Freedom is Good News Part 185

It seems as though I left our previous article with two separate thoughts that didn’t have an obvious connection.  I began by talking about water and its spiritual application to the gospel.  I mentioned how this water represented the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit upon the believer.  But then I ended with a Greek lesson on the word “zoe”; the word used in the Greek scriptures to introduce us to the spiritual life we have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Let’s see how these two ideas are connected.

First of all, you need to answer a couple of questions.  Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit?  Do you understand the ramifications of being indwelt by God’s Spirit?  God sent His Son to prepare His disciples for a life of Godliness; but He did not leave the disciples (or any of us) all alone to face the problems and trials of this world – He poured out His Spirit into those who would believe in His Son, who would repent of the life they had been leading (as Paul put it, ‘slaves to sin’) and who would make that public declaration of being immersed in the waters of baptism.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)  This is one of the most amazing statements concerning the new life of a Christian. 

It is with this statement that we can begin to see the connection between water and life!  In Acts 2:38, Peter told the crowd that had gathered to “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  It is here that we see the progression of water in baptism to the water that is symbolic of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. 

It is the river of John 7:38 that reveals to us the gift of the Spirit that flows from the inner most part of a new believer.  “Whoever believes in Me” Jesus said, “Rivers of living water shall flow from within him”.  And now we may connect the differing thoughts from our previous article, ‘water’ and ‘life’!!

Paul tells us that if we have never taken this most precious step of repentance and baptism, we are, “Dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked.” (Eph. 2:1)

But now hear this, “He said to me, ‘It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who overcomes will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Rev. 21:6-7)  This is the remarkable part of the third phase of the gospel – we can have the life of our God dwelling in us!! And it is absolutely free.

Stay tuned for phase four of this “Good News of God”.

Freedom is Good News Part 57

God promises us a gift.  “And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  And who is there among us that does not enjoy receiving a gift?

If you have been with me through the past several articles, you know that we have been talking about repentance and baptism.  We now come to the result of these things; the receiving of the Holy Spirit of God! 

I believe we already understand that God has given us the gift of His Son.  “For God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son …”  This gift was given in order that we may receive another gift – the gift of eternal life.  The blood of the Son of God cleanses us from every sin.  We obtain from Him a righteousness that allows us to enter into the presence of our Heavenly Father.  But the good news here is that God did not just remove our past sins from us and then leave us to figure things out for ourselves.  He gave us a helper – the Holy Spirit!

Shortly after the Passover meal (called the last supper by some), Jesus addressed His disciples with many encouraging words.  Let’s read what He had to say about the Spirit.  “If you love me you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth.”  (John 14:15)  “All this I have spoken while abiding with you.  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”  (John 14:25)  “When the Counselor comes which I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth which goes out from the Father, it will testify about Me.”  (John 15:26)  “I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send it to you.”  (John 16:7)

We find out several things here: first, it is a Spirit of truth.  If you want to understand the truth of God, you must receive the “Spirit of truth”.  It is my opinion that God will give you some of His truth so as to lead you to realize that you need to repent and receive His Holy Spirit.  Going hand in hand with repentance, Jesus tells us that we are to obey His commands.  We also see that the Spirit is sent from the Father.  And most interestingly we see the Spirit is called a “Counselor”.  The King James Version calls the Spirit a “Comforter”, and the Greek word used here really means “one who is called to another’s side, for aid, counsel, defense or comfort”. 

I must stop here and praise the heavenly Father who has thought of everything.  He has given us His word, from Genesis to Revelation.  He has given us His Son – the Savior of mankind.  And if that weren’t enough; He gives us a Counselor to aid and comfort us as we walk through this world. 

Embrace these things my friends.  The hope of eternal salvation lies before us.  What then shall we do?  “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Until next time.

Freedom is Good News Part 56

In the previous several articles we have considered the statement that Peter made to the crowd gathered during the Feast of Pentecost:  “Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  We have said that this short statement contains several concepts and have now made our way to the phrase, “for the forgiveness of sins”. 

First, I must say that we cannot draw close to God while in a sinful state.  In the book of Isaiah 59:1-2 we read this: “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”  Throughout the entirety of the bible, there are many scriptures that I would categorize as “scary”, and this is one of them!  My sins have caused a separation from my God; the one who has given me life itself, the one who provides for me in every way, the one who protects me in my every step of this life and the one who loves me more that I could ever grasp.  Yes, we all need our sins forgiven.

I am sure that some of you reading this have followed Peter’s admonition and have repented, been baptized into Christ Jesus and have had your sins forgiven.  Yet we live in a fallen world and we sin.  John in his first letter says this, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)  It has been rightly claimed that “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven”.  And so the good news is that we can and must repent of our sins and so be forgiven.  And the great news is that we may then fellowship with our Father and His Son. 

But some of you have not followed Peter’s admonition.  I wish you would.  A life of fellowship with our heavenly Father and His Son cannot compare with anything in this life.  The reality of this is found in that final statement of Peter, “And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Notice I used the word “reality”.  This is not some “pie in the sky” dream we are looking at but the reality of the promise of our God.

God willing we will close up this series of articles by considering the “gift of the Holy Spirit”.  And so, the good news just keeps on coming!!

Until next time, rejoice in the “good news” of Jesus Christ.

Freedom is Good News Part 55

At the end of our previous article I asked whether or not it was important for Peter to say we must be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ”.  We have been following Peter’s statement in Acts 2:38 concerning repentance and baptism and so we continue with the fourth aspect of Peter’s comment.

At first blush this may seem like an obvious concept.  We have been taking our articles from the “good news” of the word of God, so wouldn’t it be apparent that we should be baptized in the name of the Son of God?  Well yes!  However I have heard some say that “we all serve the same God and it doesn’t matter what form of religion we might care to use”.  This avenue of thinking will not fit in with true worship of God.  It is only a couple of chapters later in the book of Acts that Peter finds himself before the ruling body of the Jews – the Sanhedrin.  The authorities were questioning Peter and John and in verse 5 of chapter 4, we read, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people, if we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed … Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’”

The statement, “no other name under heaven” would reasonably eliminate every other so called deity!!  There is one God and His one Son is the author of salvation.

I have heard others say that Jesus Christ was just another “good man” who walked the earth.  This statement will not stand up under the scrutiny of God’s word!  The reality is that Jesus was who He said He was or he was insane!  In the 16th chapter of Matthew Peter answers a question by stating that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God”.  Jesus told Peter that he was blessed because the Father in heaven had revealed this to him.  In the book of John chapter 7, while at the Feast of tabernacles, Jesus makes the statement, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  In the next chapter Jesus tells the crowds that He is the “Light of the world”.  He later tells Mary and Martha that He is the “resurrection and the life”.  He then went on to call their brother, Lazarus, out from the grave after being dead for 4 days.

We are left with only one conclusion; He was who He said He was!  Jesus Christ is our Salvation.  Jesus Christ is our Redeemer.  And so, there is only one name under heaven by which we may be saved.  “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ”.

Until next time, rejoice in the “good news” of Jesus Christ.

Freedom is Good News Part 54

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  In the last article I mentioned that with this short statement, Peter tells us several things.  We talked about the first step for those who have been “cut to the heart” concerning their involvement with Christ’s death; they must repent.  The second item is baptism. 

I have heard some people say that we do not necessarily need to be baptized for salvation because that would be a type of “work” and we are not saved by works.  I must ask the question, why was Peter so emphatic?  This statement is imperative and that which is imperative is, by definition, a command!  We may also turn to the words of Jesus in His directive to the disciples after His resurrection, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

So, what is so important about putting someone under the waters of baptism?  Paul said it this way, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3)  If we would want to be identified with our Savior, we must be identified with Him in His death.  This identification with Him is quite important for even He, who was without sin, underwent the waters of baptism to set for us an example.  Two weeks ago I mentioned another scripture in the book of Romans, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”  In the scheme of all things Godly we must recognize that our commitment to God, and the covenant He made with us through the blood of the sacrifice of His Son, takes place in and through the death of our “old man”.  Our sins are washed away in that watery grave of baptism.  How else would we expect to live a new life?

The next thing Peter says in Acts 2:38 is “every one of you”.  This is a simple statement but has great significance.  Salvation is not a group thing!  We are not saved because we belong to the “right” group or go to the “right” church building.  This commitment we make to God is a personal vow or promise.  We stand alone before God repenting for our own sins and accepting Jesus as our own personal Savior.  Each one of us must act upon Peter’s statement by ourselves - alone.

Peter then tells us that we must be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ”.  Is this important?  We’ll talk more on this, God willing, in the next article.

Freedom is Good News Part 42

A couple of articles ago I asked the question, “But why a Lamb?”  Why is the Lamb the thread that runs throughout the tapestry of the scriptures?  Our Savior, the one who sits at the right hand of the majesty on high, the one who is spoken of as having received “power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” is portrayed over and over again as a simple lamb.

There is, in the Old Testament, an interesting scripture where God tells Moses “Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God (an animal) that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to Him”.  The use of the word “detestable” is a very strong word here.  Why is this the case?  Because the sacrifice of any animal is a type of the sacrifice of the Son of God.  He was the one who was without “any defect or flaw”.  Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” was the only one to live a life without sin.

But let us think for a moment about a lamb.  What comes to your mind when you consider a baby lamb, perhaps one less than a year old?  Does the word innocent come to mind?  How about defenseless?  Perhaps to a child, the word “pet” might come to mind.

When an Israelite man would come to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice for his sins and the sins of his family, (let’s try and picture this) a husband and wife, with several young children in tow, are bringing a tethered lamb to the gates of the temple.  The priest meets them and the husband says he has a sacrifice of a “sin offering” in the lamb.  Into the outer courtyard they go.  The husband places his hands upon the lamb’s head, he bows down and confesses his sins and the sins of the family over the lamb, the priest hands the man a very sharp knife and dad must now kill the lamb with the family watching from a distance.  The blood of the lamb must flow, for the scripture tells this family that “without blood it is impossible to have sins forgiven”.

Wow!  This might bring a few tears to one’s eyes!  What a blessing it is for us to know that we do not have to kill a lamb for our sins.  We have the Lamb of God as our sacrifice.  But let me ask you this; does this thought of our Savior, the Lamb of God, shedding His blood for your sins, ever bring a tear to your eye?  It should!  Sometimes we shed tears of sorrow and repentance and sometimes we should shed tears of joy for the life we might have in our Savior Jesus Christ!

If you have never considered this; if you have never understood what your sins did to the Son of God; if you have never been cut to the heart (as were the hearts of the people listening to Peter on the day of Pentecost – see Acts 2:36-37), then perhaps now is the time to get down on your knees and seek the favor of God.  Ask Him what you should do.  And He, like Peter, will say, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This promise is for you and for your children.”  (Acts 2:38-39)  Good News shall then abound.