Guiding Hand Church's/Banana Family's
Christian Message of Salvation
"and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ," 1 Cor 10:4
Rock & rollers repent & follow Jesus, the Stairway to Heaven!
© 2012,2014, Joseph A. Sherman
Jesus is the Stairway to Heaven, Gen 28:12, Jn 1:51
Man positionally before God
without Christ
God (Heaven)
[Insurmountable Spiritual Chasm Due To Sin]
Man (Earth)
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Man positionally before God with
Christ, the Stairway to Heaven
God (Heaven)
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Man (Earth)
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Realize God's love for you
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life," Jn 3:16
Overcome evil with good, only through Jesus
"As the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, & my thoughts higher than your thoughts," Is 55:9. Our sins create a chasm between us & God, the distance from earth to Heaven. We can't build a stairway or an airplane that can reach far enough with
our good deeds, religion, & philosophies. Jesus is the Stairway to Heaven, the only way to Heaven, the physical & spiritual Mediator between Heaven & earth. Repent of your sins; Christ was crucified, died, & was buried, & rose again on the third day to pay the price for our sins; Mk 1:15b, 1 Cor 15:3,4
Confess Christ as Savior
Confess Christ before men in public & in private, Matt 10:32
Know Christ as Lord"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me," Gal 2:20. Deny yourself & follow Christ making him first in your life on a daily basis, Matt 16:24
Elaboration:
First, God loves us and values us.
The Bible says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:16).
Second, the current state of mankind in general is that of both active and passive rebellion
against God. "We like sheep have gone astray, each to his own way" (Is. 53:6). We have
all chosen to do things our way instead of God's way; we have put ourselves in control of
our own life. Our rebellion, the Bible indicates, results in sin. "All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). A lot of times if our conscience tells us we
have done something that wasn't right, this is usually a good indication we have
committed a sin. And, just as through an act of selfishness we may hurt a friend and feel
a sense of separation from that friend, the Bible indicates our sins have separated us from
God, and from eternity with him (Heaven).
Third, God did something about it, though. "But God
demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us" (Rom. 5:8). Jesus claimed to be the only one in history who committed no sin (1 Pet.
2:22b, "He committed no sin"), and by his death on the cross he claimed to be paying the
price for our sins; "The iniquity of us all was laid on Him" (Is. 53:7). John the Baptist, a
prophet announcing Christ's coming, said of him, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sins of the world" (Jn. 1:29). So Jesus claimed to be paying the price for the
sins of the whole world by his death on the cross, and offers salvation not by our good
deeds, but as a free gift by means of his perfect life and his payment for us on the cross;
Eph. 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith - and this not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." The Bible then says that three
days after making the payment on the cross, Christ rose from the dead; Paul says, "For
what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: That Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor:15:3,4). As we said, Christ offers salvation as a free
gift.
As with all gifts, this gift must be received, and on an
individual basis. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (Jn. 1:12). Paul says "if you
confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord...you will be saved" (Rom.10:9). So what does it
mean to receive Christ as Lord? It means to make a change from doing things our way,
and give Christ control of our life. We make a decision to follow him with our life. Humanity has gone astray; Jesus said, "Repent and
believe in the good news" (Mk. 1:15). To 'repent' means to 'change course.' The verb
for 'believe' here means to 'put one’s trust in,' and the 'good news' refers to Jesus; that
he is the Way to God, taking away "the sins of the world." So we change course from our
own way, and put our trust in Christ. How much trust? Jesus said, "Whoever loves
father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; whoever loves son or daughter more
than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me
is not worthy of Me" (Matt. 10:37,38). As Lord, Jesus demands first place in our life,
above our own will, and that of anyone else. According to the Bible, the alternative to
spending eternity with God is spending eternity separated from God and all that is good;
which is eternal suffering, or hell. In Matt. 25:46 Jesus speaks of the judgment of those
who choose to follow him (the righteous), and those who refuse to follow him (the
unrighteous): "Then they [the unrighteous] will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous, to eternal life."
Assurance of Salvation
Jesus confronts us with an important decision. The really good
news is this: The Bible says that if we make the decision to receive Jesus as Lord, we can
know where we are going as far as eternity is concerned: Heaven! John, a close
friend of Jesus, wrote a letter to some Christians, and that letter is now part of the Bible;
it is called I John. At the end of this letter, he wrote, "These things I have written to
you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know you
have eternal life" (I Jn. 5:13). This being God's word, God wants us to be assured, He
wants us to know that with Christ as our best friend, we have eternal life. Paul, another
New Testament writer, writes in Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace [free gift] you have been
saved." Note the words 'have been saved' are in the past tense; the Christian's eternal
salvation is a 'done deal' as far as God is concerned in his word. Even more amazing is
what the Bible says happens to an individual when he or she is saved. Since Jesus is a
risen Lord and is alive today, when we receive him as Savior and Lord, the Bible teaches
that he actually dwells inside us, in our hearts. Paul says that Christ dwells in our hearts
through faith in Eph. 3:17, and Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any
man hears My voice and opens the door, I will come and fellowship with him, and he
with Me" (Rev. 3:20).
To receive Christ and become a Christian, pray to God:
"Lord Jesus, please forgive me for my sins, and forgive me for doing
things my own way all of my life. Thank you for dying on the cross
paying the price for my sins, and rising from the dead. Please come into
my life, and take control of the 'throne' of my life, and make me the
kind of person you want me to be. Thank you for saving me. Amen."
If you prayed this prayer, and it represents the desire and decision of your heart, Christ
has come into your life, as he promised, and you have been saved for eternity. He is your
Master and your best friend, and he will never leave you (Josh. 1:5). Do your best from
now on to follow him with your life. Find a Christian, and tell them of your decision,
then find a church which preaches God's word, and attend it regularly.
Below is a 'GROWTH' tool to help you grow in your relationship with Christ, by the late Dr.
Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, from his booklet, "Four Spiritual Laws." Bright's "Jesus" film is
the most watched of any movie ever made in all of in history
Go to God in prayer daily
Read God's word daily
Obey God moment by moment
Witness for Christ in word and deed
Trust in God for every detail of your life
Holy Spirit: Allow him to empower and guide you
Find Attend, & Join a Bible-Believing Church, & Be Baptized
First, God commands it: Some may be tempted to skip this step of attending church, quoting the Scripture about Jesus is in our hearts or if 2 or more of us are together, Christ is with us; but they are misapplying the Scriptures. The context of these Scriptures, as with all Scruptures, is in light of all the other teachings of the Bible, & Jesus established his church (Matt. 16:18) & set the example of attending; in fact, he was in the synagogue almost daily (Lk 4:16). Peter, Paul, & other apostles organized the church with ordained leaders as the Holy Spirit guided them (See 1 & 2 Tim. & Titus, for ex.). Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commands," Jn 14:15; & John says in 1 Jn 2:6, whoever says he is in Christ must walk as Jesus walked. If Jesus was in the temples daily we can at least attend on Sundays. Heb. 10:25, "Don't forsake the assembling of the believers, as is the habit of some." Jn 1:1-5, 14, says Christ is the Word of God made flesh; all the commands in the bible are God's commands to us, including those of any of the apostles. "All Scripture is inspired by God & profitable for teaching , reproof, correction, & training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work," 2 Tim 3:16.
Second, God commands it for a reason: If God is your Father, you should want to be in his house, giving glory to him & worshipping him, & fellowshipping with others of his children. Christianity is all about relationship; a vertical relationshipwith God & horizontal relationships with each other; this is what love is all about! Our attending church is also a testimony to others that we believe; it sends the message to non-believers that you really believe. Additionally, while attending, God will use pastors, teachers, & other members to teach you, strengthen you, & hold you accountable; helping you to be faithful. &, make no mistake, often it is the zeal & excitement of a new believer that God will use to hold others accountable; God will often use you to strengthen & warn of rebuke others in your church! Iron sharpens iron. A cord of 3 strands is not easily broken.
Third, Faith Without Works Is Dead: "Your enemy the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour," 1 Pet 5:8. The word 'satan' means accuser. Spiritual warefare includes legal battles; when you became a Christian, you were ransomed from Satan, & transferred to the Kingdom of Light; you were a slave to sin, but Jesus paid the ransom for you (Jn 8:34, Rom 7:14; Mk 10:45). Jesus died in your place, so that he could make you just (Rom 3:22-24). But justification is based on your faith in Christ, & if you really believe, you'll repent & follow Jesus; Jesus did good deeds; & he commands us to do the same (Jas 2:17). If your faith doesn't include a changed life in obedience to Christ, then you don't have saving faith. This is the argument the accuser (Satan) will bring to the judge (God), in order to make a case against you, that you don't deserve heaven. You have an advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, 1 Jn 2:1; he is your defense attorney (by the way, Jesus is also our judge (Jn 5:22,23), which is good news). If you are truly born again, you have nothing to fear; Jesus said, "Those who believe will not be judged; those who have not believed have been judged already," Jn 3:18. But Satan will present an argument that you are one of those who didn't believe, & if you never attended church, you will have done his job for him! We are soldiers of Christ; if you never attended church, Satan will argue that you said you were in God's army, but you never showed up for the battle. We are the body of Christ; if you never attend, Satan will claim that while saying you were part of the body, you were never attached to the body. We are the family of God; if you never attend church, Satan will say that while you claimed you were a member of the family, you were never with the family. God uses language to make it clear that we're a team, a family, an army, a body; no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. Hang out with the family!