Hebrew=Yesha; to be made free or safe, to be rescued in the sense of
being delivered from destruction, evil, harm, or eternal damnation.
Greek=Sozo; to be protected under divine security, in the sense
exemption from the future wrath of God upon sinners and the ungodly.
#1. Salvation is through Jesus alone ( John 8:24, Acts 2:21).
#2. Salvation adds a person into the New Testament Church
(Acts 2:47).
#3. Salvation is by grace through faith (Eph 2:8, Acts 2:38).
It is not by works of the Law (Gal 2:16).
#4 Salvation is an invisible protection seal that marks
your soul's exemption from the lake of fire, which is the coming future wrath of God (Rom
5:9, Eph 1:13).
#5. Salvation is the present promise of a future eternal
reward (Rev 21:24).
#6 Salvation is the initial act of redemption, calling
the Believer into a new life of sanctification and holiness to fulfill the *grace and
purpose* of God (Rom 10:9, 2 Tim 1:9).
#7 The plan of salvation by grace through faith for all
nations is found in Acts 2:38.
Some simple pointers for new born again
Messianic Believers
Praise the Lord! You believe that Jesus died for your sins on
Calvary, was buried, and was resurrected by the almighty power of God. After you
heard the Gospel of salvation you were pricked in your heart and repented of your
rejection of Jesus and for your past sinful life. Upon a profession of your faith and
desiring the grace of God, you were baptized into the wonderful name of Jesus Messiah for
the remission or the washing away of your sins by the blood of Jesus. Upon evidence
that you were converted from your sinful life, God gave you as a personal witness, the
seal and baptism of the Holy Ghost according to Acts 2:4. You are now a faithful
member of a Church that teaches the full Gospel of salvation by grace through faith
according to Acts 2:38. Welcome to the family of God.
You have now begun to live the greatest life that could ever be
lived. You have a guarantee that your name is written down in heaven in the Lamb's
Book of Life. The holy Spirit of God now dwells within you. Your body is now a
temple of the Divine Presence. The devil has been defeated in your life.
Your past has been placed under the blood of Jesus for all eternity. You stand
before the world and before God's holy angels uncondemned. You have received a
pardon. You have been saved from all the future wrath of God to come suddenly upon
the ungodly at the last judgment. God has done great things for you and IT GETS EVEN
BETTER.
Your new mind of faith will secure future blessings upon you, your
family, your friends, and those you love. You have become a new creation in Jesus
Messiah. What a beautiful wondrous person you will become. You have given up
the kingdom of darkness to be translated by the blood of Jesus over into the Kingdom of
Light. You will become a Messianic Christian, not in word or in name, but in LIFE!
You will live as a Messianic Christian. You will be an example of a Messiniac
Christian. You have decided to take up your cross and suffer whatever trials come
your way, to follow Jesus. You have become a son or a daughter of God.
Now it is time to learn the truths of God's Word so that your faith
will keep you strong. You need to place as much of the Word of God into your heart
as you can, so that you will not sin against the Lord. You want to grow in your new
life of faith and so you do not want to be misled by false teachers or someone who is not
preaching the accurate New Testament doctrines of faith and practice. The Lord Jesus
does not want a new convert to be deceived by error or by false teachings. These
evils began in the life-time of the Apostles and continue down to us today. Every
year someone tries to convince the world of their errors and false teachings. A rule
of faith is, that if the Apostles did not preach it and it is not recorded as a specific
teaching in the New Testament scriptures, do not believe it. New converts and those
who are saved, face great dangers to their faith in the first days and months of their new
life. The devil attacked Jesus right after his baptism and the devil is right there
after a person's baptism and salvation to cause them to quit or be led astray. That
is why Jesus inspired the Apostles and early men of God to write the New Testament.
When we do not know about something we turn to Jesus and the Apostles. If we
cannot find it in the New Testament we do not accept it. The Lord Jesus knew that
the devil would attack new converts to deceive them if possible (Mathew 24:24). He knew
that false christs and false prophets would arise and try to lead many away to damnation
by deceiving them with lies, some using miracles as some proof they are valid messengers
of God. These lead multitudes to follow wrong religious practices, or to believe or
trust a false gospel for their salvation. Now that you are saved the only dangers of
being eternally lost are: 1.) To backslide and give up your salvation
exemption of being protected from the future wrath of God's coming judgment; 2.)
Be deceived by your own false interpretations and theories of faith and practice
contrary to the original Apostles faith and practice; 3.) Be led astray by
following the cunning devices and false teachings of someone else in whom you place trust
that they are telling you the truth but they are deceiving you.
Jesus knew these three threats would face new Believers. The
Apostles knew of the three threats. And these three areas of danger are addressed in
many ways throughout the New Testament scriptures. The Lord does not want you to go
back into a life of sin and eternal damnation. He does not want you to give up your
salvation from his future wrath upon the sinner and the ungodly. Jesus loves you and
wants you to continue in your faith salvation all the way to the gates of the New
Jerusalem. That is why I am writing this little Bible Study for you. I want to
see you in heaven.
From the day of your salvation onward, the Lord Jesus has made a way
for your life to be filled with blessing, victory, peace, power, love, joy, and financial
prosperity. You are a vessel of honor and a temple of blessing. You are now in
Christ Jesus. Now you want to live a life pleasing unto your Lord and King.
You want to glorify him in all that you do in word and in deed. Your faith
salvation has given you a new life and with this new life you want to honor the Lord and
his Church.
I am going to write unto you some basic thoughts and pointers that
will help you stay strong in your new faith. If you follow my advice and admonitions, you
will not fail. You will reach heaven. You will escape the lake of fire.
These great Bible truths cannot be ignored or rejected. The very salvation of
your soul depends upon how you structure your life of faith and what you believe as the
Gospel. I have eighteen pointers to make your faith strong and your calling and
election sure.
Bible Truths You Need To Know
1. The Bible is the Word of God.
It was written by men inspired by God. It is not just a book written by men,
but it was written by holy men. The Bible contains the Scriptures that contain the
very Word of God. Words that God has actually spoken to man are recorded on these
pages. It is through these actual Words spoken by God and through the Words God
spoke, that we know the mind and will of God for the world. These words were written
on scrolls and preserved through the centuries down to us. Yes, there may be slight
variations in the wording now of these ancient words spoken by God, but as long as the
intent of his spoken word remains in the text, we are not to argue over what words are
chosen to express the intent in the various languages of the world. These writings became
the books of the Bible. The books of the Bible contain scripture. The
scriptures are numbered in modern versions to aid in reference and study. These
scriptures in this Bible are our ONLY authority for faith and doctrine. What we are
to know about God and to teach others about God MUST come from these scriptures. If
it is in the Bible, it is there because God wanted you to know it, how it or something
similar may apply to you, and that you are to believe it as the ONLY sacred holy
scriptures in the world. All other alleged religious books of scripture are to be
considered by you as profane and not worthy to be compared to the Bible or to be used
equal to the Bible. Therefore, any book or writing, any decrees or traditions, any
laws of councils or synods, and any traditions of Jewish elders, sages, or Rabbis, are
totally rejected. If we are to follow the God of the Bible, then we must follow the
Bible of this God. If the Bible teaches it, you are to believe it as interpreted by
Jesus and the Apostles above all other opinions, theories, and teachings of men.
The Lord wants each and every Believer to read and study the Bible.
Memorize as much of the scriptures as possible. Each day you need to eat your daily
portion of the bread of God. As a new convert it is not necessary that you become an
authority on Church doctrine and faith. What you need instead is greater faith in
God that comes by reading and studying the scriptures. You are not to learn to prove
someone else is wrong or following a false gospel or religion. You are reading and
learning so that you and your God become best of friends through the Word. The Bible
will teach you how to come before the Lord in thanksgiving and worship. It will
reveal to you the hidden riches of advice. The inner man will take control over the
outer man, and as such the carnal will die and the soul will reach a new level in the
Spirit. You will obtain wisdom and understanding about yourself and others.
You will be able to choose the good and holy and reject the bad and the profane.
It will tell you how to behave yourself and how to be a blessing to others. As
a new Messianic Christian you will find a lot of guidance and leadership in your worship
by reading the Psalms of David. Every day, when you are victorious or if you are in
the midst of a trial of your faith, READ YOUR BIBLE. Victory comes by praying your
way through it, reading your Bible until the Lord speaks to you through the Word, or by
walking in your faith until you pass through the valley and the shadow of death and find
yourself upon a mountain of praise. The Bible is your road map and your guide from
earth to heaven. Do not let anyone mess with your road map. You could end up
at the wrong destination!
2. There is one God, only ONE GOD!
The first Commandment forbids everyone NOT to have a belief in more than ONE GOD.
As a new convert you must direct all of your faith toward this ONE GOD. This
is the great truth of the Bible that other religions of the world disagree with. But
you MUST stick to the Bible. Mark 12:32 says: "For
there is one God, and there is none other but He." Deuteronomy
6:4 states: "The Lord our God is ONE Lord."
There is only one true living God. There are not two gods, three gods, two
persons acting as one God, and not three persons acting as one God. God is one, a
singular one, a unity of his own divine essence, and according to his own words spoken to
the Prophet Isaiah: "Is there a God beside me? Yea,
there is no god; I know not any" (Isaiah 44:8). If the God of
the Bible does not know another God, why should we? Do we know more than God?
You are to become a ONE GOD believer. In the ancient days of the
Church the Messianic Judaism of Jesus the Believers who believed in one God were called
*Monarchians.* This means they believed in one throne, one God, and one Kingdom of
God. Do not be ashamed to declare your faith in the one God of the Bible. Do not be
afraid to reject all the gods of the world. Do not hesitate to tell others that you
do not believe in any teaching, doctrine, or creed that teaches there is more than one
personality as God. The Bible says in Galatians 3:20 that God is one! That
settles it. When you pray you pray to one God. When you worship you worship one God.
Do not be ashamed to tell others you believe in one God. EVERY PROPHET AND
SAINT OF GOD IN THE BIBLE BELIEVED ONLY IN ONE GOD.
The one God of the Bible has manifested himself through incarnation
as Jesus Messiah (Matthew 1:23). The Lord Jesus Messiah is more than a man, he is
God and man! God himself came to the earth to visit mankind to save us. Our
salvation depends upon this being a truth of the Bible. The scriptures prove that
Jesus is God the Lord come to save us: "And it shall
be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us:
this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his
salvation" (Isaiah 25:9). When you pray to God, you are praying to
the Lord Jesus Messiah. Jesus is God as to his deity and he is man as to his
inheritance of the seed or flesh of David (Psalms 132:11). As God he is the Father,
the body of his flesh is called the Son of God. Not two gods, not two personalities in
God, but one God and one personality who is Jesus Messiah. The Bible teaches that
Jesus is the Mighty God, the everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6). The Bible teaches that
the Son of God is Jesus as God manifest in the flesh. The Bible teaches that Jesus
lives within us now as the Spirit of God or as the Holy Ghost (John 14:17-18). In
Acts 9:5, the one God of heaven spoke to Saul from heaven when he cried: "who
are thou LORD." That one God answered: "I
am Jesus whom thou persecutest." If Saul called upon the LORD as God in
heaven and if Jesus answered that prayer to Saul's God in heaven, who then is the true God
in heaven but Jesus? This is the God you are to worship. This is the God you
are to serve. You are to become his son or his daughter. He is your great God and
Savior (1Timothy 3:16, Titus 2:13, Revelation 1:8, and John 10:30).
Beware of 2 and 3 god Churches
From the time God revealed himself as ONE GOD, mankind for whatever
reason has been fascinated by an evil force to believe there must be more than one God.
Of course we know what that force is, it is the devil. If the serpent can
deceive mankind into believing there is more than one God, then mankind cannot believe
100% in only one God. This one act of treason toward God, motivated by the devil,
brings the eternal wrath of God. Who but the devil wanted to become a god so there would
be two gods? Who but the devil would then want the world to believe that God the
Father is one God and that there is another god or gods beside him? Who but the
devil would want mankind to believe that God the Father was a God and that Jesus is
another God, two Gods? Who but the devil would want to rob Jesus of being the God of the
Old Testament? Who but the devil would want to take from Jesus his total deity as
being God manifest in the flesh? Any religion by whatever name that teaches that
Jesus is not God, that Jesus is a God separate from God, is a false religion. The
God of the Bible says he did not know another God. This God of the Bible is the same
*yesterday, today, and forever.* Meaning clearly that as God looked down through
eternity he did not see the existence of another God at any time. Therefore, we are not to
receive any teaching or doctrine that there are two gods in heaven.
What about three Gods? Do not some teach there are three Gods?
Yes, they teach there are three personalities each having the nature of God but they
are three acting as one God in unity. They say that God is not a singular one but a
unity of three having one nature each being an eternal God nature, thus three Gods. They
say that the word *God* does not describe a singular God but is a word that describes the
spiritual nature of the three personalities as being deity. But does the God of the
Bible agree with this philosophy? Does the God of the Bible tell us that there are
two other gods in heaven with him? No! The one God of the Bible tells us there
are no other gods in heaven beside the LORD (Exodus 31:14).
As you follow Jesus Messiah your Savior, you will sooner or later
run into a 2 god or a 3 god philosopher. They will try to convert you to their
man-made theories. They will even try to use the Bible of the one God to seduce you
to believe there is either another god or two more gods. Do not let them deceive you
or lead you astray. You are the one with the true Bible faith in one God. You have
the the message they need. A Biarian (one who believes in two gods, and a
Trinitarian (one who believes in three gods) are not following the Bible. Biarians
believe Jesus is only one half of the gods in heaven. The Trinitarians believe Jesus
is only one third of the gods in heaven. The Bible truth is that Jesus is the ONLY
GOD in heaven. Jesus is the Father in eternity, the Son in redemption, and the Holy
Ghost as the Spirit of God within us. Therefore we confess the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost but not according to the traditions and creeds of men. Our faith is
in the Bible and the God of the Bible.
Jesus is not one half of the gods in heaven. He is not one of
three gods in heaven. When someone tries to teach you this or convert you to these
errors of human philosophy, remember, the first Commandment forbids anyone of having a
belief or view of multiple Gods. Tell them that the Bible teaches that there is only
One God. If they do not believe you, the safe thing to do is not to be cruel and
judgmental against these, but pray for them that their eyes may be opened to the
revelation of one God. Tell them if they really love God and are called unto salvation
that they also will one day confess and believe in only one God. Always lift Jesus up as
your Lord and God (John 20:28). It has been revealed to many Biarians and
Trinitarians that they are following the doctrines and philosophies of men and these have
converted back to the one God of the Bible who was revealed to us as the Lord Jesus
Messiah. Amen to these conversions.
Confess in your faith that there is one God and there is not other.
Confess in your faith that Jesus is the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost: one God who
has revealed himself in three different manifestations. Believe in your heart that
Jesus was God the Creator come in the flesh (John 1:10). You will not be wrong and
you have Bible to prove it. You have absolutely no obligation to prove the Biarains
or the Trinitarians wrong. They have an obligation to prove that there is more than
ONE GOD IN HEAVEN. So far they have not done this. Until they do, there is no
obligation for us to prove the Biarians and the Trinitarians are wrong. Stay true to
the one God of the Bible and worship him in Spirit and in Truth. Your faith is not
just hope in miracles, but the very things you believe to be true of God. If anyone
attacks what you believe about the oneness of God, they are not just attacking a doctrine,
they are attacking your faith in the revelation of the first Commandment. To share
your faith in one God with others, explain your faith as being bedrocked upon the first
Commandment and supplemented with many other scriptures in the Bible where God himself
said there was no other God (Isaiah 43:10-12). If these cast your name out as evil
or cast your Bible faith as heresy or error, do not let this INTIMIDATION cause you to
buckle under to personal slander or to their abuse of your faith. If these cannot
deceive you they will then try to destroy you. But you are saved now and your faith
is not in the sticks and stones of men thrown at your temple of the Lord, your faith is in
the one God of the Bible.
3. Salvation by grace through faith was first
preached in Acts 2:38. You will hear a lot about Acts 2:38 being the plan of
salvation. You may wonder why it is so important. It is important because what
the Apostle Peter said in Acts 2:38 had been give to him word for word by Jesus Messiah
just ten days before he spoke them on the day of Pentecost. The New Testament scriptures
that record the history of the Church after the day of Pentecost event, reveals that the
Apostles made Jewish and Gentile converts to the Church in accordance with the
instructions of Jesus. Since no man can change the words of this King, the words spoken by
Jesus to the Apostle Peter and the other Apostles remain in full force and effect in the
Kingdom of God until the second coming of Jesus. If anything is changed, Jesus will
do the changing. He has not given unto any man the authority to change what he has
spoken and decreed as New Torah Commandments. Acts 2:38 says: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Salvation by grace through faith comes through: 1.) Repentance:
this is when a person approaches the grace of God seeking mercy for living a sinful life.
The object of repentance is obtaining exemption from the coming wrath of God through
salvation. This heart-touched desire produces faith to believe that salvation comes
only through the Lord Jesus. The grace given to a repentant sinner is forgiveness.
A person has been forgiven of their sins but they must still be washed away by the
blood of Jesus. This comes next; 2.) Water baptism in
the name of Jesus Messiah: baptism is the public act of faith confessing that
Jesus is the Messiah and that through his shed blood on Calvary you desire remission (or
atonement) for all your sins. Atonement is the sacrifice of Jesus and the sanctification
of his blood that cleanses away all sin and makes a person just or justified or having no
longer a penalty for sin against them. We are justified by the blood of Jesus
(Romans 5:9). Water baptism by faith in the name of Jesus Messiah produces the grace of
atonement. The moment a person is baptized, that is the moment all of their sins are
washed away by the blood of Jesus. That is the moment they are justified by faith
and are no longer under any future threat of judgment and damnation as a sinner; 3.)
Receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost: All the former
acts of faith are motivated out of the heart and with the heart confession is made with
the mouth through prayer unto salvation (Romans 10:9). The mercy and grace of God
has brought us to the Cross. We have obtained the merits of Calvary. Now we
must by faith experience God's own personal witness upon our conversion. Any person
can claim salvation with their mouth by what ever religion he or she chooses to believe,
but it is God himself who certifies those who are saved with his own MIRACLE of Spirit
baptism. Holy Spirit baptism is not man-made. It is not gibberish. It is
not of demons or the devil. It is the inward dwelling of the Divine Presence.
The same Divine Presence that once filled the temple now fills each convert whose
body now becomes a temple of the Lord (1Corinthians 3:16). Holy Spirit baptism is
God's own sign that a person is saved and born again from above. In fact, Jesus said
a person could not see or enter the Kingdom of God without Holy Spirit Baptism (John
3:3-5). Holy Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit
gives the utterance, is God's own personal miracle sign to the convert that they have
received the full New Testament salvation by grace through faith. You may have heard
a message preached from the Bible that brought you to repentance and full salvation, but
it was your faith in fulfilling the prophecy of Acts 2:38 that saved you by Jesus Messiah.
Now that you are saved, you are to live a life complimentary as a son or a daughter
of God. If you throw this away by backsliding back into sin and immorality you are
at the same time saying to the Lord Jesus to revoke his grace and mercy upon your life.
If you deny Acts 2:38 and the grace of this salvation and join another religion that
opposed this conversion, you are saying at the same time that you no longer want to live a
justified life under the protection and atonement of the blood of Jesus that was shed on
Calvary. No one can by faith fulfill Acts 2:38 and then walk away from it and count
it as nothing without blasphemy against the very testimony of the Holy Spirit that it is
the plan of salvation. Such a person can never be saved again (Hebrews 6:4-6).
Now that you are saved, let no man or woman lead you away into error or heresy
saying that Acts 2:38, grace, atonement, and justification, thereby is false. Let no
man or woman destroy your faith, for by it you obtained the grace of God for salvation.
4. The Bible teaches inward and outward
holiness. Inward holiness is the sanctification of the soul by the blood of
Jesus. The holiness of the heart is manifest in outward fruits of the Spirit.
If a person does not have the outward fruit of inward holiness, then they do not
have holiness in their soul regardless of what they boast. The Holy Spirit produces his
own holiness within us. In God there is no sin and no unholiness. The Lord
will not dwell in an unclean or an unholy temple. What the temple is within and
without determines if the Divine Presence will dwell there. Let no man or woman
deceive you that God is only interested in the inward and not the outward. Those who
teach this doctrine are liberals who have a new doctrine called the holiness of sin.
Basically this heresy teaches that the sins you do with your heart are unholy, but any sin
you do with the outward material body is not unholy. So, these believe that any
outward holiness is legalism and bondage. They teach that anything that is more than faith
salvation is works of man and has no effect upon a person's salvation. This heresy
is proven false by many New Testament scriptures (1Corinthians 6:20), where we are to
glorify God in our outward body and in out inward spirit. Paul said the outward body
and our spirit are both possessions of God. The liberals are all against holiness
apparel which is outward evidence of inward sanctification. As a new convert your
faith is not in the doctrines of men but in the Word of God. Hebrews 12:14 says:
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which
no man shall see the Lord." Now you are saved. Now you will desire
to live a holy life. You are a son or a daughter of the Lord and you want to live in
the world as King's kids. Your new birth was from above and you refuse to go back to
live the life-styles of the world of darkness. You will eventually choose to live
holy as your dedication to living by the Word of God increases and matures. Where
you attend Church will determine the measure of your faith. If you want to live the
life of a liberal you will seek out a liberal Church. If you want to live holy you
will seek out a holiness Church. You will become what the Minister of the Church
where you attend preaches. You can measure any Pastor of a Church by looking at what
he is making of his congregation. Do not be misled into liberalism. If you
already have, then confess to Jesus you were beguiled and deceived and you desire
reconciliation of your body and your spirit. The Lord Jesus will renew in you a
*clean* heart. He will give you strength to live a holy and beautiful pleasing life
before your God. Do not get discouraged if you fall into temptation and through
weakness of the flesh you have sinned. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving. Enter
into his courts with praise. Say this is the day that the Lord has made, I will
rejoice for he has made me glad. Return from whence you have fallen. Do it in the
house of the Lord. Bring a sweet offering of inward and outward holiness.
Becoming like Jesus is a growing process. It is a walk of faith and grace all
the way to the gates of the New Jerusalem. To arrive at this destination you must be
holy and Godly. This you can do if you desire it in your heart and soul. Do
not do anything that is not pleasing to the Lord. Do not go anywhere that has evil
associations. Do not read, listen, or watch, anything that is evil or ungodly.
Do not partake in any sinful activity or pleasure. Examine your music, your
books, your literature, your clothes, your attitude, and get rid of all that is ungodly.
If there is anything that would hinder you from going to heaven, remove it out of
your life. Holiness within and without is removal of all that is ungodly and profane
from our heart and soul, and thus our life. Fill up your new saved life with things
that please the Lord. Listen to Godly and inspiring music. Read books that are Godly
and that will increase or uplift your faith. Above all, life up the Lord Jesus Messiah
higher as a result of being saved. This will keep you holy before the Lord. Now that
you are saved, you will want to be an example of holiness unto the world.
5. The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus
has a Church (Matthew 16:18). The Church is both the collective body of
Messianic believers in Jesus throughout the world, and it is also the place where a local
congregation of these Messianic believers meet as an assembly in worship. There is only
one Church, and this Church is the Israel of God aka the Kingdom of God. It is the
Kingdom of God because Jesus transferred to it the Davidic throne. Each Messianic
Apostolic assembly is a representation of this throne and this Kingdom. Each of
these that have Apostolic protocol through ordination have the authority to make converts
to the Messianic Judaism of Jesus into the Kingdom of God by use of Acts 2:38. Those
within this body can call Jesus Lord for he is indeed their KING! The first converts
to the New Testament Church were Jews from all of the twelve tribes. Paul, in Romans
9:27 calls these Jewish converts the remnant as prophesied by Isaiah. The word
Church when taken to its root in the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament means
*Israel* meeting in an assembly of worshipers before God. Thus, the word *Church* is
a Greek word at its first level meaning *assembly* but in its Hebrew root designating an
assembly it means the gathering of the *Israel* of God. That which is gathered is
Israel. Translate this to Greek and that which is gathered is the Church. The Church
then is the Israel of God meeting in an assembly. Thus, the twelve tribes that
converted into the Kingdom of God became the replacement Israel of that great number of
the old Israel that refused to join the remnant in conversion. Gentiles were grafted into
this Israel through Acts 2:38. Each Jewish or Gentile Church that continues this
legacy is a representation of this *Israel* of God when meeting in fellowship and worship.
This Church is identified in three more additional ways: 1.) The
interpretation of the Old Testament scriptures and the prophecies of the Prophets must
come through Jesus and his Apostles. The true Church rejects any authority of any
Jewish religion to interpret the scriptures in matters of faith, doctrine, and practice;
2.) The Believers of this Church are to be Apostolic in matters of faith,
doctrine, and practice. This means the Church follows ONLY the Apostle's Doctrine as
recorded in the New Testament scriptures. The effect of this condition of
exclusiveness, is that no man or group of men can disannual anything that the Apostles
practiced as the faith of the Kingdom of God. Councils, creeds, church law, papal
decrees, theologians, philosophers, priests, ministers, bishops, religious organizations,
et al, absolutely CANNOT bring another Gospel or another system of religious faith to
replace that which was first delivered to the Saints (Jude 1:3); 3.) The first
Church believed in Jesus as the Messiah; they believed in salvation by atonement and
sanctification through the blood of Jesus by grace through faith that is tied to Acts 2:38
as the plan of salvation; they believed in Spirit baptism with the supernatural
miracle of speaking in tongues (other languages) as the Spirit gave the utterance;
they believed in living a Christ-Like holiness life of righteousness. If a
Church does not match these protocols it is not a true Church of the New Testament
scriptures. Each Believer should seek out either an Apostolic Church or an Acts
2:38 Messianic Church and join in the Kingdom of God. Each Believer should join
themselves by membership to a Church where a Man of God Bishops (oversees) the preaching
of the Word of God in sincerity and in Truth. Men of God such as these are the last days
Prophets of God. They will lead you to perfection in true holiness and
righteousness. Follow them as they follow Jesus Messiah, considering that those who
are following Jesus have crucified themselves unto the world that they might not follow
after sin or the lusts thereof. If you find such a Man, place yourself under the
rule and authority of his Pastorship. He will lead you into all the truth necessary
for you to make it to heaven. Do not jump around from Church to Church to see where
you fit in. Let the Spirit of God fit you into his glorious building as a lively
stone(1Peter 2:5). You are saved now and you must stay in Church. You must not
forsake the assembling together with the Israel of God as the manner of some is. Be in
Church every time a meeting is scheduled.
There are some more great Bible Truths I want to encourage you to
make a part of your faith and code of conduct. As you continue in your new life of
faith salvation, you will learn more and more about the Word of God and how it governs
your spirit and life. I have fourteen items to conclude this study that are for your
edification and spiritual blessing.
Some Points On Living Saved
1. Never forget what Jesus did for you
when you received salvation by grace through faith as found in Acts 2:38. Your
name is written down in the Lamb's Book of Life and you never have to fear of being lost
if you remain in the vine. Only if you sever yourself from the vine to live in
sin will you ever be in danger of being lost (John 15:6). Your sins are all washed
away. If the devil comes to you to remind you of your past, REMIND HIM OF HIS
FUTURE! The devil cannot condemn you for sins under the blood of Jesus. No one
can condemn you for sins under the blood of Jesus. The devil has been defeated and
has been evicted out of your life. The shame of sin has been conquered by the blood
of Jesus. The Spirit of God has come to dwell within you as a witness that you are a
son or a daughter of God. You are a new creation in Jesus Messiah. You have a brand
new heart and mind. You love the things of God and your mind has been renewed after
the things of God. You have a right to rejoice, dance, and shout in your worship.
You are free, you have been given liberty, and now your heart can sing songs of
praise. Never lose your first love or first joy of salvation. When you want to
find a reason to worship or to praise God, think back over your life where the Lord
brought you from and then collect from your memory one by one the great things the Lord
has done for you. Worship and praise the Lord out of the memory of your life of
faith. If you will never forget what Jesus Messiah has done for you, you will live a
life of thanks and praise unto the Lord. You will never be lost. You are saved
and you are going to live a saved life until Jesus comes or you lay down your life in the
faith of your salvation.
2. Always remember that the Holy Spirit
within you is greater than any trouble or trial that might come against you. Your
God is greater than any trouble, any sickness or illness, any device of the devil, any
hatred or abuse by others, and greater than temptation that might try to overtake you in
the weakness of the flesh. When you are tested or tempted turn to the power of the
Holy Ghost. Turn to prayer and reading the Word. Pay close attention to the
preaching of the Word for the Lord to send you a special word of confirmation to
strengthen your faith. The devil is no match for the spiritual weapons you have
against him. If you will stay in Church, filled with the Holy Ghost, you can live a
victorious life. In ourselves and in our flesh we will fail. We must walk not
by sight but by faith (2Corinthians 5:7). Do not look at how big the problem is, but
look at how big God is to bring us through ALL OF OUR problems. Never let the devil
provoke you to question God or your salvation. Never fear the devil, after you are saved
you could swing over hell on a rotten corn stalk and the devil would have no power to
cause you to fall into the flames. You are saved even in the most difficult times of
your faith. It is when you come to the place that you refuse to repent and you
refuse to continue on in your faith, that the devil can take charge of your flesh to
destroy you. Slowly you will begin slipping and making provision for sin to be
accepted in your conduct. You will claim you just cannot see the spiritual value of
living holy or Godly. You will gradually pull away and sink down to the place of sin where
the Lord first found you. You will miss Church and then quit altogether using one
excuse or another. If anyone goes to the lake of fire it is because they allowed
their flesh to take them there. You are saved now and have overcome the power of
your own sins and the power of the wicked one. Walk and live in the victory of that
power. Jesus lives within you and you are a powerful temple of God's Divine
Presence. When the devil or the world fights against you lean upon Jesus and let the
Lord fight your battles. When you are overwhelmed by the things of life, run to the
rock of your salvation and hide there until the storm passes over. If you will
always follow the Shepherd and obey from your heart the living Word of Life, the devil can
never defeat you. You will go to heaven.
3. Keep a positive attitude toward the
Church, the Ministry, and the fellowship body of Believers. Think upon good
things and what you can do to make the Church a better Church, the Ministry to be blessed,
and other Believers to be glad you are their friend. You have no right or authority
to judge anyone for any sin that you have ever done. Judgment of sin has been
retained by the Lord Jesus. If you judge others of their trespasses then everything
that you place under the blood can be brought back out again and you can be judged.
This is what is meant by: *Judge not that ye be not judged* (Matthew 7:1).
Do not be concerned what the sins of a sinner are, as soon as they repent and are
baptized you are obligated to put the memory of them under the blood of Jesus anyway.
So, why make them an issue from the moment they come to Church until the moment the
are plunged under the waters of separation in baptism? Look for ways to activate
faith in the heart and mind of others to live a Spirit-filled life. Pursue after joy
and peace and help bring these into the lives of others. Give up being sad and
always questioning what others are doing and seemingly getting away with. Yes, some
will fail, some will play Church, and some will backslide sitting on a pew. But your
faith is in the future not in the present. Never let the sins of others become a
weight upon your own spiritual walk with God. The Lord wants us to be lights in a
dark world to shine forth his goodness. Do not put on a sour face, pray until you
have received the beauty of salvation. Do not be mean-spirited or a grouch. Do
not avoid others whose conduct offends you. You are saved now and you ought to be
happy about it every hour of every day in every way. No matter what others do, you
were saved without regard or influence of them so why allow these things to cause you to
slip and fall after salvation? You are saved now and you must learn to live for the
Lord as he has called you to live. And only you can live that life for you.
The Lord Jesus does not lie. He will not say well done, if you have not done
well. Whatsoever you do in word or in deed, do it all in the name of Jesus. You are
saved now and the life THAT YOU NOW LIVE, you live unto God and not yourself or the world
(Galatians 2:20). Rejoice in your new life!
4. You are now a child of God.
You have been redeemed. The devil cannot whip one of God's sons or daughters.
He may be a roaring lion but for you his teeth have all been pulled out or his mouth
has lock-jaw. All he can do is roar and make threatening noises. You are a winner
you were NOT BORN TO LOSE! As a winning soul, you now become a SOUL WINNER.
Think about it, the Lord has anointed us all to be witnesses of his saving grace.
You can lead others to this grace through personal witnessing. You are saved
now and a part of your saved conduct is to win others out of the devil's kingdom over into
the Kingdom of God. You have a hope and a faith that others in the world need.
You are a stop sign for God to bring travelers on the road of life to see the
dangers ahead if they proceed on in the direction they are going. When the Lord
opens a person's heart and provides you with a divine appointment to bring them a message
of hope and salvation, you are on a divine mission. All the power of the devil is
against this moment of opportunity. You may feel shy to speak up. You may feel unqualified
to talk about Bible subjects. But you can tell them what the Lord has done in your
life and how there can be a new beginning for them if they will give Jesus a chance to
come into their life. Let others know what the Lord has done for you. That is
your testimony, you are not required to preach or give a Bible study, that is the Pastor's
job or someone assigned by the Pastor. Your job as a witness is to invite and bring
others to Church and then during the worship and Ministering of the Word, be in prayer for
the salvation of your guest. Do not try to do the Pastor's job. Do not try to do the
work of the Holy Spirit in bringing condemnation or conviction of sin. Do only what
the Lord desires you to do and that is to witness of his saving grace of salvation in your
life. So, pass out Church literature. Encourage others to have a Bible study.
Be a fisher of men and women and bring them in. The Lord will sort out the
good from the bad (Matthew 13:47-48). It is not our responsibility to do the sorting.
The preaching of the Word will sort out those who will believe unto salvation and
those who will doubt and be lost. God has not called you to be a gossip about smut,
rumors, and bad news. You are now anointed to bring the *good news*. Tell it
to everyone when a door of opportunity is opened. Never be ashamed of the Gospel of
Jesus Messiah because it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Stand up,
Stand up for Jesus. Lift him up in praise and worship. Reject the hatred of
the apostates who say that Jesus was only a man, or that he was a false prophet that is
now in hell. You are saved now and you are alive forever more to reign with Jesus.
Your eternity will not start when Jesus comes again, it began the moment you were
saved. Lay claim upon it and do not look back toward the world of sin. Let the
Lord use you as a soul winner, this is the greatest gift of all.
5. Develop a strong praying habit. Prayer
is communication with God. God waits every day for you to come to him in prayer.
He waits at the Church all day and sometimes all week long for us to come and
fellowship with him. In prayer you are knocking on the door of heaven or approaching
the throne of mercy. Pray unto the Lord about all matters. Prayer is
submitting to the Lord. When a person submits to the Lord the devil immediately
flees from them. You want the devil off your back and to quit tormenting your mind,
go to your knees. Begin your prayer with worship and praise. Give unto the
Lord thanksgiving for his mercy and his grace. Let your heart and your mind find
words acceptable to worship the Lord. When your time of worship has ended, wait silently
and patiently for the still small voice of your God to speak into your soul and into your
mind. Ask your petitions and your request at the end of your prayer session.
If you must speak the name of Jesus against some work of the enemy or against some
trial or affliction, do it at the end of your prayer session. And finally, anoint your
head with oil that the Pastor has consecrated for your prayer sessions and your days of
fasting. Through prayer you will see miracles and special acts of the Lord Jesus come to
pass. You will see needs supplied for yourself and others. You will experience the
blessings of the Lord. What ever you ask in prayer that is not sinful or will not
lead to sin or cause you or someone else to be lost, is good praying. When you pray
have faith and believe that the Lord will bring all good things into your possession.
"For without faith it is impossible to please him, for he
that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who
diligently seek him" (Hebrew 11:16).
6. Associate with spiritual and strong
minded Believers. This does not mean you join a click or become aloof. It
means only that you recognize that your former friends are not going in the same direction
you are. It does not mean you are a more *holy than thou,* but that you are now
dedicated to the Lord. When you come among the Church members you will not
fellowship greatly with those who are peripheral Believers who are in Church one day out
the next, up on the mountain shouting one service and then down in the valley for months,
the type who never have the complete victory and who testify that they do not know it they
are going to make it to heaven. These are unstable and as such may still be friends
but are not suitable spiritual role models or someone upon whose advice or suggestions you
will want to pattern your life of faith. Be kind to others regardless of their
spiritual level of faith. You need fellowship and prayer partners who love the Lord.
If you have friends who drag you down to do evil, think evil, and who sow discord in your
mind and heart about the Church or others, then you will become hateful. You will
challenge your faith, your salvation, and doubt the salvation of others. This you
SHALL NOT DO! Do not run around with with them. Tell them the Lord has placed in
your heart a desire to associate with those who live a victorious life and that is the
influence you want from fellowship with others in your walk with God. If your
friends do not want to follow Jesus, then you must forsake them in fellowship to be in
Church. Let your friends be the sons and daughters of God. Let these become
your new family.
7. The Ministry is placed in the Church for
several reasons: 1.) To preach the Gospel that sinners may be saved;
2.) To perform the functions of faith salvation as required by Ministers; 3.) To
establish a Church family of Believers and to teach them the doctrines of our faith and
practice; 4.) To instruct and prepare Believers to be soul winners; 5.)
To maintain in the assembly the righteousness of Jesus Messiah by preaching on many
subjects and topics all of which are for the purpose of developing our faith to that like
Jesus, the Apostles, and the first converts to the Church. All Believers are to have
a Pastor. The Pastor is to the Church what a husband is to the home. He is
God's appointed head of the congregation. He has the last word. His judgments
are final. If he is wrong or makes a mistake in judgment, the Lord will correct him not
the people. He is charged to preach the Truth and nothing but the Truth. You
must at all times respect the Ministry. Some Ministers do go bad. Some do
backslide. Some go liberal and refuse to blush or to repent of the evil that is
allowed under the name of *liberty*. But for every one of these there are ten more
who stand for the Truth. Follow a Pastor as long as he follows the Bible and the
Truth that the Apostles preached. If he forsakes these, then move to a Church where
the Truths are preached. You are required to save your soul from this untoward
generation and sometimes that means you must change Churches. If you must do this,
do it in love and do not leave any Church in a war or in hatred. A Godly Pastor is a
resource for help and advice. He will help you make spiritual decisions and pray
with you that the Lord directs your paths. Love your Pastor. He is your God
ordained leader to present you spotless before the throne of Jesus (2Peter 3:14).
8. Do not allow confusion to turn you
back to sin. Confusion is a trick of the devil to cause a person to not know
what to believe or sometimes who to believe. When the devil confused Eve whether or
not she would die by promising her she would not die, she leaned to her own understanding
and sinned. Many remain in sin or do not see sin in a habit or some conduct, because
they are confused about what the Lord requires of them. One point of fact that must
always be the rule of faith in these instances: a person should NEVER quit Church
because they are confused or because they are having trouble understanding whether or not
something is a sin. This is what the devil wants. The devil will use what ever
device he needs to use to work on all converts who are saved to keep them from attending
Church. Make a vow to attend Church regardless of how you feel about something.
Since it would be a sin to break that vow, you will secure your soul from many
tricks and snares of the devil. If the Pastor or Minister preaches about something you are
not clear on, do not take this as a personal attack upon you. Of course if you are
being stubborn and unruly in spirit, the Lord may send you a rebuke. But otherwise the
Lord be talking to you and if you reject this, your heart will become hardened and no
amount of Preaching or teaching will soften a calloused heart. Never quit Church!
You have come to far in your journey to be a quitter. Jesus said that we must
*endure* until the very end (Matthew 24:13). A person who is enduring is a person
who HAS NOT QUIT! Keep your eyes upon Jesus and not others. Never let anyone,
regardless of their friendship, persuade you that a part of your faith is stupid, crazy,
far out, bondage, legalism, oppressive, a cult, or wrong. Find Bible scripture for
what yu believe and practice as your faith. If you reject the scriptures than no
amount of others trying to convince you the truth about some sin will be accepted.
Do not live your life of faith on your own personal feelings or beliefs, you must
live your life now by be very Word of God. If you will live by the scriptures then
there is no reason why your prayers should be hindered and no reason why you can not
experience the great depths and riches of the Holy Ghost. End all confusion by following
the faith and practices of the Church for your own faith until the Lord shows you the
truth on any subject or matter. When the Lord shows you a truth it is because that
is to become your faith. You will not err or go wrong following the holiness and
righteousness being taught by the Pastor. If you show this humility and love toward
the Lord your God, then he will bring you into all the paths of righteousness that you
should walk.
9. You are free and forgiven. I
have mentioned this already but I want to repeat it. Do not allow the devil to drag
your past out from under the blood to condemn you. Do not allow others who may know
of your past to bring you into shame or disgrace for the sins you placed under the blood
through repentance and the separation waters of baptism. Forget those things that
are behind and press toward the mark of the high calling in Jesus Messiah (Philippians
3:14). All the world knows that when a person says: "I AM SAVED.* that
his means they have been forgiven of all their sins and their past life is not to be
judged against them any longer. When anyone brings up your past, just say I GOT
SAVED! If that does not shut the mouth of the abuser, say again: *WHEN JESUS
SAVED ME HE FORGAVE ME AND I NOW LIVE A CHANGED LIFE.* If this does not shut the
mouth of the person then walk away and end the conversation. If you should meet old
friends with whom you have sinned, tell them promptly you are now SAVED and living for the
Lord. Do not allow any person to bring out from under the blood old relationships or
old sins by way of reminiscence. Thinking of old times while in sin will conjure up
the lust of the flesh and create a battle of the emotions that was put under the blood of
Jesus. Simply tell you old friends that you do not want to talk about your old self,
that person died and was buried in baptism and raised a new creation in Jesus Messiah
(Romans 6:4). Do not keep company with anyone whom you feel or know will cause you
to sin. Follow Jesus from now on until he returns for his Church. You are free
and you are forgiven, rejoice in your liberty and do not be brought back under the
condemnation of bondage of any past sin.
10. Do not be ashamed or afraid to ask
for help. But on the other hand do not ask for help from someone else who is
spiritually bankrupt. Especially do not ask sinners for advice on how you should
live your life of faith. The Pastor is the shepherd the Lord has put over the flock
to lead and guide them. Never confide in other Church members your private life or
things you want to remain confidential. Counsel with your Pastor and leave your
private matters with him. His job as Shepherd is not to condemn you but to help you
put all sins under the blood and to guide you in the course of action you should take.
He will pray for and with you. Your battles are his battles. When you
feel you cannot continue because your faith has been damaged or destroyed, your best
friend will always be your Pastor.
11. Worship and praise the Lord with all
of your heart. Yes, once a person has repented, from that moment on they have
a right to rejoice, dance, and worship in praise before the Lord. The angels in
heaven rejoice when a sinner repents (Luke 15:7). Does that mean the person is saved
who is worshiping? No! It only means that which was lost has repented and has
come home to become part of the family. The Prodigal son or daughter has come home.
It is time to make merry and celebrate the homecoming of sinners. We rejoice in
Church not only because we feel a blessing, but because as a collective group of sinners
who have come home, we are celebrating our liberty and our thanksgiving unto the Lord who
has allowed us to come home out of the pig-pens of life. Be on fire for God.
Be sold out to God. You do not know how to worship then watch others and join
in. Praise the Lord with your hands. Clap your hands, raise your hands, wave
your hands, and leap for joy. You leap or jump not to obtain joy but because the
Lord has filled your heart with joy for what you have experienced. You may rejoice
after repentance and you are expected to rejoice after going through the separation waters
of baptism. If you have not received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you may receive
this baptism during prayer and worship. Do not be afraid to worship the Lord in your joy
because your joy is your spiritual strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
12. Beware of Church devils. Not
everyone who attends Church is Godly. There are pretenders and fakes. Some
come in to spy for the government or some other source. They do not love the Lord
and they are not friends of the Church. Some are trouble makers who sit on pews to
see who they can use to create or start trouble. Some will act like they are a part
of the Church but they always seem to be in the middle of a ruckus. Avoid these.
They have two faces. With one face they act like Church members and with their
second face they are against the Church. Do no worry about these who seem to be
somewhat but who in worship and in living Godly they are nothing. These identify
themselves usually because they always seem to find some way to publicly disagree with the
Pastor. These will usually identify themselves also by always running down others,
the Church, or the faith of the Church. These individuals are show-offs and most
often never have salvation of the baptism of the Spirit. You can be a real 100%
Saint of God if you do not fellowship with them or follow their pernicious ways.
These are a hindrance to new converts and many times go right to visitors and those
who desire to be saved, usurping the Pastor's office, telling others what they must do or
should not be doing, when it is really none of their business what a person is doing or
has done. When you see such a person or persons dog-piling on a visitor or someone new in
the Church, go tell the Pastor. Through your life you can touch many to be saved and
protect those seeking salvation from being offended by devils attending Church. You
always be real for God regardless what others may do. If you do this, you are a
sincere loving son or daughter of God.
13. Live your life one day at a time. One
day when we have come through much tribulation with great patience, the Lord Jesus will
return from heaven. You must keep the second coming of Jesus in perspective with
your faith. Tell others to be ready for the soon coming of the Lord. Yes, the
Church will go through tribulation but it will not be under the wrath of God. It is exempt
from the wrath of God through salvation. No, there will not be a pre-tribulation secret
rapture. There will not be a pick-pocket secret snatch as Hal Lindsey writes in his
books. The Church and many millions of Believers will go through the tribulation and
live to see Jesus coming in the clouds of glory. Do not be afraid of tribulation.
Warn as many as you can to be saved before the antichrist shuts down Churches.
Do not believe anything that takes place in Jerusalem or in Israel as being from
God. The next great miracle is not fire from heaven in a rebuilt temple, it is not a
rebuilt temple, it is not the revival of a Talmudic Pharisee priesthood, it is not the
birth of a red heifer: It is the very appearing of the Lord Jesus! You are
saved and this is the day we are waiting for. This is the day that marks off the
beginning of the millennial of one thousand years. Many sinners and the wicked will
die during the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven vials. But the Lord's
Church will be spared. Be active in your Church and work while there is day for the
night cometh when no man can work. You are saved and soon you will enter into
eternity to ever more be with the Lord in the New Jerusalem.
14. You are a New Covenant saved Believer. You have been
converted into the Messianic Judaism of Jesus. You are Jewish now by religion and
you are not to revert back to Gentile sins, paganism, or idol worship. Being Jewish
by means of your Messianic religion of Jesus does not place you under Old Testament law.
The Gospel sent to the world by Jesus was not the law. It was salvation by
grace through faith as first preached in Acts 2:38. You are not under an Old
Testament priesthood therefore you are not to follow anything written by Jewish Rabbis of
any Jewish religion or sect. You have absolutely no connection to the temple or to
mount Moriah. Your salvation came outside of the walls of Jerusalem on Mount
Calvary. That is the center of the earth and the most holy place in all the world.
All the temple mount had sacrificed upon it was animals and animal blood, but on Mount
Calvary the Saviour of the world was sacrificed and his holy blood that dripped upon the
ground from his brow, his hand, his feet, and his side makes it the holy of holies.
Let us go without the camp (Jerusalem) unto Jesus departing from the temple and bear
his reproach as outcasts but yet the beloved of the Lord God (Hebrews 13:13).
Those who are converted to the Messianic Judaism of Jesus do not
practice keeping the law of the Sabbath day. Even those who pretend to observe it do
not do so according to the scriptures. They do not kill those who break the sabbath,
therefore they do not observe the full law of the sabbath. We do not abstain from
eating certain types of meats. In the New Covenant judging others about the sabbath
day and eating meats has been forbidden (Col 2:16). The book of Hebrews was written
while the temple was still standing, this gives us a vivid proof that the New Testament
Church was not a Law-keeping Church. Paul said to the Galatians very clearly that if
anyone attempts to be justified by the law they are severed from Jesus Messiah and fallen
from grace (Galatians 5:4). The Kingdom of God is not a Law kingdom, therefore no
convert or saved person has any obligation to go back past Mount Calvary into the Old
Testament to try and live like the Jews in ancient times. You are saved now and in Jesus
Messiah you were redeemed from the curse of the Law, therefore you can not break a law
that was abolished and canceled (Galatians 3:13).
Beloved, live in peace and follow after the Lord Jesus Messiah, our
King!
Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor
