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Salvation
Take These Important Steps of Salvation to Discover These Vital Answers
The Bible declares:
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).Giving you abundant life required the supreme sacrifice:
"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" (John 3:16).God desires fellowship and companionship with you. What a wonderful gift the Father has given, yet if God gave His own Son to provide an abundant and everlasting life, why don’t more people have what He has designed for us to receive? It is a question answered by this sobering realization.
There is a gap between God and mankind. He has provided a way for us to receive an abundant and eternal life, but people throughout the ages have made selfish choices to disobey God Almighty. These choices continue to cause separation from the Father.
God’s Word shows us that the result of sin is death. He says in His Word:
Every day we hear of people who are rich, famous, achievers, star athletes—people who seem to have the best life can offer—yet they try to fill that empty void in their lives with "things." They even try good works, morality, and religion. Yet they remain empty, for only God, through His Son, can fill that emptiness.
God’s Word shows us that the result of sin is death. He says in His Word:
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12).And God also said,
"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2).Paul the apostle states in Romans 3:23,
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."And in Romans 6:23 we read:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."Every human was created with the ability and need to know God and fellowship with Him. Augustine, a minister who lived during the fourth and fifth centuries, called this longing in each of us "that God-shaped vacuum."
Every day we hear of people who are rich, famous, achievers, star athletes—people who seem to have the best life can offer—yet they try to fill that empty void in their lives with "things." They even try good works, morality, and religion. Yet they remain empty, for only God, through His Son, can fill that emptiness.
Jesus Christ, His Son, is the only way to God. Only He can reconcile us to God the Father. Mankind may seek other solutions and worship other gods, but Jesus Christ, alone, died on the Cross for our sins and rose in triumph over the grave and eternal death. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and mankind.
The Bible explains:
The Bible explains:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).We are also told,
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).There is only one way provided:
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).For in John 14:6 we read,
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."God Almighty has provided the only way. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin and rebellion against God by dying on the cross, shedding His blood, and rising from the dead to justify and reconcile you back to God the Father.
You can be brought back to God, and your relationship with Him can be restored by trusting in Christ alone to save your life from destruction. What an incredible exchange: Your worst for God’s best!
This step happens by asking Jesus Christ to take away your sin and to come into your heart to be your Lord and Savior.
God’s Word is very clear:
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).And the Bible tells us,
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).Are you willing to let go of your burdens and sins?
Are you willing to turn away and repent from your sins?
Are you willing to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior now?
At this moment you can pray the most important prayer of your life by simply saying:
The Power to Live a Holy Life
How do you know you have the Holy Spirit? You could not have trusted Christ for your salvation in your strength alone. The Holy Spirit enabled you to become a Christian. Nobody can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit.
If we really have the Holy Spirit, why is it such a struggle to live a holy life? Conversion to Christ does not perfect us. We are still sinners. “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:17, NIV).
Some people think that new Christians proceed to holy living automatically, with no help from other believers. After all, the Ethiopian eunuch was left to himself when Philip was whisked away. But the story of the eunuch is exceptional. Once Philip led the eunuch to Christ and baptized him, the Holy Spirit took Philip away to preach in another city. The main reason we have the New Testament is for our spiritual growth. Most of the Apostle Paul’s epistles are written to saved people to motivate them to holy living.
When I was pastor at Westminster Chapel, we had a ministry called Pilot Lights, where we witnessed to passers-by in the streets of London. We saw a surprising number of people come to faith in Christ between Victoria, Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. Many of them we never saw again because they were from outside London, but when we did have the opportunity to follow up with these new Christians, the growth results were quite wonderful. This is an example of how the Holy Spirit works through means.
The Holy Spirit works through the motivation and encouragement of fellow Christians. Nothing is more encouraging than a fellow Christian who knows what it is to struggle but perseveres nonetheless. One of our greatest examples of a person maturing into holy living after being converted on the streets of London was almost entirely due to the loving follow-up of the person who led him to Christ. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24, NIV).
The Holy Spirit works through accountability friends, people who are both caring and impartial. In nearly all cases I have known where Christians have fallen into some sort of scandal, they were not accountable to anyone. We need to become vulnerable by seeking out those to whom we can be accountable. “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, NIV). This honors the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit works through the church— a church where Christ is honored and the Bible is preached. No one that I know of is so mature and spiritual that they do not need to fellowship with the Body of Christ. Otherwise we may come to think we are above the Word, that our relationship with God bypasses the church. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25, NIV).
The Holy Spirit works through our regular, disciplined time alone with the Lord. Whether we call it personal devotions or quiet time, we get to know the Lord and His will largely through how much time we give Him. Children judge how much we love them by the amount of time we spend with them. If God were to assess our love in this way, how much would He say that we love Him? In my time alone with God, I use a Bible reading plan, one that keeps me in the Word every day. And I make it a point to spend time alone in prayer. These moments—usually mornings—are the most valued time of my day. The Bible is the Holy Spirit’s greatest product. He wrote it. If you want to experience the power of the Spirit to live a holy life, get to know and love the Bible more than you do anything else in the world.
The Holy Spirit works through sound doctrine of sanctification. This presupposes good teaching. I was brought up in a church that encouraged you to believe that you could be sinlessly perfect. I am thankful for my background in many ways, but this teaching did me no great favor. Christians who think they have reached perfection will certainly fall, soon—and hard! God knows our frame. He remembers we are “dust.” Jesus, our High Priest, is touched with the feeling of our weaknesses and is always there to uphold us. Sanctification is progressive. We will not reach absolute perfection until we are glorified and made just like Jesus.
John Newton, author of the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace,” said to his friend William Cowper (also a great hymn writer): “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I will be. But thank God I am not what I used to be.” The progress may be slow, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus we will become more and more like Him and can encourage others to do the same.
The Hour Of Salvaltion
Now more than ever, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ is a matter of urgency.
Even during the times of the early church, Paul was keenly aware of this urgency. In Romans 10:15, he quotes Isaiah 52:7 when he writes, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Interestingly, the original Greek word for “beautiful” is horaios, meaning “timely; for the right hour or season.”
Wherever (or to whom ever) God calls us to proclaim the Gospel, we must do it swiftly—with urgency, since “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
It is clear to most people who have read and studied Paul’s letters in the Bible that his main objective in life—and his passion—was to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who had not heard, and even to those who had previously rejected him.
Why would he quote an Old Testament book to convey the urgency of the Gospel?
The word “gospel” actually has Old Testament roots. Isaiah 52:7 states, “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news…” The original Hebrew text uses the word bisar, which not only means “good news,” but “good news” that carries the connotation of victory in battle!
The Israelites believed God was actively involved in their lives (including battles and wars), so bisar came to have a religious connotation. To proclaim the good news of Israel’s success was to proclaim God’s triumph over His own enemies.
And when they proclaimed good news of God’s delivery from their enemies, it made sense to proclaim the good news of God’s delivery from personal distress (like we read throughout much of the Pslams).
The Israelites had just been loosed from their chains of oppression. Moses was urging them to stand and proclaim that they did, indeed, have victory over their oppressors, only through God’s power. Granted, salvation was not at stake since they were God’s covenant people, but victorious living was.
Just as the Israelites were urged to proclaim God’s kingship in Zion, we are called to proclaim to the rest of the world, that they, too, can have victory over their foes: Satan, sin and death.
We live in a hurting world that needs to know the Good News of victory—the Good News that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And we need not let another hour go by before we tell them. The hour is now.
FOR FURTHER STUDY:
Read Isaiah 52:1-7
Dear Lord Jesus,
I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth 2,000 years ago. I believe you died for me on the cross and shed Your blood for my salvation. I believe you rose from the dead and ascended on high. I believe You are coming back again to earth. Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. Forgive my sin. Cleanse me now with Your precious blood. Come into my heart. Save my soul right now. I give you my life. I receive You now as my Savior, my Lord, and my God. I am Yours forever, and I will serve You and follow You the rest of my days. From this moment on, I belong to You only. I no longer belong to this world, nor to the enemy of my soul. I belong to You, and I am born again.
Amen!
By praying this prayer, confessing your sins, and receiving Jesus Christ into your heart, God has given you the right to become His forgiven child. The Bible gives you this assurance:I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth 2,000 years ago. I believe you died for me on the cross and shed Your blood for my salvation. I believe you rose from the dead and ascended on high. I believe You are coming back again to earth. Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. Forgive my sin. Cleanse me now with Your precious blood. Come into my heart. Save my soul right now. I give you my life. I receive You now as my Savior, my Lord, and my God. I am Yours forever, and I will serve You and follow You the rest of my days. From this moment on, I belong to You only. I no longer belong to this world, nor to the enemy of my soul. I belong to You, and I am born again.
Amen!
"But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them who believe on his name" (John 1:12).If you have just received Jesus Christ into your life, we want to rejoice with you.
The Power to Live a Holy Life
June 19, 2011 - Someone once told me, “I want to become a Christian, but I don’t think I could live a holy life.” I replied: “You cannot possibly live a holy life as you are because you do not have the Holy Spirit. Once you transfer your trust in your good works to what Jesus has done for you on the cross, the Holy Spirit will enter your heart. Then, and only then, can you live a holy life.”
Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ—Ephesians 5:21, NIV
by R.T. Kendall
It is a wonderful thing to realize that all Christians
have the Holy Spirit. “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he
does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9, NIV). Therefore if you are a
Christian, you have the Holy Spirit.How do you know you have the Holy Spirit? You could not have trusted Christ for your salvation in your strength alone. The Holy Spirit enabled you to become a Christian. Nobody can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit.
If we really have the Holy Spirit, why is it such a struggle to live a holy life? Conversion to Christ does not perfect us. We are still sinners. “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature” (Galatians 5:17, NIV).
Some people think that new Christians proceed to holy living automatically, with no help from other believers. After all, the Ethiopian eunuch was left to himself when Philip was whisked away. But the story of the eunuch is exceptional. Once Philip led the eunuch to Christ and baptized him, the Holy Spirit took Philip away to preach in another city. The main reason we have the New Testament is for our spiritual growth. Most of the Apostle Paul’s epistles are written to saved people to motivate them to holy living.
When I was pastor at Westminster Chapel, we had a ministry called Pilot Lights, where we witnessed to passers-by in the streets of London. We saw a surprising number of people come to faith in Christ between Victoria, Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. Many of them we never saw again because they were from outside London, but when we did have the opportunity to follow up with these new Christians, the growth results were quite wonderful. This is an example of how the Holy Spirit works through means.
The Holy Spirit works through the motivation and encouragement of fellow Christians. Nothing is more encouraging than a fellow Christian who knows what it is to struggle but perseveres nonetheless. One of our greatest examples of a person maturing into holy living after being converted on the streets of London was almost entirely due to the loving follow-up of the person who led him to Christ. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24, NIV).
The Holy Spirit works through accountability friends, people who are both caring and impartial. In nearly all cases I have known where Christians have fallen into some sort of scandal, they were not accountable to anyone. We need to become vulnerable by seeking out those to whom we can be accountable. “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, NIV). This honors the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit works through the church— a church where Christ is honored and the Bible is preached. No one that I know of is so mature and spiritual that they do not need to fellowship with the Body of Christ. Otherwise we may come to think we are above the Word, that our relationship with God bypasses the church. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25, NIV).
The Holy Spirit works through our regular, disciplined time alone with the Lord. Whether we call it personal devotions or quiet time, we get to know the Lord and His will largely through how much time we give Him. Children judge how much we love them by the amount of time we spend with them. If God were to assess our love in this way, how much would He say that we love Him? In my time alone with God, I use a Bible reading plan, one that keeps me in the Word every day. And I make it a point to spend time alone in prayer. These moments—usually mornings—are the most valued time of my day. The Bible is the Holy Spirit’s greatest product. He wrote it. If you want to experience the power of the Spirit to live a holy life, get to know and love the Bible more than you do anything else in the world.
The Holy Spirit works through sound doctrine of sanctification. This presupposes good teaching. I was brought up in a church that encouraged you to believe that you could be sinlessly perfect. I am thankful for my background in many ways, but this teaching did me no great favor. Christians who think they have reached perfection will certainly fall, soon—and hard! God knows our frame. He remembers we are “dust.” Jesus, our High Priest, is touched with the feeling of our weaknesses and is always there to uphold us. Sanctification is progressive. We will not reach absolute perfection until we are glorified and made just like Jesus.
John Newton, author of the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace,” said to his friend William Cowper (also a great hymn writer): “I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I will be. But thank God I am not what I used to be.” The progress may be slow, but if we keep our eyes on Jesus we will become more and more like Him and can encourage others to do the same.
The Hour Of Salvaltion
June 27, 2011 - One of the ministry themes this year at BGEA is “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” (Romans 10:15, NIV). Let’s examine what it truly means to have “beautiful feet.”
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news...—Romans 10:15, NIV
by Joy Allmond
More than 6,000 people groups around the world have
not heard the Gospel, while the percentage of people abandoning the
faith in which they were raised is escalating. Now more than ever, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ is a matter of urgency.
Even during the times of the early church, Paul was keenly aware of this urgency. In Romans 10:15, he quotes Isaiah 52:7 when he writes, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” Interestingly, the original Greek word for “beautiful” is horaios, meaning “timely; for the right hour or season.”
Wherever (or to whom ever) God calls us to proclaim the Gospel, we must do it swiftly—with urgency, since “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
It is clear to most people who have read and studied Paul’s letters in the Bible that his main objective in life—and his passion—was to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who had not heard, and even to those who had previously rejected him.
Why would he quote an Old Testament book to convey the urgency of the Gospel?
The word “gospel” actually has Old Testament roots. Isaiah 52:7 states, “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news…” The original Hebrew text uses the word bisar, which not only means “good news,” but “good news” that carries the connotation of victory in battle!
The Israelites believed God was actively involved in their lives (including battles and wars), so bisar came to have a religious connotation. To proclaim the good news of Israel’s success was to proclaim God’s triumph over His own enemies.
And when they proclaimed good news of God’s delivery from their enemies, it made sense to proclaim the good news of God’s delivery from personal distress (like we read throughout much of the Pslams).
The Israelites had just been loosed from their chains of oppression. Moses was urging them to stand and proclaim that they did, indeed, have victory over their oppressors, only through God’s power. Granted, salvation was not at stake since they were God’s covenant people, but victorious living was.
Just as the Israelites were urged to proclaim God’s kingship in Zion, we are called to proclaim to the rest of the world, that they, too, can have victory over their foes: Satan, sin and death.
We live in a hurting world that needs to know the Good News of victory—the Good News that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And we need not let another hour go by before we tell them. The hour is now.
FOR FURTHER STUDY:
Read Isaiah 52:1-7
- Do you notice anything peculiar about the instructions he gave the captive Israelites?
- Why do you think He would have said such a thing?
- In verses 7-12, underline the verbs used to describe the actions of the Lord on behalf of his sealed people.
- We know that their bondage was not due to God’s powerlessness. He freely handed them—His covenant people—over to their captors. Why would He do such a thing?
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