Salvation
WHAT IS SALVATION?
Are you a Christian? You may say, “YES”. Well, now here is another question for you… have you been saved? If your answer is yes, that’s great! If you are doubting to find an answer to this question, this is the perfect section for you to think about it as it’s so crucial as you start your journey with Jesus.
From the beginning of creation, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin separates man from God. Salvation is the process of finding back our way to God. And it can be achieved only through the sacrifice of the Lamb. God so loved the people in this world that He gave His only Son to become a sacrifice for our sins so that we can approach Him boldly before the throne of God.
A person must be saved to enter into the kingdom of God. You need to be born again in Jesus Christ and the blood of Jesus will cleanse all your sins when you truly recognize your sins and you have the willing and submissive heart to repent from those sins instead of justifying it or covering it before the Almighty and all-knowing God. This is the free gift of God that He offers to anyone who repents from their sins and belives in Jesus. Salvation is to be found through Jesus alone. There is no other name given to us other than the name of Jesus for salvation. He became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He took our place in judgement and opened the door of Heaven for those who believe in Him.
WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED?
Salvation can’t be achieved by yourself through works or good deeds. If you think like, “I do good works to the world and I help poor people, so I will definitely go to heaven because of all of my good deeds”, then you are absolutely wrong. What you do externally won’t decide your eternal life. Jesus will. Your heart needs saving. It’s no benefit when you do all good works in the world by keeping all filthiness in your heart, how can you face God? Good deeds won’t take you to heaven. God only shows mercy to the humble but reject every prideful heart.
HOW TO BE SAVED?
Step 1: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
Step 2: Recognize your sins. Confess before the Lord and ask for forgiveness.
Step 3: Repent from your sins. Make a decision to follow Christ and to reject the wordly pleasures.
Step 4: Now you are a new being in Christ. Thank God for His salvation that He offered to you through His Son.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
Baptism
The very first step you need to do right after your salvation is to get baptized in the water in the name of Father, the So and the Holy Spirit. This is the public declaration of your salvation. It is the outward sign of your inward transformation.
In the Bible, we see John the baptist baptised Jesus and many others in the water. This baptism is for the repentance and for the forgiveness of your sins.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE BAPTISED?
You will put on Christ. You are no longer you. Christ who lives in you, will do all things in and through you. Those who are baptized into Christ Jesus are baptized into his death and are buried, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Once you are baptised, you are now officially the disciple of Jesus Christ.
Commandments
As now you begin your walk with Jesus, you will heed His commandments. Jesus said, “My sheep will hear my voice”. His commandments are true. As you follow Jesus, you need to remain in His path. The Bible says, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” If Jesus Himself has kept Father’s commandments, how much more we need to follow them?
Jesus recalls the greatest commandments from the old testament. Bible should be the love letter as well as a rule book for every Christian. It shows how we need to live a life that brings glory to God. It shows the way and the truth that we need to choose. You need to keep all of God’s commandments in order to live a long life because His Word itself is life. The eternal life flows from them. Every Christian should draw his/her strength from the source of God’s Word. A true Christian should not delay in keeping God’s commandments. Psalmist says, ” the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” and “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!”
Faith
WHAT IS FAITH?
Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. To make it more clear, faith looks at things as God sees and not as mere human sees. It’s taking God at His Word and believing it against all odds. Faith comes by hearing the word of God.
WHY DO WE NEED FAITH?
For healing, to live (for we live by faith and not by sight), to move the mountain sized problems, to be saved from sins and its a shield that extinguish enemy’s arrows.
Holy Spirit
WHO IS HOLY SPIRIT?
Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. Holy Spirit is not just a force of power but also He is a person just like Jesus Christ. Once you are assured of your salvation, Holy Spirit will seal you for the kingdom of God. You are no longer belongs to this world. Once you are saved, you begin your eternal life in Christ Jesus. You will not need to live your life alone anymore. Holy Spirit will guide you and lead you in the path of eternity. This is the initial work of the Holy spirit in one’s spiritual life – to help them to continue to walk in obendience to the Word of God. As we become more sensitive to Him by listening to Him everyday, He will start to work in and through us. His power will be revealed through us. He will give us the gifts that we need to minister to God on this Earth. Holy Spirit should be the driving force for any Christian.
Prayer
Our God listens and our God speaks. He is alive and He wants to have a relationship with Him. Relationship is possible only if there is an uninteruppted communication. Prayer is a communication between God and human. As you accept Jesus as your personal Saviour (which is salvation) and repented of your sins, it’s crucial that you stay close to Jesus to avoid any worldly distractions. Your relationship with Jesus matters the most since He alone can let you in when we reach Heaven’s gate. If you have bad attitude with Jesus by not hearing His word and doing everything in our own way, then the consequence will be hard to bear. So stay rooted in scripture and love Jesus and keep talking with Him during the seasons of happiness as well as the season of sorrow. True relationship stays even when things go wrong. So my fellow christian, keep on praying. Keep on beleiveing Him. Keep on receiving miracles and favor from Him. He is our good good Father.