All posts tagged Witnessing

Do You Have Questions About Salvation?

For those of you that truly do have questions

regarding true “Salvation” vs. false.

Many of you have seen street evangelist Ray Comfort and have seen his valid method of pointing a person toward the Lord (Jesus Christ) by comparing people’s lives to the original 10 Commandments that God gave Moses nearly 4,000 years or so ago, also found in Exodus 20. While Ray uses this tactic he is very confrontational and will normally end up pushing a person away from God rather than drawing them toward God – While I could use the very same approach, I prefer not to due to the conflict that it creates, so I choose to use the friendlier approach and I like to show people right from the Bible just how God laid out His special plan of “Salvation” to save us from a future eternity in Hell. This being said, I will try to spell out for you as easily as I can God’s plan of Salvation as follows:

  • Back at the beginning of our earthly time (not eternity past), God created Adam and Eve (Genesis 1).  While in the Garden of Eden, God told them that they could eat from anything in the Garden except the fruit of one particular tree – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. For some strange reason, God gave man (and woman; “man” is being used here as a reference to the collective whole of the human race, moving forward) a “free will”… The ability to choose for themselves what they would do. (Genesis 2:17)

Long story short, Eve, then Adam (in that order according to the Bible – Genesis 3:6) chose to eat of the fruit of the only tree that God told them not to, under penalty of death (Genesis 2:17). This death turned out to be an eternal death and the eventual physical death of their physical body as well. (The serpent, otherwise known as Satan, or the Devil, was the one that approached Eve with the temptation to eat of the fruit originally. Revelation 12:9; 20:2) — Satan, or previously known in Heaven as Lucifer, led a rebellion of the angels in Heaven before the Earth had been created and, again, long story short, had a following of nearly one-third of all of the angels in Heaven, and Lucifer said that he could be just as good as God, if not better, and God could not stand for the rebellion (being sin, as it was against God) and threw Lucifer and his following angels out of heaven and eventually gave them the Earth to roam upon until God’s final judgment which is to happen at some future distant time.

We learn later in the Bible that God created a special place for Satan and his angels called the Lake of Fire, or some even call it Hell. Since there will be people which will choose to follow God and some that will follow Satan, God chose that, after the Judgment, for all of the non-God followers to spend the rest of eternity with the Devil and his angels in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 19:20) – You can figure that it will not be a party, but rather it will be a place of severe torture and pain and it is said that it is a place where “the worm dieth not“! (Luke 16:19-31) There will be no physical death even though people will want to.
— This story could be very long so I am trying to abbreviate it for you where I can. The whole story and more can be found in the Bible.

God wanted man to spend the rest of eternity with Him in Heaven (“I go to prepare a mansion” John 14:1-3) after His physical death, but since God is perfect and man is sinful, there was no way in our present state for man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven to be with God. So, God could no longer allow man into His PERFECT Heaven. (Habakkuk 1:13)

The Roman's Road to Salvation

The Roman’s Road to Salvation

  • Because we (man) inherit our “sin-nature” (Romans 5:12)– the propensity to sin or break the 10 Commandments in one way or another – some of us worse than others, but all still the same in God’s eyes – Fallible! – and God still cannot let sin into Heaven, none the less! Even if it were only for just a little white lie and that was it… it is still sin nonetheless!
  • God made a way for man to escape the final punishment of eternity in Hell. He chose to come to earth in the form of a man, to be born like a normal man (not an alien coming out of space), to grow up just as a normal child would grow up, and to die the worst death known to man at the time – the death upon a Roman cross, for accusations that were totally untrue and unfounded. (Philippians 2:8)
  • The only real difference between the way He grew up and the way we grow up is that He grew up totally flawless – without sin – none at ALL!!! (Hebrews 4:15) Even though He was tempted just like we are, He never “chose” to sin. (Luke 9:22) This God/Man’s name was Jesus. It is a proven fact, through historians, not listed in the Bible, that He did live and He started what we call today as “Christianity”. The word literally means “Christ-followers” or “Little-Christs” – in other words, we try to emulate what Jesus would do in all situations and actions.
  • One thing that Jesus told His followers was that once He died, He would not just stay in the grave but He would rise again to new life 3 days after (Luke 24:3-8). He died and not just disappear, but He was seen again by more than 3,000 men (not counting women and children) and that was when God allowed us to have His Holy Spirit after we received Him as our Savior. Remember that we are talking about God and that, being God, He can do anything He wants to do – except sin!
    Once we are Saved, He gives us His Holy Spirit to live and dwell with us in our soul (heart as it is known in the “circles”) until we die and are accepted immediately into Heaven. (This is going to be AWESOME!!!!!)
  • The way we know these things is that it is all recorded in a compilation of 66 books together that make up what we call today as the Holy Bible. The way that we know that the Holy Bible is true is that down through the ages – nearly 4,000 years to be nearly exact – there were some people known as “prophets” that God told certain things would happen through history (the advent of Jesus’ birth, His life and His execution included) called prophecy and many of these things have come true as the “prophet” foretold and there are still some that have yet to be fulfilled in the future from now.
  • I will list a few Bible references here (not the only verses that back up these topics but just a few to show we are telling the truth) that will show you some of what I have explained:
    • All men have sinned and are not worthy of going to Heaven: Romans 3:10 – “For there is NONE Righteous, no not one.” and Romans 3:23 – “For ALL have sinned and come SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.”
    • There is a penalty for our sins: Romans 6:23 – “For the WAGES of sin is DEATH”
    • God provided a contingency plan for those of us who WANT it: Romans 5:8 – “But God commendeth His LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
    • There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that we can do as a “work” that can “buy” our way to Heaven: Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by GRACE are ye saved through FAITH, and that not of yourselves, it is the (FREE) GIFT of God. Not of WORKS lest any man should boast.”

— I have to explain this just a little to make sure that it is totally clear: Grace by definition is: Receiving something that you do NOT deserve. Mercy defined is: Withholding something in the form of punishment that you definitely deserve.

We are saved by the Grace of God – He is offering us something that we don’t deserve because He also knows that there would be absolutely no way that we would be able to actually earn it. We MUST have FAITH that God is real; that Jesus did come to earth and lived and died as He said He would (and did – as the prophets foretold) and that He is in Heaven right now preparing a place for us (John 14:2-3) so that when it is our turn to go, we will have a mansion with streets of solid Gold… I’m getting ahead of myself now. But, returning to the subject, God wanted it to be this way so that there would be NO ONE that could stand up to you and say that they did one thing or another in order to get to Heaven because that would be PRIDE and that in and of itself is a sin… again, it can’t be in Heaven!

God made this entry into Heaven to be FREE – but instead of just letting everyone in that says they are going, He wanted only to have people who really appreciated what He did on the cross and that he took our sins to the cross with him and when He died, He went to God in Heaven and said, now I have paid his/her debt in full – He bought our entry tickets but we have to go to the “will call” and pick them up.

That is the point of a Gift… one has to receive it before it becomes theirs. That is why not just anybody is going to make it into Heaven…

  • In order for us to receive the FREE GIFT of eternal life in Heaven, we MUST ask for it:
    — Romans 10:9-10, 13; “For if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, thou shalt be saved.”

— Again, I think a little explanation is appropriate, but this is somewhat self-explanatory. I don’t know if you have any Catholic background or not, but if you do, you might remember having to go to the priest and make your confessions every so often.

  1. This is something similar to having to do that but much less painful. This means that you first MUST believe that what the Bible says is true
  2. and that Jesus DID come to earth to live and die for us and raise the 3rd day
  3. and took the weight of the sin of the world on Him at the time He was crucified and paid the debt for the whole world to enable them to be able to go to Heaven when we die – and we are never guaranteed another tomorrow, so you better do this sooner than later.
  4. This is what you do – and only do this if you want to receive this free gift of Eternal Life offered by Jesus Christ. Read this prayer with me and mean it with all of your heart:

Pray: “Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I know that I don’t deserve this free gift of salvation, but I want to go to Heaven when I die instead of going to eternal Damnation and torment in Hell. Jesus, I thank you for dying in my place so that I could go to Heaven and for paying for all of my sins and I ask You, right now, that You would forgive me of all of the terrible sins that I have committed. Thank you, Jesus, for Your forgiveness and enabling me to go to Heaven. Amen.”

The last thing here is not a requirement for entry into Heaven, but, I strongly recommend that you find a good Christian Church and be Baptized according to the Bible (Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:27; Baptism Lesson); and be clear that Baptism does NOT have anything to do with becoming saved, but rather it is to come after salvation and then by being baptism by immersion as the Bible teaches, shows obedience to God and it puts you in front of “your peers” to show that you are taking a stand to do what is right and follow Christ and be obedient to the Bible and what God instructs us to do. This is also the first thing you should do to show that you are willing to be conformative to the instructions of the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit.

If you feel that you can do this later, please DON’T wait. None of us are guaranteed another breath. Tomorrow may never come. I’m sure that you’ve known someone that has passed away (died) suddenly, as do I, and I know that if something like that might happen to me, I’d be in heaven in the next second. Don’t you wish you had that assurance that you could be in Heaven if you died today? I beg you to pray the prayer above to make sure.  If you still have questions, please don’t leave this site until you have your answers. There are additional articles at the bottom of this article that might tell you in a slightly different way that might give you more information that would clear up your questions. If that doesn’t do it, press the button at the button and you can email me personally your questions and I will do my best to give you the answers you so desperately need in a timely manner.

I also do request that if you have any questions or if you did pray this prayer with me that you would visit my website and let me know. There you will also find many materials including an excellent Bible Study, Growing in Grace by Dr. Ed Nelson, designed for those who have just received God’s free gift of Salvation, but please let me know that you took the time to read this and follow the steps. I can also give you some additional links to more supportive documents that can help you through your new walk in Christ.

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Sincerely,
–Mark Davis

©Mark Davis 2017

 

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by Christians Are Us on February 10, 2017  •  Permalink
Posted in Gospel Presentations, How To Be Saved, Salvation
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Posted by Christians Are Us on February 10, 2017

https://christiansareus.com/2017/02/10/do-you-have-questions-about-salvation/

Nominal Christianity

I AM a Christian

I AM a Christian

This is a great write-up on Christianity and what people think are Christians and what makes us a Christian. Many people figure that they have been a good person (generally) and so deserving of Heaven.  Others think that going to church every week – maybe even 2-3 times a week – will get them into Heaven. And yet others believe that being sprinkled as a baby or even baptised as an adult into their particular religion will get them there.

What is it that makes you a Christian — or are you a Nominal Christian (meaning a Christian in name only but not truly on their way to Heaven)? Read this article to find out. If you have any further questions, you can read any of the articles that I feature on my blog that I actually wrote.

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©2014 Mark Davis

Don’t forget to follow the link and read the story that brought you here in the first place — I’ll know if you don’t… 😉

5 Comments
by Christians Are Us on July 15, 2014  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible Studies, Discipleship
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Posted by Christians Are Us on July 15, 2014

https://christiansareus.com/2014/07/15/nominal-christianity/

Why Would YOU Want To Be A Christian?

Wow, what a question.  Have you ever considered why you or anyone else would want to be a Christian? If you were to ask that to 100 people, you would probably get 100 different answers.

I think that God, or Christianity of some sort, has a different appeal to everybody but ultimately, when the answers are sifted out, you come down to the basic reason of Good nature versus Bad nature.

On the Good Side, most people’s image of Christianity says:

  • If you are at the lowest that you think you can get, Christianity can make everything better for you.
  • If you are having problems, regardless what they are, God can make things all better.
  • If you have poor health, Jesus will heal you – just like He did in the Bible.
  • I want to be rich and Christians say that if you are walking closely with God then He will let you have anything you want.
  • I want to see my deceased loved ones.
  • And the list could go on for a long time.

When in actuality, God, in His Word, The Holy Bible, says:

“Come unto me all you who are weary
and I will give you rest.”
-Matthew 11:28-30

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
-1 Corinthians 2:9

2 “In my Father’s house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.“
-John 14:2-3

4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me,
Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
-Revelation 21:4-5

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him
shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up
into everlasting life.“
-John 4:14

13 “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren,
concerning them which are asleep,
that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
-1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 

Christ transforms the Christians

Yet, on the Bad Side, people would say about Christianity:

  • “There really is no hell.”
  • “If God is real, He is very loving and would never send anyone to hell.”
  • “Christianity is nothing but a bunch of rules that if you break them you go to hell.  There is no way to keep them all so why try?”
  • “The God I know of from the Bible is not loving at all, in fact He is very angry and vengeful. Why would I want to spend eternity with a God that caused the whole earth to be flooded and He chose to make total nations be slaughtered by His people?”
  • “I’m having too much fun doing the things that the Bible says are wrong.”
  • “I believe that when we die we don’t go anywhere – there is no eternity – we just cease to exist.”
  • “I believe that hell is the bad stuff that we go through while we are on earth and when we die, God lets us all go to heaven.  If we are really good, we get really nice things when we get there.”
  • “I go to church every time the doors are open and I even give my 10% to the church. I try to be as good as I can and love everyone else.  That should mean that I will get into heaven if I’ve been good enough.”
  • “I was baptized when I was little and went through catechism so I should skip purgatory and go right into heaven when I die.”
  • “God has blessed me with plenty of money while I’ve been on the earth and I’ve even given a lot of it to the poor. Since I’ve done so well on earth, then God must love me enough to let me into heaven. I’ve never done anything really bad so I should have no problem getting into heaven.”
  • “I don’t think that anybody can really KNOW that they are going to heaven for certain.”
  • “And there are so many more that I can’t list them all, but most of them are similar to these.”

Instead of giving you a bunch of scriptures that refute what I just wrote above, let me ask you a question (or three or four).

What is it that you are relying on to get YOU to Heaven?

If you were to die in the next 10 minutes and you are standing face to face with God and He asks you, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” — What would you say to Him?  

If what you were relying on to get you to Heaven was wrong, would you like to know? If you can say, “YES“, to this question, please read on.

If you can relate to any of these statements on the BAD side here, and your answer happens to be, “NO“, then you can close out of this page and find something else to read (I suggest reading “I’m Dead, Now What?“) because you won’t want to listen to anything that I have to say anyway.

Moving on…

According to the Bible only (I am not making any of this up) since we count the Bible as God’s own Words – He doesn’t just come out and talk to us person to person (yet).

First – Every man is a sinner (breaker of any/all of God’s 10 commandments as set forth in Exodus 20)

James 2:10 –
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Romans 3:10 –
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”

Romans 3:23 –
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Second – The penalty of sin is eternal death!

Romans 6:23 –
“For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Third – Eternal Life is offered to us ONLY through Jesus.

John 3:15-16 –
15 “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have eternal life.
16 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 14:6 –
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.“

Romans 5:8 –
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Fourth – How do we receive this GIFT of God?

Romans 10:9 – 13 –
9 “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.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith,
Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek:
for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

It’s as easy as that!

If you are relying on anything more than what I’ve just described, then you are not putting ALL of your faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and His redeeming blood that was shed to wash away all of our sins.

God doesn’t want us to add anything to this because if we do, it becomes a “works based” salvation. What do I mean by that?  I mean that if there was ANYTHING that we could personally add in order to get to heaven, we would be relying on ourselves to do something special to buy our salvation into heaven.  God won’t let that happen!

Why?  Because, if you or I were able to add anything to that very basic salvation then, whether on this side of heaven or even once we get into heaven (which won’t happen), we would be bragging to our friends or anyone we come in contact with about what WE did to get to heaven. Can you tell me what sin that would be called?

PRIDE!

Proverbs 16:18 –
“Pride goeth before destruction,
and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 –
8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith;
 and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Pride is one of the biggest sins that there is.  If you think about it, most of our sins that we commit on a daily basis are based on pride or at least are stemmed from it.  They can almost all be linked back to pride.  That being the case, and pride being a sin, and heaven can contain NO SIN, we would never be allowed into heaven based on anything that we are able to personally do.

All God wants us to do is to put our faith and trust in Him.  Believe in Him and His salvation-work at Mt. Calvary as all that is needed to get into God’s Heaven.

Doing some of those extra things that you do to get into heaven on your own might make you feel really good, but imagine how much better you could feel if you trust Christ first and then all of those good things that you would have done for your salvation, if there is still any virtue in their accomplishment, you can do them for God’s glory rather than your own.

You see, in Matthew 6:16, Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees of the day for doing works out in the open so that they can look more pious than others, but in verses 17 and 18 He goes on and tells them that they should do their “works” in private so that only God can see them.

Because, in verses 19 through 21 He goes on to say:

19 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
– Matthew 6:19-21

What’s even better than this is in:

John 14:2-3 –
2 “In my Father’s house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.”

These verses give me great promise and comfort that when my time on earth is finished, I will have a place of extreme comfort to be able to finally rest.  Jesus ascended into Heaven after His resurrection from the dead so that He could prepare a place for me.  If you put all of the verses together, that tells me that after we are saved from our sin’s penalty in Hell, and I start doing things for Him (not for myself and my own glory), I start to lay up treasures in Heaven.

Those verses indicate that there are many mansions in Heaven and that Jesus is going to prepare a place for me and if I lay up treasures in Heaven, as the other verse says, then, when I get there, I should have, as I picture it, a larger mansion with many treasures in it.

Why would anyone in their own right mind want to, knowing this, please ourselves and others around us for our own vain glory when we have so much more waiting for us when we do things the way God wants us to do them?

I mean, seriously, WHY?

Yet, people do it all the time — WE do it all the time!

Yes, I’m guilty too!  It is the “old man”, the “sin nature”, that is in us that naturally wants to receive the pleasure from the gratitude that we get or the trophy (or equivalent) that we would get for doing something especially well and so that others around us can see how GOOD WE are.  We have to fight that sin nature to make sure that God gets the glory for our accomplishments instead of us – after all, He is the one that gave you the ability to do the thing that got you that glory.

I can speak from experience that if you continue to bring glory to yourself and God has other plans for you and you continue to do your own thing to please yourself rather than do the things that would bring God the glory… He can arrange it to where you are no longer able to do those things that bring you pleasure/glory, but make it so that you have no choice but to turn to Him.

Folks, He will continue to allow bad things to come your way so that little by little you are disabled of the things that bring you that pleasure.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  God has control over all!  He can and WILL do what is necessary to get your attention… until… some day, He may finally determine that you are a hopeless case and you will never turn to Him to do His will and He will bring you home.  That “home” may be Heaven, or it may be Hell, but if you don’t listen to Him and His callings, the outcome may not be the way you would really have liked it.

God wants your talents and your time and abilities – let Him have them.  <I’m pleading with you> Turn your life over to His will.  You will have more peace and joy in your life than you ever imagined.

Yes, you will still face adversity but the difference now is that when you do, you will have a friend with you that sticks closer than a brother, that will NEVER leave you or forsake you and will never steer you wrong by giving you bad advise.  He is the Comforter.

You see, all of those things that I listed at the beginning of this article can still be yours but only if you are serving God.  He will NOT grant those things to you because of your own selfish pleasures. He truly knows the best way to live your life – better than you do.  Let Him have control over your life so that He can show you what He has in store for you.  It may not be what you thought you would be doing, but I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Lord, I ask that you get into the heart of those reading this article right now and convince them of all of the great things that You have in store for them – at the very least, You can take away the heartache and hurt that they are feeling right now.  Give them comfort in knowing that You are now in control of the situations in their life.  Please, bring healing to their hearts and lives.  In Jesus’ Name and for His glory I ask these things, Amen.

If you have received the blessing from this article and or this prayer, please leave a comment (or go to my contact page if you wish to stay anonymous) and let me know that you have received a blessing from this.  I would really love to share your joy so that I can give God the glory as well.  As always, if there is anything you need from a spiritual point of view, please feel free to let me know.

God bless you, –Mark

©2013 Mark Davis

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by Christians Are Us on November 12, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Discipleship, Salvation
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Posted by Christians Are Us on November 12, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/11/12/why-would-you-want-to-be-a-christian/

Have You Ever Considered?

Is there really a heaven or hell?  

If you died today and went into eternity, where would you go? Heaven, or Hell?  There is NO in between and if you cannot answer definitively that you would be going to heaven with conviction, you are going to hell!

When asking this question to random people on the street, most people would not be able to tell you one way or the other.  Some would say that they HOPE or THINK that they would go to heaven, but have no reason why or have no basis as to their thought process.

If you stood before the All Powerful, All Knowing, God and He asked you, “Why should I let you into MY heaven?”, what would you tell Him?  If you don’t have any definite reason WHY, you don’t get to go in!

Why would that matter?  Because if you don’t get to go into Heaven, you WILL go to HELL!

Yes. Hell is a very real place.  It is NOT a place where a person will get to party for the rest of eternity. Think about this…

Who is the one that presides over all of today’s parties that are filled with debauchery and drunkenness and sex and filth and drugs and … the list goes on…?  Who is the Father of all of that sinful behavior?  Why, it is none other than the “Father of Lies” himself, Satan – or as he is otherwise known, the Devil.

Why is that important at all?  Because, if Satan is going to be punished for the rest of eternity for revolting against God (along with a third of the angels) by being thrown into the “Lake of Fire” full of pain and sorrow and weeping and gnashing of teeth where a person will want to die but it will never happen, where there will be torment and torture for the rest of eternity (a very long time – NEVER ENDING!)  That is what is in store for Satan and his angels according to Revelations 21.

But, what does that have to do with you?  Well, as it says that Satan et al will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, it also says that death and the grave will be thrown into the Lake of Fire with him (them).

If you were not able to give God the right answer to the question above, then you will be included in the “death and the grave” part of that statement.

There is no purgatory, unlike some might think.  It is never mentioned in the Bible, but rather, it was made up by a pope many years ago as a ploy to get the catholic people to feel sorry for their dead loved ones and the pope allowed the living relatives to give gifts to the church in order to shorten the time that they will have to spend there before they are finally prayed/payed into their heavenly place.  Sorry, it isn’t going to happen that way.  I challenge you to find me one place in the Bible where it says that any of this purgatory stuff will actually happen – you can’t do it because it isn’t there.

Back to the important topic at hand… Where are you going to spend eternity?

Friend, if this were not important, do you really think that I would be wasting my valuable time talking to you about this?  In fact, in God’s eyes, this is the most important topic in the world!

You see, God desires more than anything in this world to have you spending eternity with Him in His heaven.  In fact, since heaven is a sinless place and we humans are very sinful beings, we are not going to be allowed in to God’s heaven the way we are.  In fact, you could be the absolute best role model on the face of the earth but you would still be far from the perfect being that would be required to enter God’s heaven.

See, God knew this ahead of time (He knows everything from eternity past to eternity future – even the stuff that hasn’t happened yet), that is why He devised a plan to provide a substitute sacrifice for your atonement of your sins.  What does that mean?  As we have determined in the last paragraph, we are not good enough to get into God’s heaven, so the alternative is only to go to Hellllllllll!

God’s substitute sacrifice happened to be God the Son – the Second Person of the Godhead out of the “Trinity” (that is discussed in another post),  You see, God the Father was going to send His Son down to live with man for an honest-to-goodness sinless lifetime.

He started with the immaculate conception when the Holy Spirit implanted the seed that was to be Jesus within Mary’s womb.  No, it’s not what you think – contrary to what some religions believe, there was no sexual intercourse that occurred between God and Mary or an angel and Mary.  Mary was a virgin before conception and continued to be a virgin until Jesus the Christ was finally born. After that Mary and Joseph produced a very healthy family in the conventional manner known to man and woman.

Jesus’ mission on earth was to be born as a man-child, to be raised in the normal Hebrew manner, being taught the scriptures that they had up to that time (Moses’ writings and the prophets).  He frequented the temples where he would debate the scriptures with the priests and pharisees, usually ending up with Him teaching them rather than them teaching Him.  He would literally sit with them for days (and we get upset when the pastor of our churches takes more than an hour for a sermon).

He would live out a normal life as a child developing into a man – the only difference is that He was tempted in every sense of the word, just as we are now, but rather than succumbing to the temptations in front of Him, He remained clean and perfect and without sin.  You see, only a sinless, perfect sacrifice could take our place in death.  The death that was the penalty for the one sin that we have committed – yeah, right; I know that you’ve sinned many more times than once.

As a slight side note:

I’m sure you are familiar with the 10 commandments that are referenced in Exodus 20.  Among those are: killing, adultery, idolatry, lust, envy, putting any god in front of the only One and True God, disobeying your parents. Did you also realize that the Bible also tells us that if you were to even think in your heart about any of these commandments to break them, you are guilty of breaking that commandment.  In fact, it goes further and says that if you are guilty of one, you are guilty of all of them.

According to that statement, where does that put you?  Did you know that you are surrounded by a group of mass murderers?  That might sound a bit comical, but in God’s eyes it is totally true!  And, as we established earlier, the penalty of any sin – regardless what sin it might be – is DEATH!  This doesn’t mean that you die and then that is it.  NO! That could not be further from the truth.  Rather, when we die physically, our bodies might be buried or cremated or whatever your preference might be, but someday there is going to be a resurrection.  In fact there is going to be two resurrections. One for the ones that are truly on their way to Heaven and the other will be for those who will be thrown into the Lake of Fire with Satan.

As I said, Satan is not the ultimate party DJ, although he might be the loudest of the screams of pain that will be emanating from the pit of hell.  This trip to hell is not going to be a vacation.  It will not be a party with 72 virgins (or however many they think they will get).  In fact, even though, as the name depicts, “Lake of Fire”, it isn’t going to be like it is here on earth where when something encounters fire of differing temperatures, it will be consumed and that is that – no more existence! In fact, the Bible says that it is a place of eternal torment, where the thirst is not quenched and the “worm dieth not” – you’ve just become a worm….

What is my point in telling you all of this morbid stuff?  You see, we only seem to think that it is morbid because it is depressing since all we want to do while we are on this earth is to make lots of money, have lots of fun, travel, even have as much sex as possible (I only say that because it is true).

The thought of interrupting our plans of doing all of this to just stop and turn around and start making dramatic changes in our lives and start actually following Jesus and doing the things that are commanded us to do in the Bible – I can’t list them all here.

The main thing is that we were not put on this earth, much less to become a Christian, but to serve ourselves and make our existence on this ball of dirt to please our own desires and pass into eternity to be punished in hell for not serving God.

Why do we need to serve God so badly?  Many years ago in the Garden of Eden, God created two beautiful humans that were sinless and faultless and naked without shame.  Why did He create them?  He wanted to have some intelligent companionship that WANTED to be with Him.  And He even gave them a choice of being with Him or death if they ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Satan tempted them, they gave in to his temptation and they eventually died.  The worst part of it all was that they didn’t only die physically but they also died spiritually – and that is why we are put on this earth.

I know that this world has a way of sugar-coating evil to make it look like it is fun – and it may be, but that fun wears off after a while and then there are penalties and consequences that must be paid. These payments may be in the form of a traffic ticket fine or you may do something that requires you to have a physical impairment for the rest of your life, or even worse yet, someone else might have that impairment or even lose their life.  Or, your penalty may only be the eternal penalty of death in hell.

Friend, if you couldn’t tell God why He should let you into His heaven, you need to get this taken care of between you and God.  Please, get on your knees before Him and beg for Him to forgive you and that you want to receive the gift that Jesus is willing to give you of eternal life in heaven with God and then give your life over to God to let Him use you to help show others about how God wants them to go to heaven too.

You know, you could walk away from reading this and go back to doing the same old sinful things, but God has a much bigger plan for you. And, trust me when I say to you, that being in God’s service and doing the things that God wants you to do, you could never get more joy and happiness from anything else that this world has to offer you.

In John 14, Jesus tells us:

John 14:1-3

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

What many people don’t quite grasp about being a Christian is that even though Jesus is not walking this earth right now, He will be coming to get us soon so that we can spend eternity with Him.  He said that this is a word of encouragement that in His Father’s house (Heaven) are many mansions – these mansion (of whatever sort they might be) are made for us!  I don’t see these being apartment buildings or condos, but mansions!  He is going, at that time until He comes back, to be preparing these places for us.  We get our very own mansions.  These aren’t time shares either – we aren’t just buying a week or a year out of eternity to be there.  He continues and says that He is going to come back again and get us and take us to where He lives (Heaven) so that we can be with Him as He intended for mankind in the first place.

In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul is talking to the Thessalonian church.  They were concerned that they would never get to see their loved ones again that had passed into eternity before them.  He tells them this:

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Brothers, I don’t want you to be ignorant (or unknowing) about those who have died already, that you don’t weep and feel like you will never see them again like those who are unsaved do (they have no hope of eternal life).  If you truly believe that Jesus died and rose again, then you will see them again if they were saved when God brings them with Him.  Paul speaks this by the authority of the Lord, that those of us who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will not keep this from happening to those who have already died.  Verse 16; For the Lord Himself (not angels or Michael the archangel) will come down from the heavens with a SHOUT, with the calling of the archangel and with the trumpet sound of God, Himself: and at that point, faster than we can even imagine, the dead that had been saved before they died, will rise to meet Him in the clouds: then the rest of us (who have been saved up to this point) will be caught up (modern term is “raptured”) into the clouds to meet them all even including the Lord – or Christ – and from that point on, we will always be with the Lord!  Because of this, brethren, comfort each other with these words.

How much more beautiful could you imagine it?  If you want a wonderful description of the “New Jerusalem”, you should check out Revelation Chapter 22. … No more sorrow, no more pain … I can’t wait!

My friends, the point in this article is not to, necessarily, get you saved, but to try to light a fire under you to sense the urgency of making sure that anyone and everyone that you come in contact with in the future, that you spend a few minutes and ask them what lies in store for them in eternity and give them the Gospel news that they could spend eternity in heaven with Jesus – and you and me.

Consider this …

… the cashier at the local grocery store is checking your groceries out and all you have to do is ask them that if they died today, would they go to heaven?

… the waitress at your favorite restaurant may have a car accident on the way home from work and end up in hell because you didn’t share Jesus with her.

… the friend you have had since childhood that has never accepted Christ as their personal Savior and you may be the last person that they get a chance to hear it from.

… maybe your parent(s) have never heard God’s plan of salvation and you are just the person that they need to hear it from so that they can make that final decision for Christ.

Remember that we, as Christians, are not out there to twist arms of everyone that we know and force them into a decision.  All we are required to do is tell them what God’s Word has to say about their eternal future.

Some sow the seeds; some water the seeds; but God makes them grow. Occasionally, we have the distinct pleasure of actually leading someone to Christ and verifying with them that they are on their way to heaven with you.  Even if you don’t get to do that, you – if you have done your duty – have done your duty.  Just present God’s Word to them.  If you need help knowing what to share with them or how to do it, there are quite a few different approaches listed in the “Salvation” section of my blog site here – or you can follow the links that I supply to you below.

Christian, I really hope that this has made you think about how you can spread the Gospel.  The time is getting near when the Lord is going to come back for us and we don’t want to have to stand before Him and try to give Him excuses about why we didn’t do our job and why, now, that person is in hell.

God bless you and your soul-winning efforts.  If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below or you can go to my Contact page to contact me privately.

©2013 Mark Davis

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by Christians Are Us on October 18, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Gospel Presentations, How To Be Saved, Salvation
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Posted by Christians Are Us on October 18, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/10/18/have-you-ever-considered/

How To Be Saved – Step by Step Instructions

Roman’s Road to Salvation:

1. Establish the need of salvation. Determine that all have sinned and are in need of redemption.

Romans 3:10 – “As it is written, there are none righteous, no not one.”
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God:”

2. Establish the penalty for their sin.

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“

3. God provided a way out

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 5:8 – “But God commended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

4. How can we take advantage of this FREE gift from God?

Romans 10:9-10 – “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. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:13 – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

“I’ve been a really good person. I think I can get to heaven that way.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by Grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God lest any man should boast.”
Matthew 19:24-26 – “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved ? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”
Titus 3:5 – “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; “

“I want to become a Christian now, what do I do?”  Pray a very simple sinner’s prayer*.  “You can repeat after me if you would like to. I’ll start out:”

“Dear Lord Jesus –repeat– I know that I’m a sinner and that I don’t deserve your salvation – repeat – but Your Word says that if I ask, You will forgive me of my sins –repeat– Lord, I’m asking you now if you will forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness –repeat– Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul from eternal damnation in hell – repeat – and for providing me a place in Heaven with you when I die or when You come back for us, whichever comes first. –repeat– Lord, please go with me as I begin my Christian journey –repeat– , watch over me and guide my every move- repeat– In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

Your prospect is now a new convert and a baby Christian. You should help guide him/her along to the next step of their journey: Getting them into a good Bible preaching church where they can get baptized and start their walk with God. I’ll also give you a few other Bible verses that you might be able to comfort your convert with.  Some verses have already been listed and are still great ones to know and to keep at hand.

Supporting Article – Top 10 Bible Truths

*Please know that there is nothing in the Bible that says that your “prospect” has to say a prayer. Many people will argue that they don’t have to. It is only listed here because it insures that the command/qualification for salvation that we see in Romans 10:9-10 where it says that “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”. Without saying it somehow out loud, it is hard to verify if that command has been followed through with. It is still very possible for a “prospect” to become saved without opening their mouth. It happens like that every day.

©2013 Mark Davis

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by Christians Are Us on May 28, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Christians Are Us on May 28, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/05/28/how-to-be-saved-step-by-step-instructions/

Top 10 Bible Truths

1. All men are sinners:

Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”

Ecclesiastes 7:20
“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

Isaiah 64:6
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Romans 3:10
“There is none righteous, no not one”

James 2:10
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

1 John 1:8
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

2. Salvation by grace (undeserved mercy), not works:

Ephesians 2:8, 9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Mark 10:25-27
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”

Romans 3:20
“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Romans 11:6
“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Galatians 2:16
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Titus 3:5
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

 

3. Salvation only through Jesus:

Acts 4:12
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

1 Timothy 2:5
“For there is one God, one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, “

John 3:36
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

John 8:24
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”

John 10:1
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”

John 10:9
“I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

John 14:6
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.”

1 Corinthians 3:11
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

1 John 5:12
“He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

 

4. Believe on Jesus:

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 11:25,26
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believe you this?”

Acts 16:31
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Romans 10:9, 10
“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:  for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”

5. Receive Jesus:

Revelation 3:20
“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 eat with him, and he with me.”

John 1:12
“But as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

Galatians 4:6
“And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

Ephesians 3:17-19
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”

 

6. Eternal salvation:

A. You can never lose it, even if you make mistakes and fall:

Psalm 37:24
“Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand”

John 3:36
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

John 6:37
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

John 10:28
“I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand”

Romans 8:38,39
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Corinthians 3:11-15
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man build upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

1 Corinthians 5:5
“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”

Hebrews 13:5
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

2 Timothy 2:12
“If we endure, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: “

1 John 5:13
“These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God”

B. But the Lord will chasten you for wrongdoing:

Psalm 89:30-34
“If his children forsake my law, And walk not in my judgments;  If they break my statutes, And keep not my commandments;  Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes.  Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.  My covenant will I not break nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”

 Hebrews 12:5-8
“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children:  My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  If ye endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then ye are bastards and not sons.”

Revelation 3:19
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

 

7. Receiving Jesus guarantees eternal life in Heaven:

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. “

John 11:26
“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

John 14:2-3
“In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. “

1 Peter 1:3, 4
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,”

1 John 5:11, 12
 “And this is the record, that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

(See Revelation 21:1-27 and 22:1-5 for a description of Heaven)

 

8. The results of being born again:

A. Spiritual rebirth makes you a new creature:

John 3:3
“Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

Matthew 18:3
“Verily, I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.“

John 1:12, 13
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.  Which were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Romans 12:2
“Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

1 Peter 1:23
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”

B. You will desire to work for Jesus:

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Titus 2:12-14
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works.”

(See also Ephesians 4:21-24; Colossians 3:8-10; Titus 3:8; James 2:18.)

 

9. Sin brings about spiritual death; but Jesus died in our place, taking our punishment:

Isaiah 59:2
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 5:8
“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

2 Corinthians 5:21
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John  2:1, 2
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  And he is the propitiation (replacement sacrifice) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

10. In the Mosaic law, blood is payment for sin; Jesus’ death paid that price in full:

Leviticus 17:11
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

Hebrews 9:22
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

Matthew 26:28
“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

1 John 1:7
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

John 1:29
“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and sayeth, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.””

Ephesians 1:7
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace,”
(See also 1 John 2:12)

1 Peter 1:18, 19
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver or gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.“

©2013 Mark Davis

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by Christians Are Us on May 28, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible Studies, Bible Verses, Discipleship, Gospel Presentations
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Posted by Christians Are Us on May 28, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/05/28/top-10-bible-truths/

Truth or Lie: Reality Check – I’m Heartsick!

Christians, or maybe you aren’t yet, I want to take this chance to say that I mimik the thoughts that Cheryl says here. I have been feeling the same way for months now, that is why I have started blogging and trying to “train” Christians on how to grow in their new Christian lives.

I read these words today and it makes me cry to think that all of this is true, and yet I know it is true. I share Cheryl’s burden here. If you have read my story, you know that I came from a similar past. Notice that I said that “I came from”… that past is past. It no longer has to be the present and definitely doesn’t have to be the future.

God has changed my life as well. Sometimes, God brings other people into our lives to help keep us in check and give us a reason to get in line and stay in line. My person is my wife! She is my reason that I want to change, besides the fact that I have given my life to Christ and want to please Him instead of anything else. I too, had to give up cigarettes and alcohol and some drugs and many other things that I don’t need to go into here.

My point is that if He can bring me out of it, He can do it for anyone! I mean that with all my heart, that is why I do what I do here on my blog. You see, before I fully gave my life to Christ (yes, I was already saved and doing those things – it can happen), I had become partially paralyzed from the chest down, I’d had 2 broken marriages, and I had just been told that I had terminal cancer. God didn’t do these things to me – I did. My life was terrible and these things proved it.

I was able to start a wonderful new chapter in my life with my new beautiful bride and her 2 kids (mine too now) and the greatest thing about it is that we are all now doing it in God’s power, not our own and we are not doing it for ourselves but for the Lord.

That was a little over 5 years ago. I wasn’t supposed to live that much longer but God has kept me going, and I do it all for Him.

Friends, please, listen to the words on this page and not only with your (ears) eyes but with your hearts. If it points fingers at you, you need to do something about it and get right with God and give HIM your problems and let HIM change your life. He WILL do it but only if you LET Him. Thank you Cheryl for sharing this with us.
— Mark

©2013 Mark Davis

Continued Reading:

Burning Fire Shut Up In My Bones

Do you ever feel heartsick for the church? I’m not talking about the various places that we visit on Sundays and sometimes through the week. I’m talking about the body of Christ, those people who claim to be children of God. Do you ever feel like picking her up and shaking her? Do you ever get angry and outraged at some of the foolish things she does, because you know that she’s playing with fire, and endangering her own life, as well as the lives of others? Do you ever feel like weeping and wailing and grieving and mourning for her?

I do. My heart weighs heavily on me, and I’m so deeply troubled and grieved for the people who comprise the church. You see, somewhere along the way, many of the men, women and children were taught a lie, and because that lie felt more comfortable than the truth…

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by Christians Are Us on April 3, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Christians Are Us on April 3, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/04/03/2137/

God’s Blessing For the Christian Blogger

  “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.”

— Psalm 68: 11

Even if you aren’t a blogger, I believe that the Lord’s blessing is on anybody that spreads His Word.

On the contrary, God also gives us a warning to those Christians who know the Truth and don’t speak of it to those who don’t know the Truth:

Ezekiel 3: 18 “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

If you are reading this post, you are one of three types of people. 1) You are a Christian that is interested in spreading God’s Word and looking for more information about it, or 2) You are NOT a Christian but you are searching for the Truth, or 3) You’ve been thinking all along that you are a Christian and want to make sure that you actually are a Christian and on your way to Heaven (It’s better to be safe and going to Heaven than to be sorry and going to Hell).

Regardless which type you fall under, I suggest reading this article; “You’re Dead, Now What?’

©2013 Mark Davis

Continued Reading:

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by Christians Are Us on March 9, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Bible Verses, Devotional
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Posted by Christians Are Us on March 9, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/03/09/gods-blessing-for-the-christian-blogger/

Witnessing

Romans 1: 16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Acts 1: 8 —
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is
come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

— Mark 15: 15, 16
“15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people,
released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus,
when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
“16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall,
called Praetorium; and they
call together the whole band.”

Matthew 28: 19, 20
“19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
“20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

— 2 Corinthians 9: 13
“Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they
glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ,
and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;”

2 Timothy 4: 5 —
“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions,
do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

Romans 10: 13, 14
“13 For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.
“14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have
not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have
not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?”

— Acts 4: 13
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,
they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them,
that they had been with Jesus.”

1 Peter 3: 15
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

Scriptures to commit to memory for witnessing:

John 3: 16

John 1: 12

1 John 4: 10

1 John 1: 9

John 14: 6

Acts 3: 19

Romans 3: 10

Romans 3: 23

Romans 6: 23

Romans 5: 8

Acts 16: 31

Romans 10: 9 – 11, 13

John 3: 36

Galatians 2: 16

2 Corinthians 5: 17

Philippians 4: 3

… and more …

Back to the home page for “Armed To Be Dangerous” for other topics

©2013 Mark Davis

<< Back to Main Page for Armed to be Dangerous

Continued Reading:

You’re Dead! — Now What?

How Many Ways Are There To Get To Heaven?

The Wordlesss Book Presentation

How to Be Saved Presentation Booklet

The Printed Page

Understanding Our Core Beliefs As Christians

Lesson 6 – Witnessing – Lesson

Lesson 6 – Witnessing – Assignments

Armed To Be Dangerous

Assurance of Salvation

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by Christians Are Us on March 4, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Christians Are Us on March 4, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/03/04/witnessing/

Doris Swartz Pt. 2 – How God Led Me To Work With Children

How God Led Me To Work With Children

Immediately following my salvation experience, my pastor’s wife asked me to take her to a Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) teachers training class.  We met every week during the school year.  This training has been invaluable to me in my Christian walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

This class was divided into two parts.  First, we were taught how to take the Bible, and develop a good Bible lesson and we were taught how to show someone how to be saved.  We memorized Bible verses so that we had Scripture in our minds to pass on to others so that they could be saved.  It is the Word of God that the Holy Spirit uses to change people’s lives.  We were taught to always give the salvation message in every lesson, as well as those truths that would help a saved child to grow in confidence in his/her salvation and how to live a life pleasing to God.  We were taught that in every class, most likely, there are both saved and unsaved children.  Each child has a need to be given those Bible truths that will help them at their point of need.  The saved child needs to know how to live pleasing to his Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The unsaved child needs to know what Jesus has done for him so the child can put his trust in Jesus for his salvation.

The other half of the session was a Good News Club.  Here, a Bible lesson was taught, and we adults were the “children” in the class.  The idea was that we would go out and teach that lesson in a Good News Club in our community.

After my husband had become a born-again believer, we had a club in our home.  One day, our second daughter, about 5, raised her hand at the invitation to receive Jesus, and her Daddy counseled her, and she put her trust in Jesus to save her at that time.  She is a grandmother now, and dates her salvation to that day.

Because of his work, my husband was not able to be a part of a Good News Club after that year.  That was sad, because it is hard to find a better team than  a husband and wife  as teachers in a Good News Club.  Though my husband could not help, I continued teaching a club, either in our home or a friend’s home for many years.  I continued to teach even after my children had grown up and left the nest.

Maybe you are wondering what a Good News Club is.  Children from the neighborhood are invited to come to the home for an hour, usually immediately after school.  During that hour, refreshments are given.  The children are taught songs, a Bible verse to memorize which they are encouraged to recite the next week, and they are taught a Bible lesson. There  are visuals for the songs, verses, and the lesson.  At the end of the lesson, an invitation is given for those who want to, to come and talk to us so that we could help them make the decision to receive Jesus as their Savior.  No pressure is to be put on the children; this is to be a choice they would make for themselves.   These classes meet once a week through most of the school year.

In recent years, we have been allowed to hold a Good News in the school. Bible clubs are allowed with he same rules and restrictions as secular clubs have. I have been a part of a Good News Club in a local grade school for the past 5 or 6 years.  Last year we averaged about 30 students, and so far this year we have had about 20.

For more information about a “Good News Club”

It has been such a privilege to be doing the work that I believe God has called me to do.  My joy and delight is to teach children.  It would be a great joy to teach persons of any age,  but I believe God has called me to teach children.  When I am in front of a class of precious boys and girls I am truly happy.

Has my life always reflected Jesus?  Sorry to say, “No”.  I have failed Him miserably so many times.   But my Lord Jesus Christ has never failed me.  He has been there in my times of need.  He has answered so many of my prayers, even though I have not deserved such goodness from Him.  I am so thankful for such verses as; John 6:37, “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”  and Hebrews 13:5, “. . . I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”.   I am so thankful that someone came to me with the gospel message.

 What is the GOSPEL message ??

It could be that someone who reads this is in similar circumstances as I was for the first 23 years of my life . . . in confusion and fearing God’s eternal judgment.  Such a person does not have to continue in that fear.  I would have been spared a lot of misery if I had learned these truths as a child.   The Gospel is simply the “GOOD NEWS”  that God has provided the Way for us to know that we can be forgiven of our sins and to know that we will, one day, be in God’s heaven.

The following is a  presentation of  that wonderful gospel message: To do this,  I will use the  letters A through D to help with that presentation.

A.     Admit . . . that you have sinned against a holy God.

God tells us that we have all sinned:

Romans 3:23 — “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” 

You need to know that sin has consequences, and that is death – forever separated from God. 

Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death. . .”

That death is an eternal death, that the one who dies without Jesus will be in a terrible place called hell . . . forever. The Bible says that it is a place where “the fire is not quenched”.  That fact is so awful that we find it hard to comprehend.

B.     Believe . . . that Jesus took your place — your punishment — for sin when He died on the cross.

II Corinthians 5:21 — “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

We could read this verse this way:

“For He (God the Father) hath made Him (the Lord Jesus Christ) to be sin for us (you and me, the sinners), who knew no sin (Jesus is perfectly good, no sin in Him) that we might be made the righteous of God (perfectly good in God’s sight) in Him (in the Lord Jesus Christ)”.

We need to understand that Jesus died, but didn’t stay dead.  He was buried and rose again.   

I Corinthians 15:3,4 — “. . . how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures: and that      He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures”.  

We must understand that we cannot do anything to save ourselves, Jesus did it all for us.

Ephesians 2:8,9 — “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.”  

Because Jesus took our place – took all of our punishment for sin – we can be forgiven for all our sin.

Ephesians 1:7 — “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”.

C.     Choose, Confess (or Call) . . . upon Jesus, trusting Him, and asking Him to save you.

Romans 10:13 — “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

When we believe, then we can ask.  Prayer does not save us.  Prayer is the means of communication between God and us.  Believing in what the Lord Jesus did for us, does.

Romans 10:9,10 — “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.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”.  

Another promise verse is this:

Acts 16:31 — “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house”.

Do you believe God when He says that you have sinned and that you are a sinner?  Do you believe that Jesus is the Lord?  Do you believe that Jesus took your punishment and completely paid your sin debt when He gave His blood and died on the cross? Do you believe that he died, was buried, and three days later rose again and is alive?  Do you believe God’s promise that when you believe, you are saved simply because you believe?  If your answer to all these questions is “Yes”, tell it to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to save you so that you will never be punished in hell for your sin, and that one day you will be in God’s heaven.    

D.     Depend . . . on God’s Word to know that you are saved.  The question is, do you know for sure that you are  saved?  If you say, “Yes”, the next question is, “How do you know that?” You can know for sure when you depend on what God has promised.

Both Romans 10:9, 10, 13 and Acts 16:31 are promise and condition verses.  That is, they give you God’s promise, and what you must do to receive that promise.

In Romans 10: 9,10,13  What is God’s promise?  That you would be saved.

What is the condition you must meet so that you are saved?  You must believe.

Did you do your part?  If you say, “Yes, I did my part.  I believed.”

Then the next question is, “Did God do his part”? Obviously, there is no doubt that God will do what He has promised.  When we fulfill the condition part of the promise, then God will do the promise part.  We simply trust God’s Word, that He will do everything He has promised.

If you did your part, then God kept His promise, and you are saved; all your sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven.

Colossians 2:13 — “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses”.

Forgiveness of sins is the most wonderful gift anyone could ever receive. It is also the most costly gift ever given.  Jesus has commanded us to “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”  There is no higher calling for us who have trusted Jesus for our salvation,  than this, to show sinners how they can receive that precious gift of eternal life.

How about you, dear reader, have your sins been forgiven?  It is written in II Peter 3:9, the Lord is “. . . longsuffering, not willing that any should perish.”  

The Lord loves you and is not willing for you to spend eternity in hell. Today is the day of salvation.  Even though God loves you, there will come a day when it is too late.

Hebrews 9:22, — “. . . it is appointed for man once to die, but after this the judgment. . .”

If there is any doubt about your salvation, please, make that choice today while there is yet time.

 ©2013 Mark Davis

Other Submissions by Doris Swartz:

A Letter To A Young “Bride-To-Be”
Doris Swartz Pt. 1 – How I Traded Fear For Peace

Recommended Reading:

Your Spiritual Wages

Still Excited? or Dead?

The Spiritually Dormant Life

9 Comments
by Christians Are Us on January 28, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Doris Swartz
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Posted by Christians Are Us on January 28, 2013

https://christiansareus.com/2013/01/28/doris-swartz-pt-2-how-god-led-me-to-work-with-children/

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