Being a follower of Jesus Christ does not mean you go to a church building, following a lukewarm church, listening to lukewarm teachings that makes you feel good and going through the motions/works someone else tells you to do. There are many religions, many denominations and many churches who are either false or lukewarm and steer away from sound biblical doctrine. They are all about “me”, about how to prosper in this world, about doing works, about going through specific motions, deeds and traditions. There are many churches that carry the name of a church and make people identify as christians but they have little to do with being a follower of Christ, this goes for both visitors and teachers. As Matthew 7:16 states: “You will know them by their fruits”.
God is not looking for perfect people. God is not looking for people who are all about their own self righteousness, their own deeds and their own works. God is looking for people who have an open heart and are willing to listen to, grow and walk with Him. He is looking for people who can understand and acknowledge that they have sinned against Him (English: Sin = “Chata” in hebrew, meaning: to miss the target/to come short (to God’s standard, to God’s holiness), a failure to love God & humans created in His image).
Being a follower of Christ means you have accepted His Gospel (greek: “Euangelion”, meaning: good news). It means you accept and believe in Christ and His finished work on the cross which He did for you, that is what saves and makes you a follower of Christ. After accepting and believing in Him and his works, you will develop and have a personal relationship with the Lord as He guides you and convicts your heart step by step going through life. A follower of Christ will experience a continuous tug of war in his/her life and heart, with many victories and losses, that will continue on and on as long as you keep leaning into the Lord, allowing Him to reveal more and more things for you to overcome, so you will grow closer to Him and develop your personal relationship with Him.
Leaning into the Lord means for example reading and studying the Bible yourself, by praying over all things (good and bad things) and laying it all at Christ’s feet (share with/give it all to Him) and have faith in Him (faith in the Lords works, not your own). By following Christ’s example and not following your own flesh and the lusts of the flesh or this world. These are examples of leaning in that will develop your walk and relationship with Him but this is NOT what saves. Believing in Christ and His finished work which He did for you is the starting point and is what saves you.
As religions and people say: “do works to prosper” or “do works get saved”, Christ said: “it is finished”, that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. It is as simple as it is written, we all have sinned, but Christ finished the work on the cross for each one of us to acknowledge, accept and believe in. We are not saved by our own works but we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The “Trinity”
Compare God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit, often called the Trinity) to an apple: in an apple there is the seed, the flesh and the skin, all three are unique and distinctive but all three are the same one apple, the flesh of an apple is not the skin, and the skin is not the flesh, but both are the same apple, just as Christ is not the Father, and the Father is not Christ, yet there is only one true living God. Not three Gods. Same principle goes for humans, we are created in HIS image. This does not mean we physically look like Him, it means we have a soul, body and spirit (like the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), you are you, you are not three persons, there are not three apples, there are no three Gods.
Through sin however our spirit is dead, but by accepting and believing in Christ His finished work on the cross we receive God His Holy Spirit that makes us a new creation, with eternal life and HIS living spirit living inside us, reviving us. Which, again, means we cannot save ourselves since our spirit is dead, but God’s living spirit and His finished work is what saves us. So no 3 God’s, just one LIVING god that saves us. Christians often call this being “born-again”, since first we are born physically and when you started accepting and believing in Christ you have another birth but this time it’s Spiritually by Gods Holy Spirit. Baptism is also a beautiful representation of this. Note: baptism itself does not save, it is not a requirement for being saved (as some say or want it to be) since true baptism is of the Holy Spirit, it’s spiritual, and no, water baptism is not what gives you the Holy Spirit (God does) and is also not the moment it happens (it happens when you accept the Gospel thus believing in Christ). However, baptism by water is a beautiful outward expression of this above described picture.
The Gospel Explained 1
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He is not a creation of God, but is God made flesh that dwelt among us. If Christ was not who He was, then what He did made no difference. (John 1:1-14)
2
Jesus Christ did not just die, but rose from the dead three days later. It is through the Resurrection that we have proof of the Father’s acceptance of Christ’s work. Without the Resurrection, we are of all men most miserable (I Cor 15)
3
We are condemned sinners legally (Romans 5) because of who we are in Adam, being dead in sin, (Ephesians 2:3) morally and because of what we are in our nature, and habitually (1 John 3:4) in what we do because of our behaviour.
4
Jesus Christ is perfect, holy, and sinless. He is perfect in his relation to the Father, morally in His nature, and was habitually perfect leading a spotless and sinless life. (Heb 9:14; 1 Pet 1:19; Luke 1:35)
5
Jesus Christ lived out this perfect and sinless life on our behalf to give to our account. This is called “imputed righteousness,” and it is purely Jesus’ and none of our own. In fact, it is in place of our own. Because of this, we are recognised as pure, holy, spotless and sanctified. Not because we actually are, but because Jesus Christ actually was, and we are accounted so because of Him. (Romans 3-4)
6
Jesus Christ died the perfect death on your behalf, and in your place. Just as Christ gives you His righteousness to your accounts, so too did He take upon Himself your unrighteousness upon His. Because of this, and to those who believe and trust in it, you are legally pronounced spotless, sinless, and perfect, moving from death of the judgment to life in Christ. You are no longer condemned, but are pronounced innocent, not guilty, and justified. (Zech 3:1-5; Isaiah 53:6)
7
When you accept and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by faith, you are given something called the Holy Spirit in which the Lord indwells within you, allowing you to experience what it means to be “born again.” Because of this “born again” experience, you will reflect the life and love of Jesus Christ as He lives Himself out in you. (Galatians 3:1-7)
8
This does not mean you will be sinless in your very lives however. But you will reflect Jesus’ perfect life as you wrestle against your own imperfect one. This is a tug of war, with many victories and losses, that will continue on and on, allowing God to reveal more and more things for you to overcome, so you will grow closer to the Lord, have an increasingly better relationship with Him and become more spiritually mature until death or Jesus Christ’s second coming and then changes your nature from corrupt to incorrupt. Then and only then will you experiences sinless perfection. (Galatians 5:17; Romans 7)
The Gospel Simplified
God sent his Son Jesus Christ to save you from all your sins. John 3:16 KJV – “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.” Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried and on the third day He rose from the dead1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV – “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”. What it means? It means your death has been paid! What death? The death of sin.Romans 6:23 KJV – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Believe in Christ and what He did for you and you are saved. It’s simple:Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV – “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”.To be a good person means nothing. Why? Because we aren‘t saved by works, but by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Praying
Praying itself does not save, it’s the acceptance and faith/belief in Christ and His finished work that saves. Below is an example of what you could say and ask Him as a first time prayer. Praying does not have to be out loud, it can be private, it can be public, it can be quiet, it can be mumbled, and yes it can also be out loud. When you truly believe in Christ let the Holy Spirit inside you guide you in your prayers everyday, share your happiness with Him, humble yourself and praise Him for all He did for you (small and great things), ask Him for help for whatever you need Him to help you with. Prayers can be very short or you can pray for a long time pouring your heart all out to Him. Do as His spirits leads and guides you to.
It does not have to be 1 prayer a day, or 3 prayers a day, and it does not have to be at a specific time, pray throughout all the day and especially when you feel the Holy Spirit calling you to do so. You have (maybe just now) a personal relationship with Christ, so feel free to communicate and express yourself to Him, anything you feel, experience or emotion you have, lay it at His feet. Some treat praying as if it’s a specific moment in the day to make some requests to God and they follow a rigid prayer they pray everyday the same thing over and over again. But just talk to God. Express yourself to Him, Thank Him, Praise Him and Ask Him.
For example thanking your partner for something He/She did is beautiful when you thank Him/Her with your whole heart, thanking just because it’s the thing to do and to get over with it, is not. It’s ok to have a set moment in the day for prayer with a prayer that follows some set points but remember that you are talking to God and have a relationship with Him, this also makes being a follower of Christ different to all religions in the world, you are not following a ToDo or checklist, you have a personal relationship with God. So do it with your whole heart and mind in it, not just to get over with it because it’s the thing to do following a checklist.
Example First Time Prayer Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
To Conclude
Believing in Christ and His Gospel is what saves you, not baptism, not working good deeds, not being the most charitable person, not your own self-righteousness, not how many times you attended church, not how many times you have repented, not how many times you have confessed, not how many times you have prayed, not how many times you went to a priest, not how many things need to be ‘purged’, not about how good or ‘holier than thou’ someone may seem to be, It’s not about us, it’s ALL about Christ and HIS >>finished<< work on the Cross FOR US. And that is what we need to accept and believe in.
“Investing” in your relationship with God by leaning into Him is good and being faithful to God throughout your life will be rewarded at the BEMA seat (more on this in the playlist section), and it will improve you spiritually in a way to you will be more Christ-like with the fruits of the spirit: (Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”). But all these things are not what saves someone. Believing in Christ and HIS finished work for us is what saves. Good works is what comes after you are “born-again”, it is God working in and through you doing the good works and good deeds as long as you keep leaning into Him and stay faithful in your walk with God. But again, that is not what saves, that is the result of being saved.Some people may add the word ‘repentance’ to salvation. Repentance itself is not wrong, in fact it’s right, we all must repent of our sins and turn to Christ. But some imply that if you repent or confess (they often bundle those two together) long or often enough that you will be saved, meaning that you are only saved as long as you repent or confess of every single sin you commit, so when you commit sin today you would have been ‘unsaved’ until you repented or confessed that sin, but again that is false and wrong, only Christ’s finished work saves, not us. Repentance comes from the greek word: “Metanoia”. It means a change in way of life, a change of heart or change of mind. It’s a spiritual transformation/change, in this case, it means you accept and understand now that our sin seperates us from God, that as unbelievers we had a spiritual death penalty, that there was a gap between us and God. But that it is Christ’s finished work on the cross what saves us. Repentance is what happens when you become a follower of Christ, turning from unbelief to believing, turning from sin to being accounted worthy through Christ. Confessing your sins and asking God for help with certain sins in your life is a good thing to do and that is what you can do to God in prayer (no need for a priest for that), but again, same with all other things, confessing itself is not what saves. Accepting/repenting/understanding/turning from unbelief to believing in Christ and HIS finished work for you is the good news, that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you believe and trust in the blood of Christ, God’s finished work on the cross? in God’s mercy? in God’s Grace? in God’s forgiveness? that is what saves and makes you a follower of Christ. The other pages contain information on the last days that may or may not be close (different positions and theories exist on this), believers being caught up to God and what happens in those “End Times”. You can use it all for your own walk with Christ and for your own studies, encouragement and getting together with fellow believers. God bless you all, and to all my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ: one day it will all be over and we will be together in His kingdom, together with all our brothers and sisters from all over the world, together with our Savior, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord's Room