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Tag: Salvation

Seven things you need to know about repentance

Posted on by Bob Christopher

On yesterday’s broadcast, someone asked about repentance. We have discussed this at length before. You can listen to that broadcast  below.
I also spoke about repentance recently at Metro Bible Fellowship. You’ll find it at the end of this post as well.
When it comes to repentance there are seven things that are important to know.

  1. Repentance is a big word, a God word.
  2. Repentance is initiated by God. In Acts 18:11, Luke wrote that God granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.
  3. Repentance is a change of mind and it conveys the idea of turning from sin to God. Bonnell Thornton described repentance this way: Some often repent, yet never reform; they resemble a man traveling in a dangerous path, who frequently starts and stops, but never turns back. Repentance covers the whole process of turning from sin to God.
  4. Repentance is most often used to describe the conversion of the lost. It is the process of going from unbelief to belief in Jesus Christ.
  5. Repentance is accompanied by godly sorrow. This is much deeper than merely feeling sorrowful for getting caught doing something wrong. Godly sorrow recognizes the emptiness of the life of sin and the painful consequences it brings about in the lives of others. 2 Corinthians 7:10
  6. Repentance cannot be reduced to a formula. Confessing sins and asking God to forgive those sins does not equal repentance. Far too many believers apply this formula on a daily basis, yet never experience a change of heart or mind.
  7.  God’s kindness leads us to repentance. “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Romans 2:4) This kindness is most clearly seen and experienced through faith in the finished work of Jesus regarding the forgiveness of sins.

I’ll end this post by sharing two quotes on repentance.
Evangelical repentance is repentance of sin as sin: not of this sin nor of that, but of the whole mass. We repent of the sin of our nature as well as the sin of our practice. We bemoan sin within us and without us. We repent of sin itself as being an insult to God. Anything short of this is a mere surface repentance, and not a repentance which reaches to the bottom of the mischief. Repentance of the evil act, and not of the evil heart, is like men pumping water out of a leaky vessel, but forgetting to stop the leak. Some would dam up the stream, but leave the fountain still flowing; they would remove the eruption from the skin, but leave the disease in the flesh. —Charles Haddon Spurgeon
True repentance will entirely change you; the bias of your souls will be changed, then you will delight in God, in Christ, in His Law, and in His people. –George Whitefield
Broadccast: 
Metro: 

A Message to the Church — Part 2

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Jesus’ message to the church at large continues in chapter 3.
The Message to Sardis
Jesus came so that we might have life. That life is given to us by the Holy Spirit. The church at Sardis was prosperous and well-to-do. It had all the signs of success. It looked alive, but in reality, it was dead. Jesus admonished them to wake up, repent and turn to Him. Otherwise, His sudden return would surprise them like a thief in the night (See 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6). To those in Sardis who were alive in Christ, He gave these assurances –

  1. They will walk with the Lord and be clothed in white
  2. They will be victorious
  3. Their names will never be erased from the book of life
  4. Jesus will announce before His Father and His angels that they belong to Him

The Message to Philadelphia
Jesus Christ is holy and true. He holds the key of David, the symbol that all authority has been given to Him. He opened a door for the church of Philadelphia, a door that no one could close. Their status in God’s kingdom went unnoticed by the world. Yet Jesus assured them that one day the world would take notice and recognize they were loved by God.
In light of this wonderful truth, Jesus encouraged them to persevere, to hold on to all they have in Him. The list is impressive.

  1. They are pillars in God’s temple
  2. They will never have to leave this temple
  3. The name of God is written on them
  4. They are citizens of the new Jerusalem
  5. They bear a new name

The Message to Laodicea
Laodicea had a water problem. It smelled atrocious, was lukewarm and tasted awful. The church at Laodicea was much the same as far as God was concerned. It was time for them to move one way or the other.
His warning to this group was stern, but it was meant to turn them away from their indifference to Him, the One who is the truth, the faithful and true witness, and the beginning of God’s creation. In spite of thinking they were rich and in need of nothing, they in fact needed what only Jesus could provide. He was standing at the door knocking, waiting for them to answer. If they simply opened the door, they could experience friendship with Jesus and would victoriously sit on His throne with Him.
Revelation for You

  • Do you need assurance in your life? Do you know that your name will never be erased from the book of life?
  • Do you sometimes feel like you go unnoticed in this world? In what ways does the message to Philadelphia encourage you to persevere as a child of God?
  • Are you enjoying friendship with Jesus Christ?

Do You Have Assurance of Salvation?

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Can a Christian have assurance of salvation? According to the Bible, the answer is “Yes!”
The Apostle John wrote in his first letter these encouraging words: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13).
assuranceThere is no wishful thinking in John’s statement. He boldly asserted that we can know with full confidence that eternal life is ours, that our salvation is sure.
For John’s words to become a reality in your life, you must understand what salvation truly is and what Christ accomplished for you through His death, burial and resurrection.
Paul gives us the most succinct statement concerning the nature of salvation in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
You and I come into this world under the wages of sin, dead spiritually. Ephesians 2:1 puts it this way, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.” In other words, we were not just sinners in need of forgiveness; we were spiritually dead and in need of life.
Salvation, then, is God’s act of making us alive in Christ. The following passages spell this out in detail.

  • But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ– by grace you have been saved– Eph 2:4-5 (ESV).
  • And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses Col 2:13 (ESV).
  • To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory Col 1:27 (ESV).

So, salvation is going from death to life. Jesus described it this way; “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
Jesus’ death on the cross guarantees that your salvation is secure. Through His death, Jesus took your sins and paid the penalty that you justly deserved. Your sins were judged. The verdict was guilty, and the punishment was death. God was satisfied with Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf. Jesus dealt with sin once and for all.
The writer of Hebrews shows the completeness of Christ’s sacrifice: “Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin” (Hebrews 10:17-18).
Your eternal life is secure because of the eternal consequences of the cross.
When Jesus saves, He does so completely. Because of the cross, you can know with confidence that “He will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

What Questions Are Christians Asking?

Posted on by Bob Christopher

What are the subjects that are of most interest to believers? Here is our top 20 list based on  2,355 calls to the People to People radio broadcast over the last three years.
1. Salvation 124 Calls
2. Forgiveness 105 Calls
3. Marriage 70 Calls
4. Prayer 62 Calls
5. Christian Living 56 Calls
6. Baptism 52 Calls
7. Sin 48 Calls
8. Faith 47 Calls
9. The Church 46 Calls
10. Divorce/Remarriage 45 Calls
11. Death 43 Calls
12. Doctrine/Truth 38 Calls
13. The Holy Spirit 37 Calls
14. Tithing/Giving 34 Calls
15. New Covenant 32 Calls
16. Revelation 32 Calls
17. Jesus 31 Calls
18. Grace 31 Calls
19. Assurance 30 Calls
20. Rapture 25 Calls
Which of these subjects hold the most interest for you? In future posts, I will write about these subjects matters and offer up questions to spark interaction. Concerning future posts, I will be uploading those on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I look forward to hearing about the subjects you want to know more about.

What Happens When He Calls Your Name?

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Mary went to the tomb early in the morning. It was still dark. She was surprised by what she saw. The stone had been rolled away and Jesus’ body was gone.
She thought that someone had taken it. She ran to tell the disciples. Peter and John ran to the tomb to see. When they arrived, it was just as Mary said. The tomb was empty. Peter and John left while Mary stayed.
She wept outside the tomb. She did peer in and encountered two angels. They asked why she was crying. She told them the same thing she told the disciples, “They have taken my Lord away.”
She turned from the tomb and saw someone in the garden. Mary thought it was the gardener. He asked her who she was looking for. She thought this man may have taken the body. And then a single word from Him changed everything for her.
“Mary.”
The mention of her name penetrated the clutter and confusion in her mind. She recognized Him. Jesus was alive!
She wanted to cling to Him, but He had other things to do. She returned to the disciples with the good news, “I have seen the Lord!”
How personal the Lord is that He would call Mary by name. But isn’t that what He does with each of us? We do not have the privilege of hearing Him face to face like Mary did. But through His Spirit He calls us out individually. He speaks our name.
When He does, our confusion disperses and we know. He is alive. It is that moment everything changes. Like Mary, we become witnesses of the most significant event that has ever occurred, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Every day, Jesus tenderly calls out the names of others in this world. He uses our voices to do so. When a person responds, they are added to that great chorus of believers declaring the greatest news of all, “He is alive!”

God's Workmanship

Posted on by Bob Christopher

Most of us are familiar with Ephesians 2:8-10. This is the passage quoted most often to affirm that salvation is a free gift, not something that can be earned through human effort. Here is the passage:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Most of us stop with verse 9. When we do, we miss the full impact of God’s purpose in saving us by grace. According to verse 10, this gospel message that leads to salvation extends well beyond that moment when we cross over from death to life. Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection ushers us into a new way of life altogether, one characterized by good works.
These good works have been prepared for us beforehand by God. And as a new creature in Christ, we are to walk in them. But how do we know what they are?
In one of their many conversations with the Lord, the disciples asked Jesus this: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28)
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29).
Paul echoes this truth in Colossians 2:6: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” This new life that we have been raised to live is a life of faith. But this still begs the question concerning good works. Isn’t there something that God wants us to do other than merely trust Him?
In a word, no. We are His workmanship. What counts as far as God is concerned is faith in Jesus. As we trust Him and our hearts respond to the leading of His Spirit in us, we will see the good works He has prepared for us begin to flow through us. And they will be recognizable.
Here is how. First, God gives us new desires. Paul calls them the desires of the Spirit. According to the terms of the New Covenant, these desires equate to the laws God puts into our minds and writes on our hearts. They flow from God’s love and are different, night and day, from the desires of the flesh.
Forgiveness is one of those desires God’s Spirit works in us. It is not normal, humanly speaking, to want to forgive someone who has hurt us deeply. But as children of God, forgiveness of others is a work God has prepared for us to walk in. We know it because God places that desire to forgive in us.
Next, the results of walking in those desires, living them out, can be attributed only to God. We can never be sure how someone will respond. Our imaginations are quick to jump to the negative possibilities, but God always has a better outcome in mind.
Calling up all the courage that we can, we step out in faith and extend forgiveness. What we first experience happens inside. Extending forgiveness calms the soul, brings peace to the heart and turns an anxious moment into one that surpasses understanding.
And then we see God’s work within the relationship. Maybe not instantly, but over time, it becomes clearer to us just how He is working what was a painful situation together for good. Couples on the verge of divorce have testified to the power of forgiveness in restoring their marriage. Assemblies of believers that were divided have come back together as they have walked in the forgiveness of God.
What happens both within and without is far too extraordinary to attribute to human effort. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. Let’s walk in them.

Here's What Happened

Posted on by Bob Christopher

What happened to you the moment you were saved? Each of us has a unique story to tell in response to this question. These stories are powerful and deeply moving. Today, however, I raise the question not to prompt personal testimonies, but to direct us to God’s work in our lives. In other words, what would He say happened to us the moment we were saved?
Although the list below is not an exhaustive one, it does show the magnitude of this great salvation you have received in Christ Jesus.

  • God made you alive together with Christ (This was the subject of the first two posts). Paul explains in Ephesians 2:4, 5 and Colossians 2:11-14.
  • He transferred you out of the kingdom of darkness and placed you into His kingdom : “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13, 14).
  • He added you to His body, the church of Jesus Christ: “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews of Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:12, 13). “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it” (1Corinthians 12:27).
  • God declared you to be His child: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).
  • He sent His Spirit to live in you: “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father'” (Galatians 4:6). “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

As you can tell from these few verses, being saved is a big deal. It is much more than receiving a ticket for entry into heaven when you die, or even forgiveness of sins here and now. What happened to you and me at that moment of salvation is monumental.
We weren’t aware of all that happened. We simply responded to the message concerning Christ. When I did, I gained a sense of purpose in life. For the first time, I felt like I was anchored, that I knew I belonged. You may have experienced peace or freedom, or felt that you had been cleansed and a mountain of guilt and shame removed. You may have been overwhelmed by God’s unconditional love and acceptance.
All these experiences are real and genuine because Christ came to live in us. We are different, new creatures according to the Bible. What happened to us is a story worth telling.

First Life, Then Change

Posted on by Bob Christopher

I grew up reciting the Apostle’s Creed every Sunday. “The third day He arose again from the dead”; I affirmed this statement with reverential gusto. But outside the confines of the sanctuary it had little meaning to me. I had never reasoned that God actually had power over death, my spiritual death. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know that I was dead in sin.
The summer before my seventh grade year, the death of Jesus overwhelmed me. It was the last night of church youth camp. The pastor graphically portrayed the crucifixion. My heart ached and tears rolled down my cheeks as I realized Christ died for me. Right then and there, I knew I needed Jesus. I prayed and thanked Him for dying for me.
I asked Him to come into my life to help me become the best person I could be. The irony is that my life got worse. Temptations and peer pressures got the best of me. I wanted to be God’s guy. I tried valiantly, but life kept spiraling out of control. The things I wanted to do, I couldn’t. The things I didn’t want to do, I did. I wondered, “Why isn’t God helping me be a better person?
Jesus wasn’t interested in making me a little better. He was not marketing the latest self-improvement program. That is what I was looking for, but self-improvement is not what I needed. Jesus’ work is this: to take someone dead in sin and make him eternally alive.
News that a close friend had taken a drug overdose stirred a sense of desperation in me. I was on the same path. Something had to change.
I started attending a Bible study in Atlanta. Dan DeHann was the teacher. I liked him, and I listened to what he had to say. His message on Colossians 2 answered my heart’s cry. It was so clear that I wondered why I had never seen it before. Here was the verse that connected: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins” (Colossians 2:13).
What this verse taught me boggled my mind. And it still does. God made me alive together with Christ. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, God directed toward me. I was raised spiritually to walk in the newness of life. Until that moment, Paul’s words to the Colossians were meaningless to me. I had made mistakes, committed sins, but still I was basically okay — a good kid, just off track. My hope was that Jesus could help me get back on track and make me the person I wanted to be. The problem was that the “me” I wanted to improve was actually dead in sin.
Admitting my spiritual death lifted a huge burden. I no longer had to try to fix something that was unfixable. However, this admission was frightful. Death is final, the end. It is unchangeable. No amount of human effort or ingenuity can reverse this sinister state. Mankind has tried, but to no avail. Dead is dead, and that is what I was spiritually. Control of my destiny was out of my hands. Life had to come from another source.
The Bible declares that God has power over death. That first Easter was a glorious, earth-shaking demonstration. This truth authored a belief inside of me that God could raise me to life. And He did. Resurrection is Jesus’ story, and through faith in the resurrected One it became my story.
Change wasn’t what I needed. I needed life. In my mind, it was first change, then life. God’s ways are not ours. With Him, it is first life then change.
You may be tired of the struggle to improve, to make your life better. You’ve asked God a thousand times or more for help, but nothing changes. Perhaps it’s time to step into the faith of Abraham and experience the reality of resurrection.