Essentials of Christianity and Spiritual Growth: A Guide for New Christians and Christians Who Need to Be Renewed

By Charlotte Johnson Steele PhD

For some time, I had a strong desire to know God in a deeper relationship. What I have learned so far has been stunning and continues to be. God guided me all the way, and I would like for others to share my journey. I encourage new Christians, seekers of Gods truth, and those needing renewal in God and Christ to join me on the journey to a deeper relationship with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490855073

Charlotte Johnson Steele PhD

Charlotte Johnson Steele lives in Lone Tree, Colorado. She has a PhD in educational psychology. She retired at age sixty and felt bored with nothing to do. God called her at age sixty-two to go to Asia. She went to China and taught English and psychology at Chinese universities, and witnessed in secret to some of the Chinese people she met. From this experience, God gave her a passion to write about Christian life and spiritual growth.

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Copyright © 2014 Charlotte Johnson Steele, Ph.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-5506-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5505-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5507-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014917894

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/21/2014

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Christian and Christianity

Chapter 2 What Should a Believer Do?

Chapter 3 Join the Church

Chapter 4 Worship God and Praise Him

Chapter 5 Seek Deeper Relationship with God and Jesus

Chapter 6 Faith in God

Chapter 7 Seek and Accept God’s Will

Chapter 8 Be Humble

Chapter 9 Be Obedient

Chapter 10 Be Forgiving

Chapter 11 The Power of Prayer

Chapter 12 Study the Bible

Chapter 13 Treasures of the Bible

INTRODUCTION

This book is written as a follow-up to the first book in this series, Seeking the Trinity.¹ The theme of the first book was finding out who God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are and understanding our relationship with them. In Essentials of Christianity and Spiritual Growth, we will be studying how to apply God’s teachings to our daily lives and find a deeper relationship with God.

Perhaps you have been a Christian in the past but have fallen away from God, or you feel disconnected from God and Christianity and need to be renewed in Him. Or you may be a new believer and need to know how to live as a Christian. Kneel before God and ask Him to guide you through this book to find a close, personal relationship with Him and Jesus and be renewed in Him. A prayerful journey through this book will help you to know what to do in your life.

Several versions of the Bible, as well as other references, were used in the writing of this book. Using several versions of the Bible will enable you to better understand the meaning of the Scripture passage. Unless otherwise noted, most Scripture references in this book are taken from the King James Version, copyright 2005, Rev. Charles Stanley, used by permission. I suggest using at least two versions to look up these Scripture passages. The New International Version (NIV) and the New American Standard Bible (NASB) have been of much help to me. I also used the King James Reference Bible, copyright 1994 by Zondervan. There are many more.

You could borrow a Bible from your church library or perhaps from a friend who has a different version. I also have used frequently Rev. Charles Stanley’s Life Principles Bible (LPB) in the King James Version, and Nave’s Topical Bible (NTB).

When a word is written in italics for strong emphasis, please pay close attention to the message given in those words. Words or names that are connected with God’s name begin with a capital letter; for example, the Bible is the Word of God; the Holy Spirit; Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

CHAPTER 1

The Christian and Christianity

What Is Christianity?

There are many kinds of beliefs and many kinds of faiths based on those beliefs. Christianity is a faith that is based on the fact that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to atone (pay the penalty) for the sins of the world by dying on the cross. Before Jesus came to redeem the world, believers atoned for their sins by sacrificing an animal in the temple or church. The foundation of Christianity is in the conviction that Jesus Christ was both God and man, both divine and human. He is holy because He is the Son of God, and He is human because He was born of a human mother, who was a virgin.

Christians believe that God inspired the writing of the Bible and that it is divine and holy. They live their daily lives loving and obeying God because He instructs them to obey Him and love others. If you want to know God, the ultimate place to learn is the Bible.

The essentials of Christianity are the basic elements that are a part of our faith and show what our faith is:

1. Christians believe in the authority of the Scripture. We believe that the Bible is God’s holy word, inspired by Him, and is the absolute, unquestionable truth. It is God’s guide for our daily lives.

2. We believe in the existence of a triune God, in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is eternal, omnipotent (is everywhere), holy, loving, and righteous. God created the universe from nothing and is sovereign ruler over all His creation.

3. Christians also believe that man is created in the image of God, but because of man’s weakness to resist sin, he has lost his fellowship with God. Sin is anything that is against God’s will.

4. Christians believe that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our enslavement to sin. Jesus shed His blood as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of man.

The belief of Christianity is that all people can be accepted into God’s love and care, regardless of who they are, what they are, or what they formerly believed or did, if they believe in God and accept salvation in Jesus. Some religions believe that salvation is based on good deeds and keeping the laws of their faith. Christianity is based on the belief that the one true Holy God sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to save us, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (KJV). Washing refers to the water of baptism, which is a sign of salvation upon the confession of sins and acceptance of salvation in Jesus. Christian churches baptize new believers in water, according to God’s instructions in the Bible. Some Christian churches immerse the believer completely in water; some sprinkle water on the believer’s head.

Followers of Gandhi, Buddha, Muhammad, and other religious leaders all believe that their leaders died hundreds of years ago. Followers of Christianity, however, believe that their Messiah, Jesus Christ, is still alive today and is sitting at God’s right hand in heaven. Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected from death after three days (Romans 8:34). It is part of the Christian faith that when believers commit their lives to God and obey Him, they are redeemed from the penalties of sin, and through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, they will have eternal life in heaven with God and Jesus:

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36 KJV).

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23 KJV).

Blessings of Christianity

We receive uncountable blessings when we commit our lives to God