The Joy of the New Covenant

What are the things that bring joy to a Christian? Certainly one of them is the knowledge that he is saved and will spend eternity in heaven with God. Another is reading God's Word regularly. Psalm 119:11 says, "Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart." Reading the Bible should bring joy to a Christian every day of his life. Why? Because God is revealed in the Bible. Reading the Bible gives Christians a greater appreciation of the love God has for us, the promises He has made to us, and the glorious eternity He has prepared for us. And nowhere are these Truths more evident than in the New Testament, the portion of the Bible which tells us about the New Covenant God has made with mankind through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Yet for many Christians the Bible is a difficult book to read. Quoting from The Joy of the New Covenant, "Many people approach the Bible just like they approach any other book: they skim a few pages to see if they get 'hooked, ' and maybe jump around to several different sections. But they soon discover that the Bible doesn't read like their favorite novel, and it contains a message that is at odds with the world. So they lose interest and don't read it very often." Christians should never be put off by the Bible. One thing they can do to help them understand it is read supplemental books that talk about the Bible. The Joy of the New Covenant is just such a book. It is a book of over 200 devotionals aimed at explaining the major points of the New Testament. Each devotional contains a message built on one or more New Testament passages. The message explains the meaning of the passage and, where appropriate, challenges the readers to apply the passage in their lives. Other messages point out how blessed Christians are that the statements God made in the passage are true.

The topics covered in The Joy of the New Covenant include the major points of Christian theology. The very first message focuses on the divinity of Jesus, emphasizing that He was not just an ordinary man but was and is the Son of God who came to earth and lived as a man. The second message describes how human Jesus was while He was on earth, even though He was also God. Additional topics include salvation by faith apart from works, the Holy Trinity, the parables of Jesus, prayer, the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes and other teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, the twelve disciples, the life and major teachings of Paul, election, spiritual gifts, family relationships, heaven, angels and demons, and the seven letters to the churches in Asia. The book also includes messages on the coming Rapture, the Tribulation, signs of the end times, Jesus' 1000 year reign, and eternity. The final message in the book challenges the reader to select a life verse from a list of key Bible verses.

The Joy of the New Covenant addresses many of the hard questions of Christianity-questions like: ?
* Why does God allow Christians to suffer?
* How are God's election and man's free choice reconciled?
* Can salvation be lost?
* Why does the Lord's Prayer tell us to ask for forgiveness when Christians are already forgiven?
* Since God predestined Jesus to die on the cross, can Judas be held accountable for betraying Jesus?
* What is the "unpardonable sin" Jesus mentioned in Matthew 12?
* What is God's position on Christians having wealth?

The book attempts to answer all of these questions and others, but at the same time recognizes that God does not always reveal the reasons for His actions and commandments.

While no book should ever be used as a substitute for the Bible, The Joy of the New Covenant supplements the Bible by giving the reader a greater understanding of the New Testament. This understanding will bring joy to any Christian.