WHAT TO DO NOW?

Salvation is simple. There's two things we MUST do to be saved. If you have done, followed, and continue to abide by these two things, then according to the Word of God, you are saved! These are the two things you must do to receive salvation:

1.) BELIEVE-

Romans 10:9- "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Believe in Jesus and Jesus alone! Believe that Jesus came, died, rose, and is coming back again! You must believe that He is the ONLY way (John 14:6).

However, we can not merely believe because James 2:19 says that even the demons believe. So if even the demons believe in Jesus, what makes us different? Read below...

2.) REPENT- Repentance simply means to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus.

This does not mean you will not fail- for all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

We are not perfect.

HOWEVER, 1 John 3:9 reads, "Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God." -

As a CHILD of GOD/ BORN AGAIN/ SAVED, we will NOT make a practice of sinning. To "PRACTICE" sin is to do continuously or in a "cycle".

Hebrews 10:26 also reads, "Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins."

- Does this scripture mean that Jesus' sacrifice is no longer available to you? No. Sin separates you from God, so when you continuously and deliberately continue to live in that, you are placing a wall of separation between you and Jesus again. If this is the state that you are living in, then you do not have salvation. However, the solution is simple: turn from your sin and turn to Jesus- this is repentance.

TRUE salvation is not saying a prayer. It’s not mere belief. It’s not going to church on a Sunday. It's not good works or being a "good" person. TRUE salvation is belief in Jesus and Jesus alone, along with repentance (to turn from sin and turn to Jesus).

There are two main reasons as to why bad things happen:

1. SIN- OUR FREE-WILL- OUR FALLEN WORLD

• In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, He placed mankind in a garden called Eden. In the garden, was no pain, no suffering, no evil, etc.

  • God is ALL things GOOD. He defines what good means!

    • Mark 18:10- "'Why do you call me good?' Jesus asked. 'Only God is truly good.'"

  • Genesis 1:31- "Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day."

    • ALL that God created was good, therefore, evil, pain, suffering, etc. was NOT apart of His design.

• THEN, God created man, placed them in the garden, and gave them free-will.

  • Why free-will?- Because God so desired to have relationship with His creation, and love can NOT be forced.

  • Genesis 3:8 reads, "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.."

    • The God of all creation came down and walked with mankind in the garden?! - Isn't that crazy? This is the real relationship God so desires with us!

  • Also, with this free will, comes bad people to which we can't control. Some people do bad things upon their own free will that affects us.

• AND, with this free-will came a decision, in which Adam and Eve chose to go against God (SIN).

  • Genesis 3:23 reads, "therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden..."

  • Sin separates us from God, therefore, Adam and Eve could no longer be in perfection with God.

  • From this decision, separation from the ONE that is good occurred, and evil entered the world.

2. SATAN

• 2 Corinthians 4:4 reads, "Satan, who is the god of this world..."

• When sin entered the world, satan become the "god of this world". This is because this world is full of evil. And satan's sole goal is:

  • John 10:10 reads, "The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

    • Satan's goal is to steal, kill, and destroy you, BUT GOD's is to give you life.

  • 1 Peter 5:8 reads, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. "

• Satan desires to destroy you and harm you!

Between, Satan, our sin, and our fallen world, these things all combine to results of pain, suffering, and evil.

BUT here's the GOOD NEWS:

Bad things weren’t God’s original intent. We see that in the perfection of the Garden of Eden.

Evil isn’t God’s goal. Evil is not fitting with His Holy nature.

In Revelation 21:4 reads, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

• In this passage of Revelation, God assures us that pain, suffering, and anything of evil nature will not be part of God’s final product where He will again establish perfection.

The reality is today bad things and evil are part of our world. Although this is true, one day, evil will be destroyed from the Earth after all have heard and been given a chance to receive Jesus (Matthew 24:14).

AND then, us born-again, Christians, will get to be in eternal perfection with Jesus.

Jesus assures us that as Christians, God's sheep, we WILL hear His voice. It's not a probability or chance, but Jesus says that we WILL hear His voice.

John 10:27 states, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

Here are the best ways to open your ears to hear the voice of God in clarity:

1. Read the Bible

   1. God's Word is the primary way He communicates with us!

   2. 2 Timothy 3:16 reads, "All Scripture is breathed out by God..."- Scripture is the very breath of God. It is HIS voice!

   3. As you read and meditate(Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2) or study His Word, you'll get to know and become more familiar with His voice.

2. Pray and spend time with Jesus!

   1. Prayer is a conversation with God, and not just one-sided, but He will talk back.

   2. Be still, rest with Him, and listen for His voice as you pray.

      1. Psalm 46:10- "Be still, and know that I am God."

   3. The more you spend time with someone, the more you are able to recognize their voice- even just a whisper!

      1. For example, let's say your mom calls you from an unknown number. When you answer the phone, as they speak you more than likely are going to recognize their voice without them having to say it's them calling because you have spent a lot of time with them and are familiar with the sound of their voice.

      2. In the same way, the more you spend time with Jesus, the more you will be able to recognize His voice- even as He speaks in a whisper! (1 Kings 19:12)

         1. Think about it this way, if someone were to speak in a whisper, you must be close to hear it.

            1. The closer you are to Jesus, the more likely you are to hear Him.

3. Listen to Godly counsel

   1. Seek out Christians who are strong in their faith, wise, and mature.

   2. Seek out ones you can trust and ask them for their thoughts/advice.

      1. They should give you advice/opinions based upon the Word of God.

      2. Proverbs 11:14- "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety."

4. Peace

   1. Colossians 3:15, reads, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”

   2. Philippians 4:6-7 reads, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

   3. You will especially know it is God speaking when everything in life points to you having anxiousness or uneasiness but instead you have peace.

      1. This is because the peace of God surpasses ALL understanding (Philippians 4:7).

5. What does your heart say?

   1. This way does NOT always ring true. BECAUSE, Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?"

   2. If Jeremiah 17:9 is true, then why is this a way to hear the voice of God?- HERE'S WHY:

      1. Psalm 37:4 reads, "Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart."

      2. This does NOT mean the Lord will give you whatever you want. BUT, this means that when you are seeking the Lord, He will put His wants or desires into your heart. He will make His desires become your desires.

   3. Sometimes, the desire of your heart will randomly change for what seems to be no reason at all. This oftentimes is the Lord trying to speak to us!

   4. HOWEVER, always always always, pray into this more and ask God for confirmation and peace.

These are just a few of MANY ways to discern when God speaks to you!

NOW.... Test the word

1. If you believe you have heard from God, ALWAYS make sure it lines up with Scripture! If it doesn't, it is NOT from God.

2. 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "Test everything; hold fast what is good."

Friends are so important in your walk with Jesus, because they do affect your walk, whether that be in an uplifting way or in a degrading way.

Find friends that love Jesus and walk according to His Word! - This does NOT mean to shun those that do not know Jesus. Jesus sat with sinners Himself (Matthew 9:10)! However, the ones He did life with and spent a majority of His time with was the disciples.

There is a difference in "associates"- those you are friendly with, in comparison to "friends"- ones you 'yoke' your life to:

2 Corinthians 6:14- "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"

• A yoke is a wooden bar or frame by which two animals (such as oxen) are joined at the head or necks in order to work together. A yoke connects and joins two things that are attempting to go in the same direction.

  • If one ox attempts to go the opposite direction as the other ox, they are going to keep pulling each other the opposite way and get no where or go in circles.

• In the same way, we are NOT to be 'yoked' with unbelievers. We are to not connect our life with them in a way they deter our growth with Jesus or even deter us completely away from the path with Jesus.

Look at what scripture has to say:

Why you need Godly friends and should not isolate yourself:

• Proverbs 18:1- "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment."

• Ecclesiastes 4:10- "But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up."

Why you should NOT be around friends that do not walk with the Lord:

• Psalm 1:1-2 - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;..."

• 1 Corinthians 15:33- "Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'”

• Proverbs 13:20 - "...but the companion of fools will be destroyed."

Why you should be around friends that walk with the Lord:

• Ecclesiastes 4:9- "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion..."

• Romans 1:12- "that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."

• Proverbs 27:17 - "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

• Proverbs 13:20- "He who walks with wise men will be wise..."

There is a quote often recited that states, "Show me your friends and I'll show you your future."

This statement, according to scripture, is so true- as we see that bad company corrupts good character, the companion of fools will be destroyed, and on the flip side he who walks with the wise will be wise.

All in all, we are not to completely dissociate ourselves from unbelievers- for we are called to love them and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them (Matthew 22:39, 28:19-20)! However, Jesus commanded us not to yoke our lives with unbelievers and encourages us to be in fellowship with fellow believers (Hebrew 10:25).

This is a two-fold answer depending on the person and situation.

Because the reality is, none of us are perfect. Jesus tells us that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"(Romans 3:23) and that "..we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body." (James 3:2)

Therefore, if you encountered a person who claims to be Christian, but wasn't acting like it in the moment, then you may just have encountered that person on a bad day. However, Jesus gives us some insight on it:

Matthew 7:16-23 reads, "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' and then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

Jesus tells us clearly that even those who do all these good things "in His name" does not mean they are from Him. ONLY those that bear "good fruit". So what is this fruit?

• Galatians 5:22-23 reads, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

The Bible also tells us that if we love the world, then we do not have the love of the Father in us!

• 1 John 2:15 reads, "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you."- The love of this world means anything apart from Jesus- anything contradicting to His Word!

Does this mean that Christians won't mess up or stumble? - No! We see that none are perfect and we all fail from time to time according to Romans 3:23 and James 3:2.

However, Jesus tells us in 1 John 3:9 that "Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God."

So what does this mean?- Those who have TRULY been born of God and are Christians, then they will not live in a "cycle" of sin- meaning although they fail from time to time, they will not consistently do so.

However, if there are those who consistently act out of line with the Word of God, then, based on the scriptures above, they are NOT born of God- they are not saved/Christian.

As we saw in Matthew 7, many will claim the title of "Christian" and to be doing things "in the name of God".

To base Christianity upon people who give it a bad reputation could be considered the same as basing one Caucasian or African American or Arab, etc. to determine the whole race- that's not right, right? No, it's not.

Therefore, do not base Jesus upon people, base Jesus upon what the Word says about who HE really is.

Mark 10:18 reads, "So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God."

There is not one that is "good" but God!

Let's put your "goodness" to the test:

• How many lies do you think you've told in your life?

• Lots, probably, right? We all have- some more than others, but truth is that we all have told a lie.

• Scripture tells us that "lying lips are an abomination to the Lord."(Proverbs 12:22).

• Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a woman with lust has committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28). Have you ever done that?

• Have you ever taken the Lord's name in vain? Even just once?

• Have you ever dishonored your parents? Even Just once?

I'd wager to guess that you've done at least one of those, if not more. We all have because none are perfect.

You must face God on judgment day. If God judges you by the ten commandments, just like a few we just went through, will you be innocent or guilty?

- We'd all be guilty. There's not one person that hasn't sinned, except Jesus.

- Therefore, by the Ten Commandments, we all deserve hell.

Think of it like this:

Let's say this man murdered 3 men. He stands in front of the judge and says "Judge, I know that was wrong. But I served at the soup kitchen last Tuesday, helped an old lady cross the street yesterday, and bought a homeless man a meal last week." Then the judge releases them because they did all these "good deeds". We'd say that's not a very good judge, right? Right. They may be a "good person" in some ways and be sorry and change their ways after, but they still have to endure the punishment.

- In the same way, we have sinned and must endure our punishment. Good works will never atone for our sins. Only Jesus can!

Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

This is the bad news: We've all sinned and we all deserve the punishment for our sins, which is hell. So, can we get to heaven by being a "good person"? NO.

HOWEVER, Jesus doesn't just leave us hopeless. Here's the good news: Jesus came and took our place! We stood in the court room awaiting our punishment and Jesus said "No, I'll take the punishment for them." HOWEVER, in order for Jesus to take our punishment, we must receive it.

He is alive today offering us this FREE gift. . We receive this free gift, by:

1.) believing in Jesus alone (Romans 10:9)

2.) repenting, which means to simply turn from our sin and turn to Jesus (1 John 3:9).

The Bible clearly states that ALL people are God’s creation ("Everything was created through him and for him." -Colossians 1:16). The Bible also clearly reveals that God loves the ENTIRE world ("For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."- John 3:16)

HOWEVER, only those who have received Jesus are children of God.

John1:12 reads, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name"

So, what does it mean to receive Jesus? - It means to be saved.

Now, what does it mean to be saved? - To believe (romans 10:9), but not only believe because even the demons believe (James 2:19), but also repent (turn from sin and turn to Jesus) (1 John 3:9).

All who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior and have repented of their sin are children of God!

BUT all who have NOT turned from their sin and have not received Jesus are not children of God.

- Does this mean they can't become children of God? No! Jesus wishes that none perish, but all would be saved (2 Peter 3:9).

Jesus actually goes as far to say that those who are not children of God, are children of the devil.

1 John 3:10 reads, "So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God."

So is everyone a child of God? No- Only as many as received Him! (John 1:12).

However, does everyone have a chance to be a child of God? YES! He so loves us and desires that none should perish and all be saved (2 Peter 3:9) that He died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).

So what must you do to become a child of God?- RECEIVE JESUS:

1.) by believing in Jesus and Jesus alone (Romans10:9)

2.) by repenting of your sin (turning from sin and turning to Jesus) (1 John 3:9, 2 Tim. 2:19)