The Four Spiritual Laws - God's Debt Relief Program (Redeemer Group)

For readers that are saved, unsaved, or unsure of the meaning of salvation.
Remember that I am by no means perfect; rather I am merely one beggar telling other beggars where to find bread'. Like I tell those of you in CBU and Redeemer Bible Studies - I am speaking to myself in all aspects of my teaching.

My question to readers is simply, “Are you saved?” Now in my spiritual walk, I’ve had the opportunity to share Christ with fellow high school and college students alike and this is always a question I like to ask, almost always preceded by the question, “Are you a Christian?” People usually say, “Yes, I’m a Christian, I believe there's a God and I’m a pretty good person and I go to church, so that must mean I’m saved,” but does that equate to being Biblically ‘saved’? Unfortunately the answer is ‘no’, but the good news is that the Bible tells us directly how to be saved and more importantly, it tells us that there is only one path to being saved- through Jesus Christ. The Bible gives us the Four Spiritual Laws that clearly instruct us on how we can invite Christ into our hearts and our minds.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
By ‘the world’, John the Baptist means ‘YOU’. “For God so loved YOU (substitute your own name)…” that He is willing to save you from the punishment of your sin, an eternity of pain and suffering in hell, and assure you that if you died right now, you would go straight to heaven. He will save you if you are willing to trust Him.

In order to trust Jesus Christ, you must first admit that you are a sinner, for...
"All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
We’ve all lied, cheated, stolen, and or boasted at some point in our lives. And by acknowledging that we’ve at some point committed one, many, or all of these sins, we, by our very own tongues, admit that we are liars, cheaters, thieves, and or boasters. We are all guilty of sins of commission (things we aren't supposed to do, but did do) and sins of omission (things we are supposed to do but didn't do).

Second, you must forsake your own self-effort, realize that only God the Father can save you, because...
"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).
There are no carnal (secular, worldly) means that can release us of our sin debt. No good actions, and no religious rituals will ever satisfy the debt of sin. Therefore, we must realize that only the Father and his son the Lord Jesus Christ can redeem us of our wrongdoing.

Third, you must recognize that Jesus Christ paid your sin debt with His blood when He died on the cross, since...
"God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Since we can not satisfy the conditions of our sin debt, we must realize that only the Father loves us and sent his son the Lord Jesus Christ to die on the cross and offer us redemption of our wrongdoings and our shortcomings.

And lastly, realizing that Jesus Christ has paid a debt that you yourself are unable to pay, you must accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Place your faith and believe with all your heart that Christ and Christ alone saves you and gives you the gift of salvation.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

Jesus says,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6).
There is nothing unclear about this statement. Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

If you are not yet saved and have made the most important decision in your life to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you must pray to your Savior in heaven, because He will hear you, for
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).

If you’ve made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and savior, use this following sample prayer to genuinely and sincerely invite Him into your heart and to change you into the person He wants you to be.
“Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I’m a sinner and that I’m lost. I know that I need to be saved. I realize that I can not save myself, but yet You love me and sent your only son Jesus to die for me. I trust You. Please come into my heart and forgive me of my sins. Father I wish to give You my life today. Amen.”

Accept the gift of salvation today! If you have never been saved, I encourage you to do so now, because it is the single most important decision you will ever make! Yesterday has come and gone, and tomorrow may never come, so today is the best day to know that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The question is not whether or not you know Jesus. It's a matter of whether Jesus knows YOU.

So if you are unsaved, I hope that you will choose Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you are saved, I hope that you'd be reminded of the glorious gift that God has given us in the sacrifice of his sinless son - the righteous for the unrighteous, the innocent for the guilty. Reflect upon the price that was paid because there is a God in Heaven that loves you. On Tuesday at a Bible study, I discussed the difference between a religion and a faith, and I posed the question to the group, "Is Christianity a religion?"

The answer is no. Rather it is defined as a "faith". You see, a religion is a defined as "a set of carnal rituals performed by human beings in order to elevate themselves towards God or deity". Christianity is exactly the opposite. There's a God in Heaven that knows that we can not save ourselves. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) In God's economy, we owed a debt for our sins - a debt we couldn't pay ourselves. So God gave us the GIFT of salvation through Christ so that we would not have to suffer the "wages of sin - death" (Romans 6:23). Death being eternal separation from a loving God that is the author of all goodness and mercy. So if you're saved, meditate upon the beauty of God's G.R.A.C.E.

God's
Riches
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Man vs. World - Biblical Worldview (Redeemer Group)

Man vs. World
Re-Born Survivor
Ultimate Revival
Ephesians 6:10-12 says,
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

• Flesh and blood (people) are not our enemies.
• Rather our enemies are unseen – Satan and his demons.
• People themselves don’t hurt us, but Satan acting through them does – through sin.
• Therefore, we are called to love all people. Specifically, we love all sinners, but we hate their sins.
• Principalities – Sins that the world tries to convince us are “OK”.
o Abortion, Euthanasia
o Homosexuality
o Adulterous relationships/Cohabitation
• Powers – Witchcraft, fortune telling, psychics
• Rulers and Spiritual Wickedness in High Places – world leaders who stand for ungodly things
o Kim Jong Il, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Other World Religions and their leaders
Also, DISTRACTIONS
It's not good to be lazy, but it's not good to be so active that God no longer has your greatest affection. Use this as a reminder.
Being
Under
Satan's
Yoke

All in all, we live in a dark world. But Jesus pierced the darkness, as we will see.

Verses 13-18 tell us how we must protect ourselves from this type of evil.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints…

• Know what you believe. As a Christian, it is essential to know what you believe, why you believe it, and why what you believe is of eternal importance. In other words, it’s essential to have a BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW.

BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW (as defined by Barna)
Biblical worldview is a decision-making filter. If you have a Biblical worldview, you’ll have a good understanding of the things that are of lasting importance in God’s eyes. You’ll have a greater fear of sin and greater conviction of bad choices.
Believing that…
1. Absolute moral truth exists.
a. There is always a right and a wrong. May be difficult for us as people to differentiate, but right and wrong always exist. No middle ground.

2. The Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.
a. The Bible is free of error.
b. There is not a sin or promise it fails to mention.
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth
3. Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic.
a. Like we talked about previously in Ephesians 6:10-18.

4. A person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works.
a. We are saved not by works but by faith. Ephesians 2:8

5. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth.

6. God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today.

For now, I want to discuss #5 in greater detail. Why is it so important that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth?
• The Bible tells us in the book of Romans that “the wages of sin is death”.
• In the Old Testament (before Jesus), God called his people to sacrifice animals to Him.
• The Bible says that in order for there to be forgiveness of sin, there had to be the shedding of innocent blood. The just for the unjust. The righteous for the unrighteous.
• When you offered sacrifice to God, you chose your most perfect animal, often a ram or a lamb. You slit its throat, and the spilling of its innocent blood COVERED UP your sins in the sight of God. Sacrificing an animal only covered up sins and only temporarily.
• Fast forward about two thousand years to the life of Christ. God loved us so much that he sacrificed his sinless son to die on the cross for me and you. Jesus’ innocent blood was shed. The righteous for us the unrighteous. Thus fulfilling the shedding of innocent blood for forgiveness of sin. Again...
God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense

• However, the sacrifice of Christ was greater than the sacrifice of an animal. It did not merely cover up sin; rather is WASHED THEM AWAY.
Lastly, we are called not to be "holding tanks" of the love of Jesus Christ, but rather "distribution centers." Remember this.
Reaching
All
In
Need
By
Our
Witness