Tag: gospel

Categories
Salvation

The Simplicity of Becoming a Christian

Simplicity.
It can be very good.
Back in March of this year, I posted about our need to know the Essentials of Christianity (click the link if you missed it or need a reminder of the 9 Essentials.)

And while the 9 Essentials can help us test whether a religious system is Christian or not, it doesn’t tell us whether an individual person is a Christian or not. Therefore, we also need to know the simple information of how a person becomes a Christian.

First, a person needs to hear the gospel message of Jesus: the story of His miraculous birth, His perfect life, His death on the cross for the redemption of sinful humanity, and His resurrection from the dead. When God then uses the gospel message to draw someone to Himself, the person will want to know: “What must I do to be saved?” And it is at that point that we need to have a clear and simple answer.

Jesus answered simply: Repent and Believe (Mark 1:15).
Paul answered simply: Believe and Confess (Romans 10:9).

These ideas have been pulled together as the ABCs of Salvation, which LifeWay has been using with children for many years in their Vacation Bible School materials. Most importantly, the ABCs of Salvation are biblical. But also, they are simple, they are helpful, and they apply to both young and old.
an image with the phrase The ABCs to symbolize the simplicity of the message of salvation

The 3 words are:
1) Admit
2) Believe
3) Confess

Admit your sins and repent.
Believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross and God raised him from the dead.
Confess that Jesus will rule your life as Lord and Master.

That’s it.
It is simple.
But that doesn’t mean it is easy, because:
–Repentance means not only walking away from ungodly behavior, but walking toward God.
–Belief requires that you trust something (and in this case, someone) that you have not been able to see with your own eyes.
–And Confessing that someone else will rule your life instead of yours requires that you die to yourself.
These are serious and difficult tasks, even though they are simple concepts to understand.

Therefore, simplicity is good, but simplicity can also require difficult decisions and commitments.
In my next post I’ll flesh this out a bit more, but for today, take time to thank God for the simplicity of the gospel!

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Categories
Church

Family: The Gospel Unites Us in a Way Nothing Else Can

photo of the inside of a sanctuary where a church family meets each week
A Church? Nope. An Empty Sanctuary. The Church Meets Here Each Week.

In his book Love in Hard Places, D. A. Carson discusses the fact that church is a family:

The church itself is not made up of natural “friends.” …What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together…because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance. In the light of this common allegiance, in light of the fact that they have all been loved by Jesus himself, they commit themselves to doing what he says….

In this light, they are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake.

Do you view your church as family?
Are you bound together in love by Jesus Christ with those you worship with each week?
Are you not that committed to your church because you don’t view them as family?

We gain so much by being part of a church family.
Make sure you have one.
And make sure to love the people in it!

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Categories
Relationships

The Choice to Be A Reconciler or A Rejecter

Everything we say has a possibility of helping people feel either reconciled or rejected.
We can either heal or hurt with our words.

three matches burning to indicate it just takes a small spark to start a fireA forest fire can be started with a small spark, and the tongue can be that spark in someone’s life. Though the tongue is only a small part of the body, it is a key to producing words. And so with that small muscle, we can set someone’s world on fire – we can tear them down or we can build them up.

tobymac sings that it’s crazy, amazing that we can turn a heart with the words we say. That hope can live or die due to what we speak, so we should speak life to others.

Are you using your words to build others up – being a reconciler? or do you spend more time tearing others down?
God has committed to me and to you… He has entrusted to us… the ministry of reconciliation. What will you do with this ministry He has handed off to you?

Matt Chandler states it this way: Our understanding of God’s love for us, despite the fact that we don’t deserve it, enables us to love others in spite of themselves. Affection for the Lord leads to affection for others, resulting in outdoing one another in service. It makes us ask ourselves questions like:

  • How can I be concerned about you and your needs?
  • Why shouldn’t I take the farthest parking spot?
  • How about if I take the seat that’s has a blocked view?
  • What if I lose so you can Win?
  • How can I disadvantage myself for your advantage?
  • What would it mean to consider you more significant than me?

    • “Compassion linked to the gospel is compassion that goes beyond merely observing hurting people; it sees hurting people and realizes that Jesus loves them immensely. Ultimately, then, it’s not our compassion but the compassion of Jesus that fuels and sustains our desire to act on others’ behalf. When We remember how gracious and compassionate Christ has been to us, our compassion is as sustainable as our remembrance of the gospel” (Matt Chandler).

    So how strong is your remembrance of the gospel?
    How well do you remember how Christ reconciled you to the Father?
    Are you ready to help reconcile others to the Father – even those whom you never had a relationship with before, those to whom you wouldn’t typically be with, because Christ loves them and calls you to it? He is calling you to be relationally intentional toward others so that you can share with them the word of reconciliation… the truth that they can find salvation in Jesus Christ – the transforming Savior.

    Because God has radically transformed us, we shared a common bond deeper than anything that can divide us. Let us teach others about that deep, deep love. Become a relationally intentional reconciler.