercies. This book is no mere exposition but also an invitation for life in communion with God.”
“Courses in human flourishing attract hundreds of college students, but a good life is hard to find, much less define. Kelly Kapic sets forth a theological thesis that is as comprehensive as it is concise: The good life, for which men and women were created, is a God-centered life, a life that returns God’s love for us by loving God and everything that God has created. Christian Life is chock full of biblical, historical, and doctrinal direction for wise living with and right worship of the triune God.”
“Christian living for all Christ's people. His book is a gift to both church and academy.”
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