For more than 40 years, N. T. Wright has been vigorously preaching the Bible. His teachings have thoughtfully ambled in a range of directions and wandered in and out of theological controversies. All along, he has aimed for faithfulness and accuracy, and nowhere are his intentions more evident than in Small Faith, Great God, a collection of sermons that has recently been republished in a slim, second edition hardcover.
Most of these sermons are actually the earliest writings by Wright, despite their recent readership. Some were given in Oxford as early as 1972. As such, they contain the seeds of his thinking on topics covering everything from holiness, hypocrisy, and hope to evangelism, marriage, and the second coming. It is more a primer on Christian faith in the most general sense than an in depth study of faith as a philosophical concept.
“This is a book about faith: and the way to faith is always down the road of an enlarged view of God, a view constantly checked and revised in light of the Bible,” Wright explains. “What matters is not so much the faith itself as what it is faith in.”
Small Faith, Great God
N. T. Wright
In the midst of life’s challenges, so often our faith feels small and weak. In this book one of the world’s premier Bible teachers, N. T. Wright, reminds us that what matters is not so much our faith itself as Who our faith is in. Faith, says Wright, is like a window. The point is not for part of the wall to be made of glass. The point of a window is to allow us to see through it–and let light into the room!
The simplicity and sincerity with which Wright works through the key elements of the Christian faith reveal his pastoral heart and his roots in a gospel-centered theology. While at times he makes provocative points—such as Christians are sometimes called to hypocrisy—Small Faith, Great God is about the essentials. And though the bud of his more controversial thoughts about justification is present—resulting in even this early disclaimer: “A warning is necessary at this point in case anyone reading this out of context should think that I have abandoned the doctrine of justification by faith and settled instead for some sort of justification by obedience”—the 20-something-year-old Wright of this collection is dedicated to the indisputable heart of Christianity, which is that God is great and we are not.
Though at times the book can feel reductionist—spending only a few pages on a range of heavy theological topics—it is precisely its easy prose and manageable treatments that make Small Faith, Great God a much-needed reminder of the power of the gospel. For example, in the chapter “Not By Sight,” which is the most direct treatment of faith itself, the wisdom Wright offers feels relevant for today’s readers. “Faith is not a mysterious ability to sail through life with a secret key that unlocks all the doors,” he says. “Faith is the willingness to think and act on the basis of what we know of God (which may be very little) and to trust him that he will not let us down.” Sometimes, Wright concludes, “We must offer to God not our own plans and splendid abilities (Moses had to give all that up) but our empty hands and hearts, to be filled and indwelt by God himself.” As basic as this truth may sound, in the context of Wright’s book it feels profoundly pertinent to modern Christianity, which seems to sometimes forget that faith means “going into the wilderness, away from your present secure existence and the things you are leaning on.”
Across the range of works that Wright has written, it seems that it is his earnestness and acumen that have made him perennially popular, even amidst theological squabbles. This assembly of homilies is no different. Wright’s passion for how the truth should transform lives is felt in every sentence. His commitment to Scripture is evident in each of the three sections of the book: Faith in a Great God, Faith to Live and Love, and Faith to Walk in the Dark.
Small Faith, Great God is a slim but muscular devotional that tackles some of the biggest issues Christians face with grace and some of the smallest concerns with might. It seems Wright achieves such an elegant balance because he is more intent on enlarging Christians’ notions of God than on working out any human particularities. The result is a book that can be read quickly but contemplated extensively.
