Phil's Bible Studies

Lesson 4: You believe in Jesus - What difference does that make to your life in your family and at work?

2010-10-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Some things that people say

‘I believe in Jesus. That is enough. I can live my life as I want to.’

· In lesson 1, we said that it is important to believe in Jesus. You must decide to do this for yourself. But that is only the first step.

· The Bible says that you must also join God’s people – the church. When God’s people meet together, they listen to the leaders. So they hear what the Bible says. They want to learn more about Jesus.

· When we listen to the Bible, we learn many good things. We learn that we cannot do only what we want to do. Some things that we do are wrong. If we want to follow Jesus, we must do what the Bible says. To do that will involve some changes in your life and in my life.

‘The Bible does not speak about life as we live today.’

· People wrote the words of the Bible a long time ago. They lived among a different type of people. Their customs were different. That is all true. But the words in the Bible still speak powerfully to us today. Why is that? There are two reasons.

· God helped the people who wrote the Bible. That is the most important thing. God made us. He knows how we should live. He uses the words of the Bible to show us his plan.

· The people who wrote the Bible knew about human life. They wrote about families and work. They wrote about the good feelings and the bad feelings that we have. Such things are important for all types of people, and such things are still part of our lives today.

‘Different parts of the Bible say different things. It confuses me.’

· Some parts of the Bible are more difficult to understand. You may think that you understand what one part of the Bible says. Then you read what another part says, and you may think that it is the opposite. Usually this means that you have not understood both parts properly.

· The Bible speaks clearly about how we should live our lives. If you do not understand some details, do not concentrate on such small things. Instead, you should look at the things that God has made clear. You should try to live as God wants you to live.

A New Attitude to Life

When we follow Jesus, we live a completely different life. The Bible says:

‘Now what the *human *nature wants is clear. It wants the wrong use of sex, wrong desires, and the wrong use of the mind. It wants us to respect images and magic. It wants us to hate other people, to argue and fight with them. It wants us to desire what the other person has. It wants us to show bad temper and selfish desires. It puts one group against another and causes divisions. *Human nature likes people to teach false things and to be jealous. It likes people to get drunk and things like that. All these are bad things that the *human nature wants. So I warn you, as I did before. People who do such things have no part in the *Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit, however, leads us to love, to have joy. He gives us a quiet heart, a quiet mind, and a kind manner. Then we will be true to other people. He leads us to be gentle and to control ourselves.’ (Galatians 5.19-23, WA-EE draft)

One of Jesus’ followers wrote this Bible passage to help new Christians. He wanted them to follow Jesus. He writes about two completely different ways to live. He explains that there are things that you should not do as a Christian. These are things that you may have done before you became a Christian. They may be things that other people do, people who live in your town or village. What are the things that you yourself must stop doing?

Things you should not do

· You must not get involved in magic or anything to do with evil things. Jesus defeated the devil, and all his evil plans. You do not need to fear the devil or his evil work any longer. You must not respect or give honour to evil spirits any more.

· You must not have sex apart from marriage. The Bible says that sex is only for a husband and his wife. It is wrong for a husband to have sex with another woman. It is wrong for a wife to have sex with another man. It is wrong for two men to have sex together, and it is wrong for two women to have sex together. People who are not married should not have sex. They should wait until they marry.

· You must not hate people. When you hate people, you want to fight them. Some families have been fighting other families for many years. This is not right for a Christian. Why? God loved you, even when you did not love him. You were his enemy. He forgave you for everything wrong that you have done. He now tells you to love other people. He tells you to forgive them.

· You must not get drunk. Some people drink alcohol or take drugs because they are not happy. They want to forget bad things in their life. Sometimes, when they are drunk, they have sex apart from their wife or husband. Sometimes, when they are drunk, they fight. Alcohol does not solve the problems in your life. It may even give you more problems. Do not turn to alcohol. Instead, turn to Jesus. Christians should not get drunk. They have a better way to live.

· There is a warning here. The Bible says that we must not continue to do these bad things. God has planned good things for those who are his people. If we continue to do bad things, we have no place with God.

It may be difficult for you to stop doing some of these things. They have become bad habits.

What should you do?

· You should tell God that you are sorry. Then you should try not to do those bad things again. Ask God to help you. If you fail, then say sorry to God again. Try again and again to do only good things.

· You want to stop your bad habit. Then it can be good to tell one other person about it. You should tell someone who would not tell other people. In this way, you have a friend to help you. They should ask you often if you have won your fight against this bad habit. This may help you to have a real victory over bad habits.

The Bible passage that we read tells us God’s way. It tells us how God can help us too. We heard these words:

‘The Holy Spirit, however, leads us to love and to have joy. He gives us a quiet heart, a quiet mind and a kind manner. Then we will be true to other people. He leads us to be gentle and to control ourselves.’ (Galatians 5.19-23, WA-EE, draft)

You cannot fight these things by yourself. But God will help you all the time. His Holy Spirit is in the life of every Christian. The Holy Spirit begins to give you a new character. The words in this Bible verse speak about that character. You need to ask God for more of his Holy Spirit. You need to look for ways to show that you love other people. You need to be kind to other people too. You need to be a true friend. As you live more in this way, you are working with God’s Holy Spirit. Your life will change. You will become more like Jesus, because he always lived in this way. The bad parts of your character will become less and less. The Bible verses that we read spoke about ‘selfish desires’. You must choose how you live. If you live in a selfish way, you will live the life that is wrong for a Christian. If you choose to live in the way that the Holy Spirit wants, that is good. Then you will be living as God has planned for you to live.

A New Attitude to Marriage and Family Life

We spend a lot of time in our homes and with our families. This is an important part of our life. We need to think how God wants us to live in our home. The Bible says a lot about married life and family life. God gave us families as part of his plan. The people who wrote the Bible knew about this. They knew that family life and married life can go wrong. People who lived at that time had the same sorts of problems that we have now. The Bible says:

‘'In the beginning, God made them male and female. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and marries. He becomes as one person with his wife. They are no longer two people, but one. And nobody must separate a couple that God has joined together.’ (Mark 10.6-8, draft based on CEV)

This was God’s plan. He wants men and women to marry. He wants those who are married to stay with their own wives or husbands for the whole of their lives. He wants married people to enjoy their life together. He wants them to be happy. How can we make married life happy? The Bible has words to guide husbands and wives. The Bible says to wives:

‘I say this to you women who are married. You should do what your husband says, like you do what God says. Your husband is your headman, like Christ is headman of all groups of believers.’ (Ephesians 5.22-23, draft from Leslie & Kitty Pride)

What does this verse mean? It means that wives should not be selfish. Wives should not think: ‘What do I want?’ They should think: ‘What does my husband want?’ Wives should choose to consider first what their husbands think is right. Some people think that this is not a good way to live. They think that the husband will be selfish. Then his wife will be very unhappy. But the Bible says that this is right for wives. This is how they should show that they love their husbands. Wives should also pray for their husbands. A wife should show her husband that she loves him. She should show that she respects him. Then he will be happy. Even if he is a bad man, her good attitude may cause him to change.

The Bible says to husbands:

‘You men who are married, you should really love your wife. Christ loved all who would believe. He even died for them. That’s how you too should love your wife.’ (Ephesians 5.25, EE, draft by Prides)

Husbands may be happy when they hear this advice to their wives. But there is difficult advice for husbands too! Husbands must love their wives as Jesus loved the church. How did Jesus love the church? He died to turn us back to God. Therefore husbands must not think: ‘What do I need?’ They should think: ‘What does my wife need?’ A husband must think of all that his wife needs first. Some men think that this is not a good way to live. They think that other people will laugh at them. In some places, a husband thinks that it is right to beat his wife. In some places, a husband believes that his wife is there to serve him. But it is different with Christians. The Bible says that the husband and wife should love one another. Then they will enjoy a happy married life. As the Bible says:

‘You really respect Christ, so you should really respect each other.’ (Ephesians 5.21, EE draft)

We have already heard that sex apart from married life is wrong. So, husband and wife should only have sex together. They should not have sex with any other person.

The Bible also speaks about children:

‘You who are children: You should do everything your father or mother tell you to do. The Lord likes this. You who are fathers: Don’t make your children be angry. You don’t want them to stop trying to obey you.’ (Colossians 3.20-21, EE draft from the Prides)

Are you a parent? Do you beat your children? Do you shout at them a lot? Such actions may force them to obey you. But such actions may also make them hate you. When the child is older, he may run away from home. This Bible verse tells you: ‘Don’t make your children be angry’. Encourage your children. Be kind to them. Sometimes you have to tell them not to do something wrong. That is your duty as parents, but you should also encourage them a lot. You should tell your children about Jesus too.

Are you a child? Do you refuse to listen to your parents? You should listen to them. They want things to go well for you. This Bible verse says that you should obey them. This will please them, and they will then be kind to you.

Can you understand how different family life can be for Christians? The real change is that we think about Jesus first. We ask ourselves: ‘What would Jesus do?’ Jesus always thought about other people and what they needed first. He didn’t think about himself. So we think about him and about other people. Then, last of all, we think about what we want for ourselves. This is the real change. We will no longer live in a selfish way. Instead, we try to live like Jesus did.

A New Attitude to Work

Most people have to work. If we can work, then we should do so. The Bible says:

‘We have heard that some of you will not work. They do nothing. They talk about other people and do not work. These lazy people must work to get money to buy their own food. The Lord Jesus Christ wants them to live like this.’ (2 Thessalonians 3.11-12 WA-EE)

God made us so that we would live useful lives. We should not use our time to gossip about other people. The Bible also says that we must work well:

‘You who work for a boss in this world: You must really respect them, and do all that they tell you to do. You must serve them with your whole *heart, just as you serve Christ with your whole *heart. Do not serve them well only when they are looking at you. Think that you are serving Christ all the time. Work with your whole *heart all the time, because then you are doing what God wants.’ (Ephesians 6.5-5 EE, draft by the Prides)

This Bible verse tells us that we should work well at all times. We should do the best job that we can do. We should always tell the truth. We should not steal anything from our place of work. All of these actions will show that Jesus has made a difference to our lives. We should also speak about Jesus to the people that we work with.

A Verse to Remember

The main point of this lesson is to answer the question: How we can become better Christians? This should make a difference to the way we live at home with our families. And it should make a difference to the way we work. You have become a ‘disciple’ of Jesus. Do you remember what this word ‘disciple’ means? It means that we want to become more like Jesus. We want do this for the rest of our life.

We will finish this lesson with a Bible verse for you to learn and to remember. Before we learn this week’s verse, we need to check last week’s Bible verse. Can you remember it?

[Note to the pastor: ask them to say last week’s verse from memory.]

Last week’s verse was:

‘I am running straight for the prize. That prize is God’s call to enter heaven, because of what Jesus has done for us.’ (Philippians 3.14, WA-EE, amended by Norman Hillyer)

The new verse for this week is:

‘How should you want to live? Your lives should be good. You must obey God. You will be waiting for the day when God returns to the earth. You will want that day to come. If you obey God, this will help it to come sooner. (2 Peter 3.11-12, EE-WA)

This verse reminds us that we should live as God wants us to live. It also tells us that Jesus will return one day. We want that day to come. Why? Because God will create a new heaven and a new earth on that day. He will destroy all that is wrong and all that is evil. Then we will be there with Jesus. And the time that we stay with him will never end.

Repeat this verse each day. Ask God to give you the real desire to become a better Christian every day of your life.

Word List

heart	Where you see the word ‘heart’, this does not just mean the heart that makes the blood to go around your body. It is our custom to describe the heart as the centre of our life. When we speak about ‘knowing the truth in your heart’, we mean that you know it for yourself. It has become real to you. It may be your custom to speak in the same way of your mind, or your stomach. You must use the word that fits your customs. This will help people to understand the true meaning of the teaching in these lessons.
human nature	In the Bible verse, these words mean the way in which people desire to live when they do not follow Jesus. So these words describe the way that Christians should not live.
kingdom	A kingdom is the place where a king rules. The kingdom of God is over which God rules. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God may rule more and more on this earth.

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

23 May 2003

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

Lesson 3: Growing in the Christian Faith

2010-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Church

In the first two lessons we have thought about the good news about Jesus. We have concentrated on the good news about Jesus in your personal life. It is right to do this. You can only follow Jesus if you yourself have received him into your life. Some people have attended a church for many years. However, if they do not have a personal faith, they are not Christians. We said this in lesson one. If you go to church, that does not make you a Christian. So it has been helpful for us to talk about this. Each one of us must believe in Jesus for himself or herself.

In this lesson, we need to say something different, but it is just as important. Some people think that it is enough for them to believe in Jesus. They believe that they do not need to go to church as well. Can you be a Christian even if you do not go to church? The Bible says ‘No’. When you become a follower of Jesus, you become part of his family. All those who follow him are his family. They are your sisters and brothers because they believe as you believe. The Bible says:

‘Each person has a body, but that body has many parts. All those different parts make up the one body. And the body of Christ is like that too.’ (1 Corinthians 12.12, EE draft version)

This Bible passage talks about a body. It uses this idea about a body to speak about the church. That is, those who belong to Christ. You may be like a ‘hand’ and another person is like a ‘foot’. Yet another person is like an ‘eye’, but you are all parts of one body. If the body does not have feet, it cannot walk. If a body does not have eyes, it cannot see.

· The church is not complete if you refuse to join it. You are an important part of the church ‘body’.

· You are not complete as a Christian if you do not join the church. Most people are able to go to church, and they should do so. A few people may not be able to go to church. Such people include those who cannot leave their homes because of illness. You may have become a follower of Jesus in a place where there are no other Christians. God understands this, and you should not feel guilty.

· You yourself must believe in Jesus to be a real Christian. Then you should join together with other Christians who follow him. When you join the church, you do so in public. It is another way to say publicly that you are a follower of Jesus. (We looked at this in lesson one.)

What do we do in church? How can these things help us to live as Christians?

Baptism: welcome into the church

Baptism by itself does not save you (see lesson one). However, baptism is the public declaration of your faith in Jesus. It is also your welcome into the church. The Bible says,

‘*Repent and receive baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins. And God will give you his Holy Spirit.’ (Acts 2.38, EE draft)

The local pastor baptises the new Christians. The members of the church welcome them. The new Christian can invite family and friends to this ceremony. Baptism can be a good opportunity to tell the good news about Jesus to other people. So invite those who do not know Jesus to the ceremony.

If you would like to receive baptism, speak to the pastor after the lesson.

The Lord’s Supper: when we remember the death of Jesus

Before his death, Jesus and his followers ate a special meal. He gave his friends a piece of bread and a drink from a cup of wine. The Bible says:

‘Jesus took a loaf of bread and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave pieces of the bread to all his *apostles. He said to them, ‘This is my body. I give it in your place. From now on, do this to remember me and what I did for you’. After the meal, Jesus gave them a cup of wine to share. He said, ‘This cup is God’s new agreement in my blood, which I shall pour out for you. I will let people kill me so that this agreement can happen.’ (Luke 22.19-20, WA-EE draft amended by Norman Hillyer)

Every time that we share this special meal, we remember that Jesus died for us. As the Bible says:

‘Although we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread. This shows that we are all one family, because we all eat from the same loaf of bread.’ (1 Corinthians 10.17, EE draft)

Bible teaching: when we learn from God’s words

If you can read and you have a Bible, then you should read your Bible at home. It is good to read something from the Bible every day. Pray a short prayer. Ask God to help you to understand the Bible. Look in the passage to see if:

· God gives you a promise to remember

· God warns you about something you should not do

· God teaches you something true that is new for you

· God shows you something to help you. It helps you to live as he wants you to live at this moment.

The church also has a responsibility to teach its members from the Bible. This is even more important if some members cannot read. They can only learn from what they hear in church. When you go to church:

· Listen carefully when someone reads the Bible

· Listen carefully to the person who speaks about it

· Do not just listen to the Bible; you must obey what it teaches. As it says in the Bible:

‘But do not just listen to the word of God. Do what it says too. If you do not, you will be making a mistake. You will be like a man who sees his face in a mirror. As soon as he goes away, he forgets what he is like.’ (James 1.22-24, WA-EE)

The Bible is not like any other book. Human beings wrote it, but God directed them. He showed them what they should write. Therefore, we should expect God to speak to us by means of the words of the Bible. This is why it is called God’s Word. The gospels contain stories about the life of Jesus, and the things that he taught. If you have not read the Bible before, begin to read one of the gospels.

Prayer: conversation with God

You can pray in church and you can pray on your own. You should try to pray every day. How should you pray?

Use your own words

You do not need to use special language to speak to God. You can just tell him how you feel. You can tell him what you need.

In Jesus’ name

When we pray, we come to God. He is the maker of all that we see. It is a great honour for us to be able to talk to him. We can only do this because Jesus has opened a way to his Father for us. So, we come to God in Jesus’ name. For this reason, at the end of their prayers many Christians say: ‘in Jesus’ name. Amen.’

Different types of prayer

· When you say that you are sorry. You may do something that you know is wrong. Then you should say sorry to God for it. We have already seen that God will forgive us if we say sorry to him (lesson one: 1 John 1.9).

· Thank God. Always remember to thank God for what he has done for you.

· Ask God. Most people want to ask God to help them. That is quite right. You can ask for big things or for small things. Ask God because you trust him to answer.

· Listen to God. When you pray, try to be quiet for some of the time. God wants to speak to us. Sometimes a word may come into your mind, or you might even hear a voice. It may be difficult to pray like this at first. However, you will learn to recognise when God speaks to you if you continue to pray in this way.

The *Lord’s Prayer

The followers of Jesus asked him to teach them to pray. He gave them this prayer pattern (Luke11.2-4):

‘Father, we pray to you.
Your name is very important.
We love it very much.
Let the day come when you rule your *Kingdom on earth.
Please give us the food that we need for each day.
Forgive us for all the bad things that we have done.
We forgive everyone who has done bad things to us.
Do not let *Satan come to us.’

Christians have considered it an honour to use similar words for 2000 years. You can also use them as a pattern for prayer.

When we pray together with other Christians, we should pray for the world around us. As God’s people, we pray for nations, for the leaders of nations, for all Christians around the world, and for people’s needs.

Giving: our thanks to a generous God

God has given us so much. He could have decided that we are not worth anything. Instead he sent his Son to die for us. He wanted to rescue us. Then he sent his Holy Spirit to help us live. He wants us to live the Christian life. God always gives and he is always generous. He gives much more to us than we deserve. And his gifts to us are free. The Bible calls this ‘grace’.

God wants us to be generous too. He wants us to be people of ‘grace’. How can we do that?

We give our money

Some of you may not have much money. Some of you may have a lot of money. The Bible is our guide. It proposes that we should give one tenth part of our income. Decide that you will give some money to God’s work. This Bible verse will help you to have the right attitude:

‘Each person should decide how much money to give. Do not feel sad about it. Do not make others think that they ought to give more. It pleases God to see someone who is happy to give.’ (2 Corinthians 9.7, EE draft)

We give our time

In the second lesson we heard about the gifts from the Holy Spirit. God gives these gifts for the good of the whole church. Every Christian can do something for the church. We serve the church when we do such work. Too often only a few people want to serve God like this. Decide to give some time to your local church. This Bible verse may help you to learn from the example of Jesus:

‘For the *Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. Instead he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.’ (Mark 10.45, WA-EE)

We give the good news to other people

Every Christian can tell other people about Jesus. Even if it is difficult for you to speak clearly about the good news, even then you can share the story of how you became a Christian. We must tell others because this is the most important news that a person can hear. As the Bible says:

‘Then they said to each other, ‘We are not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves’.’ (2 Kings 7.9, NIV)

We have talked about many good things that God has given to help us. These things help us to become better Christians - the church, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the Bible, prayer, and when we give things. Sometimes you will learn more and will see a change in yourself very quickly. At other times, you will only see a change after many months or years. ‘Disciple’ is the name for a follower of Jesus. ‘Disciple’ means that we want to learn more and more about Jesus. It means that we want to become more like him. We will do this for the rest of our life.

A Verse to Remember

The main point of this lesson is to look at how we can become better Christians. We must do this in the church – the ‘body of Christ’.

We will finish this lesson with a Bible verse for you to learn and to remember. Before we learn this week’s verse, we need to check last week’s Bible verse. Can you remember it?

[Note to the pastor: ask them to say last week’s verse from memory.]

Last week’s verse was:

‘God has given us life that never ends. He has given it through his Son. So if anyone belongs to the Son of God, he has this *eternal life. But anyone who does not belong to the Son of God does not have *eternal life.’ (1 John 5.11-12, WA-EE, amended by Norman Hillyer)

The new verse for this week is:

‘I am running straight for the prize. That prize is God’s call to enter heaven, because of what Jesus has done for us.’ (Philippians 3.14, WA-EE, amended by Norman Hillyer)

Repeat this verse each day. Ask God to give you the real desire to become a better Christian every day of your life.

Word List

apostle	The twelve men that Jesus chose to be his helpers.
eternal life	The new quality of life for those who believe in Jesus. This new life with Jesus will go on for ever. It will never end.
kingdom	A kingdom is the place where a king rules. The kingdom of God is over which God rules. In the *Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God may rule more and more on this earth.
Lord	The name for God in the Bible. It means that he has all power and authority. It is a name that we also use for Jesus.
repent	To turn from sin [see ‘sin’] to God’s ways.
Satan	Another name for the evil one or the devil.
Son of Man	Special name that Jesus used for himself.

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

23 May 2003

Visit our website: http://www.easyenglish.info/

Lesson 2: How can I be sure of my faith?

2010-10-10T04:40:00.000-07:00

Reasons why a person may not want to be a Christian any more.

‘I do not really understand the good news about Jesus.’

· We learned about this in last week’s lesson. If you still think that the good news about Jesus is hard to understand, speak to the pastor after the lesson. He will help you.

‘I am not sure that God can really accept someone like me.’

· Many people feel that God is not interested in them. They may carry some shame in their life. Maybe their village tells them that they do not have much worth.

· God says that every person has great value to him. He allowed people to kill his only son. He did this so that you could know God as your friend.

‘I am not a proper Christian. I know that because of what I have done today.’

· Sometimes it is difficult for new Christians to overcome sins and bad habits. The devil will use this to accuse us. He wants to make us feel that we have failed as Christians.

· When we do wrong, we should not pretend that we have not done it. We should ask God to forgive us. We should also ask God to help us not to do that wrong thing again. God forgives us again and again. He will help us to overcome sins, as we live our Christian lives.

‘It was much easier to live my old life. I think I will go back to that.’

· It is easier to live a life that suits our own needs. We can be as selfish as we like.

· You know that this was a life without God and without hope. It was a life with no answer to sin, no answer to the power of evil, no answer to the fact of death. It may be an easier way to live, but it is an empty life.

‘People see that I am a Christian. Some of them do not like this. They do not want me to be a Christian any longer.’

· Sometimes we may be in danger because we are Christians. People may hurt you with their words, or with their actions. Some people may even want to kill you.

· The first followers of Jesus had the same problem. People forced some of them to leave their homes. People killed some of them. They did not stop believing in Jesus. They knew that believing in Jesus is more important than anything else.

How can you be sure about what you believe?

We will look at 4 things from the Bible. The first one is the most important. It supports the second one, which supports the third one in its turn. Then the third one supports the fourth one. It is important to remember this order.

1. Fact

The most important thing of all is the fact that Jesus died for you and me. He completed the work that God gave him to do to rescue us. This can never be taken away. The Bible says:

‘I have shared in Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus now lives in me. Yes, I still live in a human body. But my real life is to trust the Son of God who loved me and died for me.’ (Galatians 2.20, WA-EE)

This Bible verse reminds you of several important facts:

· God loves you. He loved you so much that he sent His Son into the world. He came to die for you.

· Jesus loves you. He chose to die on the cross for you. Jesus gave up his life so that you might have real life with God.

· If you trust in Jesus, then it affects your whole life. What he did on the cross affects your whole life. This Bible verse says it very strongly. It says that when Jesus died, you shared in his death. I know that you have not stopped breathing! Your body is still living. But Jesus brought all your sin to God when he died. And God has forgiven all that sin. Now you can live a new life with Jesus.

· The Bible verse says, ‘Jesus now lives in me.’ When God looks at you, he sees someone whom Jesus has forgiven. He sees Jesus in your life, and that pleases God very much.

Many people are not sure whether God accepts them or not. The clear message in this verse is that he has already accepted you, as soon as you really trusted in Jesus. That leads us on to the next point.

2. To Believe

In the first lesson, we read these words from the Bible:

‘Jesus gave some people the right to become the children of God. He gave this right to those who accepted him. They were the people who really put their trust in him.’ (John 1.12, WA-EE, Hillyer draft)

Sometimes people think that they do not believe in Jesus enough. They imagine that it must be easier for other people to believe. This is not the right way to understand what ‘to believe’ means. In this Bible verse, ‘to believe’ means to make a decision. It could happen like this:

· You heard the good news about Jesus

· God made you understand that the message is true

· You decided to ask Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord

It does not matter if you made this decision with lots of faith or with a little faith. The important thing is that you said ‘Yes’ to God. You have accepted his plan to rescue you. This is why he sent Jesus. Some people can remember the time and day when they accepted the message about Jesus. Other people cannot do this because they did not decide all at once. The important thing is to be able to say: ‘I have decided to follow Jesus.’ Have you truly made that decision, from your *heart? If you have, then be sure that God has heard your prayer. He accepts you.

3. The Holy Spirit

The Bible says that we should be full of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, Jesus said:

‘Even if you are bad, you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things. He will send the Holy Spirit to those people who ask him’ (Luke 11.13, WA-EE, redrafted by Norman Hillyer)

Jesus promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to his followers. The Holy Spirit came after Jesus went up to heaven. The first Christians spoke about the Holy Spirit, and they also placed their hands on people. They did this as they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. This is a good time to teach you about the Holy Spirit.

a) The Trinity

Christians believe in ONE God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It can be hard to understand, because we talk about one God but three different ways in which God shows himself. With human words it is not easy to speak of our wonderful God. However, the Trinity has helped Christians to understand God better.

b) The role of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit helps us to know God, and Jesus. He helps us to know that God is real. The Bible says:

‘The Holy Spirit speaks in our *hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children.’ (Romans 8.16, EE, redrafted by Norman Hillyer)

We need the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we can live as Christians. The Spirit in us shows that we are now in God’s family. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to live the Christian life; we cannot do it in our own strength.

Note: Perhaps you have been involved with evil spirits. Then you may need prayer for these spirits to leave your life. You should speak to the pastor about this. You want the Holy Spirit to fill your life with good, and to keep evil away.

c) The gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Bible tells us that Jesus gave his followers different gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says:

‘God shows to each one of us that the Spirit is present in us. He does this so that we can help each other. The Spirit gives a completely wise message to one person so that they will tell it to all of us. And to another person, he gives a message that tells us how to know God. The Spirit makes another person really believe that God is true. He makes yet another person able to cure illness. The same Spirit makes another person able to do *miracles. The Spirit makes yet another person able to speak messages from God. He makes another person able to recognise what is a gift from the Spirit and what is not. The Spirit makes one person able to speak in strange languages. And he makes another person able to explain the message in the strange language’ (1 Corinthians 12.7-11, Draft EE)

Other parts of the New Testament have different lists of gifts. The important things are:

· God gives every follower of Jesus at least one gift.

· These gifts are not so that we can become proud. God gives these gifts so that we ‘can help each other’. We must use the gifts to help other people. We must serve the church and the people in our town or village.

· One gift is ‘speaking in strange languages’. Many people receive this special prayer language from God, as a gift. But the Bible never says that we must receive this gift to be a Christian.

d) The Holy Spirit makes you a new person

Some people get very excited about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is in your life, then your character should also become more like Jesus. This is what the Bible says:

‘The Holy Spirit, however, leads us to have love, joy, a quiet heart, a quiet mind, a kind way, to be true to other people. To be gentle and to control ourselves.’ (Galatians 5.22-23, WA-EE, redrafted by Prides)

4. Feelings

How you feel makes a great difference to you. It affects many parts of your life. This includes what you believe. On some days you may feel like a strong Christian. On other days you may not feel that you can be a Christian at all. So, it is very dangerous to let your feelings be your guide. You would not feel very sure of God at all.

· You can be sure about what you believe because of the FACT that Jesus died for you. God always keeps his promises.

· You can be sure about what you believe because of the decision you made TO BELIEVE in Jesus.

· You can be sure about what you believe because you are full of the HOLY SPIRIT.

Are feelings important? We already read this Bible verse:

‘The Holy Spirit speaks in our *hearts and tells us that we really are God’s children.’ (Romans 8.16, EE, redrafted by Norman Hillyer)

God wants you to love him with every part of your life: – love him by the way you think; love him by the way you decide about things; and love him by the way you feel about things. So feelings are important. God wants you to know that he is always close to you. The thing to remember is that feelings must not take first place. They cannot take the place of the fact that God gave his Son for you.

A Verse to Remember

The main point of this lesson is to show how you can be sure of what you believe about Jesus. This is very important when you begin the Christian life. You should be completely sure that God loves you. Then you will become a real Christian. If you are not sure that God loves you, then you will not be a close follower of Jesus.

We will finish this lesson with a Bible verse for you to learn and to remember. Before we learn this lesson’s verse, we need to check the Bible verse from the last lesson. Do you remember it?

[Note to the pastor: Ask them to say last week’s verse from memory.]

Last week’s verse was:

‘God loved all the people of the world very much. He gave his Son to save them. So anyone who trusts in Jesus will enjoy life with God.’ (John 3.16, WA-EE)

Here is the new verse for this lesson:

Try to repeat this verse to yourself this week. God gives eternal life to those who receive his son. You can be completely sure of this. A person who does not have Jesus in their life does not have eternal life. They do not look forward to something good after death. You could pray for people that you know. Pray for people who do not have Jesus in their life. Talk to God about them. He can make them want to listen to the good news. Pray for an opportunity to share the good news about Jesus with them.

Word List

eternal life	The new quality of life for those who believe in Jesus. This new life with Jesus will go on for ever. It will never end.
heart	Where you see the word ‘heart’, this does not just mean the heart that makes the blood to go around your body. It is our custom to describe the heart as the centre of our life. When we speak about ‘knowing the truth in your heart’, we mean that you know it for yourself. It has become real to you. It may be your custom to speak in the same way of your mind, or your stomach. You must use the word that fits your customs. This will help people to understand the true meaning of the teaching in these lessons.
miracles	Wonderful works that God does by his power.

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

23 May 2003

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

Lesson 1: What is a Christian?

2010-10-09T03:45:00.000-07:00

Introduction

These lessons are for new Christians. The pastor will teach some parts of the lesson. He will ask you to talk about some other parts of the lesson. You can ask the pastor questions too.

Notes for the pastor:

It would be good to begin each lesson with some worship and prayer.

1. The pastor should ask people to go into groups of about six people. The people will then try to answer the question: ‘What is a Christian?’ Tell them that they have about 10 minutes to do this.

2. The pastor should ask the groups to tell him their answers.

3. The pastor should then teach them from these notes.

What it does not mean to be a Christian

The Bible is quite clear about what it means to be a Christian. Many people have wrong ideas about this. Here are some wrong answers:

‘I am a Christian because my parents were Christians’.

· It is good to have parents who are Christians. They can teach you about Jesus. They can take you to church.

· One day, however, you must decide to follow Jesus. You alone can choose to do this.

· So, you may have Christian parents, but that is not enough to make you a Christian.

‘I am a Christian because I live a good life’.

· Christians should try to be good people. It is not good to live a bad life if you are a Christian.

· Maybe you are a good person, but that is not enough. No-one lives a perfect life; we all do things that are wrong.

‘I am a Christian because I go to church’.

· Christians should go to church. It is good to meet together with God’s people. The Bible says that we should do this. We meet to worship God.

· But people can go to church even if they are not Christians. The church should welcome such people, and pastors should help them to really believe in Jesus and to trust in Jesus.

‘I became a Christian because someone baptised me’.

· Baptism is important. Pastors in some churches only baptise adults; in other churches, they baptise children too. We are not concerned here about the differences between these churches.

· But baptism by itself is not enough. People can see the water that the pastor uses. Something that people cannot see must also happen. The person must really put trust their in Jesus. That is the more important part.

‘I am a Christian because I prayed a prayer at a meeting many years ago.’

· It is important for you to ask Jesus to come into your life. I will explain more about this later.

· But then you must live a Christian life. Many people pray this kind of prayer, and then do not do anything more. They do not join a church. They do not try to learn how to follow Jesus. They do not try to become a better person. Such people are not really Christians.

So, what does it mean to be a Christian? The best way to answer this is to tell you again the good news about Jesus.

How to Become a Christian

1. God has a plan for the world

The Bible says that God made the world and everything in it. The first words in the Bible are these:

‘God made the heavens and the earth.’ (Genesis 1.1, EE draft)

You may think that this great God does not take any interest in you. Why should he take any interest in you? He is the great God who made the earth, the stars, and everything else. He made everything that you can see. God does take an interest in you. In fact, he knows everything about you. God made you so that you could know him. He is your friend. The Bible promises that:

‘God will make a new agreement with his people’ (Jeremiah 31.33)

When that happens, God says:

‘None longer will they have to teach one another to know the Lord, because all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest.’ (Jeremiah 31.34, Good News Bible, slightly amended)

God wants us to know him. He has given us the desire to know him. Why is it that so many people do not know God? The reason is that there is a problem.

2. The problem is sin

God made the world, and everything in the world was good. God allowed men and women to choose. They could do good or evil. He could have forced us to do only good things; but he did not force us. The first people chose to do what they wanted to do. They did not choose to do what God wanted them to do. All people have made the same bad choice ever since. We may choose to do only what we want to do. That is not what God wants us to do. The bad things we do are ‘sin’, and we sin when we do such things. The Bible says:

‘For all people do bad things and fail to make God happy’ (Romans 3.23, WA-EE)

This verse says that we all sin. It says that we ‘fail to make God happy’; that means that we do not agree with God’s plans for us. In fact, the Bible says that sin separates us from God:

‘It is because of your sins that he does not hear you. It is your sins that separate you from God when you try to worship him.’ (Isaiah 59.2, Good News Bible)

That is why it is difficult for people to know God. Sometimes they are ashamed of their sins. So they do not want to meet with God, who is perfect. Other people do not want to change their sinful lives; so they refuse to come to God. If you say ‘No’ to God, that is dangerous. Here are three reasons:

A. Because of more and more sin, there is much evil in the world. This will continue as long as people refuse to live God’s way.

B. The Bible says:

‘The result of sin is death’ (Romans 6.23, WA-EE).

We all must die. The reason is that there is sin in the world. A person who sins all the time will die without hope. When a Christian speaks about hope, he means something good that God will give to those who trust him. This hope will last forever. When you think about death, are you glad or are you afraid?

C. The Bible speaks about heaven, but it also speaks about hell. The Bible says:

‘If a person’s name is not in the book of life, he will be thrown into the lake of fire’ (Revelation 20.15, EE draft).

God is the judge of all people. As I said earlier, God wants people to know him. God knows even those who refuse to know him. At the end of the world, he will send them to hell. God does not want anyone to go to hell. That is why he planned to rescue them. His plan came about through the man Jesus Christ.

3. Jesus Christ

God sent Jesus to rescue us. Why? God did that because he loves us very much. He also knew that there was no other way. Only Jesus can bring us back into true friendship with God.

When Jesus died on a cross, it was so that God could forgive our sins. As it says in the Bible:

‘Christ carried our *sins in his body when he died on the cross’ (1 Peter 2.24, WA-EE)

It is sin that comes between us and God. Jesus’ death was special. He is the only person who ever lived and never sinned. So, when he gave up his life, that could only happen once. He offered his perfect life to God. At the same time, it was God’s plan that he should take our sins from us. That is why God forgives us, because Jesus died.

The cross is also the place where God defeated evil. As it says in the Bible:

‘On the cross Christ defeated all spiritual powers and authorities. He made that clear to all, when he rose to life again after his death on the cross.’ (Colossians 2.15, EE style draft)

There has only been one really good man. That is Jesus Christ. Men and women chose to kill him. That was an evil thing to do. If you read the story of Jesus’ life, you will see how evil powers tried to fight against him all the time. When he died, it looked as though evil had won the fight. We know that was not true. God allowed us to do this very bad thing to His Son: he made it the best thing His Son could do for us. So, on the cross, God defeated evil.

Jesus rescues us from sin and from the power of evil. And the Bible has more good news. He also rescues us from death and from the fear that we feel about death. Three days after Jesus died on the cross, he came back to life. His friends found that his grave was empty. Then many of them saw him alive again. He spoke to them and taught them much more about himself for 40 days. The message of the New Testament is that Jesus is alive!

Jesus also promises us that we will live again after we die. As it says in the Bible:

‘I am the one who raises the dead to life. All who have faith in me will live, even if they die.’ (John 11.25, WA-EE)

Every person must die. But the Christian can look forward to life after death. We will live with God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Many people fear death, but Jesus also rescues us from eternal death.

4. What must we do?

When the first Christian told the good news about Jesus to the crowd, they asked: ‘What shall we do?’ God has made a way for us to know Him, through Jesus Christ. He has done this for every person in the world, but he does not force us to accept his way. We must receive this good news for ourselves. How?

Repent

This means that you must turn away from what is wrong in your life. You may be aware of things in your life that are wrong. Perhaps you feel guilty about some things that you have done. As you get to know Jesus, he will show you other things that are wrong. What should you do? As the Bible says:

‘But if we tell God what we have done wrong then he will forgive us. He will take away from us all the wrong things, which we have done. God is true and fair. So, we can be sure that he will do what he promised and what is right.’ (1 John 1.9, WA-EE)

If you want to live a new life with Jesus, you must leave bad things behind. You cannot live the new life and continue to do bad things.

Believe

You must believe that the message about Jesus is God’s plan. He wants to rescue people and to make them his friends again. As the Bible says:

You receive the good news like a very special gift. You must receive this gift for yourself. This means that you know the truth in your *heart. You know that God loves you. It does not mean that you just believe or know some facts. This is truth that God makes real to you. He does that because he wants you to trust in him.

Declare

It says in the Bible:

‘Tell others that Jesus is your Lord. Tell them that Jesus rose from death. Then he will save you’ (Romans 10.9, WA-EE draft by Norman Hillyer)

We have already said that your faith must be personal – from the *heart. This Bible verse shows us that your faith must also be public. You cannot be a private Christian. You need to tell other people that you are a Christian. You need to join with Christians in a local church.

Later in this series of lessons, we will say more about church, about prayer, and about reading the Bible. This will help you as you try to live as a Christian.

A Verse to Remember

The main point of this lesson is to speak again about the good news of Jesus. If you do not understand this, then your Christian life will not develop well. You might even give up.

We will finish this lesson with a Bible verse for you to learn. If you learn it, you will remember it. This verse reminds you of how much God loves you. That was the reason that he sent his Son into the world.

‘God loved all the people of the world very much. He gave his Son to save them. So anyone who trusts in Jesus will enjoy life with God.’ (John 3.16, WA-EE)

Remember this verse. Say it every day. Tell others the good news about Jesus. You can use this Bible verse to do it! Next time we meet, we will try to remember the verse as a group.

Word List

heart

Where you see the word ‘heart’, this does not just mean the heart that makes the blood to go around your body. It is our custom to describe the heart as the centre of our life. When we speak about ‘knowing the truth in your heart’, we mean that you know it for yourself. It has become real to you. It may be your custom to speak in the same way of your mind, or your stomach. You must use the word that fits your customs. This will help people to understand the true meaning of the teaching in these lessons.

sin

When people do things against God or against other people

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

22 May 2003

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

Following Jesus - A course for New Christians

2010-10-09T03:04:00.000-07:00

This is a short course designed for new Christians. It can be used by pastors and Bible Study leaders in the developing world or by or people who speak English as a second language. We invite you to download, print, and use this course free of charge, as long as you include the Copyright Statement at the end of each document.

Lesson 1: What is a Christian?
Lesson 2: How can I be sure of my faith?
Lesson 3: Growing in the Christian Faith
Lesson 4: What difference does following Jesus make?