When someone becomes a Christian there’s a tendency to overload them with a pile of reading material. And usually well-meaning people will have different book recommendations, be coming from different theological positions and will probably just confuse the new believer and they will start out with a bunch of books they may never read. But, one book I found extremely helpful is by Peter Jeffery. And still in print. I sat down to skim through it the other day with new Christians in mind. It’s ‘All Things New‘. It was a great help at the time – 1979 – and I can see why it will still be helpful today.
1. It’s very brief. Just 28 pages. Each page deals with either a doctrine or a practice. For example: Page 1. ‘You are now a Christian’. Page 2. ‘You were a lost sinner’. Page 10 ‘You have been Justified’. Page 15 ‘Belonging to a Church’. There are pages on Baptism, The Lord’s Supper, Bible Study, Prayer and many other important doctrines and practices.
2. Each page has several Scripture references to teach the doctrine. Obviously it’s very brief, but it gets the reader into the Bible and shows how the doctrine and practice is taught in the Bible.
3. Many of the pages will have a quotation or two, thus introducing preachers, theologians and documents from Church history. Names like John Murray, John Calvin, C H Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, Martin Luther and several others. The Shorter Catechism is also helpfully quoted.
4. Finally, there is a page of Recommended further reading. And a page recommendation to follow a Bible reading plan.
Hard to believe all that is packed into a few pages. But it works really well. This a very very helpful little book and will get new believers into the Bible and introduce them to Church history and theology.
I still have the copy Peter gave me all those years ago.