.....Salvation Explained.....



I want to share with you five points that are very basic, although they will help you better understand yourself and more importantly the Lord.

Just as there are manmade laws that govern our lands, such as local state and federal laws, there are also spiritual laws which govern your relationship with God.




Point One

God LOVES you so much, and he offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.

God's Love ~ "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 3:16)

This verse is often misunderstood by others, because the Bible definition of believe is different than today’s modern definition. To believe (Biblically), means to commit to, or to cleave to. Remember even the devil believes in God, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19

Therefore we must do more than just believe, we must commit our lives to Him.

God's Plan ~ Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (that it might be full and meaningful) (John 10:10)

So why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life? Because...


Point Two

All men and women are SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, we cannot know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

Man is Sinful ~ "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

Man is Separated ~ "For the [result] of sin is death" --spiritual separation from God (Romans 6:23)

The third point explains the only way to bridge the gap between you and the Lord...


Point Three

Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for Man's sin. Through Jesus you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.

He Died in Our Place ~ "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)

He Rose from the Dead ~ "... Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures ... he was buried ... he rose again the third day according to the scriptures ... he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once" (1st Corinthians 15:3-6)

He is the Only Way to God ~ "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.'" (John 14:6) (emphasis added on the)

It is not enough just to know these three points. The fourth point is essential...


Point Four

We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.

We Must Receive Jesus Christ ~ "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" (John 1:12)

We Receive Christ Through Faith ~ "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." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

When we Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth ~ "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. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." (John 3:3-8)

We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation ~ Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come to him" (Revelation 3:20)

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us the kind of people He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of will...


Point Five

Once you become a born-again Christian, there must be some evidence that you are a new person in Jesus Christ.

A New Change ~ "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2nd Corinthians 5:17)

There Must be Some Fruit (evidence) ~ "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works (deeds or service) is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" (James 2:20-22)

Yes it is true that works, service or good deeds do not save us. Although they are the evidence of our salvation...


Are you ready for the next step?

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer (Prayer is talking with God)

God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart.

Below is a suggested prayer. Remember you must mean it from your heart.

Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.!

Does the above prayer express the desires of your heart? If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, in the form of His Holy Spirit, just as He promised.

We are very excited if you received Jesus Christ as your Lord, and if you decided to follow Him. We would now love to help you grow as a Christian. Please let me know if you need any further assistance, or if you made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com

I'm a simple christian, I've decided. I don't need to know exactly what the bible says, or peoples interpretation of it. All I need to know is that I love Jesus Christ for what he did for man kind and I live my life with the goal to be a good person.

Simple.

I am a Taoist-Christain, so don't freak out becuase of the following. If you intend to win the hearts and minds of people, lets dicuss a few of these points with the questions of non-believers.

Point # 1: Who not what says we should conform to believing in your specfic diety? There are many faith claiming to be the "light and the "truth" and the "way".

Point#2
How can all men be seperated from God? Isn't the tale of adam and eve similar to tales from various other religions. In fact some say it is almost an exact copy of the bablyionian tale of Gigamesh? How are we to trust the bible, a text written by men and whose version decended from the bible which was assembled by men at the council of Nicae around 300 a.d. nearly 300 years after christ. There are many texts which were added or left out over the centuries that followed, so is to say that the bible(whichever version you read) is genuine let alone the "word of God"?

Point #3
Why just Jesus? There have been many men who preformed miracles and brought light and wisdom to the world. Are we not all children of "God"? Why pick just one person to be the route to eternal salvation. Why just one way?
Point #4
Agian who not what says there is just one way. What about all those who lived before christ or even perhaps those who have never heard your message? Are you saying those poor souls are condemned to hell? What makes these individual/s who said there is only one way back to God right? Are they not men and also subject to sin as you have suggested and therefore making their "holy" knowledge questionable?
Point#5
Who not what said proof was required of someones faith? Do not my actions and choices speak of my faith themselves? Again what makes individuals who say such things right? Is not my personal relationship with Christ and God enough?

I find it very disturbing the number of christians who can not actually answer such questions without constantly repeating verses which mean nothing to the none believer and ultimately are questionable to them as well as the number of questions that go unanswered as a result of such "salvation" tactics. It is my personal belief if one is to trully claim to be a member of a particular faith then must research it, study it, not just the texts but the history,languages and cultural backgrounds and ties. Quoting bible verses may win you a few followers but i believe you'll find that 2/3 of them will fall away from the "flock" when they start asking these questions. Most christians won't answer them or they believe quoting verses resolves such questions. They are horribly mistaken. Remeber all "truths" are subject to questioning and if you can not provide a intelligent and resonable answer or explaination then it your faith that is in question not the non-believer's. Just something to think about...

God sees and knows the heart.
No formula neccessary or required in accepting Jesus.

The outline was given , just to explain salvation .....
that is all.
(not as some formula to follow).

And also, one isn't required to read the bible first, in order to get saved.

Many in foreign countries don't even know what a bible is...

that doesn't keep them from accepting Jesus when they hear of him one bit.

Again.....God sees and looks for a willing heart.
That's all.
No formula required.

Question still not answered......
What of those who never hear or have never heard?
They still go to hell? Who not what said this was a requirement and what makes them right?
We're talking about intelligent reasoning here not bible verses...

Maikuru.......to the left of my post here, is my profile...

underneath the profile is a number of all the posts made on here....

click on that number shown,
and you will find back posts written,
that cover every question you just asked here, Maikuru.

Hope this helps, Precious.

scary people, scary people

[Blank][Blank] "Made me do it"

scary people, scary people

So you are unwilling or unable to answer such questions on this thread as i suspected right? Seriously if your going to preach the message of salvation you need to be able to answer these questions.

Maikuru...click on the number of my posts.....

then go straight to page 4....
start reading there...

then go to page 5, 6, 7, etc...

So Sorry my time is extremely limited Maikuru...ok?

All this has been covered before....

Read the backposts now, Precious..ok?...

Be Blessed Now...

Maikuru, what is a Taoist Christian?

That is a good question Ruth- As a believer in Christ, I am always interested to learn of how others faith works it usually opens up doors for me to talk abput my beliefs. It is nice to see people can talk so openly.

There is a man at my work that says He doesnt go to church and he doesnt have to go to church to be a christian. I told him he was right He doesnt have to go to church to be a christian.

Then I asked him a question..."If you had to have surgery tomorrow, and you knew your doctor hadnt been to med school but say just on christmas and easter, and he wasnt aware of the latest medical breakthrus and advances, would you want him to operate on you?"

I never put anyone down for what they believe or how they worship. That is not my purpose. My purpose is to show them what I have and make it so desireable that they want it too. After all isnt that what Jesus did?

If it is your goal to convert people than you are right, it is necessary to study as much as a doctor. If it is just your own personal, spritual path than you follow it as you feel necessary. It sounds like that is the way your co-worker feels about it.

sorry for the late reply. They are a christian who incoporates Taoist philosopy and insights into their faith. A good book about the subject is,"The Jesus Sutras" by Robert Palmer. let me know if you have any other questions about it or anything else.

Interesting. Thank you!

Why should I need to be saved?

And from what?

Your hell?

I don't believe in hell, therefore it is a place I can't go.

You are creating your own hell, but it isn't mine, and will never be.

That's the lie right there.

This is the lie that the authors of the Bible made up to convince you that you need to be 'saved' from something.

It's just a religion that was made up by men in a desperate attempt to gain followers who would obey the authority of their Church.

Have you ever noticed that accepting Jesus as your Savior isn't quite enough?

In addition to that you must support the entire doctrine of the Church and all of it's bigotry and male chauvinism.

In fact the Protestant finally had enough and left the church and it's bigoted authority. But they took Jesus with them and tried to make up their own religion.

You don't truly believe in the Bible yourself MorningSong.

The Bible clearly states that women aren't to speak out publicly on religious matters. Yet you ignore that directive all the time.

You coudln't care less what the biblical God wants. You're as rebellious as that Satan fellow you keep talking about. You refuse to do as the Biblical God says. You have to do your own thing instead.

You have no respect for the wishes of the biblical God at all.

You couldn't care less what he says.

All you want to do is praise Jesus.

But Jesus was supposed to be the son of that God. A God that you have no intention of giving any respect to whatsoever.

You disagree with the Old Testament just like Jesus did.

Jesus was nailed to a cross for disagreeing with the Old Testament.

Then later he was literally nailed to the Old Testament by the writers who used his martyrdom to prop up the very religion that he had denounced. They shoved their own words into his dead mouth.

When you worship Christianity through the New Testament you are actually worshiping the enemies of Jesus.

There is not a single solitary word in the entire Bible that was actually written by Jesus.

Nary a word.

He was crucified phsyically on the cross, and then crucified again spiritually in the New Testament.

So if you never heard of Jesus your done for? Straight to hell?

Poor islanders, poor aborigines, poor children that died before learning language, poor . . . . the list goes on . . .

Answer the question and gain respect, dodge it and get looked at like your crazy for believing such ____.

Let me translate this for you . . . Blah blah blah blah blah blah, I dont know, so I am just going to quote some more scripture which is my life and I cant understand how anyone could not feel the way I do about it.

Morningsong you need to do a background check on christianity before you start preaching.