| This book is a classic. It is a must read for anyone who wants to grow in their faith. Bridges does a great job handling a concept that is often abused in Christianity. Shelves are filled with too many books that are a recipe (do this; don’t do that) for holiness. This book is not a recipe but an exposition of key Scriptures related to holiness and what it means to be holy. This book is very biblically based. I was interested to find that the book was less about holiness and more about sin. Holiness is such an abstract concept to our minds. Sin on the other hand is clearly defined. Bridges emphasizes the need to remove sin from our lives and as a consequence, we will grow in holiness. I appreciated Bridges openness about his own life and sharing some stories about his growth over the years. The reader is able to relate to these struggles and learn from them. In the book, Bridges keeps his focus on our responsibility for holiness. He readily acknowledges the holiness that we receive from Christ, but he clearly states in the Preface to the book that his emphasis will be on our responsibility. Bridges compares holiness to faith and works. Works necessarily follow true saving faith in the same way that holiness received from Christ will produce within the believer the desire to pursue holiness with their life. I also really like how Bridges stresses that our assurance of salvation is grounded in holiness. We can look at our pursuit of holiness as evidence of salvation in our life. This is excellent to combat the doubts that will surely surface throughout life. I really liked how Bridges emphasized sin so much in this book. He really tackles the problem head-on. He basically says that a big part of our problem in life is that we do not take sin seriously. He says that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. I couldn’t agree with him more. Here is a quote from the book that I really like. “It is only as we see His holiness, His absolute purity and moral hatred of sin, that we will be gripped by the awfulness of sin against the Holy God. To be gripped by that fact is the first step in our pursuit of holiness.” Bridges talks about how much of our view of sin is based upon victory and defeat. He says that we should change the wording to be obedience and disobedience. I will have to say that he makes an excellent point. This shift in words to obedience and disobedience puts the responsibility on our shoulders to obey God. Bridges then goes on to present a very high view of the Bible. He says that the Bible is the primary avenue by which the Holy Spirit works in our lives. It is how we learn obedience and disobedience. If we are not taking God’s Word in regularly, there is absolutely no way that we can be growing in holiness. Bridges book can be summed up by saying that we must be spending a significant amount of time studying God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to apply it to our lives. That is how we pursue holiness. There is absolutely no way around this method. There is no formula or secret recipe or list that will produce holiness in our lives. This is a book that should be read by all and reviewed often. Bridges closes out the last couple of pages with this. “God has provided all we need for our pursuit of holiness. He has delivered us from the reign of sin and given us His indwelling Holy Spirit. He has revealed His will for holy living in His Word, and He works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose. He has sent pastors and teachers to exhort and encourage us in the path of holiness; and He answers our prayers when we cry to Him for strength against temptation.” What a great God we serve! | 
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