What it means to be Saved
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If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be? Would you choose to be the President of the United States? a famous musician? an athlete? etc.
Most of us would want to be someone who is successful. It is important to realize that successful people did not become successful over night. A great musician spend thousand of hours of practice honing their skills. A golfer will hit hundreds of balls every day working on his game.
The same is true in your relationship with the Lord. You must start at the beginning. Your relationship with the Lord will grow and develop as you spend time with him on a daily basis over the coming years.
To Help you get started, let’s review your decision to become a Christian.
To Help you get started, let’s review your decision to become a Christian.
Put a check by the statements which reflect how you see new faith in Jesus Christ.
Put a check by the statements which reflect how you see new faith in Jesus Christ.
1. My faith in Jesus Christ is a nice religion that makes me feel good.
1. My faith in Jesus Christ is a nice religion that makes me feel good.
2. My faith in Jesus Christ is good for me.
2. My faith in Jesus Christ is good for me.
3. My faith in Jesus Christ is a genuine faith.
3. My faith in Jesus Christ is a genuine faith.
4. My faith in Jesus Christ sometimes seems foolish.
4. My faith in Jesus Christ sometimes seems foolish.
Check the statements you learned were true when you became a Christian.
Check the statements you learned were true when you became a Christian.
1. God loves me.
1. God loves me.
2. I have sinned.
2. I have sinned.
3. Jesus is the only way to God.
3. Jesus is the only way to God.
4. My faith in Jesus allowed me to become a Christian.
4. My faith in Jesus allowed me to become a Christian.
Let’s Review what it means to become a Christian.
Let’s Review what it means to become a Christian.
1. God loves you and created you to have a personal relationship with Him.
1. God loves you and created you to have a personal relationship with Him.
Let’s look at this statement.
God loves created you.
God loves created you.
26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
No other part of God’s creation was created in His image but humans. That’s what makes us special. How are we made in God’s image? While we will never be exactly like God, we reflect His glory. We can reason like like God; be creative like God; speak like God; and we have some self-determination like God does. We can reflect God’s character of love, patience, forgiveness, kindness and faithfulness.
Knowing that we are created in God’s image, and share many of His characteristics, provides us with a solid basis for self worth. Our worth is not based on possessions, achievements, attractiveness, but it’s based on being made in God’s image.
Knowing you are a person of worth helps you to love God, know him personally and make a difference in those around you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
God’s character goes into each one of us. When you feel worthless, remember God is at work in you.
I am holding a 100 dollar bill in my hand. Who wants it? Wait… wrinkle it up… now who wants it? step on it… Anyone still want it? Why? Because of the image on it. The 100 dollar bill is valuable because of the image on it…
We are valuable because of the image on us… we are created in the image of God.
God loves you.
God loves you.
Not only did God create you, He loves you.
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
God loves each one of us so much that he was willing to allow his son to die on a cross for us so we could have eternal life. Eternal life is not just a continuation of this life… it is much better. We are eternal beings and will spend eternity in heaven with God or in hell away from God and everyone else.
to believe in him is more than an intellectual belief.
God wants you to know Him.
God wants you to know Him.
Look at John 17:3
3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.
God wants to have a personal relationship with us. That’s why he created us.
Remember in the Garden, he would meet with Adam in the cool fo the day. That is when He had come looking for Adam after they had eaten from the tree.
Why is it that so many of us do not have a personal relationship with God? Why are so many of us not experiencing the wonderful things God has in store for us?
2. Our sin keeps us from having a personal relationship with God.
2. Our sin keeps us from having a personal relationship with God.
What is sin? Missing the mark
What is sin? Missing the mark
Sin is anything that is against God or His Laws. It’s attempting to live as if God didn’t exist. But it’s more than doing things that are wrong.
Sin is also not doing what’s right.
Sin is also not doing what’s right.
17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
Who has sinned? All of us.
Who has sinned? All of us.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
What is the result of our sin? Death
What is the result of our sin? Death
16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Sin causes a gap between us and God. Death, which means eternal separation from God in Hell, is the penalty for our sin.
What is the solution to our problem?
What is the solution to our problem?
What is the solution to our separation from God? We have to find some way to get back with God. That’s what all of the other religions do – try to get to God. Christianity is God coming to us.
3. Only through Jesus Christ can we have a personal relationship with God.
3. Only through Jesus Christ can we have a personal relationship with God.
Let’s look at this for a minute.
Why Jesus? He is the one who paid the price for our sins.
Why Jesus? He is the one who paid the price for our sins.
Jesus is the only one who could pay for our sins and he is the only one who did pay for our sins.
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
You cannot have a relationship with God any other way than through a relationship with Jesus.
Why did Jesus have to die? The penalty for sin was death.
Why did Jesus have to die? The penalty for sin was death.
God told Adam that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. Someone has to die for sins, either us, or Jesus. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we could be forgiven. Remember, we had earned the death penalty.
18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
Jesus is the only one who died for our sins.
Why did Jesus rise from the dead? Resurrection proved he is God
Why did Jesus rise from the dead? Resurrection proved he is God
Jesus rose from the dead to show he can give us eternal life. Without the resurrection, there is no church, no Christianity.
Simon Greenleaf - more evidence for the resurrection than any legal decision ever.
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.
At one point he was seen by over 500 ate one time.
So how can we have this relationship with God?
4. We must personally respond by trusting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
4. We must personally respond by trusting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
Let’s look at this.
We respond with trust or faith in Christ.
We respond with trust or faith in Christ.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Through faith we accept the gift of Salvation from God. We must trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of our sins and to guide our lives.
We respond by turning from sin towards God.
We respond by turning from sin towards God.
19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
We respond by receiving Christ.
We respond by receiving Christ.
12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
Here is what this scripture means.
Receiving Christ means turning to God from living your way.
Receiving Christ means turning to God from living your way.
This is called repentance.
Receiving Christ means inviting Christ to come into your life and trusting Him to forgive your sin.
Receiving Christ means inviting Christ to come into your life and trusting Him to forgive your sin.
Receiving Christ means allowing God to direct your life.
Receiving Christ means allowing God to direct your life.
Receiving Christ in not just an emotional experience; nor is it just agreeing in your mind that Jesus is the Son of God. It means total trust, an act of your will.
We are all in one of three possible scenarios.
We don’t have a personal relationship with Christ.
We want a personal relationship with Christ.
We have a personal relationship with Christ.
Where are you tonight? Are you where you want to be? You can begin a personal relationship with God tonight.
Pray
5. Your trust in Jesus as your Savior begins a life-long relationship.
5. Your trust in Jesus as your Savior begins a life-long relationship.
When you invited Jesus into your life,
God commits himself to you.
God commits himself to you.
God assures you that Jesus Christ came into your life. John 14:20; On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
God will never leave you.
God will never leave you.
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
God completely forgives your sin.
God completely forgives your sin.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
God assures you that you have eternal life.
God assures you that you have eternal life.
13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
God give you His Holy Spirit to enable you to live the Christian life.
God give you His Holy Spirit to enable you to live the Christian life.
25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Wouldn’t you like to stop right now and thank God that Christ is in your life and will never leave you?
When you invited Jesus into your life,
You commit yourself to God.
You commit yourself to God.
6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
You depend of facts, not feelings.
You depend of facts, not feelings.
No matter how you feel, God remains committed to you. The promises in God’s word, the Bible are your authority, not your feelings. (chair illustration)
Just like you can depend on the chair to hold you up, even if you weren’t comfortable in the chair, you can depend on God even when you don’t feel it. Feelings come and go, but God’s love for you is consistent.
6. Keep growing closer to God every day.
6. Keep growing closer to God every day.
I want to give you an acrostic that will help you to grow each day.
G- Go to God daily in prayer Phil. 4:6-7
G- Go to God daily in prayer Phil. 4:6-7
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
There is nothing too small in your life that God isn’t interested in nor is there anything too difficult for him to accomplish.
R- Read the Bible daily. 2 Timothy 3:14-17
R- Read the Bible daily. 2 Timothy 3:14-17
14 But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. 15 You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
We need to read the Bible daily and study it as often as we can.
O- Obey God moment by moment. Luke 6:46-48
O- Obey God moment by moment. Luke 6:46-48
46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.
There is something called a Ramah Word. That is simply when God speaks to you through His Word.
W-Worship in a local church regularly. Heb 10:24-25
W-Worship in a local church regularly. Heb 10:24-25
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
God wants you and I to be involved in a local church. Concerts and para-church organizations and Bible studies are good as long as we do not let them take the place of being plugged into a local church.
T- Tell others about Jesus. 1 Pet. 3:15-16
T- Tell others about Jesus. 1 Pet. 3:15-16
15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
We live life following God and explain what God has done in our lives.
H- Holy Spirit – let Him direct your life. John 14:26
H- Holy Spirit – let Him direct your life. John 14:26
26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
We need to listen to the Holy Spirit as He reminds us of what Jesus teaches us through His Word.