God created man in his image. In this book, we study that image and come to understand why the first man, created in the image of God, could and did fall from holiness to the state of sin and spiritual death. We explore how the resulting depravity infected the entire human race and what God has done to provide the antidote and make possible the restoration of the primal holiness that characterized the original creation.
Inherited depravity can be cured only by God creating a "new heart" to replace the fallen moral and spiritual condition of sin. God dealt patiently with the human race through the rites of the law of Moses, teaching us what sin is, what its consequences are, and what is its remedy. The animal sacrifices God required of the Israelites under the Old Testament illustrated that remedy, foreshadowing the atonement in Christ. The shedding of the blood of Christ as pictured by the animal sacrifices is the only means by which sin and spiritual death are conquered and the new heart realized.
Gospel salvation is much more than just the forgiveness of sins; it is the restoration of the holiness God intended for human lives--the new heart. It is the blood of Christ that made atonement for sin, and it is the action of the Holy Spirit in the human heart that produces genuine sanctification and practical holiness.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit as a dispensational baptism is explored. What happened on the Day of Pentecost, and what happened to those who experienced the subsequent receiving of the Holy Spirit events in the book of Acts? What did Jesus teach on the baptism of the Holy Spirit? What is entire sanctification? Are we yet carnal? And what is temptation? These are questions on which there are different viewpoints but yet have clear answers in the New Testament.