The Christian life is one that is lived out - not merely thought about. D.A. Carson certainly encouraged believers to live out their faithfulness in his study on Philippians, "Basics for Believers". While there is much practical wisdom in this book that I certainly enjoyed, I found some of the thoughts in the book to be distracting from the overall message (perhaps due to my recent theological shifts). Carson's theological positions on the cross was a bit to Evangelical/Reformed for my taste (I hold more of a nuanced Christus Victor view). The topic of the cross also seemed to be emphasized more in the book than it is in Philippians itself. Don't get me wrong, the cross is an important topic; it just seems that the enthronement which resulted from Christ's work on the cross was Paul's primary emphasis. He also mentioned that we prepare for Heaven a few times. While this is true, we tend to think of Heaven as our final destination. It is not. Heaven will one day come to Earth - this is part of the Gospel. This is a part of the whole narrative of the Bible. Leaving it at Heaven tend to cause confusion amongst believers. Perhaps my critiques seem nitpicky, but there is some theology I'm trying to move away from that I found in this book. Nevertheless, as I mentioned in the beginning, there is much that is good about this book. We need to truly live according to God's ways and not be lazy about it. This book can help us remember to do that.