On the Way: Basic Christian Training

By Jean Rawlings and Norman Rawlings

In the New Testament of the Bible in the book called the Acts of the Apostles, we see a church and a people impacted by the power of God. These people applied themselves to study the teachings of the church, to prayer and also enjoyed a caring fellowship. This church affected the world around it and great signs and miracles were normal. As Christians today we can and should live the continuation of the Acts of the Apostles and the continuation of the normal church.

In the chapters of On the Way: Basic Christian Training, we explain how you become a Christian. We weave verses from the Bible and explanations into a narrative to show you how you can grow into all God intends for you to be. We help you to see how you can experience the power, meaning, and fulfillment only God can bring.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490824017

Book preview

1

SALVATION AND WATER BAPTISM

a) Introduction - Creation and the Fall of Man

In the beginning God created man (male and female) in His own image (Gen. 1:27). God made Adam’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it His breath or spiritual life (Gen. 2:7). We were created to have fellowship with God (Gen. 3:8). I love that last verse, just the idea of being able to walk and talk with God in a beautiful garden in the cool of the day. Those words conjure up a wonderful image of peace and fellowship. Like God, we are spirit beings (John 4:24). Our spirits (our spirit is our spiritual heart or conscience) live in our physical bodies and we have souls (the soul is the mind, will and emotions).

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23, KJV).

God gave mankind dominion (rule, control) over the earth (Gen. 1:26-28) and placed His first created human beings, Adam and Eve, into the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8). They could eat from any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). Satan (the devil), in the form of a snake (Rev. 12:9), deceived Eve into eating fruit from the forbidden tree and Adam joined her (Gen. 3:1-6). In so doing they disobeyed God (sinned) and brought sin and spiritual death on themselves and all mankind that followed them (Gen 2:17; Rom. 5:12). Their fellowship with God was broken (1 John 1:6-7). In responding to satan’s temptation and disobeying God, man surrendered dominion (authority) to the devil (Luke 4:5-6). In this chapter, we discuss God’s plan to reverse the effects of sin, bringing new life and restored fellowship with Him.

b) God’s plan of Redemption

In the New Testament, we are told that all people sin and that this results in spiritual death, separating us from God, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23, KJV)

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:23, KJV)

In the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were made every year to atone for (cover, cancel) the sins of Israel (see Lev. 16); blood was shed for the remission (cancelling, forgiveness) of sins (Heb. 9:22). The life of the animal was in its blood and God said, it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Lev. 17:11, KJV; see also Heb. 9:22). To bring us back into right standing with Him, God had to deal with the effects of sin in us. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross as a once and for all time sacrifice for our sins, past, present and future.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8, NKJV).

He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Heb. 9:26, NKJV).

The Bible tells us clearly that we were cleansed from sin by the shed blood of Jesus.

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb. 9:14, KJV).

In fact, Jesus became sin for us (bore our sins) that we could become righteous, or be restored to right standing with God.

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 (2 Cor. 5:21, KJV).

c) The Plan of Salvation

God loved us so much that He gave Jesus to die as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 9:26) and whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life.

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, KJV).

What do we need to do? If we believe Jesus is who He claims to be and that He died for our sins and rose again; if we are willing to confess this before men and make Jesus Lord of our lives (ask Him into our lives to take control), we will be saved.

Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation (Rom. 10:9-10, Amp).

This also requires that we repent of our sins; this means to ask God’s forgiveness and allow God to help us turn away from our old sinful lifestyles (repent) (Acts 3:19). To be justified is to be made in God’s eyes as if we had never sinned! To be righteous is to have right standing with God.

What does it mean to be saved? Another expression for this is being born again. Jesus told a Jewish leader called Nicodemus that he must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God or to get into relationship with God. He told Nicodemus that this was a spiritual rebirth, not a physical one (John 3:1-7).

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 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 (John 3:1-7, KJV).

When we are born again, God removes our old dead spirits and gives us new ones (Ezek. 11:19). In salvation we become new creations.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor. 5:17, KJV).

As new spiritual creations, we are a species of beings that never existed before. Our old, dead spirits are gone and we have new ones in fellowship with God. We receive salvation by faith (Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:8). God tells us that the only way to salvation and fellowship with Him is through Jesus Christ.

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, KJV).

In salvation Christ comes to live in us.

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20, KJV).

We die spiritually to our old sinful selves (sin) and become alive to Jesus; by faith we allow Jesus to live in and direct our lives, and you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1, NKJV; see also Rom. 6:8).

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 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 (Eph. 2:4-9, KJV).

We enter into God’s kingdom, into Jesus’ spiritual sphere of influence (heavenly places), the body of Christ, or the church. What an amazing exchange, our old lives dead in sin, to new lives in Christ and this all comes as a free gift by God’s grace.

For if by one man’s offence (Adam’s sin) death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17, KJV). Words in parentheses added.

Grace is unmerited favour, God’s empowerment for us to receive all He has for us. We could never attain any of this by our own efforts or performance, only by God’s love and grace! Jesus said He is the Vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). We are in Him, He is in us and His life flows through us.

d) What does the Word Salvation mean?

The Greek words for salvation used in the Bible are soteria and soterion. They mean forgiveness, deliverance, rescue, liberation, release, restoration, safety, healing, prosperity, preservation, soundness, happiness and general well being! All of this is included in salvation (Luke 19:9; Acts 28:28). Jesus said,

The thief cometh not, but for to to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10, KJV).

In the verse above, the word used for life in the Greek is zoe or the life that God leads. When Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, He descended into hell but hell and the grave could not hold Him; He rose again on the third day, victorious over the devil (Luke 23 and 24). Jesus took back the power and authority the devil assumed when Adam sinned (Col. 2:15). As children of God, we have been removed from the power and authority of satan and placed into God’s kingdom of light (John 1:12-13; Col 1:13). We are victorious in Christ Jesus! Victorious over satan! (1 Cor 15:57). We are also forgiven, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:14, KJV). To redeem means to release by paying a price; what a price was paid for our redemption. We are saved, delivered, rescued, liberated, released and restored from sin, darkness and all satan’s destructive plans for us!

In Christ we have healing for our bodies and souls (1 Pet. 2:24), we have prosperity (Phil. 4:19), we have protection (Ps. 3:3; Ps. 91), joy (Neh. 8:10), love (Rom. 5:5), peace (John 14:27), strength (Is. 40:31) and all the promises of God found in the Bible! The Bible says God will never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5) and nothing will separate us from His love (Rom. 8:38-39). We have eternal life. This means life with God now and in heaven when our body dies, and this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life (1 John 2:25, KJV). We can come boldly into His presence, the presence of our loving Father (Heb. 4:16).

e) Growing in Christ

This all sounds wonderful but we need to grow in our understanding of God and His word (the Bible). We need to mature as Christians, walk in all His ways and blessings and be used by Him. It is important to study the Bible, pray, thank, praise and worship God. We need to find good church homes where the Bible is taught and where people believe God’s word. Problems and challenges will still come; but the devil has no authority in our lives, however, he still tries to trip us up. Remember, that in Jesus we have victory and He will always be there to help us (John 16:33; 1 Pet. 5:7).

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to