Obeying the Gospel: How (and Why) to Become a Christian

FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY TO SIN (SEPTEMBER 18)

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"Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed'" (John 8:34-36).

WE STRUGGLE TO BE FREE FROM SIN — NOT JUST IN ONE WAY BUT IN TWO. In addition to the penalty of sin (eternal death), we also need deliverance from the practice of sin in ou...

RESCUING ALL THREE PARTS OF THE HUMAN MIND (SEPTEMBER 17)

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"I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart" (Jeremiah 24:7).

ONE WAY OF LOOKING AT WHAT GOD WANTS TO DO WITH US IN JESUS CHRIST IS TO THINK ABOUT ALL THREE PARTS OF OUR “HEART” BEING REHABILITATED. Sin starts on the inside and works its way outward; so if the prob...

IN CHRIST, WHAT ARE WE SAVED FROM? (SEPTEMBER 16)

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"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people" (Titus 2:11).

WHEN WE’RE HONEST, WE SEE THAT OUR SINS AGAINST GOD HAVE PUT US IN A DESPERATE SITUATION. In our most private moments, we all have known the agony of Paul’s cry, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24 NRSV). Surely, we need not only to be saved, but we need a Savior.

But if you and I made a l...

APPRAISING JESUS (SEPTEMBER 15)

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"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer" (2 Corinthians 5:16).

SOMETIMES WE SAY, “THERE’S MORE TO THAT PERSON THAN MEETS THE EYE.” In reality, that is true of everybody we’ve ever met. We never see anything more than the tip of the iceberg in anyone’s life, and it is hazardous to form conclusions about their character if all we have is a first...

WHAT IF "REASON" WERE JUST A "NATURAL" PROCESS? (SEPTEMBER 14)

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"Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? . . . To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him" (Deuteronomy 4:33-35).

WHEN GOD SPOKE TO ISRAEL ON MOUNT SINAI, SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT HAD NO NATURAL CAUSE. Assuming that what is recorded actually took place, the event was not triggered by...

FORGIVENESS AND TRANSFORMATION (SEPTEMBER 13)

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"We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Ephesians 4:15).

WHEN WE OBEY THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, GOD’S FORGIVENESS OPENS THE DOOR TO OUR TRANSFORMATION. Not only does God want to forgive us of our sins; He wants to repair sin’s damage and rebuild our character, transforming us into creatures who can enjoy a perfect relationship with Him in eternity. The great importance of forgiveness is that it leads to this transformation. Our...

SALVATION BY BAPTISM ONLY? (SEPTEMBER 12)

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"And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord" (Acts 11:21).

THE “FAITH ONLY” DOCTRINE IS NOT TAUGHT IN THE SCRIPTURES. Merely believing that Jesus is the Christ is not enough to save us from our sins. In the words of James, “As the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (2:26).

But neither will we be saved by “baptism only.” The person who t...

TRUST, THE ONLY PATH TO TRUTH, IS DANGEROUS (SEPTEMBER 11)

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"Commit your way to the Lord" (Psalm 37:5).

IN OUR SECULAR WORK AS WELL AS OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, WE FIND THAT “REWARDS REQUIRE COMMITMENT.” If we are so averse to risk that we won’t trust anything enough to commit ourselves to it, we will, wanting mainly to avoid being wrong, never know the joy that could have been ours if the commitment was right. Nothing good comes from the commitment-free life. Commitments are scary, to be sure...

IF WE’RE NOT DISTURBED, WE’RE NOT LISTENING (SEPTEMBER 10)

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"There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, 'He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?'" (John 10:19,20).

WHEN JESUS SPOKE, PEOPLE WERE STIRRED. As Eric Hoffer put it, “Jesus was not a conservative.” Even after He was gone, the teaching of His apostles continued to have a disruptive effect. When Paul and his coworkers went to Thessalonica, for example, the city was soon in an up...

“IN THE RIGHT CHURCH” AND STILL LOST? (SEPTEMBER 9)

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". . . you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn’t this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards?" (1 Corinthians 3:3 Good News Bible).

THE QUESTION “HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE SAVED?” IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. Paul urged the Corinthians, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). But we need to be careful what standard we us...

WE DON’T GET TO DESIGN THE PATH TO GOD (SEPTEMBER 8)

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"You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors . . ." (Hosea 10:13).

TRUSTING IN OUR OWN WAY IS A PROBLEM THAT SHOWS UP IN MANY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. The basic problem is always pride, of course, but pride wears many different disguises. Some of those disguises are so subtle that we don’t see the danger of t...

THE POWER OF PENTECOST (SEPTEMBER 7)

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"And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).

IN THE FINAL DAYS OF HIS LIFE, JESUS PREPARED HIS APOSTLES FOR THE WORK THEY WOULD DO AFTER HE ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN. They would be eyewitnesses of His resurrection, and they would be the authoritative proclaimers of His gospel. But He told them not to leave Jerusalem “until you are clothed with po...

HUMAN PROGRESS IS PERILOUS (SEPTEMBER 6)

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"And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole...

GOD'S WAY IS CONDUCIVE TO HUMILITY (SEPTEMBER 5)

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"By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks" (Hebrews 11:4).

WE DO NOT KNOW SPECIFICALLY WHY ABEL’S OFFERING WAS MORE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD, BUT WE ARE TOLD THAT HE DID WHAT HE DID “BY FAITH.” Unlike his brother, he trusted God enough to do things God’s way — whatever that might have...

CONFORMITY TO CHRIST: BOTH A FACT AND A PROCESS (SEPTEMBER 4)

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". . . seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator" (Colossians 3:9,10).

FOR TODAY’S MEDITATION, CONTEMPLATE WITH ME THE CONCEPT OF “CHRISTLIKENESS.” Surely it is obvious that the Christian is to demonstrate a likeness to the character (or “mind”) of Christ. Having obeyed the gospel and entered the realm of God’s grace, we are to be pe...

SENSITIVITY TO SIN (SEPTEMBER 3)

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"They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity" (Ephesians 4:19 NLT).

IT IS NOT A GOOD THING IF OUR SINS DON’T BOTHER US. Just as you wouldn’t want to be unable to feel physical pain, you wouldn’t want to be insensitive to the pangs of conscience. The “warning system” provided by our conscience is one of the most valuable assets in our spiritual makeup. We should give thanks for it.

...

NOMINAL CHRISTIANS (SEPTEMBER 2)

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"But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent" (Revelation 2:4,5).

THE CHRISTIANS IN EPHESUS, TO WHOM THE ABOVE WORDS WERE WRITTEN, WERE IN A DANGEROUS POSITION. Having been faithful to Christ in the past, they no longer loved Him as they used...

ENTER BY THE NARROW GATE (SEPTEMBER 1)

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"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13,14).

HERE IS ONE OF JESUS’ MORE UNPOPULAR SAYINGS. Compared to the wide gate and the easy way, the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. Re...

CHOICES THAT EXCLUDE EACH OTHER (AUGUST 31)

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"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money" (Matthew 6:24).

WHEN WE’RE MAKING UP OUR MINDS ABOUT A TOUGH CHOICE, THERE MIGHT BE MANY REASONS WHY WE DELAY THE DECISION. Perhaps we’re still unsure which fork in the road to take. Or maybe we’re mustering the courage the decision is going...

WHAT THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST MEANS (AUGUST 30)

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"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

IF WE THINK THAT OBEDIENCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR CITIZENSHIP IN GOD’S KINGDOM, WE ARE MISTAKEN. For Jesus Christ to be our Savior, He must be our Lord. And the lordship of Christ involves more than just saying He is our Lord. “Not everyone who says...

SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD FIRST (AUGUST 29)

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"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

A FIRM DECISION MUST BE MADE TO “SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” Very few people are willing to do this, even among those who profess allegiance to Christ. “Everyone wants the kingdom of God, but few want it first. Everyone wants high achievement, but few want to pay the price. Everyone wants God, but few want to put hi...

CONFESSING OUR SINS (AUGUST 28)

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"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

GOD’S GRACE IS A SOURCE OF JOY TO US. Where would we be if He were not “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”? But God’s forgiveness requires honesty on our part. Writing to Christians, John said, “If we confess our sins,” God will accept our honesty and forgive us.<...

WHAT TRUST MOVES US TO DO (AUGUST 27)

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"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8,9).

ONE OF LIFE’S GREATEST CHALLENGES IS TO TRUST GOD ENOUGH TO ACCEPT HIS MEANS AND HIS METHODS. Many are those who say they love God and trust Him, but in an age when human feelings are the ul...

WHEN WE REACH GOD'S GOAL (AUGUST 26)

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"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

IF WE ARE IN CHRIST, WE ARE BEING TRANSFORMED. Beginning with our initial obedience to the gospel and the forgiveness of our past sins, we are being renovated and rehabilitated. When we reach the place that Christ has gone to prepare for...

REFRESHMENT IN THE LORD (AUGUST 25)

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"Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ" (Philemon 20).

IN THE SHORT LETTER OF PAUL TO PHILEMON, PAUL MADE A BROTHER-TO-BROTHER REQUEST OF HIS FELLOW CHRISTIAN. Hoping the request would be favorably considered, Paul said, “Refresh my heart in Christ.” Today, let’s meditate on this aspect of becoming a Christian. Not only do we assume new responsibilities to the Lord, but we acquire a new connection to others who, like us, have o...

WILLFUL REFUSAL TO OBEY (AUGUST 24)

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"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king" (1 Samuel 15:23).

IN DESCRIBING SIN, ONE OF THE MAIN ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THE BIBLE IS “REBELLION.” This gives us the picture of a subject who commits treason against his rightful king. Rather than submit to the laws of the kingdom, he rebels. Willfully and treacherously, he declares independence from the...

CHRIST'S WEAPONS ARE NOT FLESHLY (AUGUST 23)

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"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4,5).

THE STRONGHOLDS DESTROYED BY JESUS CHRIST ARE NOT MILITARY OR GOVERNMENTAL. It is true that Jesus was victorious over the Roman Empire, but His victory was not gained on 28 October 312 (when Constantine won the Battle of the Milvian Bridge...

EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, EVERY TONGUE CONFESS (AUGUST 22)

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"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).

CHRIST’S HUMILIATION WAS FOLLOWED A FEW WEEKS LATER BY HIS EXALTATION. The writer of Hebrews pointed his brethren to the example of...

HUMBLING HIMSELF, HE BECAME OBEDIENT (AUGUST 21)

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"And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8).

GOD COULD NOT HAVE DIED AN ATONING DEATH FOR OUR SINS WITHOUT BECOMING A HUMAN BEING. There was only one sacrifice that could save us, and He had to take upon Himself human form in order to make that sacrifice. From our limited viewpoint, we have no idea what it cost Him to humble Himself in...

HUMBLY RECEIVING THE WORD (AUGUST 20)

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". . . take into your souls without pride the word which, being planted there, is able to give you salvation" (James 1:21 Bible in Basic English).

GOD’S WORD, COMMUNICATED TO US IN THE SCRIPTURES, IS EXTREMELY POWERFUL. But in addition to His word, God has also given us freedom. Depending on the choices we make as we respond to the Scriptures, we will become either more receptive or more resistant. So in regard to our dealings with God’s word, James uses the...

NONE OF US HAS ANYBODY WE CAN LOOK DOWN ON (AUGUST 19)

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"The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector'" (Luke 18:11).

OUR “FORGETTER” IS A BLESSING, BUT IT CAN ALSO BE A CURSE. Some things it is best not to forget. In the above text, for example, the Pharisee felt good when he compared himself to the tax collector. But his good feelings were ill-founded. Having forgotten the...