The Death of the Deadly Sins: Embracing the Virtues That Transform Lives, edited by Daniel M. Doriani and written by Trent Casto, Christine Gordon, Robbie Griggs, Melissa Kruger, Michael J. Kruger, Dustin Messer, Jen Pollock Michel, and Philip Ryken, is a timely and theologically rich call to recover Christian virtue. The book urges the church to a renewed focus on virtue and Christian character—not as a means of earning grace, but as a grateful response to the saving grace of God in Christ. This virtue flows from justification and is a key aspect of our sanctification, by which believers are progressively conformed to the image of Christ “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18).
“we define virtue as the reliable disposition to desire what is good, to discern what is good, and to practice it faithfully, even when that is difficult. The virtuous person has a capacity to do good and practices the good with discernible consistency.”
The book thoughtfully revisits the historic category of the seven deadly sins, tracing their development from the early church through the Reformation and into contemporary theological reflection. Rather than merely cataloging vices, the contributors consistently move from vice to virtue, emphasizing the transformative power of grace. Sin is taken seriously, but never in a way that eclipses the hope found in the gospel. Each chapter highlights how the Spirit works through ordinary means of grace to reorder disordered loves, helping believers put sin to death while cultivating Christlike character.
“God’s character is the essence of virtue. The heart of virtue is to know the Lord and to become like him, as a child resembles her father… In a word, a virtuous person is a lot like Jesus.”
This book is biblically grounded, historically informed, and pastorally sensitive. It is well grounded in orthodoxy that many denominations would find helpful. Drawing on Scripture, church history, and practical wisdom, the book shows that virtue is not mere behavior modification but the fruit of a renewed heart shaped by love for God. The tone throughout is hopeful, invitational, and deeply Christ-centered.
“Paul is keenly interested in moral growth, but he does not use the Greco-Roman language of the cardinal virtues—wisdom, justice, courage, and self-control. Rather, he identifies love as the chief disposition and activity of life. Love does function like a virtue in some ways for Paul, because it represents the core internal disposition that opposes vicious actions. Love as expressed in ‘joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control’ (Gal. 5:22-23) stands in opposition to ‘the works of the flesh’-things such as ‘sexual immorality,’ ‘angry outbursts,’ and ‘envious attitudes’ (v. 19-21). Love also functions like a virtue, because it opposes the disordered dispositions that lead to vicious actions.”
This book is deeply biblically grounded and historically informed; drawing its authority from Scripture while engaging the church’s reflection on vice and virtue from the early church through the Reformers and into the present day. Its theological framework is solidly orthodox making it a helpful resource across denominational lines. By weaving together biblical teaching, church history, and practical pastoral wisdom, the contributors demonstrate that virtue is not mere behavior modification or moral self-improvement, but the fruit of a renewed heart shaped by love for God through union with Christ. Growth in godliness is presented as grace-driven and Spirit-empowered, yet calling for intentional participation through the ordinary means of grace. Throughout, the tone remains hopeful, invitational, and deeply Christ-centered, consistently directing readers to Christ as both the source and the goal of genuine transformation.
“Generous people are neither too attached to nor too careless with their money… But truly generous people hold their money and their possessions (so called) loosely enough to give them away promptly and uncomplainingly when the need or opportunity arises.”
Daniel M. Doriani, the editor and primary contributor, is a seasoned theologian, pastor, and professor at Covenant Theological Seminary. With advanced training from Westminster Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School, Doriani brings both scholarly rigor and pastoral warmth to the project. I first became aware of Doriani while in seminary through his excellent book Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible, which shaped my hermeneutics and right understanding of Scripture. The Death of the Deadly Sins is widely accessible and is available in print, Kindle, and audiobook formats.
“Virtue… is what happens when someone has made a thousand small choices, requiring effort and concentration, to do something which is good and right but which doesn’t come naturally’ —and then, on the thousand and first time, when it really matters, they find that they do what’s required ‘automatically, as we say?”
The stated audience is primarily church leaders and teachers, but the book is undeniably scholarly and offers a rich theological and historical background that will benefit any serious Christian reader. I highly recommend this book as a valuable resource for those who want a deeper dive into the deadly sins. It explores how church leaders and theologians have historically understood these sins while also offering practical guidance for putting them to death through spiritual formation, renewed thinking, and reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit to conform us to the image of Christ. In the modern evangelical church, we rarely speak directly about the seven deadly sins, opting instead for contemporary psychological language such as narcissism, sexual addiction, social media addiction, OCD, passivity, or the like. While those categories are widely understood to modern day Christians, there is much to gain from recovering the historic framework of vice and virtue and thoughtfully reconciling it with today’s challenges. Christians need a renewed focus on Christian character and values as a means to show the world who Christ is and what we are called to be in this fallen world. This book does exactly that—and does it well.