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ENDORSEMENT OF NEW BOOK BY DALE RATZLAFF:
GOSPEL TRANSFORMATION
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ comes to us, not as good advice that we should follow, but as good news about what God himself has done for us in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is, in fact, the announcement of something that has happened, the victory that God accomplished through the death and resurrection of His Son. And it is an announcement that demands our whole-hearted response of trust in and gratitude for the One through whom the good news is possible. That good news is the means by which we enter into salvation and receive the gift of new life in Christ. But it is not just something for the beginning of our Christian lives.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, for the beginning, middle and end of our spiritual lives. As such, God’s Good News needs to permeate our entire lives. The good news arouses our love for Christ, our hatred for sin and our dependence on the risen Christ, through His Spirit, for every aspect of our Christian lives. The gospel isn’t just something we believe so that we are sure of what will happen after we die; it is the truth that shapes, empowers and directs our lives before we die. The gospel isn’t just a message we believe and proclaim; it is a life-shaping power that results in a lifestyle that demonstrates its truth.
I am deeply grateful for my friend Dale Ratzlaff’s understanding of and love for God’s gospel, which shines on every page of this little book. By taking us into a consideration of the great words of the gospel and by reminding us of the wonderful truth of our union with Christ, he not only increases our understanding of God’s work on our behalf, he deepens our love for Christ.
Christians are good news people. We are created by the gospel, and are called to be centered on and shaped by it. Our calling is to be gospel people, good news people who believe, guard, proclaim and embody the gospel. God’s Word tells us that, as we behold the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed by the Spirit into the image of Christ. The gospel is sufficient to save us and powerful to transform us. Dale’s book is a God-given aid to enable us to behold the glory of our Lord Jesus in the gospel, and thus to experience gospel transformation. †
—Gary Inrig, Teacher of Loma Linda Word Search (LomaLindaWordSearch.com) and former senior pastor of Trinity Church in Redlands, California.
Copyright 2015 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Camp Verde, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised July 20, 2015. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
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VOLUME 16, ISSUE 2