Now That You're a Christian

Bruce Bickel

Description

From Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz, authors of Knowing the Bible 101, a trim, 45-page booklet is perfect for new believers, Christians who want a handy evangelistic tool, and churchgoers who are ready to rediscover the essentials of the Christian life. Readers will immediately connect with Bruce and Stan''s honest, encouraging responses to questions new Christians often ask: What do I do next? Am I expected to follow some rules and regulations? What have I gotten myself into? Brief chapters on eternal security, new life in Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit set the tone for this clear and compelling introduction to the faith.With their engaging, straightforward style, Bruce and Stan explain what God has done for humanity, what God wants people to do so they can know Him better, and how individuals can reflect the love of Christ to the world.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 mars 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736968645
• Langue: English

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.
CHRISTIANITY 101 is a registered trademark of Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the federally registered trademark CHRISTIANITY 101.
Cover by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon
Cover illustration Krieg Barrie Illustration
Bruce Bickel: Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Sweeney Associates, 28540 Altessa Way, Ste. 201, Bonita Springs, FL 34135.
NOW THAT YOU RE A CHRISTIAN
Copyright 2005 by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-2316-3 (pbk)
ISBN 978-0-7369-6864-5 (eBook)
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Contents

A Personal Note: You ve Made a Great Start
What God Has Done for You
God Has Saved You Forever
Your New Life in Christ
You Have an Inside Source
What God Wants You to Do
Read the Bible
Learn to Pray
Go to Church
Having God s Heart
Loving One Another
Becoming a Disciple
Sharing Your Faith
More to Help You Grow
You ve Made a Great Start

Y ou ve made the choice to be a follower of Jesus Christ. That is an awesome decision, one that you will never regret. But we know that the initial stages of your new life as a Christian can be a bit intimidating. You may be thinking
What do I do next, and how do I learn more?
Will my personality change?
Am I expected to follow some rules and regulations?
What have I gotten myself into?
We know that you might be vacillating between excitement, hesitation, and curiosity.
Well, you can start by taking a deep breath and relaxing. The process of growing as a Christian is as simple as getting to know someone who will become your best friend. In fact, it s easier than that because Jesus Christ is already in love with you, and He has been all along, even before you made the decision to follow Him.
The process of knowing God on an intimate, personal basis is not difficult. He wants that to happen. And as you learn more about Him, you ll realize how much He cares for you. What He said centuries ago still applies to you today:
For I know the plans I have for you, says the L ORD . They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me (Jeremiah 29:11-13).
What God Has Done for You
We know you are anxious to learn how this Christianity stuff affects you. But let s put you aside for a moment and focus instead on who God is. God is one God in three Persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-who has made your salvation and your Christian life possible. By learning more about God, your appreciation of Him will deepen, and that s going to impact how you live your life and worship Him.
At a most basic level, Christianity simply involves a change in direction in our lives when we understand God s love for us. The apostle Paul said it this way to a group of people who, like you, were new in their Christian faith. Notice how each member of the Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-is working in your life:
I pray that from [God s] glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God (Ephesians 3:16-19).
Let s begin the process of understanding God s love by looking at what God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have done for you: God has saved you forever, Jesus has given you a new life, and the Holy Spirit has equipped you with a spiritual power source.
God Has Saved You Forever

T he Bible reveals God s plan to establish a relationship with humanity. The Bible has lots of verses (a total of 31,101 to be exact), but we can quickly direct you to the one that sums it up succinctly:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Let s dissect this verse to look at several of the components of salvation:
1. For God so loved the world This is an incredible concept that is even more amazing than it might appear. Remember that God is perfect, and humanity is not. God is holy, and we are far from it. We aren t just a few notches below God on the righteousness scale; He is at the top, and we don t even make the chart. Yet God loves us in our as is condition. Despite all of our failings, flaws, and imperfections, He loves us.
2. that he gave his only Son We weren t pursuing Him; He initiated the steps to connect with us. Because our sins prevented the connection, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was necessary to pay the penalty that we deserved.
3. so that everyone who believes in him Christianity is not limited to those of a particular country, political group, ethnicity, or economic standing. It is available to everyone. The only criterion is belief . We have the choice to accept or reject God s offer of salvation. Our acceptance takes the form of believing that Christ s death and resurrection is the means by which our sins are forgiven and we establish a relationship with Christ. Belief is more than just intellectual acknowledgment of these facts; it includes intentionally choosing to follow God s plan rather than our own selfish desires.
4. will not perish but have eternal life. The physical death that awaits humanity is not the end; as spiritual beings with a soul, we have eternity before us. Christians will spend that eternity with Christ. But eternal life doesn t kick in only upon our death; it begins at the moment of our salvation.
The concepts that John 3:16 explains are examples of God s grace. Grace is a theological word that simply means unmerited favor. God loves us, but we ve done nothing to deserve His gift of salvation. Think about what God s grace means to you on a personal level:
God loves you unconditionally . What you have done in the past doesn t matter. And because God already knows what you are going to do in the future, that doesn t matter either.