A Second Hand Book, But Not A Second Hand Faith

Today was a trip to Andover for lunch with ex-colleagues. And afterwards, as I was wandering through the Chantry Centre, I came across a Books For Free shop, run by an organisation called Healthy Planet.

I was looking round the theology section and one book caught my eye - Evangelical Belief: A Short Explanation of the Doctrinal Basis of the Universities & Colleges Christian Fellowship.

And it took me back, nearly a quarter of a century, to when I bought my copy at the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. Through the years my copy has gone, and here was my chance to have another one. Although it was free, the price sticker was £1.95, so this was the amount I put in the tin.

I will have another read, as I think it is useful to go back to basics, to make sure that one is continuing in the faith delivered once for all, that one is still on the right road and hasn't been waylaid by false teaching. To make sure that my core beliefs are still the solid biblical ones from my OICCU days.

No-one else can do the believing for us. There are no Christians by proxy. There is no second-hand faith - sorry, but the fact your parents were Christians and you went to church as a child is neither here nor there. The question is whether you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, whether you are relying on His sacrifice of Himself on the Cross. These are decisions you cannot make for any other person.