'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'

These words of Jesus recorded in John chapter 3, verse 16, are perhaps the most well known in the Bible, but what do they actually teach?

In this booklet Bob Dickie shows that, in this one sentence, we have a complete and concise summary of the gospel — the good news of God’s grace to mankind. As he examines the details of the verse, he clearly shows that it actually contains all the basic and elementary facts of what it means to be a Christian. In what he refers to as Authentic Christianity 101, he brings out four main themes:

• The existence of God
• The nature of God
• The gift of God
• The promise of God

In so doing, he shows how an understanding of this one verse will not only shed light on what true Christian faith is, but will also ensure a person knows how best to be prepared for heaven.


Robert L. Dickie is the pastor of Berean Baptist Church, Grand Blanc, MI, USA, and a director of Evangelical Press. He has witnessed a remarkable work of God’s Holy Spirit over the last six years as the church has seen literally hundreds of conversions.