This post is a part of the “Featured Bible Study: 30 Christian Basics” series and hence has been reposted from Feb 10, 2010. To see all the authors and titles in the series, and to suggest a topic, please go here. Subscribe today to receive the ebook on this series. Are you a designer? Join the design contest for this series here.

I DO NOT like to read especially if it extends more than a few paragraphs. In fact, even after much coercing, I am still not a voracious reader. Over a period of time, I have learned that it is beneficial for us – whether we agree or disagree with the content in the books that we read. Reading has many advantages. Yet, at times, I seem to struggle with the idea of actually having to go through an entire book. For awhile now, I began to enjoy reading books on the subject matter that are of interest.

When it comes to the Bible, it is very clear that if I choose not to read the Bible, then I choose not to know who my creator is and what I am created for. Now that would be an epic failure! I have realized that there are plenty of young (and old) people who struggle with reading the Bible.

Here are some ways to help you re-energize your walk with God in taking in His Eternal word.

Depend Completely on the Holy Spirit

It was Mom who first taught me to read the Bible. As some of you know, my preaching ministry began when I was 7 years old. I approached my mom to ask her what I should preach about. She taught me the importance of going to God and asking Him about it instead of man.

She also taught me that every sentence is inspired by the Holy Spirit for a purpose. There is hidden revelation in every verse for our edification, motivation and direction. Now, there is nothing wrong in looking for more understanding with Bible encyclopaedias, commentaries, etc., but the more we depend on the Holy Spirit to reveal what He has written, the more we will become captivated by the Word of God. It is only then that the Word will become alive to us in our day to day life.

So if your question is: How do I begin? I would respond that the same way that you would ask me, ask the Holy Spirit. He will provide the inspiration in your heart as you depend on Him with each of those verses.

Where Do I Begin?

If you are a new believer who is trying to understand the Bible, I would say that the best place to start is with your Saviour and Lord Jesus. Although it is true that Jesus can be seen in almost all of the Books of the Bible in hidden revelations, we can best start with the gospel according to John, the fourth book in the New Testament. And then proceed to the other gospels starting from Matthew, then to Mark and Luke. Next would be Acts, which is the Book about the disciples of Jesus. You can take your study further to the Books after Acts; to learn how the Church must prepare for the second coming of Jesus.

Is there a commandment that I need to obey? Is there a valuable principal here that I can learn? Is this verse speaking into my life right now? How can I apply it in my everyday life? Is there a prayer I can say?

Write the answers to these questions in your notebook and you will soon build up a treasure house of scriptural knowledge. It is important to pray as you read the Bible. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer; just something along the lines of: “Dear God, show me what this means and help me to obey.”

Read Cover to Cover

There are many ‘Bible Reading Plans’ available to complete your Bible study in a year. This is one of them: Reading Plans.

Apart from that, I would suggest that you do more than just reading based on given direction. Another option is to read your Bible through email - Signup here -  but there is nothing like having your own Bible that you carry with you to study at every possible hour. And oh, I love underlining, circling, making squares around words; it just makes it so personal!

Going Deeper

I have developed a pattern of reading one chapter from the 5 Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy); one chapter from the prophetic Books (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, etc.); one chapter or two from the Book of Psalms; one chapter from Proverbs; and one chapter from the Gospels, Epistles, etc.

So, in short, each day I get a comprehensive view of the Bible and not just one portion of it. Mind you, that this does not happen every day, nor do I stick to each chapter strictly. Sometimes I end up reading more than just one chapter according to how I feel in my spirit. I do this basically because different Books in the Bible teach you different things. Take for an example – mainly in Psalms – you learn more about God. In Proverbs, you learn more about people and many wise things. In the gospels, you discover more about Jesus, etc. So to have a wider perspective of the Word in a day really helps us to go deeper in the Lord.

How Often?

Although it is good discipline to have a set timetable for your Bible study, I would suggest that you take it beyond your timetable. Carry your Bible to work or even school. I’ve always said this: it is not about how many chapters you cover in a day; it is about how many chapters have gone into your heart. That means sometimes I’ve been stuck with a few verses for days! Read it over and over and enjoy new revelations from the Holy Spirit. Literally soaking in the Word of God.

Caution in Using Resources

At this point, we must be careful that we do not overdo reading commentaries or articles. Let’s face it, as much as there are really good ones, they are all still man’s understanding of the Word of God. So, what better place to be than on your knees with the Holy Spirit who inspired the Word of God through these Bible authors!

There are resources that can be of great help to you as you study the Word. Ask your leader about theologically-sound resources that will be best for your level of understanding as there are many confusing commentaries out there as well.

There are many great online resources; one of which I use often is Biblos. There are thousands of others too, but again, I insist that you stick with the Bible and on your knees in prayer first; that is the greatest place to be.

WHAT really MATTERS:

Perspective Matters

How you approach the Bible is important. Those who see the Bible as a helpful tool will have a tendency to view verses that are more enlightening when going through a relevant situation. For me, I enjoy more prayer and intimacy so I end up seeing everything through that inspiration. I understand that it is not very easy, but try to keep a neutral heart for the Holy Spirit to throw light on anything He wants. There are all kinds of revelations that the Holy Spirit can fill you with from each of those verses. Now don’t get me wrong, it is great to have the Holy Spirit speak into our circumstances. Yet, keep your heart open to any new revelations that the Holy Spirit may reveal concerning your future than just your past or present.

Passion Matters

Like I said earlier, it is not about how many chapters you complete, but about whether your heart is in it. I have known of some who rush through their Bible before they go to the college or before they hit the bed as if it is a custom or ritual. It seems like they feel more accountable to their parents or pastors more than God. Put your heart into reading the Word. There will be times that as you read the Word, a verse captures your attention. One verse may have a stronger pull or stand out of The Book. Stay on that verse. Ask the Holy Spirit for more revelation on it. You will be surprised at how much you can learn from it the more you remain focused on it with the Holy Spirit.

Persistence Matters

The problem with people like me who are not great, voracious readers makes it difficult for reading to become a regular pattern. But the fact about the importance of knowing more about God and what God wants to know about us on a daily basis should help us focus on it every day. Like I said before, carry your Bible everywhere so that you can read it bit by bit at every opportunity so that it becomes a part of your life.

Prayer Matters

Finally, I’d like to conclude with this – PRAYER MATTERS. Bible reading alone will not get you anywhere. You need to spend time seeking God based on the Word that you have meditated on. It is prayer that empowers you to live the Word of God in its fullness. Bible reading without prayer is like having food without water.

I hope this helps you to live a balanced Christian Life. Don’t forget to FB & Twitter share it with your friends and family, and help them with the same.

Question: What other tips can you add to this? What’s your motivation to concentrate on the Word of God? Reply below.

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Worship is something amazing. It is extremely complex and yet so profoundly simple.

There’s a drive on the inside of each one of us to worship something or someone, be it their role models, sports stars or even things like money, food, etc. Look at the number of ‘worship places’ around, or the 1000 mile pilgrimages that people go- – it tells you that something on the inside of us makes us want to worship.

But what actually happens in worship?

Stages of Worship

For the sake of understanding, we can divide the process of worship into seven stages:

1. Seeing

2. Admiring

3. Appreciating

4. Praising

5. Imitating

6. Emulating

7. Becoming

The Bible says in Romans 1: 20 that, since the beginning of the world, God’s invisible attributes, His divine nature and His eternal power have been clearly seen. So we see His invisible attributes and that leads us onto a pathway of worship. So firstly it’s all about seeing.

As you see your object of worship and get drawn to something good in it, you begin to admire your object of worship. As you admire, you appreciate. As you begin to appreciate, you begin to praise your object of worship. When you praise, you’re actually sharing your worship with someone else because you’re telling others as well about this object of worship. Praising your object of worship leads you to want to imitate it. From imitation, it takes you to emulation where you want to do everything you can to be like that. Eventually, as the psalmist says in Psalm 115: 8, “Those who make them (objects of worship) will become like them…” And this applies to anyone – even in the case of a film star or a sports star, the same sequence follows.

Couple of points to remember:

Created to worship

The Bible says in John 4:23, 24: “…the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” (ESV)

We were originally created to worship God and find fulfillment in Him. No where else in the Scripture is it mentioned that God is seeking something. That’s because He Himself is self-sufficient. But He is seeking worshippers who will worship Him. He is seeking true worshippers. That means there could be false worshippers as well.

False worshippers tend to worship variable “Created” things while true worshippers worship the un-changeable “Creator” God who doesn’t change with time.

Variable things change. Film stars are here today, and gone tomorrow; sports stars are here today, then they are gone; objects of worship are here today, and soon they are gone. Suppose I worship an animal, like a tiger, it is there today and it’ll be gone tomorrow. So these are all variable things. If we worship them, we’ll be let down.

Redeemed to Worship

Throughout the Bible, you will see this one theme that God redeems us with the sole purpose to worship Him. In Exodus 8: 1, God tells Moses to go and tell Pharaoh, “Let my people go so that they may worship me.” That’s so amazing! God, from time to time, sent a deliverer for His people to be freed from slavery that they might worship Him. That’s because we are so bound to worship something! In the process of losing our knowledge of God because of sin, we tend to worship something lesser than God. So God sends a deliverer. In our case, God sent Jesus Christ, who came and redeemed us, so we could now understand what worship really is and that now we could worship Creator God once again.

Many people think of worship to be an act. Like, if I go to this particular temple, if I go to this particular sacred river, if I go to this holy place or go to that holy mountain, then I’m worshipping. But Jesus makes it clear when He comes on the scene and when He talks to the Samaritan woman. He tells her that it’s no longer about a place, it’s no longer about a holy mountain, and it’s no longer about a pattern of worship. All of that is broken down. Now the true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23, 24:).

“The temple is no more sacred…Rather; it is your body which is the temple of God’s Spirit”

So in Jesus, we have actually re-gained our lost purpose of worship. We’ve found it again; we’ve understood it once again. The Bible says in Romans 12:1-3, to offer your body as a living sacrifice is the ultimate way of worshipping God. The temple is no more sacred. There is no holy place that is sacred. Rather, it is your body which is the temple of God’s Spirit. So when you honour your body, when you honour God with your body, you’re actually worshipping God.

In summation, all of the activities that you do in life are considered as worship before God. Many of us might be still worshipping something lesser than God. So while we have all of these vague ideas of worship, let’s understand one thing. Let’s look to Jesus who came, died for us, to redeem us so we could now worship God. When we discover God, when we see Him more and more, through His word, by His Spirit, then we begin to understand what worship is.

So if I’m to go over that sequence again, when we see how awesome God is, then we begin to admire this wonderful God. When we admire Him, we begin to appreciate Him. When we appreciate Him, it results in praise and we begin to say good things to Him and also tell people about this great God. When we praise God, we want to be like Him and imitate Him, which is a good thing. When we imitate Him, we begin to emulate Him. In fact we try to be all that we can to be like Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. And when we emulate Him, we should rest assured in the Scriptures that one day, we will become like Jesus.

So that just completes this whole beautiful, profound cycle of worship. I guess I’m still just scratching on the surface. There’s so much still to be said about worship. But I think it’s a good place to start. God bless you.

Discussion: What is worship to you? How do you define it?

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As you may have realised by now that with this series, we are focused on reemphasizing the basics of the word of God. If you haven’t yet gone through the earlier posts, it is never too late. Start here.

Today’s topic has stemmed from the countless times that I’ve heard people say that they don’t know how to and what to pray for. So, come along with me while we discover the tremendous power in prayer.

Is there a ‘Place of Prayer’?

Jesus spoke over the church one of its strongest promise that it would be built by God and the gates of hell would not prevail.

Yes, there is a blessing in praying in places where the presence of God has visited and blessed often but there is no place where prayer is limited from. Whether it was in the den of the lions or in the dungeons of Egypt or while rowing in the middle of the sea – God always heard the cry of His people.

Is there a Particular Time when a Christian must Pray?

A child of Jesus must have the discipline of setting apart time everyday to seek Him. But we should not limit ourselves to that time alone to have a relationship with God. In fact, we are called to go beyond a set time of prayer in order to have an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Here is a simple command in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Pray without ceasing. God desires that we live in continual, unbroken communion with him. Yes, even while you are in the shower, are driving to somewhere, are in the airport, are at the mall or in the privacy of your bedroom – be in prayer.

Apostle Paul says in Colossians 4:2, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” Devotion certainly means more than just an occasional prayer.

Prayer time is great but a life of prayer is greater!

Is there a Particular Position of Prayer?

One of the most memorable positions of prayer in the Bible is kneeling down. See some of the verses show us this are:

1 Kings 18:42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.

Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Acts 9:40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

Acts 21:5 But when our time was up, we left and continued on our way. All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.

How did Jesus Pray?

Mark 14:35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.

This verse most certainly implies that kneeling down is not the only position of prayer. But one thing is certain that Jesus did not bother that the three disciples that were around him. He did not try to be a dignified man.

Jesus not only prayed with his heart but he prayed with all his strength and emotions.

See, Hebrews 5:7 “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Notice that His loud cries and tears were rooted in reverent submission to God.

While we were in Canada, I had the privilege of meeting a man of God named Pastor John Raymer of the Peace Tower Church. In the time that I spent with him and got to know him, I realized that he was a man of tears. He wept. He wept in public and in private.

I’ve always wondered how Jesus could cry and wail in public. I’ve always enjoyed seeking God with tears but I was always embarrassed about it. So I asked Pastor Raymer about his experience. And he said, “Shyju, when you know that God loves a broken and contrite heart, you need to stop being embarrassed about what people think.”

Some of us have not yet achieved a real breakthrough in prayer because we are too cute and passive in our prayer life.

What to Pray?

1 Corinthians 14:15 says, “So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind;”

Our needs, the needs of those around us and the needs of the world we live in are endless. Our whole life would fall short to pray for all of those needs. Therefore, it is important that we pray according to His will.

Your pressing need should not be the sole motivation in prayer. Let God’s will and desire for us press you into prayer.

Therefore in prayer, seek God’s sovereign will. Think before you pray. Does God want this? The best way to pray is to take the Bible seriously and try to pray it into your life. If you are struggling for words to pray, place your Bible in front of you and simply read a line and turn that into a prayer.

No matter what you pray, let it be underlined with the prayer like that, “Yet, not my will but yours be done!”

I pray this releases you into an intimate walk with Jesus! He desires that you seek Him continually!

Remember, an unbroken communion is the greatest key to walking with God.

Some Self Study Scriptures:

1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraides not; and it shall be given him.

Matthew 6:7
But when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

1 Timothy 2:8
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

John 15:7
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Discuss your thoughts, challenges and plan of action below in the comments section!

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 Welcome to “Featured Bible Study: 30 Christian Basics.” To see all the authors and titles in the series, and to suggest a topic, please go here. Subscribe today to receive the ebook on this series. Are you a designer? Join the design contest for this series here.

Unloved. Sick. Broke. Hurt. Discontent. Lonely. Weary. Frustrated. Confused. Cornered. Trapped.

Do these words appear to describe you?

Oftentimes, we can become so absorbed in our circumstances that it can distort our perspective of our identity.

However, the Word of God says that as His children, we are: Loved. Redeemed. Embraced. Healed. Satisfied. Sustained. Delivered. Carried. Strengthened. Free.

You may be thinking: No way! That seems to be so far from my reality.  

But you can choose to make it your reality; and that is by placing your faith in an Almighty Living God.

What is Faith?

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1).

What or whom we place our confidence in can positively or negatively affect our lives. Some believe in people; others in riches; and others in themselves.

But those who trust in the Lord shall never be put to shame. For God never fails!   

Faith has very little to do with what we can achieve, and all to do with whom we believe. By placing our faith in God and in the truth of His Word, we are victorious according to His perfect Will irrespective of the magnitude or complexity of our situation. Faith helps us to align ourselves with God’s perspective for our lives.

As Jesus proved His love for us and died on the cross for the sins of all humanity, He cried out: “It is Finished!” Based on the finished work of Jesus, humanity was redeemed from the consequences of sin, and our relationship with our Heavenly Father was re-established under this covenant of grace. Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence (Ephesians 3:11-12). Therefore, we are more than conquerors in all things through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

When we do have a need to bring before God, we can exercise our faith for that particular situation by believing with all our heart that God has already done it for He is faithful to His Word. For example, if we are praying for healing, we must believe that we are already healed just as His Word declares that He heals all our diseases.

Why Does Faith Matter?

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

What is God’s view of faith? Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.

When we fix our eyes on God, our faith is an affirmation that we truly believe in who He is as Omnipotent God – the all-powerful One who is able to do anything.

The Lord is pleased with our confident expectation in Him, and Him alone.

How to Develop Faith:

Faith is often compared to a muscle; it needs to be strengthened through exercise. However, faith does not develop through our natural ability. It takes the revelation and grace of God to firmly believe. There is a learning process involved. 

Here are some basic ways that we can grow in our faith in God:

• Through Relationship

In Hebrews 12:2a, we learn that Jesus is the Founder and Perfecter of our faith. To confidently place our trust in God, we must continually walk in relationship with Him in prayer.

An intimate relationship with Jesus will give us a fresh revelation of the nature and power of God and our rights as His children. This understanding will empower us to overcome any situation in our lives with God’s help.

• Through The Word of God

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Word of God cultivates our spirit to clearly hear the voice of God. In addition to acquiring knowledge about God, the Bible presents us with many examples of men and women who walked in faith and victoriously conquered their challenges.

Observing how they stepped out in faith and how God responded to them will serve as a constant reminder that with faith, we can indeed move mountains.

• Through Praise

As mentioned earlier, faith is not only to believe that God is able to do as He has promised, but that He has already completed it. To grow in faith, our heart must be overflowing with praise.

Here is a fundamental difference between thanksgiving and praise:

-       Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude for what God has done, is doing, and is about to do in our lives.

-       Praise is a much deeper level of gratitude that focuses on who God is.

To praise God is to abandon our agenda and attest that we believe in Him alone. When we keep our focus fixed on God, we are magnifying Him over and above our needs and desires. Jesus said in Mark 9:23: Everything is possible for Him who believes.

To grow in faith, we must learn to live a lifestyle of praise; for praise releases faith.

• Through Obedience

Human limitation and circumstantial evidence can never stand in the way of God’s ability. Nevertheless, the Lord awaits our obedience and submission to His Will, which involves us taking that first step in faith.

One of the greatest benefits of our challenges is that it enables us to develop our faith. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow (James 1:3).

As we face obstacles, it is an opportunity for us to trust and believe in God more and more. As tempting as it may be to try to take matters into our own hands, it is essential that we choose to surrender our cares into God’s Hands and keep our focus fixed on Him.

• Through Testimony

In Revelation 12:11a, we learn that the children of God overcame Satan – the accuser of the brethren – by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.

That is how much power our testimonies carry! Sharing all that God has done in our lives not only encourages others in their faith journey (and leaves satan with no argument before the Throne of God). It also reminds us that God is the same yesterday, today and forever!

We serve a Faithful God, who is forever Worthy of our confidence and trust.

Let Faith Rise!

Faith is our response to God. Faith has very little to do with what we can achieve, and all to do with whom we believe.

Whether you’re on a mountaintop or valley in your life; start with faith – you will finish strong with the Lord by your side!

Let faith rise in your heart today!

Discussion: Are there any stories or principles from the lives of the men and women in the Bible or those that live today that has encouraged you in your faith journey? Go ahead and share below!

Next in the series: How to Pray!

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Welcome to “Featured Bible Study: 30 Christian Basics.” To see all the authors and titles in the series, and to suggest a topic, please go here. Subscribe today to receive the ebook on this series. Are you a designer? Join the design contest for this series here.

The Bible declares in I John 4:10, ‘God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’  What a picture of His extravagant love! In the first segment of this study, we attempted to delve deeper into understanding the nature of God and there our eyes beheld His glorious majesty, His astounding power and unparalleled holiness.

Then in the second segment, we looked into our own natures, and had a glimpse of the depravity and wretchedness of our sinful state.  The beauty however lies in understanding the bridge that exists between the two drastically different segments; in realizing the extreme measures to which this awesome and holy God went, just to redeem and ransom you and I from the ugly mess we were sinking in – Sin.

In this third segment now, we will study about our response to this remarkable gift that God has given us – Salvation.

Baptism – Introduction:

A baptism service is one of my favourite services to be in. Being in the service always reminds me of that day nearly fifteen years ago when I made those exact vows to my lover and Lord – Jesus Christ.  Now, after all these years, I understand well all the symbolism and meaning that is beautifully woven into the service; but when I think back, I’m not really sure I knew completely what everything meant at the time.

And this is often the case with many new believers.  On the other hand, those of us who have been in the Church for several years, know all too well the many disputes and differences in opinion that arise pertaining to who should be baptized, how they should be baptized, in whose name should they be baptized, etc., and the list goes on!

Much controversy and debate has clouded the importance of this doctrine in the Church.  According to Hebrews 6:2, the doctrine of baptism is part of the foundation, which the Christian life must be built.  So for the benefit of both the amateurs and veterans, let’s look to the Word of God and attempt to understand this beautiful ordinance of the Church.

 

What is Water Baptism?

The word ‘baptism’ is derived from a Greek term – ‘baptisma’ or ‘baptizo,’ meaning, ‘to immerse, to dip, to submerge’.  To baptize something means to put it completely under the water.  Therefore in water baptism, the believer is put completely under water, then immediately raised out of it.  As we already know baptism is given to those who have chosen to become Christians, therefore many people think that baptism is a magical ceremony that makes them Christians.  Nothing could be further from the truth!

Baptism is the commission of Jesus. Bible says in Matt 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

The apostles in the early church followed this commission and preached the Gospel with power. The people were convicted almost immediately to be baptized of water.

You don’t become a Christian through baptism; you are baptized because you have become a Christian by believing that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior.  Water baptism is only as important as the believer believes it to be.  Water baptism is for our benefit, not God’s.  It does not ‘do’ anything to us to make us any more acceptable to God.  It is only a symbolic act of obedience with no extra power to save.

What does water baptism represent then?

1.   Water baptism represents your allegiance to Christ.  It is an act of faith and obedience to the commands of Christ.  Jesus said, ‘If you love me, you will obey what I command.’ And He has commanded baptism in Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20.  He did not command something He did not fulfill first; Jesus Himself was baptized.  Not because He was sinner, but in order to humble Himself in obedience to identify with us and give us an example to follow (Mark 1:9).

2.  Water baptism represents your personal commitment to Christ in a public setting.  Biblically speaking, baptism is merely an outward symbol of an inward change that has already occurred.  It is declaring to the world and the devil that you no longer belong to it; you now belong to Christ.  Remember, it is not something we must do to impress God, but something to impress on our mind and to others, what has taken place in us.

3.  It represents a clear break with your past.  When we are baptized, we are actually saying goodbye to our old life (self) that has passed away, and begin life as new creation who is now IN Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).  By becoming a Christian, you have been set free from your old master, Satan, and now belong to Jesus and you need to behave that way.  Water baptism represents a point of separation between your old and new lives.  It reminds you that you cannot keep living like you used to.

4. According to the Bible, water baptism for the Christian symbolizes his/her death, burial and resurrection with Christ.  Unless the person really believes they died, there is no need for a burial.  When you became a Christian, the Bible says you became a new creation; your old life has passed away (II Corinthians 5:17). Water baptism helps demonstrate the reality of this spiritual truth that the old ‘you’ has died. ‘Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.’ – Romans 6:4. Therefore through your baptism you are publicly declaring that you have died to your sinful old life.

Answers to some common questions:

1. What about Child baptism? I am already baptized when I was a baby.

Ans: According to the bible there is no such thing as infant baptism. When the child is an infant it is unconscious of its sins. So there is no way that the infant baptism will have any effect on the child.

Baptism is strictly being immersed in the water for those that believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord. Therefore a baby being sprinkled upon in faith of the parents do not have any significance.
The only closest mention is of a child dedication with an offering unto God.  (Ref Luke 2:22:23)

2. Why was Jesus baptized?

4. Is Baptism to join a church or become a pentecostal by denomination?

Ans: This idea that if you are baptized in a certain Church, you are forever committed to it was neither taught by Jesus nor the apostles. The Bible says, “you were baptized into Christ” (Gal 3:27) and not into a Church.

It is true that every serious Christian must belong to a local church if one exists where he lives.  However, being baptized by a particular pastor or elder does not obligate the person being baptized to remain in that particular local church.  Nor is it right for pastors to demand such a commitment at the time of baptism, since this confuses the nature of the commitment of baptism, which is to Christ and not to a particular local church.

6. When is the right time to be baptized?

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 Welcome to “Featured Bible Study: 30 Christian Basics.” To see all the authors and titles in the series, and to suggest a topic, please go here. Subscribe today to receive the ebook on this series. Are you a designer? Join the design contest for this series here.

Some decisions you make are more important than others – whilst getting dressed this morning you might have thought of who you might meet, what meetings or classes you had to attend, whether it was sunny or raining etc. Nothing major or tragic was going to result from a wrong decision in any of these matters. However, in the big picture of your life there are some decisions that have massive implications – and from God’s point of view there is one major decision which dwarfs all else. God asks you, Who is Jesus?

Note the question isn’t who was Jesus – that would give you the option of disregarding him as some historical figure like Gandhi, Genghis Khan or Goliath. No, God is concerned about who you think Jesus is now, today, in the present tense. The answer to that one question reveals your decision as to where you will spend eternity. Declare that Jesus is your Lord and you will be saved and God promises to welcome you into heaven for all eternity, Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”(NIV)

It is easy to imagine you can put this mega-decision off, surely there will be time later to decide, after all it is so important that it requires much thought, let’s not be hasty in this… This is the one decision you should not, in fact you cannot, procrastinate over.

Note two things:

Firstly, even the wisest of us does not know the date and time of their departure into eternity, you don’t know when you will die – but whenever that is you can guarantee being in God’s presence as soon as it happens; Secondly, God promises us that life with him, real life, life in all its fullness as God intended for you, starts here and now the moment you believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

God wants you to know Him now, in fact the Bible reveals an amazing fact; before the world was made God had decided he wanted you to be his child, and him to be your Father (Eph 1:4). God has always loved you and has always had a plan and a purpose for your life (Eph 2:4-10).

Many people want God to be part of their life – they want him to help them, to bless them, to make them feel good. The problem is they approach God from the position of what they want. The Bible looks at this from God’s perspective – it declares that we need God, we need to be forgiven, we need to be reconciled to God – and that can only happen through Jesus Christ.

Previous posts in this series have covered the important ideas of what Jesus has done for us and who Jesus is, and it is good to know these amazing truths. We have to be careful that these are not simply ideas but become realities in our life. This can only happen through asking Jesus to become Lord and Saviour of your life – and it has to be an individual, personal decision. God does not have grandchildren – your parents might go to church but that doesn’t make you a Christian. You might go to church but that doesn’t make you a Christian. Only one thing can, a personal decision to ask Jesus to forgive your sin and to make him Lord of your life.

Maybe you know you have made a mess of your life so far, you have failed as you walked in your strength and your ideas. God has not given up on you – in his love he is calling out for you to come to him through Jesus and experience the power of his forgiveness and receive a new life in Jesus (2 Cor 5:17). In following Jesus Christ, God offers you a totally new life – something the Bible calls being born again. How does this take place, how can you make Jesus Lord of your life?

1. Believe and Accept

Deciding what you believe about who Jesus is, is the first step towards knowing and loving God. As a Christian you believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, who died on the cross in your place to take away your sins – and to remove the barrier that sin has created between God and you (Col 1:20, 2:13-15).

 2. Repent

Turning from our old ways is the first step you take towards God – in effect you do a U-turn away from sin and start to walk a new life in God’s ways. (This was talked about in the section on what is sin and how to overcome it.)

3. Confess

We quoted Romans 10:8-9 earlier – you declare your faith, stating that you trust in Jesus to forgive and save you. Prayer, which is simply speaking to God and spending time in his presence, is a great way of declaring your faith, your love and your trust in Jesus.

4. Be Baptized

Being baptized in water as a believer is a sign showing your commitment to Jesus, declaring that you have become his disciple.This was an important step for the first Christians (Acts 2:38, 41) and is an important step of obedience for us (Matt 28:19) [More on this coming soon in the next post.]

 5. Receive the Holy Spirit

When Jesus becomes Lord of your life then God gives you his presence and his power through the Holy Spirit who comes to live in you. In the book of Acts being filled with the Holy Spirit was usually part of salvation, and it should be part of your salvation experience (Acts 10:44). Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, believe he will answer your prayer (Lk 11:9-13, Jn 7:37-39, Eph 5:18).

 6. Walk as a Disciple

We shall study more fully how we walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ (“walking the talk”), later in this series. One of the most telling descriptions of Peter and John (some of the first disciples) was that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). As you walk with him, Jesus will shape and change your life into something that is God glorifying and beautiful to behold.

“A believer changes their mind, a disciple changes their life”

You have to choose – will you accept Jesus and God’s offer of eternal life through him, or will you reject him?

Pray this prayer or one like it if you want your sins forgiven and you want to become a child of God and a disciple of Jesus.

‘‘Lord God, I am aware that I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus died for my sin. He took away the punishment due to me for my sin by taking it upon Himself on the cross. I repent and turn from my sin and I ask God’s forgiveness. I yield my life to Jesus and make Him my Lord and Saviour. I will obey His commands and live my life for His good pleasure. I know that I now am a child of God and my sins are forgiven as they have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Praise God, Amen.’’

Discuss: What has been the most difficult step in following Jesus? How did you overcome that?  

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Surprisingly, many Christians have never been told what Jesus has accomplished for them. To be sure, they know that Christ has died, and rose again, but hardly know how this incredible historical act affects them presently and in the future. As a result, some of us, when thinking about the death of Christ, either feel guilt that He would pay such a price for us, or do not know what to make of any of it at all; but it is far too wonderful to NOT know.

So, what did Jesus do?

No You Can’t.

Ever since the Garden of Eden, we have been incapable of doing well. Having come into this world with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5), the human heart proved to be desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). In fact, when God looks down upon the earth to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God, He finds no one (Romans 3:9-20).

Now, some may protest, “But there are so many good people in the world!” However, in response, the question is, “Good compared to who?”

To your circle of friends? Maybe.

To your family members? Sure.

But compared to a Holy, Righteous, Consuming Fire of a God who cannot stand to even look upon a single blemish? Not even close.

That is why when it seems like we are doing well, we should remember that our righteousness, that is, our good deeds, no matter how good they appear to us, are like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). For God requires PERFECT OBEDIENCE, as His eyes are too pure to even look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). We may, like the Israelites who stood at the foot of Sinai, boldly believe that we can obey God in our own strength (Exodus 19:8), but we will fall short, as we always have (Romans 3:23).

Yes. He did.

However, Jesus obeyed.

When the Father demanded perfect obedience, Jesus did what we could not do. He lived perfectly, obeying the Father in everything, even to the point of death on the cross (Philippians 2:6-8). He was tempted in every way, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He succeeded where Adam, Israel, and we failed.

Therefore, when we are in Christ, we are not treated as sinners who deserve the wrath of God. We are treated like people who have never broken the law. For God made Jesus, who never sinned, to be treated like a sinner, so that you and I would receive a righteousness that is not our own (Philippians 3:8-9), that we would become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Take a moment and let that sink in.

Your sins have been punished. It is not that God has acted like your sins have not happened. No, your sins really have been punished – all of it.

But just not on you. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus, so that we may live; and when God opens our hearts to actually believe this, it becomes the most life-altering, earth-shattering, love-awakening truth of the universe.

Now, You Can.

Jesus did not only forgive us of our sins. He has also freed us from it as well. The Holy Spirit now works within us to sanctify us, and make us more and more like Christ as we behold Him (2 Corinthians 3:18). In other words, as we meditate on the truth of the Gospel, and depend on the finished work of Christ and not on our own ability, we are transformed. God removes our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh, a heart that will finally obey Him (Ezekiel 36:26-27). We begin a process where God enables us to finally obey (Philippians 2:12-13), and do His will.

And if all that were not enough.

As a result of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, we are able to go boldly before God, as a child, and not as a slave (Hebrews 4:16). We go with more freedom than we would with our own earthly father. We go with more liberty than we do with our closest friend. For when Christ was on the cross, and loudly exclaimed, “It is finished!”, it meant that everything that needed to be done for our salvation had been done.

In other words, there is nothing that can make God love you more or love you less than He does right now. There is nothing that can make Him accept you more or accept you less. Everything that needed to be done has been done.

For Jesus has done it.

All glory and honor to Christ alone.

Discuss: Share your thoughts on how Christ’s work as influenced your life? Today, take a minute to share about this Christ’s work to someone you know.  

Next in the series: How to follow Jesus?

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