What sets Jesus apart

Other religious leaders claimed to be prophets of god. Jesus is the only leader who claimed to be the Son of God. All other religious leaders are in their graves. Jesus is the only one who was raised from the dead.

 

What sets the Bible apart

Every religion has a holy book, and most of those books contain the words of someone claiming to be a prophet of god. The Bible is the only book that claims to be the Word of God.

 

What sets Biblical salvation apart

In all other religions, you have to…in some form or another…earn your way to an after-life. Christianity is the only one that gives salvation…and the right to go to heaven…as a free gift. You don’t have to earn it…you don’t have to be good enough for it…all you have to do is receive it!

When Jesus was nailed to the cross, two criminals were nailed to crosses on each side of him…

Luke 23:39-43  One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself – and us, too, while your at it!” But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong”. Then he said “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

To be saved… the only thing the criminal could do…was believe Jesus.

To be saved…the only thing we can do…is believe Jesus.

John 14:6  Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

 

Jesus paid the price for our sin so that we don’t have to go to hell!

When Jesus went through all the pain and humiliation mentioned below…he did it for us!

Prior to the actual crucifiction the Bible says that he was beaten by a whole garrison of soldiers. They made a crown of thorns and placed it on his head, then they all took turns beating the crown into his head with sticks. While doing this they took turns spitting on him, mocking him, and ripping out his beard. This would have been done by each of the 60 to 800 soldiers! After this he was scourged (whipped). The number of lashings he was subject to wasn’t the normal 40 lashings minus one; the lashings he was subjected to were unlimited. By the time they were done, (prior to his crucifiction), historical records say that he was unrecognizable as a human being!

The pain Jesus went through prior to being crucified, was small compared to the actual crucifiction itself! Because, before he died, he took all the sins that mankind has ever committed (past, present and future)…upon Himself.

Jesus…the only Son of God…went through all of this for you and for me! The Bible says that his sacrifice fully paid the price for all of our sins. As a result, you and I can have a full and loving relationship with the Father (God), Son (the Son of God), and Holy Spirit (the Spirit through which God created everything). These loving relationships open the door to everything God has to offer.

 

Here are 4 verses that explain the steps to salvation…

1. Admit you’re a sinner. Romans 3:10  As it is written; there is no one righteous, not even one.
2. Be willing to turn away from sin (repent). Acts 17:30  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried and rose from the dead. Romans 10:9  That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus into your heart to become your personal Lord and Savior. Romans 10:13  For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Realize, that as you are praying…the sin that now separates you from God…will be gone FOREVER! When God sees you, He’ll no longer see your sin…instead, He’ll see that you’ve accepted His son (Jesus) as your Lord and Savior…and as a result…you’ll have become His child!

 

When you’re ready…pray the following…

 The prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I am willing to turn away from my sin. I believe that You died on the cross and rose from the dead, and through Your shed blood paid the price for my sin. Lord Jesus, I now invite You to come into my heart and life as my personal Lord and Savior, Amen

 

The result

2 Corinthians 5:17,  This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.

By accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you became a brand new person. God no longer sees your sin. All records of your sin are completely gone…your slate is wiped clean!

And, if for some reason you were to die today…you would instantly go to Heaven!

Welcome to the family of the living God!

 

In addition, the Bible says that God will create in us a new heart…

Ezekiel 36: 25-28

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgements and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

It’s through this new heart that God speaks to us! By reading His word…and spending time in prayer…is how we learn to hear His voice.

Along with our new heart, God promises us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as an ever present help! It’s through the Holy Spirit’s counsel that we are be able to fullfill all the plans God has for us!

As God the Father, His only Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit, work with you…through you…and on your behalf,  you’ll  begin to sense the unending love God has for you! And that there’s nothing in this world that can compare to it!

 

What to do next

Spend time praying to the Lord. Talk to Him like you would a best friend. You don’t have to sit a certain way, dress a certain way, or act a certain way…just talk to Him.

Start reading the Bible. Read the New Testament first; that’s the part of the Bible that applies to all believers. There are a lot of different types of Bibles on the market. The reason for this is that some Bibles emphasize the Holy Spirit more than others.

One of the Bibles that I really enjoy is the “New Spirit Filled Life Bible” (New Living Translation) by Jack W. Hayford. It’s spendy, but it contains a lot of good study notes. If your on a budget, start out with the New International Version (NIV), Bible. If you can’t afford a new one you can usually find one at your local thrift store. Try to find one that doesn’t have a lot of notations in it, so when you read it…and a verse touches your heart…you’ll have room for your own notations and/or underlining verses…that you can reread later.

Get together with other Born Again Believers. Attend a church that believes in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Most churches believe that these gifts have stopped…they haven’t! If you want to gain a Biblical understanding of the gifts of the Spirit (found in 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11), I would suggest attending an Assemblies of God (AG) church. My wife and I attended one for a while and even went through their membership classes. The classes were good and the salvation teachings were spot-on. That being said…every church of every denomination is going to be different. At this particular AG church…they did teach on the gifts of the Spirit. One morning the Lord gave me a simple message to share with the Pastor. After the service I pulled him aside and began to share it with him…he looked at me like I was from outer space! Like I said…every church of every denomination is going to be different. Some will practice what they teach…others won’t. But don’t let that hamper your search. Also, consider going to a non-denominational church. The benefit of these churches is that they are independent…which means they can quickly move in any direction that the Lord and/or Holy Spirit is calling them to move. The down-side is…since they are independent…there’s not an overall governing body that keeps them accountable…so some can be and/or become a little wacky. When this happens ask the Lord if…and when…you should move on. At a minimum, if you’ve spent time reading the Bible and praying…the Holy Spirit will have already given you some guidance on what to do.

When you find a good church…strap yourself in and enjoy the ride. There is nothing more fun…than going through life…with a bunch of believers!

Also, read the 12th chapter of First Corinthians (1 Corinthians 12:1-29) This chapter talks about all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Familiarize yourself with this chapter. This will guide you on what to look for when seeking a church. It will also temper your response, and keep you from freaking out, when you see someone praying for somebody else to get healed, hearing people pray in tongues, or listening to someone share a word from the Lord to the congregation.

As a side note; one Bible translation stated that 1 Corinthians 12 was not in some of the original manuscripts. I’m not sure what bearing this has on the gifts themselves because throughout the New Testament…both Apostles and non-apostles were healing people all over the place! So if the gift of healing never stopped, then neither have any of the other ones.

In the future…keep in mind, that if  you do make a mistake, (and we all make them), admit it to God and tell Him you’re sorry…He knows anyway…He wants you to bring it to Him so it won’t affect the relationship you have together.

 

The family of God is a mixed bag. We’re all broken to some extent. The cool thing is…we worship a God who actually loves us!

 

Again…welcome to the family of the Living God!

Tim