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The Way of Faith
Dr. Phil Newton
How does a person become a Christian? Plenty of opinions abound in answer to this question. Some say that living a moral life makes a person a Christian. Others declare that joining a church or being baptized makes a person a Christian. Still others call for a person to "make a decision" or "pray the prayer" or "ask Jesus into your heart." While opinions may be important, the one vital thing when speaking of becoming a Christian is what does God say about this in His Word? God has given His Word - the Bible - to reveal Himself, His purpose for man, and the way to know Him personally. Everything a person needs to know about becoming a Christian can be found in God s Word. As God gives a person understanding of the gospel (the good news of how God, in Christ has provided salvation for man), then that person can come to the point of genuine faith in Jesus Christ and, consequently, become a Christian.
The first place to begin in understanding salvation (or becoming a Christian) is with God.
Who is God anyway? Unless a person has a basic understanding of God, then his understanding of the gospel will be faulty and unbalanced. The Bible tells us that God is One, yet He reveals Himself to us in Three Persons. This is called the Trinity. Hear, 0 Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! (Deuteronomy 6:4). Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18; see also John 5:17-27 where Jesus, the Son, shows His equality with the Father and John 14:16-17 where Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit being another which means "another of the same kind," that is, totally equal with the Son and Father). God is not three Gods, but one God who has revealed Himself in three Persons who are equal in character, glory, and power: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), God the Holy Spirit.
1. God is Creator.
2. God is Spirit.
3. God sees and knows all things.
4. God is Holy.
5. God is righteous and just.
6. God is Judge.
7. God is love. THINK IT OVER 1. If someone asks you, ‘Who is God?" how will you answer him? 2. Do the names the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit describe three Gods or one God? Can you think of some Scripture passages to back up ypou answer? 3. Name at least three attributes of God and show where these attributes are found in the Bible. 4. Explain what is meant by God being righteous and just. How does this affect mankind? 5. Give some examples of how God has shown His love to you. What is the ultimate expression of God's love to you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone has his own opinion about mankind, but what really matters most is what God has to say about mankind. Many modem philosophies consider that man is basically good and wants to do the right thing if he has a chance. But his environment, society, peers, and family hinder him from acting right. This kind of view fails to consider what God has said about the nature of man. To understand why we need salvation, we must see what the Bible says about man and his sin.
1. Man was created in the image of God and expected to obey
God completely. Did God's requirements and expectations for man change when Adam fell? Absolutely not! God still expected man to fully obey Him. But since the first man, every person in the human race born of man has failed to satisfy God's righteous demands of him which are expressed clearly in the Old Testament Law. Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them (Galatians 3:10). Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20). God's moral law can be summed up in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). These divine commands affect our relationship to God and man. The first four commandments (Exodus 20:1-11) make it clear that God alone is to be our God and He is to be honored above everything. Yet man has bowed to gods of his own making: pleasure, sensuality, materialism, recreation, self-indulgence, etc. Because of man's violation of God's laws regarding man's relationship to God, the eternal judgment of God falls upon him. The last six commandments govern man's relationship to his fellow man (Exodus 20:12-17). Jesus Christ clarified the intention of these commands to show that they refute not simply man's actions towards others, but even his thoughts and attitudes towards others (see Matthew 5:17-48). While a person may refrain from overt acts of dishonoring his parents, murdering, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting, in his mind he violates all of these commands. His overt and covert breaching of God's law brings him under the sentence of divine wrath. A holy, just God cannot fail to judge man's sin.
2. Man is dead in his spirit apart from Christ.
3. Man, by his nature and actions, is a sinner.
4. A man dead in his sin cannot do anything to save
himself.
5. Apart from God's intervention of mercy and grace, man cannot
be saved. Grace is the activity of God based upon the satisfying of God's justice through the death of Chnst, now effectively applied to bring about the salvation of a sinner. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7). You see, it is not what a man does that can save him from his sin or God's judgment; instead, it is what God has done for him in Jesus Christ according to His mercy and grace.
THINK IT OVER 1. What does it mean when the Bible says we are "created in the image of God?" 2. How does Adam s sin affect you? See if you can support your answer with Scripture. 3. Has man satisfied God s righteous demands of him by obeying the Law? Explain the consequence of your answer. 4. Some people believe that man can save himself. Tell some of the ways people try to save themselves and explain why none of these ways can justify a person before God. 5. Why is man dependent upon God s intervention for salvation?
6.Explain what is meant by the terms "mercy" and "grace." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The focal point of salvation is Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ
no sinner can be saved. And there is salvation in no
one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among
men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). There are two primary
truths which are vital for us to understand concerning Christ and His work
of salvation: Who Jesus is and What Jesus has accomplished
on our behalf (that is, the Person of Christ and the Work of
Christ).
1. Who Jesus is (or the Person of Christ) (1) Jesus Christ is God When the Apostle John opened the Gospel which bears his name, he began by identifying Jesus as the One True God. He used a term --Word-- which was common in his day, to describe who Jesus is. By the identifying term the Word, John points to the One Who created everything that exists in the universe (see Genesis 1:1) and the One in Whom all mankind derives its life. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:1-5). If Jesus was a created being, and not infinite as is the case with God, then it would have been impossible for Him to create all things that have come into being, for He would be included in all things. The Creator cannot create Himself! This would be an impossibility! In the book of Exodus, the Lord God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush on Mt. Horeb by a most unusual name. Moses asked God to tell him the Name he was to use when addressing the children of Israel on behalf of God. What shall I say to them? Moses asked. And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM", and He said, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:13-14). The name I AM refers to the eternality of God. He is the One Who has no beginning and no end. He is the eternally Present One. When Jesus was having a discussion with some of the Jewish religious leaders, He used the very same name to refer to Himself, which identified Him as being the Lord God of the Old Testament that revealed Himself to Moses on Mt. Horeb. Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am (John 8:58). The Jews understood exactly what Jesus was saying, that He is the same God that spoke to Moses at Mt. Horeb! Since they did not believe in Him being God, they tried to stone Him for using this special name for God. When the Apostle Paul was writing to Titus on the Isle of Crete, he gave a marvelous description of the deity (Godhood) of Jesus Christ. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds (Titus 2:11-14). The phrase he uses, our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, states in clear terms that Jesus Christ is wholly and absolutely God. One of the clearest passages relating to Christ's deity is found in Colossians 1:15-20. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. The word, image, means that Jesus is in reality Who He represents. That is, He is in reality the invisible God. As first born of all creation Jesus is preeminent over all creation and He is preexistent and unique as the Son. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. Again, the emphasis is placed upon Jesus creating everything, even things in the heavens and things we cannot see with our eyes. He not only created all things but all things were created for Him. This means that the ultimate purpose of everything in creation is the glory of Jesus Christ! For it was the Father s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him. All the totality of divine attributes and powers are found in Jesus Christ. And through Him to reconcile all things to Himself: having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Jesus, Who is wholly God, by the sacrificial act of His death on the cross has provided the means to put sinners in a right relationship with Himself as God (i.e., to reconcile). (2) Jesus Christ became man Notice that there is a difference in these two points of emphasis on the Person of Christ. Jesus Christ is God, that is His infinite nature. But this same God became man that He might reveal God to sinful humanity and ultimately, fulfill all righteousness and pay the debt of sin the sinner owes God. The passage quoted previously, John 1:1-5, describes the deity of Jesus by the ancient term Word. John explains God becoming a man in that same chapter, And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, fill of grace and truth (John 1:14). The act of God becoming man is known as the Incarnation. When the angel spoke to Joseph about the fact that his bride-to-be, Mary, was with child by a supernatural act of the Holy Spirit, he explained that Jesus would be the One to save His people from their sins. The story goes on to explain that Jesus was to be called Immanuel, which translated means, God with us (see Matthew 1:18-25). That s the great news of the Incarnation, God has come to man to bring about his redemption! As Thomas Watson put it, "The Word was made flesh , that through the glass of his human nature we might look upon God." Why did God come to man? Only God could fully satisfy His own righteous, just demands ---demands based upon His divine nature and character. Man had proven over and over that he could never measure up to God's Law. But since man is the one who has sinned, the demand of justice is that man himself would have to suffer for his sin. This is why Jesus became a man, so that He might fully obey God's Law as a Man and that He might suffer the judgment of God on our behalf as a Man. "...It was God who was offended, and it was God who satisfied. Thus Christ's person is in two natures" (Thomas Watson). Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren In all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17). For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). All that God is, He is in Jesus Christ. The great God that mankind has offended with sin and rebellion came to dwell among us that He, out of His mercy and grace, might act redemptively on our behalf. Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives (Hebrews 2:14-15).
As man, Jesus Christ faced the limitations of humanity, yet He never sinned.
He fulfilled every demand of the Law and all that pertains to righteousness.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin
(Hebrews 4:15; see also Philippians 2:5-11). As the Sinless One, He became
the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (see John 1:29,
36).
2. What Jesus has accomplished on our behalf (or the Work of
Christ) The death of Jesus on the cross relates directly to God's holiness and man's sinfulness. Because God is holy and just, He cannot ignore sin, nor let the sinner go unpunished. Every act of sin by man personally affronts God. As a creature affected by Adam's fall, man must face the consequence of the Fall. God's character demands that He punish to the full degree every sinful person. To do anything less than this would mean that God was not being God.. .and that is impossible! On the other hand, a sinful man does not have any hope of persuading God to not punish him for his sinfulness. That man cannot make himself right before God because nothing short of perfection pleases God (see Matthew 5:48). Even if he tries his very best, man cannot save himself from the wrath of God.
This is where God intervenes in His great love and mercy! God came to man
(remember, this is the Incarnation) in order to give His own life to redeem
man from the curse of sin and the certain wrath of God. Jesus Christ conquered
sin and death on our behalf which was verified by His resurrection from the
dead. Now, through the sacrificial act of Jesus Christ, Who is God Himself:
sinful man can be declared righteous before Holy God! The power of His death
and resurrection can actually be applied to the sinner to save him for all
eternity. (1) Righteousness of God. Jesus Christ fulfilled all of the righteous requirements which God demands of us. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:21-23). Because all of us are sinners, we have no way in our own power to fully obey the Law of God. We cannot do anything to save ourselves. But what Jesus did on our behalf was absolutely righteous. He perfectly obeyed the Father so that His righteousness might be put on our account. He went to the cross, undeserving of the death He faced, and died a righteous death on our behalf. In other words, God did not change the rules in mid-stream concerning salvation. He did not cheapen His holiness or deny His justice by saving sinners. Instead, His Son totally fulfilled every demand of God's righteousness, so that our salvation through Christ meets every requirement of God's holy character and nature. (2) Justification. The work of Jesus on the cross justifies the sinner who has faith in Him. Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24; see also Romans 3:25-28; 5:1-2)
The word justifies has both a negative and positive meaning.
Negatively, it means that the sinner who put his faith in Christ has been
declared not guilty by God. All of the charges against the
sinner because of his sinfulness are certainly accurate. But Jesus Christ
has borne the judgment of God against the sinner, so that now, because of
what Christ has done on behalf of the sinner, God declares the sinner
to be not guilty of his eternal crime. (3) Redemption. Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). Redemption pictures an ancient slave market, where the slave stands on the block to be sold once again into slavery. But something amazing and wonderful happens! Someone pays the price for the slave's freedom and sets him free! The utterly amazing thing is that the Redeemer pays for the slave by entering into slavery for him. That's what Jesus did for us at the cross. While we were enslaved to sin with no hope of ever being set free, Jesus Christ became our substitute. He paid the debt we owe because of our sin (Romans 6:23). At the cross He experienced all of the horridness of sin's wicked power and the wrath of God due that sin. Through His life He paid for our redemption that we might be free. Consequently, we were brought out of the slave market of sin, never to be held by its power again for we are set free in Christ. The believer never returns to that same old position of slavery to sin. For all eternity, be is free! If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed (John 8:36). (4) Propitiation Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstrahon, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:24-26). Propitiation may seem to be a strange word, but is one of the most important truths in the Bible. Remember that God's righteousness has to be satisfied simply because He is God. To pardon a sinner without first satisfying His righteousness, would mean that God was contradicting His own nature, which is impossible. In order to forgive sinners, God satisfied His righteousness and justice through the death of His Son at the cross. That's what propitiation means---a satisfying of God's righteousness and justice, so that God might justly declare sinners to be righteous and forgiven through faith in His Son. In Jesus Christ's death an actual sacrifice to atone for man's sins occurred. Our sin was transferred to Christ at the cross and the full payment due because of our sin was met through His death. This means that God's holy wrath has been satisfied through the substitutionary death of His Son. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithfiul high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Hebrews 2:17; see also Hebrews 2:14-18 and I John 2:1-2). It is only because Jesus satisfied all of the demands of God's righteousness anid justice on our behalf that we can enter into a relationship with the very God we have offended with our sinfulness. 5. Adoption. When a sinner comes to Jesus Christ in faith, trusting in what Christ has done on his behalf to satisfy all of God's demands, then he is adopted into God's family. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of he world But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God (Galatians 4:3-7). Our adoption takes place, not because God did not have a son, for He does...the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, God adopts us because of our great need for Him. The price of adoption was the blood of His own beloved Son at the cross. As He adopts us, He gives us both His name (which earthly parents can do in adoption) and His nature (which an earthly parent cannot do; see 11 Peter 1:4). Jesus Christ has accomplished for us what we could never accomplish nor ever deserve. Understanding who Jesus is and what He has done for us makes the truth of the gospel come alive in our hearts and minds.
THINK IT OVER 1. Is Jesus Christ God Himself? If so, explain this through the use of Scripture. 2. Did God come to man? Explain how He did this and why He did this. 3. What does it mean to be justified? Explain how God justifies the sinner. 4. What does propitiation mean? Explain how this affects our salvation.? 5. Name the two specific things that God gives us in adoption. How does this affect you personally?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A person can hear the gospel, but if he never exercises saving faith he remains lost for eternity. While many people try to justify themselves before God on the basis of their religious activity or their good works, the Bible clearly tells us that the only way to come to God is through faith in Jesus Christ. Too often, faith is misunderstood.
1. There are four kinds of faith. Second, there is temporary faith, which lasts for a while, then fades away because it does not have any roots. Jesus describes this in the parable of the sower in which the Word of God is sown upon a heart with shallow soil. Just like a little seed which germinates in shallow soil, there springs up what appears to be life. But because of the shallow soil the life is only temporary and quickly withers. And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away (Matthew 13:20-2 1). Some people have a religious experience or even have great excitement about the Christian life, possibly even making a public profession of Christ. But if the Word of God does not take firm root in his life by its saving power, this kind of person quickly fades away when the demands of the Christian life confront him. This kind of faith cannot save. Third, there is a miraculous faith, which describes those individuals who through some means or another are able to perform miraculous works and because of this they believe themselves to be saved. Judas Iscariot followed Jesus Christ for three years and was even involved in doing miraculous works. Yet he perished in hell! Pharaoh's magicians imitated the miracles of Moses for a time, yet they were by no means believers! Jesus warned against this kind of false faith in Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you: Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. ' Finally, there is a true, justifying faith or saving faith, which is a gift of God given to us that we might believe the Person and Work of Christ on our behalf. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Let's clarify this wonderful gift of saving faith.
2. What faith is not.
3. What justifying faith is. How does justifying faith operate? There are three facets to this kind of true, saving faith. First, there is self-renunciation in which a person comes to the end of himself, recognizes his absolute sinfulness and hopelessness before God, and turns from his sin, then turns to God, Who alone can save him. Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19). This self-renunciation is evident by repentance, which involves a change of mind about life, so that the person turns away from his life of rebellion toward God and casts himself wholly upon the mercy of God to save him (see also Acts 2:38; Luke 13:3; Mark 1:15). The Apostle Paul described this work in his own life in Philippians 3:8-9. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. Second, justifying faith involves a total reliance upon Jesus Christ and His work on the cross to save you. That's what faith or believing means, a total reliance or absolute trust in someone or something. in this case the Someone is Jesus Christ! When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what he must do in order to be saved, they replied, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household (Acts 16:30-31; see also John 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:40; 6:47). This belief in Christ goes beyond a mere head knowledge of Jesus to a trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation. Faith means "Forsaking All ,I Trust Him." The Apostle Paul never boasted about anything he did in order to be saved, because he realized that it was all of Christ and none of him. But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Galatians 6:14). Third, Justifying faith involves appropriating or receiving Christ Himself as your Redeemer, Justifier, Savior, and Lord. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13). When a person comes to Jesus Christ in absolute trust, he receives Christ into His life, and with Him, all that He has accomplished for sinners. Now that new believer knows Christ in a different fashion. No longer is He just an impersonal God in the heavens. But now he enters into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ as his Lord. Jesus has redeemed him from the power of sin, so Jesus is now his Redeemer. Jesus has applied His blood and righteousness to his life and declared him to be righteous before God, so Jesus is now his Justifier. Jesus has saved him from the wrath of God, so now Jesus is his Savior. Jesus has laid claim to his life for eternity by His atoning death and mighty resurrection, so now Jesus is his Lord.
THINK IT OVER 1. What are the four kinds of faith? Try to given an example of each one. 2. Give some examples of a false kind of faith that people substitute for saving faith. 3. What is true, justifying faith? 4.Why is self-renunciation an aspect of saving faith? 5. What are the three facets of faith? Can you give a Scripture reference for each one? 6. What happens to the sinner in terms of his new relationship to Christ when he trusts Christ?
As you have read through this booklet or perhaps studied it with a group, you have been confronted with the Bible's teaching on salvation. You have seen Who God is and how His character is evident in everything He says, or does, or demands. You have seen the problem of man's sinfulness and his hopelessness to save himself. Because of man's sin, he stands condemned by the law and he faces a destiny with the wrath of Holy God. But the good news is that you have seen that God has come to man through Jesus Christ! In His coming to earth, Jesus had one primary mission, to bear our sins on the cross and face the wrath of God in our place. But it is only when we repent by renouncing our self and sin, trust in Christ alone, and receive Him as Savior and Lord that we can know His saving life. Trust Jesus Christ as your Prophet who has spoken His saving word to you. Trust Him as your Priest who has mediated before God in your behalf by His atoning death on the cross. Trust Him as your King who now reigns over you. The Bible declares, He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life (I John 5:12). Have you trusted Jesus Christ alone for your salvation? Do you have THE LIFE which only comes in knowing Christ through faith? If this is not settled in your life, seek the Lord ,Who alone can save you. As a sinner who cannot save himself, cast yourself upon His mercy. Discover that He is full of mercy and grace. Admit to God your sinfulness and desperation for His forgiveness. Repent of your sins and turn to God. Trust Him to save you for eternity through the blood of Christ. Depend upon what God has declared in His Word and the witness of the Holy Spirit in your life as your assurance of being right before God. If you have put your faith in Christ, now declare your faith publicly before men through baptism. Unite with a church which preaches and teaches God's Word. Daily seek the Lord through His Word, beginning with John's Gospel, then reading Romans, I John, and Galatians. Bring your thanks, praises, and needs before your Heavenly Father in prayer. Seek to tell others about Jesus Christ and His power to save. By God's grace, seek to walk daily in obedience to the Lord. Trust Him for strength and power to obey. If you are already a true believer, then rejoice in the grace of God given to you in Christ! Use this booklet as a study tool for understanding in greater fashion the work of Christ on your behalf Seek to declare the good news of Jesus Christ with others. May the Lord give you power to bring glory to His great Name!
ADDITIONAL READING
Benton, John. Coming to Faith in Christ. Banner of Truth Blanchard, John. Right With God. Banner of Truth Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God. Navpress Ferguson, Sinclair. Growing in Grace. Banner of Truth Hulse, Erroll. Baptism and Church Membership. Carey Publications Lloyd-Jones, Martin. Life in Christ. Crossway Books Lloyd-Jones, Martin. The Heart of the Gospel. Crossway Books MacArthur, John. The Gospel According to Jesus. Word of Grace MacArthur, John. Faith Works. Word Publishing Martin, Albert N. What is a Biblical Christian? Trinity Book Service Neson, Joe. Be Sure What You Believe. Founder Press Packer, J.I. Knowing God. Inter Varsity Press Thomas, Geoffrey. Reading the Bible. Banner of Truth Watson, Thomas. A Body of Divinity. Banner of Truth Webster, William. The Christian--Following Christ as Lord. Banner of Truth Whitney, Donald. Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life. Navpress Whitney, Donald. Spiritual Disciplines Within the Church. Moody Press Quotations from the Bible are from the New American Standard Bible. (Placed on this site with permission from the author) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you would like information on how to obtain quantities of this writing in booklet form, please contact Dr. Newton at:
South Woods Baptist Church ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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