How to Be a Christian: Reflections & Essays

How to Be a Christian: Reflections & Essays
C. S. Lewis

How to Be a Christian brings together the best of Lewis’s insights on Christian practice and its expression in our daily lives. Cultivated from his many essays, articles, and letters, as well as his classic works.From the revered teacher and best-selling author of such classic Christian works as Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters comes a collection that gathers the best of C. S. Lewis’s practical advice on how to embody a Christian life.The most famous adherent and defender of Christianity in the twentieth century, C. S. Lewis has long influenced our perceptions and understanding of the faith. More than fifty years after his death, Lewis’s arguments remain extraordinarily persuasive because they originate from his deep insights into the Christian life itself. Only an intellectual of such profound faith could form such cogent and compelling reasons for its truth.By provoking readers to more carefully ponder their faith, How to Be a Christian can help readers forge a deeper understanding of their personal beliefs and what is means to be a Christian, and strengthen their profound relationship with God.

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Copyright (#ulink_6cae091d-5cb1-5eb2-ae0c-05bd0dddb694)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com (http://WilliamCollinsBooks.com)

First published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2018

First published in the United States by HarperOne in 2018

Christian Reflections. Copyright © 1967 by C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Published by Eerdmans

God in the dock. Copyright © 1967 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Published by Eerdmans.

How to be a Christian. Copyright © 2018 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Every effort has been made to obtain permissions for pieces quoted or adapted in this work. If any required acknowledgments have been omitted, or any rights overlooked, it is unintentional. Please notify the publishers of any omission, and it will be rectified in future editions.

Cover Designer: Jack Smyth

Designed by Yvonne Chan

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Source ISBN: 9780008307158

Ebook Edition © August 2018 ISBN: 9780008307165

Version: 2018-07-19

Contents

Cover (#ulink_df4e8ddf-65d4-5c2c-b6b1-fde1bb60a0a7)

Title Page (#ulink_2fe8b4f3-b8d4-52fa-ba05-b75e88cace87)

Copyright (#ulink_8fd447bf-7a04-5d5b-ac5a-a081511758d9)

Contents (#u9847ea49-bee4-5635-a0cd-6016712bd54e)

Preface (#ulink_a8aab60e-8dd5-5c0b-932d-85d9fd7fdada)

On Working Out Your Salvation (#ulink_44dedb7f-95a7-5bf6-a422-25c02d310f06)

On Being Concerned about More Than the Salvation of Souls (#ulink_6f23eb17-c005-55d3-a25b-acd08ea0057c)

On the Dangers of Pointing Out Faults in Others (#ulink_35da8726-4b65-5001-82bd-f5da3e9647ff)

On Living Today While Expecting the Second Coming Tomorrow (#ulink_96b14d2b-b901-58a3-b787-42bfb8377e4e)

On Forgiveness as a Necessary Practice (#litres_trial_promo)

On Denying Oneself While Loving Oneself (#litres_trial_promo)

On Doubts and the Gift of Faith (#litres_trial_promo)

On the Appeal and Challenges of Home Life (#litres_trial_promo)

On How We Spread the Christ-Life Within (#litres_trial_promo)

On What It Means to Say, “To Live Is Christ” (#litres_trial_promo)

On the Christian Art of Attaining Glory (#litres_trial_promo)

On Not Feeling Threatened When Christianity Remains Unchanged While Science and Knowledge Progresses (#litres_trial_promo)

On the Importance of Practicing Charity (#litres_trial_promo)

On What It Means to Be Part of the Body of Christ (#litres_trial_promo)

On Practical Matters on Being a Christian Today (#litres_trial_promo)

Source Works (#litres_trial_promo)

Footnotes (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Book (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by C. S. Lewis (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Preface (#ulink_8be7c0be-3082-5bce-808f-088800c2ea8c)

CHRISTIANS SPEND A lot of time talking about beliefs and doctrines; so much so that one might think that mastering the faith is understanding a set of ideas. But that is not the case. The real substance of the faith dwells in the world of action. Christian faith becomes real when it is lived out. For example, being a Christian entails learning how to be slow to judge others and to check first the log in our own eye; how to quit focusing merely on our fears and worries in order to see how we can treat others as we would wish to be treated; how to reign in our anxieties about tomorrow and dampen our anger before it becomes a sin; how, when we are aggrieved, we forgive others.

Yes, doctrines are extremely important. Christians need to grapple with beliefs before we understand that we are empowered by Jesus to live in a new way. But understanding these ideas is a doorway, one that requires us to start walking in order for the ideas to have any meaning. Even the apostle Paul, the grandfather of most Christian theology, reminds us that faith, even if perfect, ends up a mere clanging bell if it is without love. And love can only be expressed by actions.