Right with God: the Basics

Alan J. Niebergal

Description

This book is about being right with God now and to eternity. It is based on a relationship with God through Jesus Christ that brings us into a fulfilling relationship with Him.


We can now stand in the truth of our new identity and take up our inheritance and responsibility in Christ. We can let the heart of Jesus Christ grasped our heart so that we might know Him experientially. It is not a one way relationship, but a two way relationship and he calls us to walk and work alongside with Him in unison. Otherwise we are only wasting a most precious opportunity and blessing in life.


We have the privilege and joy of walking with Him in a relationship not based on law but the gospel or grace. We also can learn to rest in Him, to walk in our freedom and to be ready and prepared for the end. Our destiny is assured in Him and can and may be eternally right with God.


Only in Christ will we find fulfillment in this life and the life to come. We can be right with God, and out of the overflow of that relationship, we can enjoy all that we were created to be and experience. This book talks about the basic truths that can assist everyone to be right with God and grow in that relationship in Christ. These truths are basic, but some of them are profound truths that are essential to walk in the fullness of Christ, a fullness He offers to every person in a personal relationship with Him. Some of these truths go deep, but they are basic for every Christian. These basic truths are the way to fullness in Christ.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Pleroma
• Strength
• Significance
• Spirituality
• Religion
• Power
• Love
• Life

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 08 octobre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781477274026
• Langue: English

Extrait

R IGHT WITH GOD THE BASICS
Alan J. Niebergal

 
AuthorHouse™
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Bloomington, IN 47403
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© 2012 by Alan J. Niebergal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible, copyright @ 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible, copyright@ 1964, 1965, 1966 by Royal Publications, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright @1989, Division of the Christian Education of the National Council of Churches in the United States of America.
Published by AuthorHouse 10/01/2012
ISBN: 978-1-4772-7404-0 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4772-7403-3 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4772-7402-6 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012917752
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Preface  
Introduction  
Part 1: The Way of Being  
Chapter 1: It Is About Relationship  
Chapter 2: Why Must There Be Jesus Christ?  
Chapter 3: It Includes Transformation  
Chapter 4: It Requires a Sincere Response  
Chapter 5: We Can Enter His Kingdom by Prayer  
Part 2: The Art of Being  
Chapter 6: Inheriting Our Birthright  
Chapter 7: Enjoying God  
Chapter 8: Being Who We Are  
Chapter 9: Being in an Eternal Relationship  
Chapter 10: Being in Step with the Holy Spirit  
Chapter 11: Being Fishers of Men  
Chapter 12: Let the Passion of God’s Heart Move You  
Part 3: Expressions of Love: and Loyalty  
Chapter 13: Being Involved with God in His Strategy—the Church  
Chapter 14: God’s Kingdom  
Chapter 15: Being Free to Give  
Chapter 16: Being Forgiving  
Chapter 17: Be Baptized  
Part 4: Enjoying and Experiencing Christ  
Chapter 18: The Transition from Law to Gospel  
Chapter 19: Crucified with Christ  
Chapter 20: Christ Living in us and through us  
Chapter 21: Free From Sin  
Chapter 22: Seeing From God’s Perspective  
Chapter 23: Resting in Christ  
Chapter 24: Being Free from Condemnation  
Chapter 25: What About Emotional Issues?  
Chapter 26: Living to God’s Glory  
Chapter 27: Being Free to Love  
Part 5: Final Things  
Chapter 28: Leaving a Legacy  
Chapter 29: Be Ready  
Chapter 30: What About the Book of Revelation?  
Conclusion  
Study Questions  
Acknowledgments  
Bibliography: (and Recommend Reading)  
About the Author  
Endnotes  
 
To my Savior, Lord, and friend, Jesus Christ
PREFACE  
The purpose of this book is to make the essentials of the gospel clear, even to a secular person, and give to new Christians the life-changing, basic truths so they can live in the fullness Christ has for every Christian.
On a sports team, practicing the basics is critical to playing well. A good coach helps his or her team to not only know the basics but to master them. Perhaps you never learned these basics as a Christian, or perhaps you have drifted away from them. This is a good time to be restored and refreshed. We need to learn and relearn these truths, and as we do, the many facets of the truth will become clearer in knowledge and experience.
Even though these truths are basic, they are not always easy to fathom. To think spiritually is not man’s habit. A person must discipline himself or herself through study and meditation to think spiritually and interact with the truth. One must expose oneself to the Bible to begin to think in a spiritually mature way. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts. Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9). However, we can learn to think His thoughts and follow His ways. His thoughts are truth, and they set us free; His ways are the ways to fullness of life, and He brings real, abiding happiness.
This book goes over the important basic truths of the Bible, but it also tries to keep things brief and cover a wide spectrum. Much more could be said in many of the chapters; however, this would often require a whole separate book in itself. For further study on such topics, I have recommended other books throughout this book and in the bibliography.
The authority for what I will be sharing is God’s word in the Bible. God will confirm by His Spirit that His word is true, and if you read the Bible with an open heart, you will discover the truth for yourself. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Here are some other large reasons to believe God’s word as revealed in the Bible: It was written by sixty different authors over approximately four to six thousand years, but it has the same theme. This theme has to do with God’s grace through faith, redeeming men from their sins. There were more than three hundred prophecies long before the birth of Christ, foretelling in exact detail His birth, His life, His death, and the results of the Resurrection. The chances of all this coming together are unlikely if not planned by God. Many other historical prophecies were also fulfilled exactly as foretold. There are many other reasons, far too numerous to mention for the purpose of this book, for us to believe that the Bible is God’s word. God oversaw the whole process of the revelation of Himself in the Bible so that man would have enough to know Him, His strategic plan in history, and His love and provision for mankind. See also Josh McDowel’s book Evidence That Demands a Verdict .
Here is what the Bible says about itself: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). “ Knowing this first that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
My goal is that all statements of what is said to be true be examined from scripture, not just from what people or what traditions have said. The truth must also be examined in the context of whole Bible and therefore all scripture related to the particular topic or teaching. Scripture must be compared with other scripture to fully understand all the facets of the truth. The Bible interprets itself. One scripture confirms and clarifies other scriptures. The scripture verses must also be understood in context.
We must also keep the big picture in view: the context of the scripture, including to whom it was written, the culture of those people, the grammar involved in its writing, the kind of literature it is, and who wrote it under the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We can therefore, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, interpret the scripture and let Christ apply it to our lives. Connecting with God means a union with Him in such a way that He lives through us, yet we remain who we are. Each of us becomes our best selves—selves that are infused with Christ. No life can be more exciting and fulfilling.
INTRODUCTION  
One beautiful spring day, I was driving down the highway to a conference. I was zoning out and enjoying the sunny day, deep in thought. I drove six straight hours and finally reached my destination. I was having difficulty finding the conference, so I pulled into a hotel in Portland, Oregon, to get my bearings. However, I discovered I had gone to the wrong city. I should have driven to Seattle, Washington—back the way I had come by another two hours. Boy, had I missed the mark. Luckily, since I was early, I did not miss too much of the conference.
It is unfortunate at times to think you are going to a certain place and end up at the wrong one. Even though we enjoy the journey, life can at times be wasted, and opportunities may never arise again. In the same way, we may think we are really living, but we are actually missing the joy we were looking for. Or we can spend eternity in the wrong place even though we thought we were going to the right place. We might have thought we were really living it up, only to find out later that we missed out on real joy. When I came to Christ at the age of twenty years, the one thing I regretted was not having come to Christ sooner. I thought I had wasted much of my life living apart from Christ.
I was a shy young man up until I became a Christian. When I was fifteen, I got involved in the hippie philosophy and drug culture of the day. I lived mostly a hedonistic philosophy, which was to enjoy pleasure and avoid pain. I tried to find a balance to life by enjoying pleasure but not enjoying it so much that it overwhelmed and caused pain. However, I smoked way too much marijuana. I became addicted to it. My life was empty even though I tried to fill it with pleasure. Nothing in my life really, ultimately satisfied. I also search