Monday, January 27, 2020

Portrait of a Christian Blog Tour


About the Book


Book:  The Portrait of A Christian
Author: Raymond Sopp
Genre: Non-fiction, Theology
Release Date: November, 2019

The apostle Paul, with great knowledge of Scripture, said in Philippians 3:7–8: “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ.” (NASB)

It takes a courageous person to take a second look—to lay down their life—just as the apostle Paul. Are you willing to take a second look, to lay down your life? The Portrait of a Christian was written to help you do so.

For more than thirty-eight years, Minister Raymond D. Sopp studied the Scriptures, not to parrot God’s Word through memorization but just to know God’s heart as He communicated through His Word. To know anyone’s heart, you must listen to their words.Christian principles

Raymond wrote The Portrait of a Christian to challenge and provoke thought to those who desire a closer relationship with Christ. He wanted to paint a portrait of God’s heart through thirty-one separate commentaries—starting with the importance God placed on His Gospel and ending with a Lost Love. All of us must earnestly contend for the faith!

Click here to get your copy.  

My Review 

This is a hard hitting book and is one every Christian would benefit from reading. Sopp is concerned about the shallowness in today's church. He believes God has placed him in a position to see the spiritual danger coming and sound the warning. He uncovers the spiritual blindness that seems to affect many. I can tell he has done a great deal of research into what the Bible says about being a true Christian.

There are many thought provoking essays in this book. Sopp helps us understand important Christian principles and behaviors, such as the difference between regret and repentance and works and fruit. All of the essays combine to show the character and lifestyle of a true Christian. I really appreciated his reasonable explanation for the perplexing verse, 1 Cor. 15:29.

Sopp's writing style is one this senior citizen likes. It may be a little difficult for young people to appreciate his lengthy quotations of Scripture and accompanying comments. Nonetheless, it is a book every person identifying as a Christian would do well to read.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author


Minister Raymond D. Sopp has been a born-again Christian for more than thirty-eight years and ordained for more than eighteen years. He is not affiliated with any organization, nor a denomination. This has given him a unique opportunity to view the entire realm of Christianity from an objective point of view. His heart broke when he saw so many inconsistencies within the Church at-large. He inherently knew in his heart that the best way to point out error is to expose the truth in a way to provoke thought and challenge the Christian reader, while at the same time reach out to the nonbelieiver.
 Concerned by the teachings that he heard, or better yet, what he did not hear, he started a ministry on May 1, 1996 solely focused on reaching the world. (Sopp Ministries became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization on January 1, 1999.) The only purpose this ministry has is salvation both within and outside the Church at-large. Being somewhat overwhelmed, he knew he needed to stay focused on delivering a narrow message—a message that will cause all to examine themselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) to see if they’re literally born-again—to a true and biblical salvation—a simple message that has both temporal and eternal implications.
 

More from Raymond


Do you believe we’re approaching the Last Days? Are you seeing the season change—beginning to see leaves fall to the ground? Yes! Then, The Portrait of a Christian, is a must read for you. There are several warnings given to the professing Christian in God’s Word; to me, the most terrifying warning to the professing Christian for this time we’re living in is what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15–23: “‘Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.’ Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (NASB) The book I wrote, The Portrait of a Christian, is to help the professing Christian not to be one of those who just say “Lord, Lord.” Are you willing to take a second look at your Christianity? If so, then The Portrait of a Christian was written for you.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, January 28
Artistic Nobody, January 30 (Author Interview)
deb's Book Review, February 1
janicesbookreviews, February 2
Discipling4Life, February 3
Blossoms and Blessings, February 4 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, February 4
Through the Fire Blogs, February 7 (Author Interview)
Godly Book Reviews, February 9

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book through Celebrate Lit. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Celebrate Lit.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want to thank you for the review you gave to The Portrait of a Christian. Everything you wrote was exactly what I was trying to accomplish: To God be the glory!

Minister Raymond D. Sopp

Debbie P said...

This book sounds like a very good read.

Bea LaRocca said...

Thank you for sharing your review. This sounds like a worthwhile read

Emma said...

This sounds good--I'm not sure I'd find it easy to stay focused on it, though.

arletta said...

I think it's like Jesus said "the church has fallen asleep". We don't need to rely on God for much in North America. I think we're in for a rude awakening.

Dianna said...

My grandmother would love this book. I will have to get her a copy to put in her church library.

James Robert said...

It has been great hearing about your book and although I am not the reader myself, my 2 sisters and 2 daughters are. They love hearing about the genre's they like and me helping them get to find books they will enjoy. Thanks for sharing!

Caryl Kane said...

Thank you for your wonderful review! Sounds like a must read.

Melissa W said...

A very important subject!

Julie Waldron said...

The cover is beautiful, thanks for the chance.

Minister Raymond D. Sopp said...

Amazon is showing temporarily out of stock. You can get, The Portrait of a Christian, at BarnesandNoble.com

Calvin F. said...

This sounds wonderful! Great intro