John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

What is salvation?

"Salvation is not merely an objective reality to be wondered at, a theological dictum to be debated about, a philosophical theory to be speculated about—not even merely a marvelous subject to be preached about.

It is a divine reality entering the human being to transform his fundamental disposition, cleanse him from sin and unrighteousness, redeem him from bondage and corruption, impart to him the nature of God, recreate in him the image of Christ, make him a child of God, a member of the household of God, and qualify him through the gift of the Holy Spirit to live a life of true discipleship in the midst of a world almost destitute of the consciousness of God and eternity." [George W. Peters, A Biblical Theology of Missions.]

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What about those who die without even hearing the Gospel?

-Jon Irenicus

Perhaps one of the most debatable topics related to salvation is the question regarding the eternal destiny of those who die without even hearing anything about Christ. African natives for example: Is there any chance for them to be saved? Perhaps God is merciful enough to consider their conditions, isn't he? In a logical point of view, it would certainly make God horribly unjust if he punish those "innocent" people to eternal damnation. It makes sense, does it? Human philosophy and reasoning says so.

But Paul warns us of hinging too much on human philosophies rather than on God's Word. Paul wrote:

• "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,.." Col 2:8 (NIV)

...You know what? If those "innocent" people can be saved apart from Christ, then there would be no need for us to spread the Gospel in all nations! Why would Christ command us to evangelize all men if then God can still save them apart from the Gospel? Do you get the point?

Think about this: What if a certain African man (who happens to be a "good person" according to their own cultural and moral standard) died without hearing the Gospel throughout his life; would God save him? The humanist will say: "Yes, most probably. God is merciful to save such an innocent person." What if before his death he heard the Gospel but rejected to believe, then he suddenly died; would God save him or not? (he is still a good person after all). The inescapable answer would be, "Of course NOT because he rejected the Gospel."

See how the Gospel, which is meant to save sinners, has actually brought misfortune to the African man in the given scenario above. Awkward isn't it?

In reality of the Scripture, the Gospel is God's means to call sinners to repentance and faith in his Son. All believers are commanded by our Lord to preach the Gospel to all nations. But why do we have to? Given that the Lord has commanded it, the main reason is because all men are GUILTY of sin and that no one deserves salvation. Speaking about the universal sinfulness of men, Paul wrote:

• "What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said. The Scriptures tell us, "No one is acceptable to God! Not one of them understands or even searches for God. They have all turned away and are worthless. There isn't one person who does right. . . . We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that THE WHOLE WORLD IS GUILTY. God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin." Rom. 3:9-12, 19-20 (CEV)

Nobody is righteous in the sight of God. No one passes God's standard of perfection (Jam. 2:19; Matt. 5:48; Rom. 3:23). All men without exception, therefore, deserve death and hell, whether Jews or even unevangelized Gentiles, disregarding of how good persons they may appear. Well in fact, nobody is really good because nobody does good! (Read: Rom. 3:12; Jer 13:23; Isa. 64:6). Even those who live in remote places unreached by the Word of God are without excuse because,

• The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men WHO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH by their wickedness, since WHAT MAY BE KNOWN ABOUT GOD IS PLAIN TO THEM, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Rom. 1:18-25 (NIV)

Therefore even people who have never heard a preacher or has never read the Bible will still be held accountable for being sinners. Why? Because all people have chosen to reject God and worship themselves. God's judgment is against all people, and it is so because they have suppressed the truth about God that God has shown to all mankind.

The truth about God has been clearly perceived by all men through creation and science so that nobody has no excuse to not worship the Creator God of the Bible. Moreover, the Law condemns everyone guilty of sin and Gentiles are not exempted for they are also subject to the Law written in their hearts (Rom. 2:15).

QUESTION: Is God be unjust if ever he throw us all in hell?

• Answer: No, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23)

QUESTION: Is God merciful?

• Answer: Yes he is. "For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." (Jn. 3:16)

This is the reason why Christ commanded us to spread the Good News to all men. Thousands of people are dying every day without having a personal relationship with Christ, or without having any idea of how great God's grace is. As we were before, they are totally hopeless and spiritually dead apart from Christ. JESUS Christ is the only Way to Heaven, so we must introduce to them our Lord and Savior, and by believing in his name, they will be saved.

Go, and preach the Gospel to all nations!
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Yes, we are actually Justified by Works... ALONE!

-Jon Irenicus

Challengers of the doctrine of Justification by faith alone (or sola fide) will every now and then quote Revelations 20:12 to assert that God will actually judge all men according to their works. This particular verse, according to their interpretation, clearly states that faith alone is insufficient for man as means through which salvation is obtained, and must be coupled by human works (or good deeds) in order to have a good standing before God in the Day of judgment. Revelations 20:12 says,

• "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev 20:12 (KJV)

Does the above passage actually refutes the doctrine of justification by faith alone? If not, then how can we reconcile the seeming contradiction? Is salvation really by faith alone apart from works? or faith PLUS works?

It is true that everybody will be judged by God someday ACCORDING TO WHAT EACH ONE OF US HAD DONE. Those who failed to meet God's standard of perfection will be thrown to eternal damnation (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). On the other hand, those who are found righteous (or perfect) before God will eventually be accepted to his kingdom (Matt. 5:48; Rev. 21:27).

But does this imply works salvation? Well, in a sense maybe, but the Bible tells us that no one deserves salvation:

• "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23 (NIV)

• "We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty." Rom. 3:19 (CEV)

The apparent conclusion we have here is that ALL men are totally guilty of eternal damnation because of sin. Nobody, on the basis of merits, will be saved. In fact, nobody does good according to the Bible! (Jer. 17:23; Rom 3:12)

But....

• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jn. 3:16 (KJV)

This is God's simple plan of Salvation. He gave his only Son to die in our stead so that by believing in his name we will be reconciled with God once again. Christ further said in the next few verses,

• "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Jn. 3:17-18 (KJV)

Those who believe in his name are not condemned. It is Christ who provided all that is needed for their salvation. The standard of God too high for human capabilities to reach is met by Christ himself so that whosoever believes in his name will be saved on the basis of his own finished work.

Salvation is naturally by works (Matt. 19:17). But since no man had worked enough to be qualified for this salvation, Christ finished the job in our behalf. All we have to do is BELIEVE (Rom. 3:21-28).

Christ's merits and atoning death on the cross are altogether sufficient enough to justify a person before God. When a sinner genuinely believe the Gospel, Christ's righteousness is imputed in him. Paul wrote,

• "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe..." Rom. 3:22 (KJV)

• "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Rom. 5:19 (KJV)

Justification is the declarative act of God by which, on the basis of the sufficiency of Christ's works, he pronounces believers to have fulfilled all of the requirements of the law which pertain to them. They are saved not because of what they've done, but because of what Christ has done.

Now, regarding Revelations 20:12; God will judge all men according to their works, yes. Those who rejected the Gospel will suffer the eternal consequences of their evil deeds. Those, on the other hand, who accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior will be evaluated according to Christ's merits imparted to them (we will recall that God's act of imputing Christ's righteousness to the sinner will actually consider the sinner to have done the perfect obedience himself);they, therefore, will be saved.

Yes, we are justified by works alone. WE ARE JUSTIFIED BY CHRIST'S WORKS ALONE to be more specific. His works alone is the sufficient basis of our justification. We can do nothing to add something to what Christ has already done. Justification is by God's grace alone which means all works, on the part of man, is totally excluded (Rom. 3:24). Paul said,

• "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace." Rom. 11:6 (ESV)

Perhaps the strongest proof text for sola fide is Paul's statement in Ephesians 2:8-9:

• "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." Eph. 2:8-9 (NIV)

As conclusion:

• He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." Act. 16:30-31 (NIV)

Therefore, Rev. 20:12 is an absolutely invalid proof text to invalidate the doctrine of justification by faith. Christ's works alone is the sole basis of our justification by grace. Human works are totally excluded, lest any man should boast.

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The relationship of Faith and Works (an Evangelical view)

-Jon Irenicus

The principle of salvation by grace brings us to the question of the relationship of faith and works. It is apparent from what has been said that works do not produce salvation. Yet the biblical witness also indicates that while it is faith that leads us to justification, justification must and will invariably produce works appropriate to the nature of the new creature that has come into being.

It is well when we quote the classic text on salvation by grace, Ephesians 2:8-9, not to stop short of verse 10, which points to the outcome of this grace:

• "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10 (RV)

Saint James the Apostle puts it even more forcefully in his discussion of the relationship between faith and works which is summed up in his statement,

• "Even so faith without works is dead." Jam. 2:17 (BBE); see also v. 26.

Despite the fairly common opinion that there is a tension between Paul and James, both make essentially the same point: that the genuineness of the faith that leads to justification becomes apparent in the results which issue from it. If there are no good works, there has been no real faith nor justification.

We find support for this contention in the fact that justification is intimately linked with union with Christ. If we have become one with Christ, then we will not live according to the flesh, but rather by the Spirit (Rom. 8:1-17). The union with Christ which brings justification also brings the new life. As Paul says,

• "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is A NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, ALL THINGS ARE BECOME NEW." 2 Cor 5:17 (KJVA)

Paul does not say that only "some" of the things that we are before are renewed, instead he says "ALL" of them are actually become new. Therefore, if our faith is really genuine, if the faith we have is the saving faith that comes from God, then we will most assuredly manifest the fruits of being born-again as we abide in Christ through faith.

• "I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who abides in me while I abide in him produces much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 (ISV)

• "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thes. 1:3 (NIV)

Therefore, a Christian does not try to save himself by his works for he trusts in Christ alone for his salvation. This does not make salvation by Grace a license to sin. A true believer of Christ obeys God in love, not in order to be saved, but because he is already saved.

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My Personal undersanding about Irresistible Grace and Effectual Calling

-Jon Irenicus

As I understand the term, "Irresistible Grace" implies that when God has decreed something for the good of his elect, God will carry out that plan sovereignly by using every possible means of Grace in accordance to his own good pleasure (Eph. 1:4-5, 11). God's Grace then, is irresistible; not merely in the sense that man cannot resist the exertions of Grace or of the Holy Spirit (Act. 7:51). It means, rather, that Grace can overcome all resistance and make his influence irresistible (1 Cor. 15:10). After all, God is sovereign and can overcome all resistance when he wills (Pss. 115:3; Dan. 4:35).

Also, it does not mean that God makes his elect receptive and obedient by FORCING their will; instead, he do so by inspiring them inwardly by the Holy Spirit’s conviction (2 Cor. 3:18), and outwardly by making all things work together for the good of his people (Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:11), to the point that they, by their own free choice, will obey God and grow in love through faith (Phil. 2:13). This will be further explained again later.


Is God's sovereignty artificial?

If in the end Grace can be overcome by the will of man, then the truth of God's sovereignty will be at stake. (*Arminians also agree that God is absolutely Sovereign over ALL things, but at the same time "not so" sovereign over the will of man, for man is sovereign over his own salvation). Would God plan something and at the end fail in fulfilling that decree? Is God that weak that he will let his eternal decree fall into pieces just because man's so called free-will stood against it? Who is more sovereign then? The Potter or the clay? The Bible tells us that God is totally and absolutely sovereign in fulfilling his decrees. In the book of Isaiah, God declares:

• "[I am God, and no other is God, even none like Me], declaring the end from the beginning, and from the past things which were not done, saying, My purpose shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure. . . . Yes, I have spoken, I will also cause it to come; I have formed; yes, I will do it." Isaiah 46:10-11 (MKJV)

Morever, the Bible says that God's ways are all perfect; meaning, when he use something as a means to carry out his plan, it will be effectual and efficacious (Ecc. 28:15; Isa. 55:11). James White once said, "God is not a god who merely attempts to save those whom he wants to save..."

More specifically irresistible grace refers to the sovereign work of God to overcome the rebellion of our heart and bring us to faith in Christ so that we can be saved (Eph 2:1-6). If our doctrine of total depravity is true, there can be no salvation without the reality of Irresistible Grace. If we are dead in our sins, totally unable to submit to God, then we will never believe in Christ unless God overcomes our rebellion; and God does, sovereignly, by his Irresistible Grace (Act. 16:14).

The Gospel of our Lord is offered to all men (in the sense that God calls everybody to repent and believe in him)--this is what we call the "universal invitation" or "outward calling." But since all men are desperately wicked and inclined only to doing evil, they will never respond unless they are first regenerated by God. Therefore, this outward call will have no effect to the sinner unless God grants him belief and repentance (Joh. 6:44, 65; Act. 18:27; Phil. 1:29).

When God calls an elect outwardly, he also extends that call inwardly by giving him a "new heart" and a "new spirit" to make it certain that the elect will receptively believe the Gospel (Ezek 36:27; Jer. 24:7). This is what we call "EFFECTUAL CALLING" which is a result of God's irresistible Grace. I must emphasize, however, that God never forces the will of the spiritually DEAD sinner. Try forcing a DEAD, ROTTEN person to labor for you and see if he would respond! Therefore, God does not merely assist the spiritually dead sinner; he actually quickens them (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13)!

The London Baptist Confession (1689) shares with the same idea with this Reformed view of Irresistible Grace. It states:

[10.1] Those whom God has predestinated to life, He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time to effectually call by His Word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death which they are in by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. He enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God. He takes away their heart of stone and gives to them a heart of flesh. He renews their wills, and by His almighty power, causes them to desire and pursue that which is good. He effectually draws them to Jesus Christ, yet in such a way that they come absolutely freely, being made willing by His grace.

[10.2] This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not on account of anything at all foreseen in man. It is not made because of any power or agency in the creature who is wholly passive in the matter. Man is dead in sins and trespasses until quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit. By this he is enabled to answer the call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed by it. This enabling power is no less power than that which raised up Christ from the dead. (The London Baptist Confession 1689, Article X. 1-2)

Therefore, those whom by the Grace of God has chosen from eternity to be saved, when called by the Gospel, will surely respond in faith and repentance through the Holy Spirit's germination. Jesus Christ himself declares:

• "All that the Father gives me WILL COME TO ME, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." John 6:37 (ESV)

Those whom the Father "gives" to Christ are the elect, and according to our Lord, they will [surely] COME to him [ofcourse, by Faith]. This is irresistible grace. In the same chapter, Christ also says,

• "NO ONE can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." Joh 6:44 (ESV)

Notice how Christ emphatically declares that "NO ONE" [including the elect] can actually come to him [or have faith in him] unless he is drawn first by the Father. This reflects the total inability of man to have faith in Christ which I explained here. As long as a person is inclined only to evil, he chooses only evil (Rom 3:9-12). Therefore, the initiative must come from God, not from the will of man (as free-willers insist). It is God who enables the sinner so that he may willingly respond in faith and repentance:

• He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has ENABLED him." Joh 6:65 (NIV)

Implication of the doctrine: This doctrine actually gives way to the 5th petal of Calvinism which is Perseverance of the Saints. You cannot believe Perseverance of the Saints without accepting the reality of irresistible grace. Also, you cannot be consistent with the truth of Total Depravity if you reject the truth of irresistible grace. In the end, by God's sovereign Grace, all elect will be saved to the fullest and none of them will be finally lost nor totally fall away, that is, in accordance to what God has already planned even before the world began.

Here are some useful verses in the Bible with relevance to the doctrine of Irresistible Grace:
Gen. 20:6; Ezra. 1:5; Eze. 36:27; Pss. 139:16; Pro. 21:1; Hag; 1:14; Joh. 6:37, 45, 10:3-4, 27; Act. 13:48, 16:14; 1 Cor. 12:13, 15:10; Eph. 2:1-6, 3:7; Phil. 2:13; Jam. 4:15; Rom 8:33-39; Jer. 24:7.

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What must I do to be saved?

"The Question"
by: abugian

Wat will you do when you die and meet God face to face in the pearly gates of heaven? And what would you say when God asks you, “Why would I let you enter my heaven?” As you mull over this question, read on.

Is it because… (a) you never hurt anyone; (b) you are obedient to the Ten Commandments; (c) you go to church every Sunday; (d) you are basically a good person; (e) you know the lord and you love him; or, (f) all of the above.

• “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? And in your name have cast out devils? And in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I say to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you evil doers.” (Mat 7:21-23)

• “For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23)

• “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (Jam 2:10)
  

• "What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and ALL THE WORLD MAY BECOME GUILTY before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (Rom 3:9-20)

The Greatest Problem

Our God is a holy God, while we (mankind) are all sinners. Man in his entire lifetime cannot totally abstain from sin and we know that. Our conscience can testify that many times we have sinned against our God and against our fellowmen.

The Bible is the Word of God, therefore, God is telling us that right now, we have to know that we have sinned and that even one sin or the very first sin that we have committed can send us to hell. The Holy Bible is written in a language that everyone can easily understand (only if he is willing to). The Holy Bible also tells us if we break one of its commandments (of course these commandments can only be found in the Holy Bible, and ignorance of the law excuses no one) we are guilty of breaking it all.

Now, people always think, “Ah, God is merciful, He will understand. God is love, He will forgive,” and then they would go on with their lives gratifying their worldly desires. Yes, God is merciful and loving. But many are deceived in their understanding about God being just and righteous and that God hates sin. People delude themselves in trying to believe that there is a grave sin (which most people believe that this is the sin that God hates), and there is a petty sin that isn’t worth mentioning. A wrongdoing is still wrong no matter how petty it may seem. And God being just and righteous, not even a lightweight offense can be left unnoticed.

• “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and THAT WILL BY NO MEANS CLEAR THE GUILTY; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exo 34:6-7)

If you happen to be a judge, and a traffic offender is presented to you with overwhelming evidence of being guilty and the law dictates that he pay for his offense. You can’t simply accept even the most sincere apology from the offender because if you do, it would mean that it is okay for people to break the traffic rules as long as they will be sorry when they get caught and that no punishment will be meted out for them—this is not justice.

God, being the Righteous Judge would administer his justice to every offender as it is written,

• “For the WAGES OF SIN is death” (Rom 6:23a)

• "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT” (Heb 9:27)

The issue here is not whether you’ve been a good person or not but whether you have sinned or not. God designed man in the likeness of His image to be able to do good works (Gen. 1:26). This is the problem—we are all sinners, God did not design us to be sinners and there is no provision in God’s Law, as found in the Bible, that any religion, any philosophy, any good works can save mankind from the coming judgment. Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do about it.


The Only Solution

There is only one way to solve this problem—God’s way. And Jesus is the only way. (Acts 4:12)

Repent. Repentance is an abrupt decision to turn away from what the Holy Bible calls sins. You simply decide to:

1. Repent from the belief that by your own good works you will be saved (Eph 2:8-9)
2. Repent from the belief that with the religion that you have you will be saved (Col 2:8)

Believe in Jesus of Nazareth as your only Lord and Savior. You might be saying, "But I believe already!" There are two kinds of belief. One is called mental assent. The Lord's brother gave an example, he once said in James 2:19 that even the devils believe. To give you an illustration. Imagine that your father is a carpenter. He made you a new wooden chair to sit on. Now believing that the chair can support your weight without it breaking down in to pieces is mental assent, however, when you sit on it, that's another story, which brings us to the kind of belief I am talking about. To believe in the Lord Jesus is to have a complete trust in Him.

If you have a complete trust in Him you will believe that:

1. He is the Son of God—100% God—worthy of all worship and all honor (John 20:28)
2. He lived a sinless life while He was on earth—100% man, tempted in every way (Phil 2:6-11)
3. By His death on the cross you are saved (Rom 10:9-10)
4. He rose again from the dead and ascended to God the Father to prepare a place for us in heaven. (John 14:2-3)

Know that salvation is a free gift from God:

• “For the wages of sin is death, but THE [FREE] GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom 6:23b)

Having all these three important things, all you need to do now is to receive it. Today, say this prayer aloud and alone in you room with all your heart and the Holy Spirit will do the rest for you:

Father in heaven, I, say your name, acknowledge that I have sinned in my words, in my thoughts, and in my deeds. I repent from all my sins and ask you to forgive me. I accept your only Son, Jesus Christ, as my personal Lord and Savior and I believe that He died in my place and that on the third day, He rose again to prepare a place for me in heaven. I invite the Lord Jesus Christ to come and take control of my life. I invite His Spirit to dwell in me and change me to the kind of person you want me to be.

Father in heaven, I thank you for forgiving me and for washing me of all my sins by the blood shed by Jesus Christ thousands of years ago and for allowing me to be born again. Amen.

Like I said, you simply decide; you simply believe; and you simply confess before God. He will do the rest.

What Next?

The third point should be easy now you are a child of God through Jesus. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will seal the decision you made before Him and follow you through.

1. Follow and obey him as your Lord. (1 John 2-6)
2. Read the Holy Bible, talk and listen to God daily.
3. Let other people know that you now have a new relationship with Jesus Christ.
4. Come to a fellowship of believers where Jesus is Lord and God, a fellowship of believers who regard the Holy Bible as 100% Word of God, where it is taught and practiced.

• "Verily, verily, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life." (John 5:24)

Remember the judge confronted with the decision to punish the traffic offender? If that judge happens to be the father of the traffic violator, wouldn’t he, after deciding the verdict, step down, remove his robe, pick up his wallet and pay for his son’s offense?

So will it be when you repent and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The law will be satisfied yet you will be forgiven.

Source: http://www.thebereans.net/sav-theq.shtml

• "Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." Acts 16:30-31 (ESV)