Simple Faith: Biblical Christianity in the Culture of Religions and Secularism

By Bo Lange

Man shares his 'Faith' in book
A simpler approach to the Bible
January 2, 2012
By Jason Raiche ([e-mail]) , Daily Press
ESCANABA - Escanaba resident and Swedish native Bo Lange has recently released a book on Christian faith, now available online.

The book, called "Simple Faith," touches on Biblical Christianity, in the culture of religions and secularism, as noted in the book's subtitle, and stemmed from a book Lange wrote in his native Sweden.

"Simple Faith" offers a look at Christian faith "as represented solely in the Bible," according to an overview of the book on publishing company WestBow Press' website. Lange said "Simple Faith" is essentially about having confidence the Bible is God's word, as he is concerned with secularism and religion dominating our culture, which has led him to reintroduce the Bible to readers.

The book breaks down arguments about Christianity "to the most basic yet powerful aspects of the Christian faith," according to the overview.

"I have the preconceived idea that the Bible really is the word of God, which means you can still trust it," explained Lange, adding, if the Bible truly is God's word and "it is the revealed word of God to man," that makes it no ordinary book. He said the word "simple" helps define the concept behind faith, and also represents his own mind.

"I have a simple mind," said Lange. "Some people, especially those who are more sophisticated, they have a hard time with me, because I'm so simple. So I decided to write the book about simple faith by a simple mind."

By simple, Lange does not mean simple in the way of "easy believism", where if you believe, then you're a Christian, but "simple," as in the concept of faith itself.

"First of all, one of the chapters has to do with 'How does a person reconcile with God', or how is a person, like they usually say, 'saved'?," said Lange. "And I say, it's only by faith. Very simple."

He said "Simple Faith" is based on an earlier book he wrote in the Swedish language, about the Christian faith in the Swedish philosophical world, which was called "The Dividing Line," and discusses the dividing line between religion and Christian faith. "Simple Faith," which he finished writing this last year, essentially evolved from "The Dividing Line," he said.

"Coming from a secularist society and humanistic parents, I have gone through all these issues," he explained. "You wonder how in the world did you come up with an idea like that if you grew up in a very liberal, progressive country? And I still believe it, so that's why I decided I'm going to write it and say, 'You can still believe this.'"

Lange said the book is for those seeking to figure out whether they can believe the Bible, for those who have just become Christians, for those long-time Christians as a reminder they can still believe the Bible, and for "sophistic philosophers," such as priests or pastors who have gone away from this message.

The process for getting the book published this time was different from what he did on his first two books in Sweden, he said.

"The two first ones I wrote in Sweden, I went to the printer and said, 'This is what I want you to print,'" said Lange. "So this time I did a lot of web searching, and I found this WestBow Press, which I had heard a little bit about before. And they do all the publishing."

WestBow is a Christian book company, with all books published having Christian messages, said Lange. Though he had a friend from Marquette edit the book, he said WestBow has cut out a lot of the work he had to do from the first two times he was published.

"The second book in Sweden I printed 1,000 copies and I had to distribute them and it was so hard, so they (WestBow) do the distribution on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, and it's an eBook." He said the company will print the book according to needs, and keeps 50 percent of proceeds from each book, which costs $9.95.

La

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449733124

Bo Lange

Bo Lange, a native of Sweden, became a Christian in his early teens. By accident, he ended up at Florida Bible College in Florida. After studies there, he married his wife, Diana, and they both went back to Sweden to serve God for thirteen years. While in Sweden, among other things, Bo planted a church. He then went through seminary training to be ordained into the Evangelical Covenant Church of Sweden. Later, Bo and his wife went back to the United States where he was pastor at the Evangelical Covenant Church of America. He also studied at seminary to become a full member of the United Methodist Church of America. Altogether, he has served in various churches in Sweden and the United States for over thirty-eight years, as well as serving several evangelical congregations in the areas where he has lived. During the last twenty-five years, Bo and his wife have lived in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Their home is in Escanaba at the very northwest point of Lake Michigan. Bo has made numerous Scandinavian musical recordings and is an avid painter. He is often asked to organize the local Scandinavian ethnic festival. He has also conducted several international tours. Bo is a charismatic preacher and Bible teacher who is in love with his Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Through his book, Simple Faith, he desires to make the Lord known to a wider audience. You can visit Bo at his website: www.celebratemyheritage.us

Book preview

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

About the Author

Dedication

I am grateful for people who have supported and prayed for me during the years. Of course, I especially think of my dear wife Diana, my daughter Caroline, and my sons Markus and Daniel, who always push me on in my Christian journey. You will always be my pride and glory!

I cannot afford also to mention my friends Randy and Gloria Busby of Gainesville, Florida, who were God’s instruments in bringing me to the Florida Bible College where I received my foundational conviction of the Bible being God’s Word, and where I also was taught every believer’s responsibility to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

Preface

You hold in your hands a very simple book with a very essential message. The desire is that its pages will help you to decide between false and true religion. I pray that you can see the dividing line between religions and true biblical Christianity.

This book was first written in Swedish since I am a native of Sweden and that’s where I lived when I wrote it. The Scandinavian culture is quite secular in its mindset, so consequently, there was and is a huge need for such a book. However, now that I live in North America, I sense that the same intense secularism is invading the minds and lives of the people living here; therefore, I decided that a translation of this book into the English language was needed.

My main argument throughout this book is that ever since people have lost confidence in the Bible being God’s expressed Word, a distinct unhealthy shift is happening in the culture. There is no longer any absolute truth that guides. All kinds of religions and sects are rapidly growing, and the difference between God’s truth and what our society believes is growing larger and larger. In this book, I want to draw up dividing lines between what is human and what is God’s Word, between what we once traditionally believed and what modern progressive man preaches today. I will touch such issues as: How does a person become a Christian? What does the biblical Christian lifestyle look like? How can we trust that the Bible is still the absolute truth? The time when we accepted absolute and authoritative truth is disappearing. Secular truth is relative; everything is under debate and the result is a society of subjectivity and political correctness. My hope is that through my words you, the reader, will regain confidence in the doctrine and authority of the Bible. The presupposition that I use in this entire book is that the Bible still is the true written Word of God and not just an accumulation of ancient texts depicting human experiences. The Bible can be trusted as God’s only revealed Word to humans.

Since the dividing line between false and true has been confused in our culture, it is especially hard to detect the difference between false religion and true biblical Christianity. This spiritual muddiness has its root in our unwillingness to submit to God’s absolute authority. I hope this book will enlighten the reader to discover the dividing lines.

I am grateful to the Lord for, by his grace, finding me as a young man in Sweden. During the years, I have grown in maturity in my relationship with God and he has blessed me with a wonderful life. The peace and happiness God has given to me he will also give to you when you receive and trust in him as Savior and Lord. My real basic desire is that this book will reach you who have an honest desire to know God personally, and that my words will guide you to an everlasting and satisfied life in God. That kind of happiness, however, can only happen when individuals put their full personal trust in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, and follow him.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

—1 John 5:13

Chapter One

Through Faith in Jesus Christ You Receive Eternal Life with God

If you heard that spending eternal life with God is a free gift, I am sure you would call that good news. Non-Christian religions preach a completely different message. They tell us that reaching God depends on how good we are. Religions tell us that we have to climb some good works ladder in order to be accepted by God. Now, if the Bible’s message is true and salvation truly is free, then there really is a great difference between Christian faith and religion. False religion is a way of trying to find your way back to God by good works, while true Christianity teaches us that God seeks and rescues men and women from their forsaken situation. Look out for the teachings of religions, whether you hear them in your church or in society! Religion is found everywhere, but it never saves anyone. It will confuse and, in the end, fool you.

You will not hear about human religion in this book; it is all about God’s salvation. Maybe this will even be the first time you hear and understand what God really has done for you. I’m sure you will be happy when you understand what the Bible’s teachings on salvation say.

I will start with the Bible since that book has traditionally been regarded as the Word of God. The Bible claims to be the only revelation that we have from God. However, my suggestion to you is to research the Bible references presented herein and, even better, take time to read them from your own Bible in their context.

The basic message of the Bible is that you and I are sinners. Sinner only means that we are not perfect in God’s sight. We have all committed wrong. God calls that wrong sin. If I said that I was perfect, that would mean that never in my life have I ever done anything against God’s will! And I have to tell you quite honestly that I have done many things that God calls sin in the Bible. I am sure you too would affirm that truth for yourself.

Of course, we can never get rid of our imperfections; they will always be there. Only death can release us from being sinners. You can try to turn from your sins; you can repent and try to stop doing bad things, but no matter how hard you try, you will go to your grave as a sinner.

 . . . for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

—Romans 3:23

Let me use an illustration to help you understand the