Alive for the First Time: A Fresh Look at the New-Birth Miracle

I greatly appreciate Professor Needham's treatment of the regeneration aspect of salvation. I have read the book twice, when it was first published, and again recently. I bought several copies for others. He does an excellent job of refuting the "I'm just as much a sinner as I ever was, but I'm forgiven" mentality that many Christians have, which results in them leading a defeated life. Needham makes a distinction between the "flesh" (Greek: sarx) in contrast to the concept of an enduring sin nature. The battle is between our true self, or the "inner man" and the flesh, not between two natures. I find his handling of key passages such as Romans 6-8 very thougthful and satisfactory. I am currently preaching through 1 John, and I think his treatment of some key passages there to be insightful and very much in keeping with the context and tone of that epistle. Needham's style is very readable, he strives to clarify many abstract theological with down to earth analogies. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to think more deeply about an often neglected element of the work of salvation.