What Was God Doing on the Cross?

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What Was God Doing on the Cross? By Alister E. McGrath. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 123 pp. Paper, $7.99. What religious organization in its right mind would choose a noose or an electric chair as its logo? Symbols are crucial to people’s perception of what something stands for. The British Labour party, our
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Matthew: Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

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Matthew: Expository Thoughts on the Gospels. By J. C. Ryle. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1993. 296 pp. Paper, $12.99. This commentary, originally published in 1860, is part of the Crossway Classic Commentaries. It was republished, as is noted above, in 1993. Anglican bishop J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) wrote this book at a popular level, so it
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Nothing But The Blood

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Nothing But The Blood. By Bailey E. Smith. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1987. 212 pp. Paper, $6.95. Nothing But The Blood is a book of good news and bad news. First, the good news. This book is a lot of fun to read. It is filled with excellent illustrations. Dr. Smith’s preaching, as it is recorded
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Ashamed of the Gospel. When the Church Becomes Like the World

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Ashamed of the Gospel. When the Church Becomes Like the World. By John F. MacArthur, Jr. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1993. 254 pp. Cloth, $17.99. Having been concerned for years about some aspects of the modern church-growth movement, I hoped to find in this book careful analysis of the problems or potential problems. I was partially
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Four Views on Hell

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Four Views on Hell. Edited by William Crockett. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 190 pp. Paper, $10.99. Four Views on Hell discusses the literal, metaphorical, purgatorial, and conditional views of hell. Each view is presented by a proponent and then critiqued by the proponents of the other three views. John Walvoord defends the literal
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We Believe In: Sanctification – Part 3: Present Sanctification God’s Role in Present Sanctification

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ROBERT N. WILKIN Associate Editor Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Irving, Texas   I. Introduction In some ways, in a series on sanctification, this should be the easiest article to write. After all, for many people today the word sanctification is practically synonymous with present sanctification. Many books and articles have been written on
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Is Faith a Gift? – A Study of Ephesians 2:8

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GREGORY P. SAPAUGH Kingwood, Texas I. Introduction The nature of faith is a prominent part of the soteriological discussions of recent years. Some believe that salvation is a gift from God and even the faith a person exercises in order to be saved comes from God. Others likewise hold that salvation is a free gift
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A Voice from the Past: Paul’s Gospel

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WILLIAM R. NEWELL There are two great revelators, or unfolders of Divine Truth in the Bible—Moses in the Old Testament, and Paul in the New. Someone may say, “Is not Christ the Great Teacher?” In a sense this is true; but in a real sense Christ is the Person taught about, rather than teaching, in
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How to Share the Gospel Clearly

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CHARLES C. BING Pastor, Burleson Bible Church Burleson, Texas Once, when I was invited to preach at an evangelistic rally in Dallas, the organizing pastor introduced me to a dear woman before the meeting. He had talked with her previously, but remained unsure whether she was saved or not. He left me alone with her,
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