Eternal Life The Bible Baptism and The Lord's Supper
ETERNAL LIFE
Salvation means to be rescued from sin and its punishment and set free to know, love, and serve God. Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin... If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
John 8:34,36
All people have turned away from God and broken the law of God. The Bible calls this sin. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
Left to ourselves, there is no rescue, and the justice of God requires our eternal damnation in the terrors of hell. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.
John 3:36
Victory over sin was obtained when God sent His Son Jesus to earth. Jesus obeyed God's laws perfectly, yet He died to pay for the sins of all who believe. This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:10
Admitting that our sin has put us in a desperate situation is the first step in our rescue. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
1 John 1:8,9
Taking the free gift of Jesus' payment for our sin makes us "not guilty" in God's sight. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
In gratitude for such love, we follow Him in obedience and sacrificial service. Therefore, I urge you, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.
Romans 12:1
Only Jesus has provided the way to salvation. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12
Now is the time to make your decision. Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2
How do you receive eternal life? Salvation is a gift. It is unearned and undeserved. God gives us eternal life on the basis of what Jesus Christ has done for us and welcomes us into the kingdom. We receive it by trusting in Jesus Christ alone, not based upon our goodness or works, for eternal life.
If you have never received this gift and are ready to accept it, pray this prayer:
"Jesus, I believe that you are the holy Son of God. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and that you rose from the dead. You are my salvation. Please wash all my sins away and make me a child of God. I give my life to you today. Amen."
Please e-mail or call 719-598-2139 to tell us of your decision so we can pray and rejoice with you.
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THE BIBLE
The question is asked, What is the Bible? We pose this question and seek now to answer it. The Baptist Faith And Message offers an excellent starting point by defining The Scriptures as follows:
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.
One should view the Scriptures in the context of the larger picture of God's message. First, God reveals himself. He is a loving God and desires to communicate to us and have fellowship with us. God's communication to us is defined as revelation, which simply means that God speaks to us. Revelation comes in two forms, namely, natural revelation and special revelation. Natural revelation means that God speaks to us through creation. The heavens declare the glory of God. We learn something of God's majesty and sovereignty from his enormous and meticulous creation. Special revelation means that God communicates to us personally and specially. The Bible is defined as the special revelation of God. Through the Bible God has communicated to us using words, thoughts and ideas.
Second, God inspired men in times past to record his revelation to us. You will read in the Bible from time to time phrases such as the word of God came to a certain prophet or person. God then moves in that person to record his word. Thus, the Scriptures are born. When God revealed himself to a particular prophet or apostle and moved that person to record his message, it is called inspiration. In essence, God inspired prophets and apostles to record his message.
Third, that inspired revelation is then transmitted to us through the ages. This is called the transmission of the word of God. God governed the process of transmitting the Scriptures through the ages to ensure that what we have today is in fact and in content, the very word of God. We can take comfort in the fact that the best, most ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts are indeed the Word of God.
Fourth, that inspired revelation, which has been transmitted to us, must be translated into an understandable language. This is called the translation of the Word of God. If a given translation reflects accurately the text and context of the best most ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, then one can take comfort in the fact that God's message is being communicated to you through that given translation.
Fifth, that inspired revelation, which has been transmitted to us in the form of a translation, must be understood. This process is called interpretation. When one seeks to understand and apply the Bible under the direction of the Holy Spirit, he is then interpreting the Scriptures for himself.
A word of warning is in order at this point.
(1) We believe that God is love. He has a desire to communicate to us. Since he is love he has no desire to lie to us or mislead us in anyway. We believe that he is Lord. He is incapable of being wrong or inaccurate. Since he is Love, since he is Lord, we know that his special revelation, the Bible, is infallible and without error. If his word is fallible and imperfect, then he is neither Love nor Lord.
(2) Not all translations are equal. Care should be taken in selecting a Bible for study. Make sure that the particular Bible you are using for study is not a paraphrase. Make sure your study Bible is a translation from the best most ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.
(3) Care should be taken in interpreting the word of God. The text and the context of a given passage should be scrupulously studied to understand it original meaning in the day it was written. Attention should be given to word meanings, grammatical structure, and historical content. With this background in mind, one is better able to let the Spirit work to apply the meaning of the Bible to heart and mind.
(4) Well put are the words of The Baptist Faith And Message: The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.
Written by Dr. Charles E. (Bobby) Holt
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BAPTISM
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in the newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of the church membership and to the Lord's Supper.
LORD'S SUPPER
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
- Matt. 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20;
- Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26;
- Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20;
- John 3:23;
- Acts 6:2-5;
- 1Cor 10:16, 21; 11:23-29;
- Col. 2:12 Baptist Faith and Message,
9 May 1963, p.13
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