How to be saved:
1. Realize that we have sinned, admit our guilt rather, and desire to turn away from our own ways and toward God's way. God says that all have sinned and the consequence of that sin is death and separation from Him. Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23
2. Believe on the Lord Jesus: That He died and took the penalty for our sins, and rose again on the third day. Our belief and faith must be active enough to repent and turn from our ways. We make the decision, but He does the work. Romans 5:8
3. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and ask Him to dwell in you through His Holy Spirit. It's not simply a prayer, but a relationship that begins with a sincere plea. Romans 10:9-10, Romans 10:13
26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”
27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
I love how this discussion continued. Peter goes on to consider the material things that they gave up to follow Jesus, because this is where our minds often go. We consider the temporary cost and our works. Jesus' response tells us that a relationship with Him is far greater value. Even though it comes with many temporary troubles here, it also comes with endless joy through a relationship with our Creator and Father. He is the only one that can completely fulfill us.
Mark 10:30:
30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
Jesus is the Lord who came down to earth to become man and experience full humanity. In that state, He perfectly fulfilled what no other human could do. In complete humility, He became the one without fault to take on the sins of the entire world. He paid the debt that we owed so that we could be redeemed. He walked in our shoes and made a way for us to dwell with Him again if we would just accept it.
I am not writing to convince you to become saved, because even if I could it would mean nothing without your faith. Early in my Christian walk, I wanted to have the perfect argument for the existence of God. Later I understood that God needs no one to prove His existence. He spoke the world into existence and the evidence is right there in everything from the building blocks of matter, to our own DNA, and up to the largest system. The evidence is there. We just have to choose to seek Him, because His way requires our faith.
From the beginning, He created man separate from all other creatures with our own free will. It is no different today than in the beginning. We have the ability to choose Him. It is that choice, requiring faith, that leads to salvation. Have you ever heard the story of Koko the Gorilla? A researcher taught this female gorilla sign language. While she showed sadness when people or pets that she knew died, she spoke of death itself as matter of fact. "A comfortable hole in the ground" is what she said. We are the only known beings that wrestle with our mortality and consider our origin or our future. That is a distinction that sets us apart. We were created or programmed with a mind that looks toward eternity.
There are some that will read this and say, "fairy tales." To them I would ask, "what do you gain by being right and lose by being wrong?" Even when God has revealed Himself to humanity and worked miracles, most choose to reject Him. There are some that would use their own or troubles seen in the world to justify their belief against God's existence. Darkness doesn't disprove light, nor cold heat. Evil does not prove that there is no perfect goodness, rather the opposite is true. We should be like Koko and speak very matter of fact: something happened and made us sad. Humanity seems to have a collective morality that points to a perfect goodness or an ideal outcome. Mathematically, the universe should have exploded and then imploded in upon itself without God. It all comes down to faith one way or the other. One day we will all stand before God. On that day, there will be no question of His existence or if His ways are right. All will agree with Him. The only question in that day will be: did you accept His plea to let Him rescue you, or did you trust in yourself? My job isn't to convince you, my job is to proclaim as a witness what I know to be true.
Christian Growth:
If you have chosen to accept a relationship with Christ, I hope you will reach out to us so we can rejoice with you and encourage you. The Holy Spirit dwells within you. He will guide you and correct you through progressive sanctification. (1Thessalonians 5:23, Philippians 1:6) He will do the work, you just have to listen and be open to letting go of your fleshly desires to become who He wants you to be. If we are His children, and refuse His guidance He will correct us because of His love for us. (Hebrews 12:6-7) However, there are some things that the scripture tells us we should do to help ourselves grow:
1. Constant prayer - Prayer is a great gift for Christians. For thousands of years the Israelites needed the Levite priests to go between them and God. We have Jesus as the perfect high priest that petitions the Father directly for us. That means that our Father hears us always. Paul, when telling us about the armor of God, reminds us how important prayer is in Ephesians 6:18:
18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.
2. Meditate on the Word - We believe that the Bible is the complete and inerrant word of God. It contains all that we need to live a godly life. I love the phrase that the Bible is the living and breathing word of God (Hebrews 4:12), because He spoke the universe into existence. Certainly, the Bible, being God breathed, is powerful enough to change lives across time. Personally, I find it fascinating how the Holy Spirit will commonly highlight different parts of a passage depending on what someone is going through. Do not neglect the blessing of searching the word and hearing the Lord through the pages of the Bible: 2 Timothy 3:16
16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
3. Examine Ourselves - We must walk with the Spirit and constantly make sure that we are living out a godly life. Our thoughts, actions, decisions should all be aligned with our Father in heaven. I like to think of it as running everything by our Father, where we just ask ourselves, "does this align with what God has taught me through His Word". If we remain open to His will in all things, He will guide us. Proverbs 3:5-6 explicitly tells us this. However, this isn't something that happens automatically for a Christian, we have to put in effort. We have to struggle against the worldly desires and yield to God's ways. We are instructed in Romans 12:2.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Though we will fail to do this, we have to make the effort. Salvation is not a free pass to keep on sinning, but rather the grace avoid being crushed by the condemnation of sins. When we are truly saved, we will be convicted for sins, and then if we do not repent, we are corrected. On the other side, when we do abide in the Spirit, our lives produce fruit that is pleasing for the Lord and useful to our brothers and sisters in Christ. This entire walk of self examination is detailed in 2 Peter 1:5-8:
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral [a]excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. Accountability and fellowship - God did not create us to be isolated. His plan from the very beginning included community. Jesus commanded that we have love for each other as He loves us in John 13:34. Part of that love that we have for each other is watching out for each other. We are instructed to restore each other with gentleness and not with harsh judgement as in Galatians 6:1-2 and 1 Timothy 5:1. Likewise, we need to be humble enough to consider when someone calls out potential sin in our lives, and have the discernment to know when correction is just condemnation and judgement in disguise. While one can be too full of pride to examine their self, another can be full of pride and too often find fault in everyone around them. Neither is a heart posture that pleases the Lord.
I think it is by no coincidence that Jesus refers to us (His followers) so often as sheep. These are animals that have no natural leader among themselves. They move and decide as a community and depend on a shepherd. We were created to need community. It is beneficial to us as long as we keep our eyes on the Shepherd. It is when we think that we are strong enough to walk alone that we become easy prey for temptation and sin. I get why people would go off on their own, though. Even as believers we still fail. The church is not perfect, because people are involved. So many people have been hurt by others in the church and have justified staying away because of that hurt, but the truth is that we miss out if we ignore God's instruction in the Bible. Sometimes, we meet together because we need to be fed and sometimes its because we need to feed others. Always, we meet together to offer up prayers and praise to the Lord. Do not miss out on the blessing of regularly gathering with other believers, whether you can find one or thousands.
Hebrews 10: 24-25:
24 and let’s consider how to [i]encourage one another in love and good deeds, 25 not abandoning our own meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
How can we show our love for one another if we don't meet together and take time to share in each others' burdens? It is with this understanding combined with the warning of 1 John 3:14 that we should be convicted to continue meeting together. We should have love for one another, and even our enemies, not based on whether they deserve it, but because we received God's love and grace while we were sinners.
I hope and pray that in writing this, some may be lead to follow the Lord. If you find that you have made the choice to receive salvation, we would love to hear from you! Let us celebrate your decision with you and encourage you in your journey. If you find that you would like to talk to someone, reach out to us! We would love to answer your questions. As always, we whole heartedly invite you to join us for our regular services, so reach out or drop in: