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2008·12·08 · 4 Comments |
| Be Saved |
This continues the theme from last Monday which is How to Be a Christian, or more appropriately, as I have chosen to call it, Being Christian.
I think we need to step back from where I began last week and begin at the beginning. Something very important must happen before we can “be Christian”: we must be saved, or as Jesus put it, “born again” (John 3:1–3). How does that happen? Paul says it simply, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:26–31). That, of course, means more than believing in the historical existence of Jesus. It means believing the truth about him and what he has done to save you, and trusting in that truth for the salvation of your soul. Briefly, the truths that you need to believe are:
- That there is an eternal state and that you are an eternal soul (Psalm 23:6, 1 Corinthians 15:51ff). If this life is all there is, what is the point? There is really nothing to be saved from, is there?
- That God is a holy and righteous God who can, under no circumstances, tolerate sin in his presence (Leviticus 19:2; 20:7). This is why you need to be saved. God cannot accept you into his presence in your natural, sinful condition. Something must be done.
- That you are by nature sinful, and can by no means deliver yourself from your sinful condition, and therefore must die. God’s justice demands that sin be punished (Romans 3:23; 5:12: 6:23).
- That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, himself God incarnate, bore your sin on the cross, and by his death, the penalty for your sin has been paid. If you have been born again, your sin has been punished. You have been united with Christ in his death and resurrection (Galatians 2:20).
- That by faith in Christ, his righteousness is imputed to you (Romans 4:16ff). It’s not enough that your sin has been forgiven. The fact remains that you have sinned. When Christ’s righteousness is credited to you, God sees you as if you had never sinned.
- That, as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:7), your greatest happiness can only be found in knowing God and pleasing him (Philippians 3:8–11). You will be confessing your sin and repenting of it. You will be seeking to know and do God’s will. It will be your pleasure to do so. This is not a cause or condition of your salvation; but if this is not true, you have no reason to believe that you are in Christ. Conversely, if you believe all of these things, and this is true of you, you can be assured that you have eternal life.
I expect that most of the readers of this blog are believers. If you are not, and this post has raised questions in your mind about eternity and the state of your soul, get a Bible. Read it. Seek out Christians who can help you with your questions. Email me. There is no question more important than “Am I saved.” Get it answered.
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donsands
I was talking with a man in my church, and he was sharing about his life as a rock and roll band leader, and how he grew up a Catholic.
I asked him: "When were you born again?"
He said, "What do you mean?"
I said, "When did you become a Christian?"
He said, "Oh, I've always been a Christian. Why did you ask me when I was born again?"
I said,"Because you need to be born again to be a Christian."
"Why?", he asked again.
"Because Jesus said so, in John the thrid chapter?"
He didn't particularly like what I said. And we conversed for a good while, about a variet of things.
As we parted he turned and said, "You shouldn't be judging me."
I said, "I was simply discussing the Bible, and was not judging you."
"Yes you were" , he said.
I haven't seen him since. I sometimes feel bad about it. I suppose I may have been judging him a bit. I'm not perfect when I try to communicate. But the teaching of being born again would be a primary doctrine for any one who has been a Christian all his life I thought.
David
One mark of a genuine believer is that he will welcome challenges to his faith. He won’t respond defensively, but will be glad to “to give an account for the hope that is in [him].” I can’t imagine being offended by the gospel, but an unbeliever will be.
WhiteStone
I read donsands' remarks with interest. I have 'always' been a Christian, at least as far back as I can remember, I have always believed (trusted) God. I cannot point to a definitive 'born-again' experience although I recognize that I was at different stages of maturity in my faith over the years. What I'm saying is this...when I first became aware of the 'you must be born again' idea in my adulthood, I thought to myself, 'What do you mean?" I believed in God. I trusted Jesus for my salvation. I know that in and of myself I can do nothing. It is all God's doing, not mine. As I studied, I began to recognize that I along with all mankind was born 'spiritually dead' and that as a believer, at some point Christ has made me 'spiritually alive'. But in my experience, when I look back at my life, I cannot recognize the particular time that happened. Except that I do know that I heard Jesus' name first when I was about four years old. And I believed.
I think sometimes Christians try too hard to cause someone to come to be "born again". If we can lead them to the right prayer or the right explanation of how to become "saved". When all the while it is God who does the working. He causes them to become spiritually alive. We, along with Paul, simply give the Good News that Christ died for us. It's not simple to put it all into words, of course, but that's what we do..share the Gospel.
You don't need to post this long comment on your blog. (smile). It will be longer than your original post and it is mainly a response to reading donsands comment.
donsands
I appreciate your thoughts, and testimony Whitestone. Very encouraging. Thanks.
I am not sure when I was born again. I believe I may have had a period of time as a "Cornelius". But somewhere in the year 1984 I was brought to repentance and faith. And since then God has been gracious to allow me to become His workmanship.