11/10/2021
Stop telling lost people to give their life to Christ. Instead, tell lost people that the Lord Jesus Christ gave up his life for them on the cross. Without apology share John 3:16 with lost people. Tell them that because God so loved them that He gave up the life of his only son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for them. Tell them that you have some good news! This good news is that if they believe and put their total faith and trust in Christ, plus or minus nothing, by grace, thru faith and not of works, that they will one glorious day live in heaven forever when they die. The good news is that God did not send Jesus into the world to shackle them into hell forever, but rather to save them from hell. The good news is that God sent Jesus into the world so that we can get to go to heaven forever if we choose to believe in Him. Jesus said the He is the only way to eternal life. To be accepted into heaven you must admit you're a sinner, ask Jesus to forgive you, admit that Jesus died for your sins, and rose again to give eternal life to all who will call upon Jesus to be saved. The thief on the cross became saved when he asked Jesus to remember him. He was asking Jesus to take him with him to heaven after he later died that day. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says “For He (God) sent Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God IN HIM". Notice the Bible does not say that we become righteous enough (sanctified) or holy enough to get to go to heaven when we die because believers aree in Jesus' program. We are not saved because we dedicate our lives to Jesus, we are saved because Jesus dedicated His life for those who were lost (unsaved). Acts 16:30-31 tells lost people what they must do to be saved?” The answer is “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. Notice the Bible does not say "give your life to God, or accept Jesus into your heart, or dedicate your life to God in order to get saved. The Bible tells us if we want to get saved then we must BELIEVE. John 5:24 in the clear verse says "...I say to you, whoever hears my word and BELIEVES him who sent me HAS eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life. Notice over and over the Bible tells lost people not to dedicate their lives to God to get saved but instead says BELIEVE. You can not have it both ways. Either salvation comes to those who simp[ly believe in Christ to take them to heaven when they die, or it does not. Let me warn all of you, man is always trying to add to the word of God. The Bible says those who add to what the word says are under a curse. Lost people are told to get saved they must believe (not dedicate). Dedicating your life to Christ is the work of someone who already is saved. To get saved you do not invite Jesus into your heart, but rather you believe in Jesus with all of your heart. Romans 10:10 reconciliation from the death of sin to eternal life in Christ comes by believing in Jesus, not be dedicating our lives to serve Jesus. Dedicating ouir lives to Jesus is the act of a saved person to their savior. John the Baptist and Jesus taught two steps, 1. repent of your sins and get saved. and 2. As soon as you are saved go get baptized, not to be saved, but rather as a testimony to show the world that you have chosen to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, and now as a new believer you want to identify with Jesus in public that Jesus has forgiven you of all of your sins, past present and future sins. I am disappointed with how many Christian have bewen saved a long time, but are lioving in disobedience because they have never been baptized by immersion in water. As water cleanses us on the outside, Jesus has cleansed those in Christ positionally before God on the inside. Titus 3:5 could not be any cleareer as to what a lost person needs to do in order to be saved "He (Jesus- God) saved us, NOT because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. So God's order is very clear. 1. If you are lost, get saved by asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins by putting your faith and trust for Jesus to pay the price for your sins when Jesus died for you on the cross in order to forgive you of your sins so that you can know for sure that you are going to go to heaven when you die. 2. As soon as you get saved, and know for sure that you have been saved because you made the personal decision to confess that you have sinned and fallen short of God's holy perfection (in orther words you admit that you have sinned, that you are not perfect, and thatg you are asking Jesus to forgive you ). You have become saved and you are now a Christian because you chose to trust Christ to forgive you of your sins. You are saved because you believed in him by putting your faith in Jesus and Jesus alone by faith alone and not of any works. You wre not saved because of any commitment that you have made to pay for your sins thru the dedication your life to God, but rather because you chose to believe in the commitment that Jesus made for you. Your salvation happened not when you gave your life to serving God, but rather when Jesus died on the cross for your sins.Jesus proved he was God who was able to save you without your works when he arose from the dead after the third day and the third night. 2. As a new believer the first thing that is your duty to do in Christian service (not to be saved, but to show the world publically that Jesus has saved you) is to get becoming baptized/immersed in public in water. Being immersed in water in public tells the world that your sins have been washed, that Jesus washed you on the inside. You want for the word to know by seeing or hearing of your water/immersion public baptism that you have now believed in Christ. As a Christian on the inside your sins were washed away by Jesus' work on the cross. You have now been eternally saved forever. You can not lose your salvation because the price of Jesus dying on the cross paid the price for all of your sins past, present, and future. 3. After you are saved and have been baptized by immersion, it is time for you as a new believer to be disciplined and mentored in the word of God. It is during the time thaty you grow from being mentored in the word of God that you will learn that bas a believer it is your duty to serve God. It is not cool for those who have been saved not to be baptised, and not to dedicate their lived to serving God. One reason dedication to God for Christian service comes after salvation, after being baptized, and after being mentored and discipled in the word of God is that an unbeliever is not capable of dedicating their lives to God because unbelievers do not know what is involved in a Christian dedicating their lives to serving God. It would be like asking someone to dedicate their lives to being a baseball player when they have never even seen a baseball game before and they clearly do not have a clear understanding of what dedicating their lives to playing as a baseball player truly involves. The same is true when asking an unbeliever to dedicate their lives to God, when without first being disciplined, mentored, and properly taught the word of God. Unbelievers do not have any kind of understanding about what an evangelist is asking of them if they are asked to come forward and dedicate their lives to God. It is when we disciple and mentor new believers in the word of God that we teach them that the Lord Jesus Christ now directs their steps, see Psalm 37:23-24 We in disciplining new believers and not lost people where we teach them to pay attention to their behaviors so that they do not end up getting caught in the web of sins Psalm 39:1 When they were saved they received the Baptism WITH the Holy Spirit who will guide them with his still small voice Psalm 143:8 let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. Galatians 5:16 A newly saved person and lost a lost person should be taught that Bible says that they now need to commit to the LORD in whatever they do, and their plans will succeed. This is not in order to get saved or to remain saved. Jesus did every part of the work of our salvation. Believers, after they are saved, do not have the joy of knowing that they get to go to heaven when they die and that after salvation they now have the joy of choosing to serve God, doing works of righteousness not to get or keep saved, but to take part in building the invisible Kingdom of God. The LORD works out everything for His own ends. That saved people may make plans in their minds, but the Lord needs to lead them in whatever they decide to do. Proverbs 16:3,9 In discipleship and not in our gospel messages we teach new concerts that it is their DUTY to present themselves including how they use their bodies (such as in how they dress-including wearing modest apparel) living a life that makes sacrifices for the Lord, His ministry, and for others. A believer does not just live just for themselves. Believers first seek the Kingdom of God. The Lord's Kingdom is an invisible kingdom where believers serve God and help meet the needs of others. To serve God and others is to live holy, to be acceptable to God, which is the smart level headed way to serve God.
2 And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [your] mind, that ye may prove what [is] the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.- Romans 12:1-2 A Believer in Christ who is on God's path of the Christian life will choose to follow God's instructions, but a Christian who ignores godly instruction goes astray. Proverbs 10:17. - Dr. Michael Schmidt