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THE
BIBLE
Can we trust a book written 2000 years ago?
EYEWITNESS
Did the writers of the New Testament get their picture of Jesus right?
GOD
- MAN
Is Jesus really God?
RESURRECTION
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
RELIGIONS
With so many religions, why Christianity?
SUFFERING
If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?
TRINITY
Understanding the Trinity.
SCIENCE
The complementary nature of Science & Christianity.
FORGIVENESS
What it is and why it matters?
GUIDANCE
How does God guide?
REPENTANCE
What it is and why you can't get to heaven without it.
BORN
AGAIN
What does it mean to be converted and born again?
SAVING
FAITH
The kind of faith that will get you to heaven
ASSURANCE
Can I know for sure that I am going to heaven?
TRUTH
What is truth and does it matter?
MORALITY
Does it matter how we live? A Christian view of morality.
THE
CHURCH
God's vision for his family, the Church. A call to the churches of the
new millennium.
PURPOSE
How
can I find a great purpose for living?
IDENTITY
Who am I; Finding my true identity as a human being and as a child of
God.
SELF-ESTEEM
How
can I feel good about my self? The Christian basis for proper sel-esteem.
LIFE AFTER DEATHChristianity's Hope & Challenge.
THE CROSS
Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible says about the Cross.
Grace
The importance of grace in the New Testament.
A Final Challenge
What is it that God wants to do in our lives? The Bible describes a number of things. He wants to bring forgiveness for our failures, healing for our hurts, direction to our aimlessness, joy to our emptiness. Jesus said the purpose of his coming into the world was that we might know life in all its fullness (John 10:10). Most of all, however, he wants to make something of us, to produce something of his own character within us. And that means allowing him to come and live within us by his Spirit. We can't know God, or experience any of his blessings, and still keep him at arm's length!
The essential mark of a true believer in the New Testament is one who has received the Holy Spirit."If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9). We are told to live by the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, keep in step with the Spirit, act to please the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 18, 22, 25; 6:8).
Reuben A. Torrey, the first superintendent of the renowned Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, was a very effective Bible teacher and evangelist. In his book The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, he says:
If we think of the Holy Spirit as merely a power or influence, our constant thought will be, "How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?" but if we think of him in the Biblical way as a divine Person, our thought will rather be, "How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?"...if we once grasp the thought that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person of infinite majesty, glory, holiness and power, who in marvellous condescension has come into our hearts to make his abode there and take possession of our lives and make use of them, it will put us in the dust and keep us in the dust. I can think of no thought more humbling or more overwhelming than the thought that a person of divine majesty and glory dwells in my heart and is ready to use even me...Herein lies the whole secret of a real Christian life, a life of liberty and joy and power and fullness. To have as one's ever-present Friend, and to be conscious that one has as his ever-present Friend, the Holy Spirit, and to surrender one's life in all its departments entirely to his control, this is true Christian living.
If we are willing to open up our lives to God in this intimate way, then we will begin, not only to understand who he is, but to experience the reality of his love. This is the love of the One who has revealed himself as the Father who created and watches over us, the Son who lived among us and gave himself for us, and the Spirit who comes to make his home with us forever. Karl Barth showed great insight when he wrote, "Trinity is the Christian name for God."
For Bible students who wish to study the New Testament teaching on the Trinity in some depth I would recommend:
God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul by Gordon D. Fee. (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Peabody, Massachusetts, 1994)
Though focusing only on the letters of Paul, its breadth of scholarship, clear thinking and sound common sense make it an invaluable resource.
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PART 1: What the Bible says about the triune God
The Holy Spirit is a distinct person from God the Father
Understanding only grows with personal experience
A final challenge
