You Can Change

Claire Borland | November 2013 - Highfields Book of the Month

By Tim Chester (2008) - Nottingham: Inter Varsity Press

The title of this book suggests that it is some sort of self-help book, emphasizing 'you' changing yourself.  However when Brian and I were asked to do a seminar based on the book for the 20’s weekend away I was pleasantly surprised.  This is a great book!  It is basically about sanctification and is for anyone who exhibits sinful behaviours: all of us.

What I love about this book is that Tim Chester is not legalistic in his approach.  He points us to the cause of our problem - our heart. He then reveals the one who has come to change our hearts - God.  Thus God gets all the glory.

Straight away, this book identifies our purpose in life, as image bearers of the King reflecting God's glory on earth.  However in our fallen state, the image is marred because 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God' Romans 3:23.  The book describes how, as Christians, God is in the process of re-creating us to become like Jesus – 'for those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son' Romans 8:29.

Having identified the wrong but subtly tempting reasons for change, this book encourages our new identity as a child of God to be our means and motivation for change.  Behavioral reformation and positive thinking will never produce lasting change because the problem is our hearts and external rules will not change this.

Chester points out that circumstances, upbringing and background may trigger sin but it is not the cause of it - 'What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?' James 4:1 and that sin always begins with a lie about God or about ourselves.

My favourite part of the book and something which challenged me for months afterwards was the following, which I've paraphrased;
'There are lots of truths about God we fail to believe and trust but failure to believe the following often account for a lot of our sinful behaviours and negative emotions.
1. God is sovereign and good – so we don't need to be in control
2. God is to be feared – so we don't need to fear others
3. God is our ultimate source of joy – so we don’t need to look elsewhere to seek pleasure
4. God is gracious – so we don't need to prove ourselves'

Trusting God in these areas is an act of faith and underpins the message of the book.  In essence the process of change is about trusting God, instead of believing lies, and treasuring God, instead of worshipping idols.

I found that this book gives enormous hope for change because change is rooted in God. This book will not give you a checklist of what you need to do to change your behaviours - that would only breed legalism. Instead it gently takes you through a biblical understanding of why we sin, why we should want to change and how that process of change is rooted in faith and a desire to glorify God above all else.