There are only two ways life can be lived: from the outside in or from the inside out. Most of us have chosen option number one. Before we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, this was the only option. We had no choice because we were wholly self-conscious in our natural selves. This self-focused condition was passed on to us through the corrupted seed of Adam. New Creation Thinking is a thought-provoking exploration of ways born-again Christians should strive to live up to their full potential as new creations in Christ. It warns against becoming complacent and falling back into old habits that do not serve God’s purpose. Most Christians have settled for a life that is far beneath their identities as new creations in Christ. They live with a someday mentality. They believe that everything God has provided has been deposited in personal heavenly bank accounts, but we can’t access them until we get to heaven—someday. We lack a now perspective, and this is our weakness. It’s time to start thinking like the new creations we have become in Christ. This will only happen when we live our lives from the inside out.

Verse-by-verse, the author covers the entire New Testament, carefully and understandably, explaining every verse and offering a practical application for Christian living.

The T & T Clark Social Identity Commentary on the New Testament is a one-of-a-kind comprehensive Bible resource that highlights the way the NT seeks to form the social identity of the members of the earliest Christ-movement. By drawing on the interpretive resources of social-scientific theories-especially those related to the formation of identity-interpreters generate new questions that open fruitful identity-related avenues into the text. It provides helpful introductions to each NT book that focus on various social dimensions of the text as well as a commentary structure that illuminates the text as a work of social influence. The commentary offers methodologically informed discussions of difficult and disputed passages and highlights cultural contexts in theoretically informed ways-drawing on resources from social anthropology, historical sociology, or social identity theory. The innovative but careful scholarship of these writers, most of whom have published monographs on some aspect of social identity within the New Testament, brings to the fore often overlooked social and communal aspects inherent in the NT discourse. The net result is a more concrete articulation of some of the every-day lived experiences of members of the Christ-movement within the Roman Empire, while also offering further insight into the relationship between existing and new identities that produced diverse expressions of the Christ-movement during the first century. The SICNT shows that identity-formation is at the heart of the NT and it offers insights for leaders of faith communities addressing these issues in contemporary contexts.

Rather than viewing the Apostle Paul's many references to peace and non-retaliation as generalized ethical principles drawn from Paul's background, Jeremy Gabrielson argues that peace and non-retaliation should be understood in relation to Paul's historyof being a violent persecutor of Jesus' followers. After his 'Damascus road' experience, Paul zealously announced the gospel and abandoned his violent ways. His apostolic vocation included calling and equipping assemblies of people whose common in life was ordered by a politics characterized by peaceableness. This political dimension of Paul's gospel, in continuity with the earliest evidence we possess regarding Jesus and his disciples, stands in stark contrast to the politics of both the contemporary Roman imperial power and those who would seek to replace Rome by violent means.

Since the advent of formal biblical criticism, many have come to see the crucifixion as merely one event in the process of religious development. Yet for the New Testament writers it was so much more, representing a radical break that forever affected their perception of God and the world. In this book Roy Harrisville examines the thought worlds of the New Testament writers, showing how the cross fractured their previously held ideas, causing a profound reorientation centered on the story of the cross. Focusing chronologically on Paul, the Synoptic writers, John, and the authors of Hebrews and 1 Peter, Harrisville demonstrates changes in the writers' understanding of sacrifice, law, Hellenism, apocalyptic, and other areas -- changes that created the new values of the radically different Christian community. An insightful work of careful critical scholarship, Harrisville's "Fracture" will appeal to anyone interested in reviewing the New Testament's witness to that which lies at the heart of earliest Christian confession and which has provoked such bitter conflict in history.

What kind of self-image should Chritians have? Should they see themselves primarily as unworthy sinners before a holy God? The biblical view, Anthony A. Hoekema argues in this readable study, is that humanity, having been made in God's own image, was the capstone of God's creation. Even when we fell, God considered us of such worth that he gave up his only Son to redeem humanity. And in Christ, as Paul makes plain, we are made into new creatures. This does not mean that the redeemed live a life of sinless perfection; it does mean that what is most distinctive about them is the new life they have in Christ. And this new life entitles Christians to a self-image that is essentially positive. Accepting the biblical view of our worth can be difficult for Christians burdened with feelings of guilt. How can such Christians learn to see themselves in better light? And how can others in the Christian community - preachers, counselors, teachers, and parents - help fellow members to attain the positive self-image that is essential to the Christian faith? Part Two of The Christian Looks at Himself offers concrete answers to these questions and in doing so points up the social dimension of being in Christ. As Christians accepts themselves as creatures made new in Christ, so in love they must also fully accept fellow Christians as recreated in that same Christ. ANTHONY A. HOEKEMA (1913-1988) was former professor emeritus of systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His other books include Created in God's Image, Saved by Grace, and The Bible and the Future.

Tradition has painted a portrait of a Savior aloof from governmental concerns and whose teachings point to an apolitical life for his disciples. How, then, are we to respond today to a world so thoroughly entrenched in national and international affairs? But such a picture of Jesus is far from accurate, argues John Howard Yoder. Using the texts of the New Testament, Yoder critically examines the traditional portrait of Jesus as an apolitical figure and attempts to clarify the true impact of Jesus' life, work, and teachings on his disciples' social behavior. The book first surveys the multiple ways the image of an apolitical Jesus has been propagated, then canvasses the Gospel narrative to reveal how Jesus is rightly portrayed as a thinker and leader immediately concerned with the agenda of politics and the related issues of power, status, and right relations. Selected passages from the epistles corroborate a Savior deeply concerned with social, political, and moral issues. In this thorough revision of his acclaimed 1972 text, Yoder provides updated interaction with publications touching on this subject. Following most of the chapters are new "epilogues" that summarize research conducted during the last two decades -- research that continues to support the insights set forth in Yoder's original work. Currently a standard in many college and seminary ethics courses, The Politics of Jesus is also an excellent resource for the general reader desiring to understand Christ's response to the world of politics and his will for those who would follow him.

When pastors look out over their congregations, there's a good chance that they see a lot of gray hair. This book gives practical instruction and examples of biblical and theological sermons to this growing population, enabling the preacher to proclaim the gospel more clearly for older adults. Covering topics from biblical and historical views of age to older adults' need for social justice, each chapter concentrates on the practical issues for preaching to this group and contains a sermon to illustrate the application of the principles discussed.

As God's eternal life flows through us, we learn to let go of our pretensions of control and rest into the new life offered in Jesus Christ. This book is an invitation for you to become nonresistant to this movement of God's love for you and the world. Through a variety of sermons and meditations, Sider and Villegas bear witness to a grace that disarms our guardedness and makes room for us to fall into the love of God. Preaching becomes a dispossessive practice, as each person is invited to give and receive God's transforming power. The proclamation of the gospel, Villegas and Sider say, should display the priesthood of all believers. Thus, the call to preach belongs to the whole congregation and its conversation rather than to the lone preacher and her (or his) sermon. Presence: Giving and Receiving God draws on the Mennonite tradition of the Zeugnis ("conversation") to explore how the preached Word echoes through all of our voices.