A long entry about the Bible - part 2
Good Works
The Bible speaks of how our good works should be a result of our faith in Jesus, but have no power to redeem us from our sin.
· For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law (Romans 3:28)
· It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. (Romans 9:16)
· For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
· But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:6)
This one is long but talks about how even those in the Old Testament who believed in God were covered by Christ’s sacrifice.
· What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about-but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” (Romans 4:1-8)
The point of all of these verses is that you can’t earn your way. You can’t be “good enough”. If you’ve sinned at all, you’re not good enough. Only Jesus was good enough. So anything good you do has no bearing on your salvation or lack thereof. As the verse says, if there was a way we could earn it, then we could boast. But we can’t. The only way is to accept Jesus’s sacrifice as payment for our sins, which results in God not counting our sin against us.
There is a HUGE flip side to this. If we can’t ever be “good enough”, then logic (and the Bible) dictates that we can’t be “bad enough”. The thief next to Jesus on the cross said this:
· “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”
And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:41-43)
Jesus forgave a repentant criminal who did something bad enough to receive capital punishment. The only sin that is “too bad” is rejection of Jesus.
God wants us to do good works. However, they should come out of our desire to please Him and not an impossible attempt at earning our own salvation.
The Only Way
One thing the Bible speaks of a lot is that Jesus is the one and only way to God, and salvation:
· For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5)
· Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)
· Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:23)
· God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:11-12)
· We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)
· He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. (John 5:23)
· And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
· There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
· “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one 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 drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)
Note the theme-there is only one God and Jesus is the only way to Him. Blanket statements like “he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” invalidate claims that there are many ways to heaven. The words of the Bible are in direct contradiction to that belief. These verses also make it clear that not everyone is saved-only those that accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation.
New Birth
The Bible uses the concept of birth to describe what it means to become a Christian.
· In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3)
· Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
· You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' (John 3:7)
· For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)
· Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)
· Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Birth is an event. The analogy shows that once we accept Christ’s gift, we are changed forever, permanently. Other verses support this:
· My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish (John 10:27-28)
· whoever comes to me I will never cast out(John 6:37)
· Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)
· For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
· So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
· And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.” (Titus 3:7)
· the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
· But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? (Romans 5:8-10)
· And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:6)
· But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20)
· in him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
· But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. (John 4:14)
Belief
So what does it mean to believe in Jesus? Demons know that Jesus exists:
· You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. (James 2:19)
That verse (and others) demonstrates that the Bible is not speaking of a factual knowledge. So what does it mean? This verse is a little more clear:
· "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
Baptism in this context means you’ll be cleansed in the name of Jesus Christ (it means literally “immersed”). So you must repent and acknowledge that you are a sinner. More than that, you must genuinely accept Christ’s free gift. That means acknowledging that you need Him, and honestly turning your whole life over to Him. It’s easy to read “Believe in Christ” to mean we acknowledge His existence. But note the verse below-you believe in your heart.
· "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)
So believing in Christ means believing ON Christ. It means you believe with your whole existence. You repent and turn away from your old life.
Once you do this, there is a supernatural transformation. A rebirth. A new citizenship. God changes you. All of those verses given above now apply to you. You get eternal salvation, and you get fellowship with God here on Earth through prayer. It’s important to note that God does this. You accept the gift, but God causes the transformation. So it’s not just a decision you make, it’s a complete change.
Next
Once you become a Christian, ALL of your sins, past, present, and future are already forgiven:
· When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)
· He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:8)
Now you have a personal relationship with Christ:
· God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
· The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)
Most of the verses about prayer also apply here. We should be praying to Christ frequently, talking to Him as a father who is always available to talk to us. The picture painted in the Bible isn’t a distant God, but instead a personal Christ who loves us and saves us.
Grow Up
So, you’re a Christian. Now what? Well, you should naturally have a desire to please God, which means you should naturally start finding less satisfaction in doing the things He doesn’t like. It does NOT mean you will automatically be a perfect person with no problems, and it also does not mean that your sins will undo your rebirth.
· Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
· "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)
· so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Ephesians 4:14-15)
Okay, so the Bible says to grow up. The Bible is our source of knowledge of Jesus, so this verse says we should study our Bible. Here’s more about milk:
· We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14)
In this verse, the author is admonishing Hebrew Christians for not growing up. The implication is that we ought to want to learn more and more, and once we have been Christians for a while we ought to be able to teach others.
· Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22)
Pray
We should read our Bibles and try to follow God’s will as it is written. We should also pray:
· Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
· And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:18)
· Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. (James 5:13)
· The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
· Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Church
Then there are verses in scripture that aren’t really a command to us, but serve as an example to follow.
· They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
This verse embodies the purpose of the local church. The apostles got together to learn, pray, and fellowship. We should too.
· And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:24-25)
· speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19)
· But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
This verse talks about how Christians are a “people”. We are to declare His praises, and it only makes sense to do that together. Paul speaks of how we encourage one another:
· you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. (Romans 1:12)
Throughout the New Testament, different local churches are referred to. Several books in the Bible are letters written to different church congregations. Revelation tells of seven churches and admonishes most of them for having various problems while praising the few that have stuck to following God’s Word with a passion. The Bible recognizes local churches over and over. They are a part of Christian life in the Bible so it just makes sense that they be a part of Christian life today.
Evangelism
The Bible repeatedly speaks of our responsibility to share the gospel with others.
· And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
· And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15)
· in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15)
Wait, so you’re saying God doesn’t want me to scream at everyone in the public square that they’re all going to Hell? Hmmm.... We have good news. It can be difficult to share because others don’t often want to hear it. But God tells us to do so.
Baptism
Baptism is not magical. It is merely symbolic. The word baptize isn’t even real-it’s a transliteration (letter by letter translation) instead of a meaning translation. The word it’s transliterating is “immerse”. Again, nothing magical about that. There are many verses in the Bible that speak of being baptized in Jesus that make a lot more sense when you read them to be “immersed” in Jesus. That is the baptism that saves you. But the Bible also speaks of being immersed in water, in front of others, to publicly symbolize Christ’s burial and resurrection. It doesn’t save you, it’s simply a public declaration.
· this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21)
· When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. (Luke 3:21)
Water baptism obviously doesn’t save you, or Jesus wouldn’t need it. It’s also not a requirement for salvation, as the thief on the cross certainly didn’t have time for it. Not to mention the other hundreds of verses that say Jesus is all that you need. The baptism that saves is the baptism into Christ. The baptism of water is symbolic of that baptism.
Serving
God says we should serve one another and do good works, good deeds:
· For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
· Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord (Ephesians 6:7)
· Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)
· Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace (1 Peter 4:8-10)
Wrap Up
Obviously this list could go on forever. Throughout history people have spent their entire lives studying the Bible and not covered all of it. My hope is that I put together a collection of verses that is clear about what the Bible says and means.
The Bible speaks of how our good works should be a result of our faith in Jesus, but have no power to redeem us from our sin.
· For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law (Romans 3:28)
· It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. (Romans 9:16)
· For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
· But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:6)
This one is long but talks about how even those in the Old Testament who believed in God were covered by Christ’s sacrifice.
· What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about-but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.” (Romans 4:1-8)
The point of all of these verses is that you can’t earn your way. You can’t be “good enough”. If you’ve sinned at all, you’re not good enough. Only Jesus was good enough. So anything good you do has no bearing on your salvation or lack thereof. As the verse says, if there was a way we could earn it, then we could boast. But we can’t. The only way is to accept Jesus’s sacrifice as payment for our sins, which results in God not counting our sin against us.
There is a HUGE flip side to this. If we can’t ever be “good enough”, then logic (and the Bible) dictates that we can’t be “bad enough”. The thief next to Jesus on the cross said this:
· “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”
And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:41-43)
Jesus forgave a repentant criminal who did something bad enough to receive capital punishment. The only sin that is “too bad” is rejection of Jesus.
God wants us to do good works. However, they should come out of our desire to please Him and not an impossible attempt at earning our own salvation.
The Only Way
One thing the Bible speaks of a lot is that Jesus is the one and only way to God, and salvation:
· For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5)
· Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)
· Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:23)
· God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1 John 5:11-12)
· We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)
· He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. (John 5:23)
· And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
· There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
· “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one 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 drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)
Note the theme-there is only one God and Jesus is the only way to Him. Blanket statements like “he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” invalidate claims that there are many ways to heaven. The words of the Bible are in direct contradiction to that belief. These verses also make it clear that not everyone is saved-only those that accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation.
New Birth
The Bible uses the concept of birth to describe what it means to become a Christian.
· In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3)
· Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
· You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' (John 3:7)
· For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)
· Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)
· Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Birth is an event. The analogy shows that once we accept Christ’s gift, we are changed forever, permanently. Other verses support this:
· My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish (John 10:27-28)
· whoever comes to me I will never cast out(John 6:37)
· Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)
· For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
· So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
· And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life.” (Titus 3:7)
· the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
· But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life? (Romans 5:8-10)
· And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:6)
· But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20)
· in him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
· But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. (John 4:14)
Belief
So what does it mean to believe in Jesus? Demons know that Jesus exists:
· You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. (James 2:19)
That verse (and others) demonstrates that the Bible is not speaking of a factual knowledge. So what does it mean? This verse is a little more clear:
· "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
Baptism in this context means you’ll be cleansed in the name of Jesus Christ (it means literally “immersed”). So you must repent and acknowledge that you are a sinner. More than that, you must genuinely accept Christ’s free gift. That means acknowledging that you need Him, and honestly turning your whole life over to Him. It’s easy to read “Believe in Christ” to mean we acknowledge His existence. But note the verse below-you believe in your heart.
· "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)
So believing in Christ means believing ON Christ. It means you believe with your whole existence. You repent and turn away from your old life.
Once you do this, there is a supernatural transformation. A rebirth. A new citizenship. God changes you. All of those verses given above now apply to you. You get eternal salvation, and you get fellowship with God here on Earth through prayer. It’s important to note that God does this. You accept the gift, but God causes the transformation. So it’s not just a decision you make, it’s a complete change.
Next
Once you become a Christian, ALL of your sins, past, present, and future are already forgiven:
· When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)
· He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:8)
Now you have a personal relationship with Christ:
· God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9)
· The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)
Most of the verses about prayer also apply here. We should be praying to Christ frequently, talking to Him as a father who is always available to talk to us. The picture painted in the Bible isn’t a distant God, but instead a personal Christ who loves us and saves us.
Grow Up
So, you’re a Christian. Now what? Well, you should naturally have a desire to please God, which means you should naturally start finding less satisfaction in doing the things He doesn’t like. It does NOT mean you will automatically be a perfect person with no problems, and it also does not mean that your sins will undo your rebirth.
· Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
· "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)
· so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Ephesians 4:14-15)
Okay, so the Bible says to grow up. The Bible is our source of knowledge of Jesus, so this verse says we should study our Bible. Here’s more about milk:
· We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14)
In this verse, the author is admonishing Hebrew Christians for not growing up. The implication is that we ought to want to learn more and more, and once we have been Christians for a while we ought to be able to teach others.
· Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22)
Pray
We should read our Bibles and try to follow God’s will as it is written. We should also pray:
· Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
· And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:18)
· Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. (James 5:13)
· The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
· Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Church
Then there are verses in scripture that aren’t really a command to us, but serve as an example to follow.
· They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)
This verse embodies the purpose of the local church. The apostles got together to learn, pray, and fellowship. We should too.
· And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:24-25)
· speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19)
· But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
This verse talks about how Christians are a “people”. We are to declare His praises, and it only makes sense to do that together. Paul speaks of how we encourage one another:
· you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. (Romans 1:12)
Throughout the New Testament, different local churches are referred to. Several books in the Bible are letters written to different church congregations. Revelation tells of seven churches and admonishes most of them for having various problems while praising the few that have stuck to following God’s Word with a passion. The Bible recognizes local churches over and over. They are a part of Christian life in the Bible so it just makes sense that they be a part of Christian life today.
Evangelism
The Bible repeatedly speaks of our responsibility to share the gospel with others.
· And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
· And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15)
· in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15)
Wait, so you’re saying God doesn’t want me to scream at everyone in the public square that they’re all going to Hell? Hmmm.... We have good news. It can be difficult to share because others don’t often want to hear it. But God tells us to do so.
Baptism
Baptism is not magical. It is merely symbolic. The word baptize isn’t even real-it’s a transliteration (letter by letter translation) instead of a meaning translation. The word it’s transliterating is “immerse”. Again, nothing magical about that. There are many verses in the Bible that speak of being baptized in Jesus that make a lot more sense when you read them to be “immersed” in Jesus. That is the baptism that saves you. But the Bible also speaks of being immersed in water, in front of others, to publicly symbolize Christ’s burial and resurrection. It doesn’t save you, it’s simply a public declaration.
· this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:21)
· When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. (Luke 3:21)
Water baptism obviously doesn’t save you, or Jesus wouldn’t need it. It’s also not a requirement for salvation, as the thief on the cross certainly didn’t have time for it. Not to mention the other hundreds of verses that say Jesus is all that you need. The baptism that saves is the baptism into Christ. The baptism of water is symbolic of that baptism.
Serving
God says we should serve one another and do good works, good deeds:
· For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
· Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord (Ephesians 6:7)
· Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15-17)
· Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace (1 Peter 4:8-10)
Wrap Up
Obviously this list could go on forever. Throughout history people have spent their entire lives studying the Bible and not covered all of it. My hope is that I put together a collection of verses that is clear about what the Bible says and means.