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I am ending my Favorite Book Friday posts with 3 fiction books that I have enjoyed.  I don't read a lot of fiction, but evidently those I enjoy are about spiritual warfare. 

Today, I am sharing a longer quote from D. Martyn Lloyd Jones that was in The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel . . . There is this kind of dangerous element about the true presentation of the doctrine of salvation.

About a week ago, I finished reading The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley. I liked the book. There were times where I disagreed, but that is true about most books I read. The last part of his book talks about one of my favorite topics--our identity in Christ.    Here are some quotes on that topic: Paul first affirms our true identity. Then he acknowledges that we have a choice to put on one thing or another. He urges us to "wear" qualities that match who we are and how God treats us. The outcome of indulging the flesh can be stressful and divisive. But living form our new identity leads to peace, fulfillment, and unity. And as we focus on our newness and Christ's presence within us, our behavior changes. Rest. . .This safe harbor is a spiritual attitude we adopt because of the finished work of Christ.     

I am continuing to read The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley.  Here are some quotes from some final chapters: "We're invited to depend on the onetime sacrifice as the means to lifelong forgiveness, without any strings attached" "The Son of God has finished his work. He is risen and is now seated in heavenly places. There's only one appropriate response. All eyes on him!" "As believers, our forgiveness and cleansing aren't dependent on our memory, our confession, or our asking. Our forgiveness and cleansing are solely because of the finished work of Jesus Christ." "If we sin against someone, we may experience difficult circumstances an dour own disappointment with our choice. But we shouldn't mistake these earthly consequences for moving out of fellowship with God. Our fellowship is stable and certain. God's face is always toward us." "Too many Christians succumb to the Accuser while wrongly attributing these attac...

I began reading The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley last week.  I discovered Farley's book after reading a fiction book he wrote called Operation Screwtape. I loved C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters and enjoyed Farley's fiction book despite the fact that I don't read much fiction. Here are a few quotes from the first several chapters of The Naked Gospel : Hope began with grasping an important distinction between two operating systems-one Old and one New. There is an Old way that forever leads to disappointment, no matter how much"holy" effort is exerted. There is also a New way that comes free of charge and changes everything. And yet there is also a third option--a hybrid of Old and New that you find in many churches today. Whatever the New is, it somehow causes people to remain faithful, even when their own strength fails them. There was really nothing wrong with the Old in itself. It should still be esteemed as holy and good. The issue with the Old w...

As you know, I love to read.  Here are a few new books that I have purchased that I look forward to reading: Prototype by Jonathan Martin What It Means To Be a Man by Rhett Smith Limited Church: Unlimited Kingdom by Rob Rienow Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Greear The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley Who Do You Think You Are? by Mark Driscoll

Over the last few weeks, I have discovered some new authors via articles, blog posts, or books.  I thought I would share a few of them with you today. Judah Smith , author of Jesus Is __________ and this great  post Frank Viola , author of numerous books and this great  post on our identity in Christ  Eric Geiger and Josh Patterson as they collaborate with Matt Chandler on Creature of the Word Andrew Farley , author of The Naked Gospel & God Without Religion Have a great weekend!

I mentioned in a previous post that I had read Operation Screwtape by Andrew Farley. It is a great fiction book with a lot of truth to ponder and live by. One of the things that the book has challenged me to do is during this time of Lent is to spend the next few weeks pondering what Christ accomplished on the cross. We know our sins are forgiven. We grasp that death is defeated. But what else? The answer to this question will affect how you live the Christian life. I will be reading through Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die by John Piper to help me in this study. I would encourage you as well to consider focusing on the "Work" (word used to describe the Cross in Operation Screwtape) during Lent.

I don't read much fiction.  It is not that I am a fiction snob, but that I focus on reading other books instead.  This weekend, however, I picked up Operation Screwtape by Dr. Andrew Farley.  I had seen the book mentioned on twitter and decided to check it out. Let me say that I loved it! You need to pick up this book.  I am a big fan of Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and Lord Foulgrin's Letters by Randy Alcorn and this book is similar in many ways.  It is a "sequel" to Screwtape Letters in the sense that it occurs after it.  But the premise is that communication has been intercepted from demons.  What I loved about this book? A quick & entertaining read A message that challenges how we view God and ourselves It's organization around steal, kill, destroy from John 10:10 Several quotes that could be tweeted and contain valuable truths Incredible insights about the church, grace, cross, relationships, etc. I have already given my c...