What Every Christian Needs To Know

Owen breathes hope

What Every Christian Needs To Know
By John Owen
Grace Publications Trust/Evangelical Press. 144 pages. £3.95
ISBN 0 946462 47X

This brief paperback is a simplified and shortened version of two pieces of writing by the 17th-century writer John Owen. It is a great way to discover some precious treasures from a bygone age.
Part 1 deals with temptations from the devil, whose goals are to disrupt the believer's relationship with God and destroy his/her witness. The author uses the example of Bible heroes and probing questions to help us see the different ways in which temptations come to believers. The Lord's command to watch and pray is explained and applied. The weaknesses of Part 1 are twofold: the structure reflects the rambling logic of the original, and the treatment of temptation is not sufficiently rooted in the context of Christ's victory at the cross.
Part 2 is about tracking down and dealing with sin which remains in the life of the believer. This section is pure gold. We are introduced to the 'Gospel duty of mortification'. We are told what this means and how to do it. There are some things the believer must do, and some things that only the Holy Spirit can do. We are told what these are and how they work together. There are searching questions and practical principles.
Best of all, this section breathes hope and is rooted in the cross. 'Faith must believe in the blood of Christ as the only effective remedy for sin-sick souls. If you constantly set your faith in this . . . you will die a conqueror.' (p.139). Part 2 will stir you and spur you to strike a death blow to the sins that so easily entangle you.

John Edmonds

© Evangelicals Now - December 1998
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Main Articles

• Black life
  A review of white Christian attitudes towards black and other ethnic minorities with the UK with diverse culture and modes of worship
• Open to what?
  The meaning of the term 'evangelical' and the emergence of a new group calling themselves 'open evangelicals'
• Evangelistic worship
  The problems of praise and worship and making it relevant to all - and a review of the SFC (Seeker Friendly Church) Movement
• Who needs it?
  Edited from a lecture on why religion matters and the moral crisis today in a society which rejects the Judaeo-Christian faith
• Has your church got a child protection policy?
  Reprinted guidelines from a child protection statement from Park Evangelical Church at Stoke-on-Trent
• Every Christian a witness? (Bulldog for December)
  A study of witness and the duties of the ordinary believer
• The approach of God
  Vernon Higham tells of his early life and path to faith

Other articles

• What Every Christian Needs To Know
• Online Bible Deluxe CD v. 7.06 - CD-ROM review
• You want to pierce what? Getting a grip on today's family
• Christianity in a Consumer Culture - 177 shades of lipstick - an edited extract from the book Christianity in a Consumer Culture on the effects of consumerism on Christians
• Christmas Sermons - an Exposition of the Magnificat - Bringing down the mighty - an extract from the book Christmas Sermons - an Exposition of the Magnificat
• The Truman Show
• Canterbury Letters to the Future - Ten letters to the archbishop's grandchildren covering the major Christian doctrines
• Bloodline of the Holy Grail - The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed
• Knowing Where We Stand - The Message of John's Epistles
• Elizabeth
• The Hymns of Vernon Higham - A collection of 162 hymns
• Shadows of Scotland - The Story of the Covenanters
• Charles H Spurgeon - The Prince of Preachers
• Get Up and Give - 101 little ways to make a big difference
• Calvin and the Calvinists
• The Relationships Revolution
• Four Men and a Church - The Story of Worthing Tabernacle
• Spirit-Empowered Preaching
• Blame it on the Brain - Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders and Disobedience