This is an excerpt from the third chapter of By Water and the Word: God’s Gift of Baptism for You by Brian Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 52-60.
Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.
To Live Well is therefore not a general advice book, but a message suffused with the gospel.

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You’re not new because of what you do. You’re new and so you do new things, even in spite of yourself, because of your sinful nature.
The reason that God’s commandments are not burdensome is that Jesus has fulfilled them.
The love mentioned in 1 John 4:15-21 fourteen times (!) is a love that needs no apology but is determined at all times to sacrifice for the other.
Sometimes in hanging on to our useless guilt, we are idolaters. We believe our sin or conscience is more powerful than our God.
We can appreciate what we have received from God, we can receive it all as free gift, but only when we stop investing in fool's gold.
If you are going to lose your life for the gospel’s sake, you must begin by hearing it.
God’s goodness spoke a promise of peace and mercy to the bewildered, a promise that rings out to this day.
Faith is like a horse with blinders because it only beholds God’s promise. It is obsessed with what God has already said.
Cyril’s fervor for pure explication of the gospel was present throughout his career.
Christian mercy should not seek its own. It must be round, and open its eyes and look at all alike, friend and foe, as our heavenly Father does.
How do we preach a text of exhortation while keeping the sermon Gospel-centered?
There’s no possibility of understanding the grace of Romans 6 and the glory of Romans 8 unless you identify with the excruciating struggle of Romans 7.