Author: Paul Tripp

Subtitle:

12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life

Doctrine—what Christians believe—directly influences how they live. The biblical truths about God, humanity, and the world are not merely about knowing more—they are also about loving God and making sense of this life and the life to come. But what happens when there is disparity between what believers confess and how they live?

In Do You Believe? pastor and best-selling author Paul David Tripp takes a close look at 12 core doctrines and how they engage and transform the human heart and mind. According to Tripp, “true belief is always lived.” To demonstrate, he unpacks each doctrine and presents its relevance for the Christian life. As readers explore topics such as the doctrine of God, the holiness of God, and the doctrine of Scripture, they will be fueled to fall deeper in love with and stand in awe of their Creator and Father—putting the truths of God’s word on display for all the world to see.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: The Dangerous Dichotomy
Chapter 2: The Doctrine of Scripture
Chapter 3: Scripture in Everyday Life
Chapter 4: The Doctrine of God
Chapter 5: God in Everyday Life
Chapter 6: The Doctrine of the Holiness of God
Chapter 7: God’s Holiness in Everyday Life
Chapter 8: The Doctrine of God’s Sovereignty
Chapter 9: God’s Sovereignty in Everyday Life
Chapter 10: The Doctrine of God’s Omnipotence
Chapter 11: God’s Omnipotence in Everyday Life
Chapter 12: The Doctrine of Creation
Chapter 13: Creation in Everyday Life
Chapter 14: The Doctrine of the Image of God in Man
Chapter 15: The Image of God in Everyday Life
Chapter 16: The Doctrine of Sin
Chapter 17: Sin in Everyday Life
Chapter 18: The Doctrine of Justification
Chapter 19: Justification in Everyday Life
Chapter 20: The Doctrine of Sanctification
Chapter 21: Sanctification in Everyday Life
Chapter 22: The Doctrine of Glorification
Chapter 23: Glorification in Everyday Life
Chapter 24: The Doctrine of Eternity
Chapter 25: Eternity in Everyday Life

About the author:

Paul David Tripp (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) is a pastor, award-winning author, and international conference speaker. He has written numerous books, including the best seller New Morning Mercies. His nonprofit ministry exists to connect the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Tripp lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Luella, and they have four grown children.

Endorsements:

“In this useful and searching book, Paul Tripp does what we have come to count on him to do—take the great and glorious truths of the Christian faith and funnel them into our actual, real-time lives. This book makes wonderfully unavoidable what theology is for—buoyancy and hope and energy in my life today.”  ~Dane C. Ortlund, Senior Pastor, Naperville Presbyterian Church; author, Gentle and Lowly 

“‘The Bible is a life book given for life purposes,’ Paul Tripp contends. Based on this premise, Tripp provides a fresh treatment of twelve major doctrines—many of them related to God and his character and work—and connects each of them to life. The connection between biblical doctrine and real life makes this a valuable, practical tool for the pursuit of greater godliness. Highly recommended!”  ~Andreas J. Köstenberger, Director, Center for Biblical Studies and Research; Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Founder, Biblical Foundations

“Here is a book that stretches our minds and hearts to embrace big truths—and to secure those truths like a great tent sheltering us as we live and love, here and now. These chapters keep reminding us to look up and worship the God who is there—and so to better see what’s right in front of our eyes. In his honest, companionable, and still-awed voice of experience, Paul Tripp covers huge doctrinal ground with Jesus and the gospel at front and center. And, on this ground, we find our next small step more solid and sure.”  ~Kathleen Nielson, author; speaker

“One reason skeptics don’t take Christianity seriously is the disconnect they see between the beliefs and behavior of so many Christians. Do we really believe the doctrines we say we believe? If so, why are our lives so often unchanged—so often indistinguishable from the lives of unbelievers? Paul Tripp tackles this problem compellingly in Do You Believe? For twelve central Christian doctrines, he lays out not only what the doctrine is but how we should live in light of it. Doctrine is not just about knowing information, he says. It’s about transformation. This is an urgent and essential book—a treasure trove of wisdom for any Christian willing to take seriously the implications of belief for everyday life.”  ~Brett McCracken, Senior Editor, The Gospel Coalition; author, The Wisdom Pyramid and Uncomfortable

“Doctrine comes from God, teaches us about God, and leads us back to God in worship. That is precisely what this book helps us to do—to know God that we might authentically love and worship God in all of life. This book is sure to become a widely used resource for discipleship in churches throughout the world. For far too long, doctrine and the application of doctrine have been separated, and this book rightly brings them back together. Doctrine is about knowing God and living for God in all of life. In this book, Paul Tripp beautifully shows us how to experience the joy of knowing God and living out that knowledge every day of our lives.”  ~Burk Parsons, Senior Pastor, Saint Andrew’s Chapel, Sanford, Florida; Editor, Tabletalk

“In this important book, Paul Tripp puts his finger on a live nerve in the body of Christ. He addresses the dangerous disconnect that often exists between sound doctrine and sound living. Tripp sounds the needed warning that knowing truth is never an end in itself but only a means to a far greater end. He reminds us that the goal of biblical instruction must be personal transformation. Here is made the inseparable connection between biblical indicatives and practical imperatives. What God has joined together, let no man separate.”  ~Steven J. Lawson, President, OnePassion Ministries; Professor of Preaching, The Master’s Seminary; Teaching Fellow, Ligonier Ministries

“How horrible would it be to hear the charge, ‘You profess to know Christ but deny him by your actions’? The apostle Paul saw it in the Cretans to whom he sent Titus, and no doubt he could spy such gaps, whether tiny or glaring, in all of our lives. I desperately want to close those gaps. Hopefully, you do as well. This is a remarkable resource for doing precisely that, by the grace of God: minding the gaps between what we profess to believe and how we live in tangible, everyday moments. Few in our day can speak so compellingly and accessibly on this topic as Paul Tripp. Let him win you back to the critical importance of what we in Christ believe, and how we who believe then live.”  ~David Mathis, Senior Teacher and Executive Editor, desiringGod.org; author, Habits of Grace

“Whenever a fresh article or book by Paul David Tripp is released, I take note. I am an avid follower of his counsel, for no matter how many others might cut me slack—I am, after all, a lifelong quadriplegic—I know Paul David Tripp will insist that I interpret my difficult circumstances, as well as my response to them, solely through the lens of Scripture. Although we rarely cross paths, my friend knows my heart, and how prone I am to wander. It’s why I am especially excited about his new work, Do You Believe? Our life in Christ thrives only when we are rooted in the great doctrines of the faith, and Paul David Tripp does a stellar job of presenting the fundamentals. Whether you already have a grasp on Christian doctrine or are just getting started, this should be your next read!”  ~Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder, Joni and Friends International Disability Center