What Is the Gospel?

What Is the Gospel? PDF

Author: Greg Gilbert

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2010-03-09

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13: 1433524600

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What is the gospel? It seems like a simple question, yet it has been known to incite some heated responses, even in the church. How are we to formulate a clear, biblical understanding of the gospel? Tradition, reason, and experience all leave us ultimately disappointed. If we want answers, we must turn to the Word of God. Greg Gilbert does so in What Is the Gospel? Beginning with Paul's systematic presentation of the gospel in Romans and moving through the sermons in Acts, Gilbert argues that the central structure of the gospel consists of four main subjects: God, man, Christ, and a response. The book carefully examines each and then explores the effects the gospel can have in individuals, churches, and the world. Both Christian and non-Christian readers will gain a clearer understanding of the gospel in this valuable resource.

Salvation by Allegiance Alone

Salvation by Allegiance Alone PDF

Author: Matthew W. Bates

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2017-03-14

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1493406736

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We are saved by faith when we trust that Jesus died for our sins. This is the gospel, or so we are taught. But what is faith? And does this accurately summarize the gospel? Because faith is frequently misunderstood and the climax of the gospel misidentified, the gospel's full power remains untapped. While offering a fresh proposal for what faith means within a biblical theology of salvation, Matthew Bates presses the church toward a new precision: we are saved solely by allegiance to Jesus the king. Instead of faith alone, Christians must speak about salvation by allegiance alone. The book includes discussion questions for students, pastors, and church groups and a foreword by Scot McKnight.

Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World

Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World PDF

Author: Zondervan,

Publisher: Zondervan Academic

Published: 2010-09-21

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0310872383

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Religious pluralism is the greatest challenge facing Christianity in today's Western culture. The belief that Christ is the only way to God is being challenged, and increasingly Christianity is seen as just one among many valid paths to God. In Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World, four perspectives are presented by their major proponents: Normative Pluralism: All ethical religions lead to God (John Hick) Inclusivism: Salvation is universally available, but is established by and leads to Christ (Clark Pinnock) Salvation in Christ: Agnosticism regarding those who haven't heard the gospel (Alister McGrath) Salvation in Christ Alone: Salvation depends on explicit personal faith in Jesus Christ alone (R. Douglas Geivett and W. Gary Phillips) This book allows each contributor to not only present the case for his view, but also to critique and respond to the critiques of the other contributors. The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart PDF

Author: J. D. Greear

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 1433679183

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“If there were a Guinness Book of World Records entry for ‘amount of times having prayed the sinner’s prayer,’ I’m pretty sure I’d be a top contender,” says pastor and author J. D. Greear. He struggled for many years to gain an assurance of salvation and eventually learned he was not alone. “Lack of assurance” is epidemic among evangelical Christians. In Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart, J. D. shows that faulty ways of present- ing the gospel are a leading source of the confusion. Our presentations may not be heretical, but they are sometimes misleading. The idea of “asking Jesus into your heart” or “giving your life to Jesus” often gives false assurance to those who are not saved—and keeps those who genuinely are saved from fully embracing that reality. Greear unpacks the doctrine of assurance, showing that salvation is a posture we take to the promise of God in Christ, a posture that begins at a certain point and is maintained for the rest of our lives. He also answers the tough questions about assurance: What exactly is faith? What is repentance? Why are there so many warnings that seem to imply we can lose our salvation? Such issues are handled with respect to the theological rigors they require, but Greear never loses his pastoral sensitivity or a communication technique that makes this message teachable to a wide audience from teens to adults.

Assured

Assured PDF

Author: Greg Gilbert

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2019-03-19

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1493407783

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Despite our professions of belief, our baptisms, and our membership in the church, many of us secretly wonder, Am I truly saved? We worry that our love for Jesus isn't fervent enough (or isn't as fervent as someone else's). We worry that our faith isn't strong enough. We struggle through the continuing presence of sin in our lives. All this steals the joy of our salvation and can lead us into a life characterized by legalism, perfectionism, and works righteousness--the very life Jesus freed us from at the cross! But Greg Gilbert has a message for the anxious believer--be assured. Assured that your salvation experience was real. Assured that your sins--past, present, and future--are forgiven. Assured that everyone stumbles. Assured that Jesus is not your judge but your advocate. With deep compassion, Gilbert comforts readers, encouraging them to release their guilt, shame, and anxiety to rejoice in and follow hard after the One who set them free.

Paul and the Economy of Salvation

Paul and the Economy of Salvation PDF

Author: Brendan SJ Byrne

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2021-08-17

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 149343067X

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This major contribution to Pauline scholarship by a widely-respected New Testament scholar is the culmination of over forty years of teaching on Paul. Brendan Byrne demonstrates that topics often discussed in Pauline studies and Christian theology go astray when the significance of the last judgment falls from view. Offering a fresh Catholic perspective that engages with centuries of Protestant interpretation, this book recaptures the significance of the motif of the last judgment for the interpretation of Paul.

Reflections of Christ

Reflections of Christ PDF

Author: Mark Mabry

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781606410271

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What if you could have been there the night of Christ's birth? Or the day of His baptism? What would it have been like to sit at His feet while He taught the people the sinners, the children, the apostles? What would the sky have looked like over Gethsemane? Photographer Mark Mabry re-creates authentic, meridian-of-time scenes using both full-color and black-and-white photographs. This first-of-a-kind book showcases twenty-five scenes of the life of Christ. From the Nativity to His miracles to His death and resurrection, these unique portrayals, accompanied by New Testament scripture, offer a powerful witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Included in the book are behind-the-scenes author notes, providing readers with an intimate glimpse into the making of each photograph. Stunning and sacred, Reflections of Christ is an ideal coffee-table book that is filled with images that millions of people have already experienced and grown to love. It is a book that Christian families will be proud to have in their homes.

More Than a Healer

More Than a Healer PDF

Author: Costi W. Hinn

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2021-09-28

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0310362873

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How does healing fit into God's will, especially when God doesn't heal? Our hearts, our bodies, and our world are desperate for healing. We all experience brokenness, and we rightfully look to Jesus for restoration. But many Christians have been taught the lie that God will heal us if our faith is strong enough, and that he is punishing us when bad things happen. Growing up in one of the world's leading faith-healing dynasties, Costi Hinn witnessed the tragedy of people chasing after healing more than the Healer. In this book he provides biblical clarity to some of the most challenging questions of the Christian faith. Does grace guarantee healing? How do we catch ourselves from slipping into the trap of seeking God for what he can do for us and not for who he really is? Beginning with the vivid memory of the night he discovered his son's cancer diagnosis—Costi unpacks the layered feelings and questions we have about God and his healing power, and he provides practical principles for growing closer to Jesus. With gentle clarity and biblical wisdom, he explains how to: Faithfully pray for healing while trusting in God's sovereignty. Navigate tough conversations about the topics of divine healing, love, and justice. Hold on to faith even in the most painful trials. More than chasing after the Jesus we want, this hopeful and encouraging book will guide you to discovering the Jesus we truly need—and the true power and hope that comes from a genuine relationship with him.

Evangelical Theology

Evangelical Theology PDF

Author: Michael F. Bird

Publisher: Zondervan Academic

Published: 2013-10-29

Total Pages: 1067

ISBN-13: 0310494427

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Evangelical Theology is a systematic theology written from the perspective of a biblical scholar. Michael F. Bird contends that the center, unity, and boundary of the evangelical faith is the evangel (= gospel), as opposed to things like justification by faith or inerrancy. The evangel is the unifying thread in evangelical theology and the theological hermeneutic through which the various loci of theology need to be understood. Using the gospel as a theological leitmotif—an approach to Christian doctrine that begins with the gospel and sees each loci through the lens of the gospel—this text presents an authentically evangelical theology, as opposed to an ordinary systematic theology written by an evangelical theologian. According to the author, theology is the drama of gospelizing—performing and living out the gospel in the theatre of Christian life. The text features tables, sidebars, and questions for discussion. The end of every part includes a “What to Take Home” section that gives students a run-down on what they need to know. And since reading theology can often be dry and cerebral, the author applies his unique sense of humor in occasional “Comic Belief” sections so that students may enjoy their learning experience through some theological humor added for good measure.