Book Review: The New Believer's Guide To The Christian Life by Alex Early

You have been contemplating about becoming a Christian after hearing a gospel presentation from a friend, loved one, or a pastor. Then, after the Spirit works in you, you have decided to follow Jesus. The church rejoices in your decision to follow Christ as He draws you to the Father. Now comes the most important part, what is next.

There are a few resources out there for new Christians to begin their journey in following Jesus. Some are good, others not so good. Some are centered on the gospel while others tend to be performance based. Alex Early has written a book geared toward new Christians starting in the faith called, The New Believer's Guide To The Christian Life.

In this book, Early has a new Christian in mind as he or she is reading this book. He does not sugar coat things when it comes to walking with Jesus. One thing he shared is that Christianity is not easy. It is a hard life where you have moments of joy and sorrow at the same time. You normally don't hear some pastors telling new believers this life is hard, they usually let them figure it on their own.

Early goes on to write about what it means to follow Jesus because of our identity as a child of God. We don't serve to get, we serve because we already have been given mercy and grace through Christ. Next, we see a couple of chapters on our fellowship with God and being real with God. We tell God our feelings and desire to have fellowship with Him through prayer and the Word.

Early continues on in the importance of obedience in the Christian life. This is another aspect of the book that I really appreciate because some Christians are left in the dark when it comes to obedience. Early addresses the importance of baptism and what it means for the believer.

The last things Early addresses is life in the church. This is really important for new believers to understand the importance of church membership and continuing fellowship within the body of Christ. Finally, I was little surprised by this, Early writes about what we should do with our money. When it comes to money, many Christians tend to shut down because of abusive teaching over this matter. Early takes a Biblical, gospel-centered approach as to how Christians should engage and use their money.

I am delighted to recommend this book for churches to give to new believers. I hope that a maturing believer will read along with a new believer so they may answer questions regarding topics addressed in this book.

Thanks Bethany House for letting me review this book.