A Teaching on Salvation
Salvation. There seems to be confusion for many on exactly what salvation really is and how it happens. Allow me to attempt to put this in a way that might be easy to understand.
When a person becomes fully aware of the fact that they are a sinner (the state of being unclean in the sight of God), and they, in the deepest understanding of their mind, know that the only possible way they can be forgiven and accepted by God is through the Blood of Jesus Christ, through crying out to the Lord Jesus and begging for Him to save them, then, and only then, will they be saved!
People experience this in different ways. For many, it comes as a deep weeping conviction and a great pleading in prayer. For others, it is a complete understanding and a calling out in prayer. The fact of either must be knowing who Jesus is and acknowledging that no one comes to the Father except by Christ.
Those of us who have been born again have only our own experience to try and tell others of. Yes, some of us have heard the stories of others’ experiences, but truly the only detailed example we can relate is that of our own.
I am going to share with you, the reader, things that I wish I had known from the beginning of my Salvation.
In the lack of having someone to Disciple a new believer, it is still up to the one who has been born again to learn God’s Word! Yes, this is a far more difficult task when there is no one systematically discipling us, encouraging us, and reminding us of the importance of reading and contemplating the Scriptures.
Nevertheless, it is ultimately on us to learn of God through the Word. 1 Peter 1:16 Be ye Holy as I am Holy. How can you or I be Holy as Christ is Holy if we do not know Him through the teaching and learning of the Word?
If you have recently been saved, DO NOT ALLOW the WEAKNESS of OTHERS to PUT YOUR FIRE OUT! This is not uncommon. Through giving my own testimony, I have learned many such as I have fallen victim to the immature Christians who intentionally douse the fire for God, you as a new Christian feel.
Often these immature Christians are ones we would expect to be mature in Christ. Why would they douse someone’s fire? One reason, I believe, is that it makes them feel guilty. It convicts their hearts of what they are not doing or feeling.
This is either a form of jealousy or selfishness, in my opinion. If you begin to encounter folks that are saying things to try and slow you down, hold you back, or are constantly speaking gloom, AVOID them at all cost, and seek out a true mature Christian who will support you in your walk to maturity in Christ Jesus.
There are three things that are most important in all Christians’ lives, especially the new Christian, and they are as follows: Knowledge of the Bible, Prayer, and Priority. Allow me to explain. I placed these in this order as I understand them.
Knowledge of the Bible will be, all the days of your life as a Christian, the most important tool in your toolbox of life! Reading and learning the Word will increase your Faith and reinforce your zeal to learn more. Prayer, being a very close second, is power for things such as renewal, restoration, achievement, and much more.
Prayer is the Christian’s God-given power. You cannot pray properly without a good working knowledge of the Word of God. If we do not know the Word, we do not know God and will find it very difficult to pray within God’s will.
Third is Priority, which is probably the most difficult for a human. We must learn to make our desire to learn God’s Word, to honor God in all that we do, and to serve our Lord at all times the utmost Priority in our Lives! Yes, I completely understand that things like work and everyday responsibilities occupy much of our thoughts and time, but we must make God the #1 desire of our hearts and minds.
I will tell you this Christian walk is not all sunshine and puppy dogs. There are difficult times and hard lessons learned. There will be times you feel like you have more bumps and bruises than a professional fighter. Times will come when you can’t hear God and feel very distant from Him (this is you, not Him).
I have known these times and the best thing I can tell you is to relentlessly cry out to God in prayer. There will be times when things in your life are revealed to you that crush your heart in conviction.
When this happens, beg for forgiveness in prayer. Yes, this walk can and will be hard at times, but I can tell you the joy in victory in our Christian walk is far better than any happiness you have ever known. In 2 Timothy, Paul, when facing his last days, said he had fought the good fight, that he had stayed the course, and kept the Faith. This must be the goal and focus of us all that have been born again.
I wish that I had many hours to teach this in more depth, sadly this is the media that I have for now.
If a man knows not God, then all the contents of his mind have no value in the eternal!