A Faith that Obeys Podcast

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth lesson from our eleven part video series called, “A Faith that Obeys.” You can find the original video and transcript HERE. We are dropping this lesson into our regular podcast feed so that the information can reach a wider audience. In this lesson, we will review the the next two steps in the Biblical Plan of Salvation which are, Repentance and Confession of Christ.

When someone hears the word and accepts it, they have taken the first two steps in the Biblical Plan of Salvation. God, at this point, gives them something they previously did not have. They now have the right or the power to become a child of God. Hearing and accepting the message are great first steps and it’s clear from the scriptures we are placed into a different spiritual classification than we were in before we accepted the message. It indicates a soft heart, a willing heart, a heart that we still must have… but the commands, as required by God, are not yet completed with just these two steps.

In Matthew 7:21 Jesus said: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.

Did you notice something? Jesus just said the same thing we have been saying. It is not enough of call him Lord, or to simply believe in Him. There is something else we must obey. What is it? Doing the will of God! This is our goal, to do the will of the Father. This is a call to action. Based on what we have seen so far, have you noticed anything in the passages we’ve examined which we could do or act upon? You know, actions we could take which might be considered, “doing the will of the Father?” We already know the first two actions, hear the word and accept the word. These are both things God tell’s us to do. But there was something else in those passages which we may have missed. Remember, we are looking for Biblical commands or religious events which happen in a believer’s life and we are carefully trying to determine if those events are in any way connected with the forgiveness of sins. When we find one, we want to see if the forgiveness of sins or the idea of being saved happens before this event or after this event.

Let’s look at those two previous passages again. Here’s the passage which told us about hearing the word.

James 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do you see it? It’s right at the beginning. There is something in addition to hearing and accepting the word which precedes salvation. It’s something we must DO. Yep, getting rid of all moral filth from our lives. In religious terms, this is called repentance. The word repent means to change one’s mind or purpose. It means to stop doing wrong things and start doing right things. It’s like a U-turn. You were going one direction… now you’re going a new direction.

Now, this is critical. Notice that repentance also comes before salvation! Repentance, as it relates to the issue of the “Born Again” experience or the forgiveness of sins, never occurs anywhere in the Bible after someone is saved. While it is true that people will still sin after they are saved and they will continue in repentance, this is vastly different from the need to repent, or “get rid of all moral filth,” before they are saved.

But, let’s carefully check this out. Biblically speaking, is repentance from sin really necessary to be saved? After all, this is an act which is squarely on our shoulders. This is a specific action we take. Some people might even suggest that this a kind of works salvation since it is something we do. Once again let’s turn to the scriptures to find out.

Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Well, this is pretty clear! Does repentance come before sins are wiped out or after? Before. Is repentance a suggestion? No. Is it optional? No. Is it a command we can obey? Sure!

Let’s mark the third step on our illustration, “Repentance” and let’s move that line of salvation up the stairs just a little bit because it is obvious, repentance precedes the forgiveness of sins and that is consistent throughout all of scripture.

Let me interject a quick personal note here. Over the years, I’ve had many religious friends who believe that accepting Christ is all one needs to do in order to be saved. When I show them this very clear, very obvious command and requirement in the plan of salvation and that it precedes the forgiveness of sins, they easily agree because it is so obvious, but suddenly realize there are no longer just two steps, as they previously believed. Things start to get a little uncomfortable. It’s just too hard argue with this. This passage is easy to understand. We must repent before sins are forgiven. If you are feeling defensive, take a breath, pray. God is showing you something really awesome and I have a feeling, He would not be doing this if he has not seen something in your heart which is ready to hear it.

Finally, I want to show you something interesting. There was a really small but important word used in both of these two passages. It is the word “and.” 

Look how it is used in James 1:21 and Acts 3:19. It locks together two clauses. This is referred to by linguists as a “coordinating conjunction.” This conjunction means that we can’t get to the solution if we don’t do both of the things the scripture is telling us to do! We can’t pick and choose! You will be amazed how significant this little conjunction will become in our future studies. Where the Bible connects two things together in the plan of salvation, we must leave them connected. The Bible can’t be altered!

Now, let’s talk about the fourth step. We have already seen this one too. Do you know what it was? Let’s look at the other one of our earlier passages again.

Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

I’ll bet you just noticed the word “and,” didn’t you? This was the passage where we connected belief with salvation. But notice, confessing Jesus as Lord is just as important too! And take a look, it also precedes salvation. 

So, let’s add “Confession” to our illustration as the fourth step. And let’s move that line which indicates the forgiveness of sins upward as well. Now the Biblical plan of salvation looks like this. Hear, Accept, Repent, and Confess. Very simple, very clear, very Biblical. If we do not obey these four commands, we have not obeyed the Gospel and sins have not yet been forgiven, regardless of what we may have felt or experienced. We do not rely on our emotions as our confirmation of truth, we rely only on the scriptures.

At this point, we have four very clear steps which occur in the Biblical plan of salvation. But I’m an American! I have choices. I have rights! What if I decided to pick and choose which ones I wanted to do? Do you think God would accept that? What if the only thing I wanted to do was repent… you know… get my life cleaned up? Would that be enough? Can I repent of my sins but reject the Gospel or refuse to confess Jesus as Lord and still be saved? Of course not. It’s obvious that all of the things we have looked at so far are part of a Biblical plan of salvation. They all come before the forgiveness of sins. We must obey all four, not just the ones we favor or like. This is where dangerous traditions take a powerful, and sometimes aggressive stand. When the defenses go up, the arguments start. We hear things like: “But this is how my church does it.” or “This is what the Pope says.” or “This is how we have always done it!” Don’t walk on that road. Turn away from traditions, turn into the Bible.

Let’s move on. I want to introduce the fifth step in the Biblical Plan of Salvation but before I do that, we need to talk about another amazing and wonderful benefit of becoming a Christian. Do your remember when we discussed the grammar of the Plan of Salvation? We talked about the first two blessings bestowed on every true Christian… our sins are forgiven by God and we are guaranteed that we will go to Heaven when we die. 

Well, there is a third blessing and some of you may have noticed that it was missing. A person who follows the Biblical Plan of Salvation also receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is not the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit discussed in the Bible, this is the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit who comes into you and lives with you as a counselor, comforter, friend and security guard. Look at this passage.

Acts 5:32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.

This is a promise to every single Christian. But, let’s be clear, God only gives His Holy Spirit to people who obey him. It’s a one time event. The Holy Spirit does not come and go. He moves in for good when we obey the Gospel. We will be talking a lot more about this subject in a future lesson but for now, notice that the Holy Spirit is given after obedience, not before! Quite interesting! And, I’ll bet you already guessed, this is our fifth step!

Let’s label our fifth step obedience.

Next, I want to show you something really important. Remember when I said that Satan hijacks the plan of salvation right before repentance? In the next lesson, I want you to see how he does it and help you understand how easy it is to fall victim to his scheme. After that, armed with this knowledge, we will then talk about this last step in the Biblical Plan of Salvation… obedience.

Enjoy!

Dana Haynes

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth lesson from our eleven part video series called, “A Faith that Obeys.” You can find the original video and transcript HERE. We are dropping this lesson into our regular podcast feed so that the information can reach a wider audience. In this lesson, we will review the the first two steps in the Biblical Plan of Salvation which are, Hearing the Message of the Gospel and Accepting the Message of the Gospel.

In this world of ours today the scriptures span the globe. There are very few places left, if any, where the name of Jesus has not been proclaimed. Millions of people have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. At some point in the past, you perhaps made a personal commitment to Jesus because of something you either read or heard. Somebody, sometime, somehow told you about Jesus

The story about Jesus, his death and resurrection is called the Gospel. And hearing the Gospel message is the first step everyone takes in the Biblical plan of salvation. I am unaware of any Christian group which does not recognize that there is a process one goes through on the way to salvation. Sometimes we illustrate this process using clever metaphors. These wonderful illustrations are designed to help us understand the plan of salvation clearly. One popular metaphor is called “The Romans Road.”

You may have heard of it. Using the book of Romans, in the Bible, we can trace out a pathway which leads to salvation. The metaphor we will use to illustrate the Biblical Plan of Salvation, is not a pathway but a staircase, as I mentioned in the last lesson. Just as there are steps we travel on the Roman Road, there are several steps on our staircase which every person takes on their journey to salvation, or the forgiveness of sins. Here’s the illustration of our metaphor. 

We have already identified the first step, so let’s label this first step, “Hearing the Message.” Every person in the history of the world, who has ever come to know Jesus, has taken this first step. This should be pretty obvious! If you consider yourself a Christian, that means you heard the Gospel, you made a conscious decision to respond positively. Perhaps you were in a church, listening to the radio, watching the TV or a friend brought the message to you. You decided to make Jesus, Lord of your life. You may remember that day clearly. You made a decision. You accepted the message; you didn’t reject the message. And guess what, that would be the second step in the Biblical plan of salvation. 

Let’s label the second step, “Accepting the Message.” Again, this is pretty obvious. For someone to be saved, they must accept the Gospel message. Rejecting it would get them nowhere!

For many people, it is at this point, as they surrender their will to Jesus and make Him Lord of their lives, that they might feel an inexpressible joy and relief as they understand they have crossed over from a dark life of sin and have been born again into the wonderful light of salvation. They are comforted by the fact that they will never walk alone again, they will have their Lord and Savior walking with them. The point in time when this occurs is what we previously called a “salvation experience.” 

The goal of this series, “A Faith that Obeys,” is to identify the exact point in time when this “Salvation Experience” occurs. Most people who call themselves Evangelical Christians can point back to a specific point in time… in the past… when a “salvation experience” happened for them. This is the moment in time which they would point back to and say, “That’s when and where I became a Christian.” or “That’s the point in time I was Born Again.”

Many churches use a well know method, which was developed in the late 1800’s, to help folks respond to the Gospel message. It’s called “The Sinner’s Prayer.” You may have prayed it or something similar. Using this technique, a minister, preacher or some other leader will ask someone who has heard the message and wishes to responded positively, to recite a brief, simple prayer which might sound something like this…

“Lord Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner and I need you in my life. I know you are standing at the door of my heart, knocking to come in. Lord Jesus, right here and right now, I invite you into my heart. Save me from my sin and help me live my life for you. Amen.”

For the vast majority of people with an evangelical background, this, or something very similar, is how they became a Christian, they gave their life to Christ or “Accepted Christ.” Can you think back to an exact time and place when this happened for you? Mark that clearly in your mind. Jot it down on a sheet of paper. By the way, this was my experience at about 22 years of age. I prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer” with a neighbor friend, accepted Christ and invited Jesus into my heart. Most folks believe, when someone accepts Christ, they are saved; which means, as we have discussed, their sins are forgiven and they begin their new life in Christ. 

Let’s mark a “Line of Salvation” right above the second step on our illustration to indicate that the forgiveness of sins occurs at this point in time. Remember, the forgiveness of sins equals saved and saved means this is the exact point in time you were born again and became a Christian. 

Sometimes, if someone accepts Christ through a radio broadcast or television program, they are encouraged to join a local Bible based church in order to experience and be strengthened by the fellowship. New converts are encouraged to read and study their Bible and to live a life that honors God. In many churches, these “babes in Christ” are told that water baptism is a very important command of Jesus and they should be baptized as soon as possible… in obedience to the Lord, since they are now been saved and their sins have been forgiven. Sometimes new converts are taught that water baptism is their first real act of obedience as a new Christian. This is a general overview of the modern plan of salvation which is promoted and used by most of the evangelical world today. Different churches and denominations use different words or phrases and make adjustments to this plan in various ways but basically, this is the plan. 

Now, there’s just one problem with the modern plan of salvation. It’s not the Biblical plan. The Bible never teaches us to simply and only believe in Christ for our salvation even though there are scriptures which seem to support that view. It never teaches us to say a prayer to be saved. It never teaches us to ask Jesus to come into our heart. It does not teach that our sins are forgiven as a result of decisions we make or actions we take outside of Biblical obedience. We are not saved by works, things we do. The Bible never uses a phrase like “accept Christ as your personal Lord and savior.” Does this surprise you? There is much more to the Biblical plan of salvation than these first two steps. Something horrible has happened to the plan of salvation over the last millennia. It has been changed! This modern plan is still very very close, but there are critical things missing and out of place. Frankly, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.

This might be summed up as, “accepting Christ for salvation.” When you believe or accept the message and receive Christ as savior, you become a Christian and your sins are forgiven.

Listen. If Satan wanted to offer a counterfeit plan, why would he create a lame one? Remember my $100.00 bill drawn with a green crayon? No one would accept that!

Satan’s counterfeit would need to be so good and so convincing, so very close to the Biblical plan, that it could trick anyone who is unwilling to compare the plan they learned and followed to the Biblical plan of salvation… once you are made aware of it. Satan doesn’t deny the plan, he simply changes some things around, just a little bit, then provides a warm environment in which his lie can grow! Satan’s plan is an absolutely delicious plan served up with very real emotions of joy and love, warm physical feelings and often, some very real experiences. All these are expertly crafted to confirm his lie.

I hope you are a little concerned at this point. Once again, I’m going to ask you to step back if you’re feeling a little emotionally charged. I am merely asking that you think about, pray about and evaluate the things you are learning. But please, never for a moment think that any of us could not be deceived by that snake. Remember, it has always been his trick to twist or question God’s commands from Eve’s experience in the Garden… to Jesus temptation on the temple roof…. should we be so naive to think he would not try to twist our understanding of the Bible. The only way we can possibly know God’s will and his plan of salvation is to carefully, diligently, study His word keeping a humble attitude and a heart which is open to new understandings.

You know. A counterfeit is never effective unless it’s very convincing very full of proof! But then you’re not a person who would allow your emotions, feelings or even some very real experiences to be more important and more convincing than the scriptures, are you? Remember. I said this would be challenging. It was for me. I told you I had made a very real, very sincere, very solid decision for Christ as a young adult. But I had not yet followed the Biblical Plan of salvation. I was still in my sins and had no power over them at all. I was a very nice, very kind, very loving believer in Jesus, but I was not a Christian. I had been deceived and did not even know it. 

It would not be for years later that God very patiently, very carefully led me to discover the truth for myself. The thing which helped me see my errors more than anything else was my respect and love for the scriptures and an understanding that they are the only reliable authority. I decided, I could not rely on my feelings, emotions or experiences, no matter how real they were for me. They are not my source of religious authority. I had to put a lot of things behind me and be open to the possibility that I had been wrong.

When someone showed me what the Bible actually taught about the plan of salvation, it was so obvious I accepted it quickly and immediately obeyed it, but I did not stop there. I carefully studied everything out for myself and I am still doing so to this very day. I would love to be wrong about all of this and I have tried for 33 years to punch holes in the Biblical Plan in order to make the road just a little bit wider, but the Biblical Plan is too solid, too consistent, too prominent throughout all of scripture and too obvious, once you see it.

In the next few lessons, you will see, with absolute clarity, what the Biblical plan of salvation entails and how beautifully it is organized by God and how easily it’s seen with the heart of a child. You will begin to feel a fire in your bones and see a future for yourself which is going to get super exciting. Now it’s time to dig into the scriptures.

Enjoy!

Dana Haynes

In our last podcast we looked at that intense passage of scripture in 1 John Chapter 2 where John challenges us to obey the commandments of Christ and lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that obedience is not optional. Listen to this passage again…

1 John 2:3-6
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Just think about that one statement, “God’s love is truly made complete in him.” We need to step back and understand, it is possible for God’s love to “not be made complete” in a person! In our last episode, we learned; John’s conditional statement explains that we do not know Christ unless we are walking in obedience to his commands. But, which commands? We asked, “What commands do I need to obey?” That question launched us into a deep survey of “The Great Commission.” 

After that very thorough review, we concluded that if we are not actively involved in obeying the four crisp commands of Christ found in The Great Commission, then we fall short in our obedience. Employing this criteria is a pretty solid, albeit deeply convicting strategy for evaluating our position before God. We are forced by the tenets of The Great Commission to ask ourselves, “Am I going? In other words, “Am I evangelistic?” Am I making disciples? Am I baptizing them? Am I teaching them to make disciples and obey everything Jesus has just taught in The Great Commission and elsewhere? Do you realize; The Great Commission is the only pattern we see for converting souls in the New Testament?

The Great Commissions is the only instruction specifically given by Jesus himself as his unambiguous mission for his followers after his departure. How can we claim to know Him if we are not walking in obedience to these very simple commands? This really puts our walk with God under a microscope, doesn’t it? It’s quite a challenge. Now some folks might object to this exercise of “self evaluation” as unnecessary, legalistic, demotivating, discouraging, perhaps even dangerous. But the Bible corrects that notion and indeed challenges us to dial up our introspection; our self-examination.

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?

This kind of heart searching and probing might possibly reveal that we are not as secure in our relationship with God as we think. And you know what? That conclusion is not a bad thing! Yeah, it rattles our assurance of salvation; but that’s OK. Listen. If we come to the conclusion that we “fail the test,” and are willing to be honest with ourselves, it just means we are still in the process of conversion. God still has us in his plan.

Are we trusting Him?

Why in the world would we ever think Jesus is going to let us go just because we learned new truth and are convicted that we don’t measure up to the new Biblical standard? Don’t you think that maybe…. just maybe… God is trying to help us get to the place He needs us to be?

I don’t think God gives up on people if they continue pursuing Him with a humble open heart. Only our pride and arrogance keep us from growing to the next level as we point to our spiritual resume and claim, “But I made a commitment to Christ years ago! Look at all I have done for Him!” That may be true and maybe… just maybe, God sees your heart and that’s exactly why He is nudging you higher!

If I “fail the test” as Paul says, Shouldn’t I have an attitude of great humility and gratitude because I realize, I am not saved? And if I come to the conclusion that I am not saved, that does not mean God has rejected me. It means God is not done with me yet. The humble person asks, “Why have I fallen short and how do I move forward in repentance and make the Godly changes I need to make?”

Let’s take a cue from the Apostle Paul. He kept an open mind and a humble heart. Listen to what he said in Philippians 3:12-16 about his own self-evaluation.

Philippians 3:12-16
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Conversion is a process which leads to a very specific point in time when an individual completely surrenders themselves to the will of Christ, obeys the Gospel in water baptism and is saved. Obedience to the commands in The Great Commission is the only authorized method of conversion.

Sometimes this conversion process takes years; especially given the fact that there is such a vast array of seductive false doctrines blurring the clearly defined edges of the narrow path. Actual obedience, however, takes only a moment. If we have settled for the evangelical world’s method of conversion, we fall short of the goal. While folks who have been deeply committed to Christ for years and served him faithfully probably don’t need to repent of some of the “Technicolor” sins a super worldly person may be struggling with, they most certainly need to repent of the “Black and White” sins of doctrinal issues they have held on to. Sometimes we need to repent of bad deeds, sometimes we need to repent of bad beliefs.

There can be no argument. God wants us to continually and confidently evaluate our walk with him and strive to do our very best every day. Paul said it this way to Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Paul tells Timothy, and by extension… us, to evaluate the way we are living our lives and the things we are teaching in a careful and sober manner. Why? Because the way we live and the things we believe (and teach) are matters of salvation. We can’t live like the dickens and claim to be saved; nor can we teach unbiblical doctrines and expect them to have the power to save ourselves or those who hear us!

So, let’s talk about the motivation behind our obedience in the first place. Why in the world should we obey Christ? The bottom line answer to that question is, “Because we love him,” and that might seem pretty obvious. But there are incredible riches in this idea if we are willing to dig just a little bit.

As I told you in the last podcast, I was stunned when I saw the connection between salvation, love and obedience. Listen to these passages and think about this connection. It’s pretty challenging.

This is in John 14 beginning in verse 15.

John 14:15-17
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth.

This passage presents a simple if / then conditional statement and connects it to salvation. Now, this connection to salvation might not be obvious. Let’s take a closer look. If we love Jesus then we will obey Jesus. When the first part of this if / then statement becomes true, then the second part is fulfilled. What is the first part of the equation? Loving and obeying Jesus. What is the second part of the equation? God gives us His Holy Spirit.

If the first part of our equation is not true… if we do not love and obey, then the second part never happens. If we do not love and obey Jesus, God never gives us His Holy Spirit. Remember, God does not give His Holy Spirit to unsaved people! Right? All saved people have the Holy Spirit; therefore all saved people have loved and have obeyed Jesus.

Let’s dive a little deeper. Look at the timing. When does Jesus ask the Father to give us the Spirit? Is it before we obey or after we obey? Clearly, the Father is not even asked to send the Holy Spirit until we obey.

Wow! That’s pretty intense. Does the Bible say anything else that connects love and obedience to salvation? Yep… a bunch. Look at John 14:21.

John 14:21
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

In this passage, the first thing we see is that someone must “have” the commands of God. This infers someone must have told them about the commands… someone must have obviously preached the word to them. It also implies, they accepted the word. After they hear and accept the word, these people obeyed the word. God does not love or show himself… reveal himself… to the disobedient. Obviously God loves all people but all people are not saved, are they? Only those who hear the commands and obey the commands will be loved by the Father. Why? Because they develop a saving faith… the faith that obeys.

But wait, there’s more. John continues in verse 23 and 24…

John 14:23-24
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

This passage is about God giving people his Holy Spirt. Right here, we find that God comes and makes his home in a person who loves Him and obeys His teaching. We see that this is a person whom God loves back. And just so the message is clear, Jesus flips things over and shows us the inverse truth. A person who does not love God will not obey his teaching. Now, let’s remember, the Holy Spirt only indwells a house which has been swept clean. 

In other words, the Holy Spirit does not come and live within us until our sins have been forgiven by God. He does not live in a believer whose sins are still intact. And make no mistake… sins are only forgiven by God when we complete our faith and obey the Gospel in water baptism. Water baptism is the only Biblically ordained response to the Good News. This stands in wild contrast to the evangelical world’s method of conversion by simply accepting Christ or saying a prayer for salvation. That is NOT obedience to Christ’s commands.

All three of the passages we’ve just discussed indicate that God’s Love and His gift of the Holy Spirit are predicated on our obedience to Christ’s commands. If we do not love we do not obey and if we do not obey how on earth can we claim that we really do love? And to really drive it home, Jesus tells us, these are not just His words but the Father’s words and there is no wiggle room around them.

These conditionals present a choice between two options. You take the blue pill or the red pill. There is no purple pill. We either love Christ as demonstrated by our obedience to The Great Commission, or we do not. Tragically, I think many people experience a form of delusion where they have never truly obeyed the Biblical Plan of Salvation, but still firmly insist they really really do love Christ. These passages tell us that this can’t be true.

If / then statements present a condition, they tell us what the result is if the condition is met and what the condition is if it is not met. These particular if / then statements have been crafted by and presented by the God of the universe. And you know what? We don’t get to pick the result any more than we get to debate the conditions. The conditions are non negotiable without discussion or apology and a truly humble person simply surrenders to them.

You know, the world is full of people who call themselves Christians. In fact, that great arbiter of truth, Wikipedia says…

“Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the United States. The Public Religion Research Institute‘s “2020 Census of American Religion”, carried out between 2014 and 2020, showed that 70% of Americans identified as Christian during this seven-year interval.”

Wikipedia

Isn’t that an interesting statistic? 70% of America is Christian! There’s just one big problem with the claim; nobody is defining the term “Christian.” These surveys, and the world in general, use a very loose goosey definition of “Christian.” When the world says “Christian,” they mean people who believe in Jesus or go to a Catholic, Protestant or Non-Denomination church which uses the New Testament scriptures. Since we are not Jewish, Muslim or Buddhists, etc. we are Christians. The Bible defies that notion.

A Christian is someone who not only believes in Jesus but is walking in obedience to Jesus commands. This is not a person who races out the church doors after a 50 minute church service, having done their “religious due diligence” for the week. A Christian is a person who lives their entire week, all seven days, all waking hours, trying to imitate Christ and live their lives as He did and for His sake. That’s a Christian.

Some may say, “That’s a pretty narrow view. Aren’t you being a bit critical?” I don’t think so. Listen to Jesus.

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

At a Faith that Obeys, we use the term “believer” to identify that group of folks who practice their faith at a level which falls short of the Biblical standard but are committed to Christ to the best of their understanding. This is not to disparage them or to look down in any way on their sincerity or dedication. Salvation can sometimes be a very long road of progress before the seed of faith blossoms into full repentance and obedience. 

I believe there are many, many really sincere and dedicated people who simply have never been aware of what the Bible actually teaches regarding a genuine relationship with Christ. For that very reason, A Faith that Obeys was created. I believe that any truly sincere heart will accept and obey Christ’s commands once they are made aware of them. 

Once again, this is not just an arbitrary idea Jesus came up with. He made sure we understood the critical nature of this teaching when he said, “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”

For me, seeing this connection between love, salvation and obedience is pretty stunning. I think it gets to me because I know so many people who sincerely care about and are devoted to Jesus to the best of their understanding; but are still lost because they believe and teach an unbiblical method for salvation. 

Millions and millions of people claim Christ as their savior but so very few walk as Jesus did and in doing so, make Him their Lord. If we sincerely love Christ, we have no choice but to adjust our course to follow him in the way scripture requires. As I have declared before, “We can’t have a savior if we will not have a Lord.”

When we love someone, we have a go anywhere and do anything attitude which kindles the fire of that love into amazing flames. That’s a real relationship with Christ!

Folks, what we are learning today should serve to convince us; there is a lot more to a relationship with Christ than punching a time clock at church on Sunday. Our life and our doctrine are matters of our salvation. The Holy Spirit is never given to a believer anywhere in the Bible prior to obedience so we must never teach or believe that we are saved sometime before the final prescribed step in the Biblical Plan of Salvation which is water baptism.

Well, so far, we have looked at some of the most intense passages which relate obedience, salvation and love for Christ. Next, let’s take a look at the “nature of obedience” as it appears in the scriptures. Let’s see what else we might learn as we pursue our Faith that Obeys.

Enjoy!

Dana Haynes

Join the discussion here.

Listen Now – Podcast 067 – For the Love of Obedience Part 2

After nearly 70 podcasts here at A Faith that Obeys, there is one aspect of our topic we have never really studied deeply. We’ve skirted around the issue, we’ve included the notion in a number of our discussions but we have never tackled this topic head-on and let the chips fall where they may.

The issue? The fact that scripture teaches us that; love for Christ is directly linked to obedience to Christ.

This showed up on my radar last week when I was creating a list of scriptures that specifically mention obedience. That study is an entire study in and of itself and I would highly encourage you to do a search for the word obey in all its various forms, using your Bible Software or online at BibleGateway.com or BibleStudyTools.com and discover the amazing things revealed by that search. You will be both delighted and challenged.

In my study, I wanted to find scriptures that spoke specifically about obedience being necessary for salvation. In the process, I was struck when I saw how many times obedience is directly connected or associated with love for God and Christ. As I read these passages I was amazed with how dogmatic they are. There is no gray area. We either love God and Jesus through our obedience or we do not.

What we are about to look at we have seen before but never in such a challenging way… never so directly.

Lets begin with a prayer because I think we’re gonna need it!

God and Father, please be with us as we look at these challenging scriptures. Help our hearts be soft and receptive to the facts we are about to see. Help us be willing to change anything we need to change in our lives in order to follow you more closely. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

In this podcast, let’s begin by talking about obedience in general and then talk about how it relates to the love of Christ. Here’s probably the most challenging scripture. It is found in 1 John. 

1 John 2:3-6
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, Gods love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

This is a scripture about salvation. 

When John speaks about coming to know him, he is talking about a person’s relationship with Jesus. Implied in his assertion is the fact that not only have we come to know Jesus, but Jesus knows us, too. I point this out because I am recalling those folks back in Matthew 7 who knew Jesus super intimately and were doing amazing things for him but Jesus never knew them. There are two parts to the equation, right?

In this 1 John passage, it is clear that we are talking to real disciples of Jesus. John is talking to Christians. We also know this because he is comparing the “we” of the first sentence with “the man” of the second sentence; who is clearly lost. Here it is again for reference.

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.”

Now notice something critical. This first sentence is conditional. It contains an if/then statement.

We know that we have come to know him… IF we obey his commands.

That’s a pretty clear delineation isn’t it? We have assurance of a relationship with Christ IF we obey his commands. People who do not obey his commands, do not know him.

Verse 4 is wildly intense! “The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

I am not sure I know of any places in the Bible that are more direct an (dare I say) more harsh.

Being called a liar, by anyone is a terrible thing. Being called a liar by the Apostle John and by extension, God is terrifying. In the physical realm, them be “fightin’” words. But spiritually speaking, our arms are far too short to box with God nor would we even dare try. God calls certain people liars? Yeah, there it is in black and white. A person who says that they know Christ but does not do what he commands is a liar. And he is not just a liar. John says, “the truth is not in him.” A person who is not living in obedience to Christ can not present the truth because he does not have the truth within him. It’s just not there and we can’t argue with that. That’s what God says. The truth is not in him.

But who are we talking about specifically?

We are talking about a person who is a kin to those folks we have already mentioned way back in Matthew 7. They sincerely believed they had a relationship with Christ. They served him with all their heart and even did miracles but they were not saved. Christ never knew them. They were under a great and magnificent deception that they had a relationship with Jesus… but they did not. If we compare the people in Matthew 7 with this man who says, “I know him,” in 1 John, I think there is a small, subtle difference. “The man,” in 1 John seems to have a bit more boldness and confidence than the folks in Matthew 7.

In 1 John, the man who says, “I know him,” is not just excused as unenlightened, or confused. This is a person who is confidently boasting to others that he has a relationship with Christ when he does not. Have you ever been in a situation where you were dead certain of a thing… absolutely convinced of something… only to find out later you were wrong? That’s a tough thing to go through but if we are humble, it can lead to the discovery of the info we were missing. Humility is our gateway to filling in the blanks.

This man who so confidently professes that he knows Christ is not in a position of humble correctable ignorance. This person is confronted face to face by John and told, You are a liar. Wow! That’s really intense. This man is a liar and the truth is not in him.

The next sentence is the antithesis of the first and brings a sense of hope and encouragement.

Verse 5. “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.”

This is not only an olive branch to the braggart we see in the second sentence, it sure sounds like a place I want to be. I want to be in a place where God’s love is truly made complete in me. That is endearing, comforting and full of assurance. And what leads to this amazing comfort and assurance? Obedience to God’s word. It’s that simple.

While the fist part of this passage is dramatic in its condemnation for those who are disobedient, it offers incredible encouragement as it closes.

“This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

To walk as Jesus did provides absolute assurance that we have a true and correct relationship with him, but you know what? That’s a pretty tall order! Walking as Jesus did… does that mean, no home, no possessions, no place to lay your head? Maybe for some. But why not just try the mission of Christ, first. 

You know, there are some pretty solid commands we can follow if we want to walk as Jesus did but we must start that walk on the right foot. Are we walking as Christ did by obeying and teaching The Great Commission? Those are starting gun instructions and a great place to test our claim of obedience.

In those instructions, Jesus told us how he wanted his followers to advance his mission after his departure. Are we doing that?

He told us to go. There’s no reason to be thick or confused about the intention in this command. He wants us to not stay home but to reach out to people outside our spiritual community. He wants us to say something about Him. This is implied by the next command to: Make disciples.

We need to take a deep breath and agree on something very specific here. Listen carefully. If we are not evangelistic (Going), we are not obeying Christ’s commands. Let that sink in. If we are not evangelistic, we are not obeying Christ’s commands. 

Do we really understand this. We are not obeying. We may claim we love Christ, but without obedience to this very first command we are, in the words of John, a liar. Now, let’s not deny it! Let’s not make an excuse for our lack of obedience to go. And certainly, don’t take offense at me. I’m just reporting the truth with the greatest possible love and concern I can. If we are not evangelic we are walking in disobedience to Christ. That’s what the “Go” of The Great Commission is all about.

Second, are we making disciples? Making disciples is a process. It takes work. What kind of work? Well, in our modern church era we have a challenge of breaking up, digging out and clearing away an unholy ton of religious tradition. People are deeply committed to church and family traditions which have no basis in scripture. Our job is to help people understand what’s really in the scriptures and abandon their religious traditions and practices because these are a massive stumbling block for the modern believer.

I suppose there should be no surprise. That is exactly what Jesus faced. Do you realize that for the most part, Jesus entire message was presented to the religious lost? Think about it. Most of the people he reached out to were solidly committed to their own traditional form of religion. Which, by the way, was a false and empty religion! It saved nobody. When Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened,” in Matthew 11:28, He was not talking about the burdens of their marital problems or their soul-sucking careers. He was talking about their empty religious system which was getting them no where yet oppressed them with impossible rules.

Making disciples is the single greatest spiritual motivator and inspiring activity a Christian will ever do. When you sit down and open the scriptures, especially with a religious person, and they see the truth for the very first time and you watch their eyes light up with understanding… well, there is no greater thrill in the entire world. There is no greater joy than planting the seed of scripture in a humble open heart and watching it blossom into full compliance and obedience to the scriptures. And why is this true?

Think about this for a moment. There is absolutely nothing… NOTHING you will ever do in your life that is greater or more important that moving a person from the power of Satan to the Kingdom of God. NOTHING! You may be the greatest brain surgeon who ever lived and save hundreds of lives but they will still eventually die. Or you may be the person who finds the cure for every form of cancer but another death still awaits the cured. Those accomplishments pale in comparison to saving just one soul for an eternity. The sad thing is most believers never have the experience of planting the seed of God’s word and watching it grow. 

In most churches, opening the scriptures for the purpose of converting a soul is relegated off to the pastor, or some other leader in the church. The average believer never opens the word with a nonbeliever to show them the truth. They never feel the thrill of victory. And yet, isn’t that what The Great Commission is all about? Every disciple should be involved in this process and every disciple is thrilled when it happens. There is no greater purpose in this life than sharing the Scriptures and helping another soul discover Christ.

“Making disciples” is not the second thing in “The Great Suggestion.” It is not an optional exercise of a believer who enjoys a modicum of joy because they know a little bit about Jesus. Making disciples is a command and by definition, every disciple makes disciples. There is no other kind of disciple. We must never claim we are disciples of Jesus if we are not actively involved in making other disciples. If we claim to be in him but do not do what he commands… we are liars.

Once we have introduced someone to Christ, what on earth do we do next? Well, what’s the next command? What did Jesus tell us to do? It’s in your bible. We baptize them!

Once again, this is not some optional suggestion. It is a direct and clear command of Jesus. It is simple and unambiguous. Elsewhere, the scriptures are full of the mode, method and meaning of water baptism. It is a complete immersion in water, in obedience to this Great Commission command. It is by absolutely no stretch of the imagination, a work of man. It is an act of faith instigated by this command. If you have ever argued that baptism is a work of men, then you’ve never understood that a command of Christ cannot be… at the very same time… a work of man. Is it a work or a command? The two are mutually exclusive. Baptism is not something you do to yourself anyway. It is something you submit to. In baptism a person is buried with Christ, they are raised to a new life. This is the Born Again experience. People are not saved at some point in time before their obedience in water baptism. They are not saved when they first believe and accept. They are not saved when they repent. It is in the commanded process of baptism that a person is Born Again. It is during baptism that God washes away sin and sends the Holy Spirit as a seal of sonship. Baptism is our pledge to keep our conscience clean for the rest of our life and it is how and when we call on the name of the Lord to be saved. This is a work of the Holy Spirit as He baptizes the believer into the body of Christ during physical baptism. Without obedience to this Great Commission command there is no saving experience. Just think it through. How can I have a relationship with Christ if I refuse to obey Christ? I would be a liar.

Folks, Jesus authorized no other methods of obedience. The “Sinners Prayer” is a deception. Accepting Christ and repenting as a prelude to conversion is a fine first step but without obedience in baptism, this leaves a person in a very excited but lost state. Without obedience in baptism, the Holy Spirit never indwells them, they must rely on their own power to eke out their life in Christ for the next 50 (or however many) years. Erroneous methods of conversion leave a believer powerless and empty. This leads to a quick exit from the faith and maybe even a bitterness over the failed promises of “life to the full.” Christianity becomes a joke because people begin to build but do not have the power to finish. After all, it’s pretty difficult to deal with addictions for example without the Holy Spirit indwelling you. People fall flat on their faces and 90% of them leave the church where they were introduced to Jesus. When we humbly obey Christ’s commands, he comes and lives in us as our helper. If we try to crawl into the house some other way than the prescribed way, we get tossed out on our ear. Obedience to Baptism seals the deal. It is the final step in conversion. If I reject baptism, I reject the commission.

Let’s flip the coin over. Would a true disciple of Jesus… a person trying hard to make real disciples… refuse to baptize someone? Would a true disciple of Jesus delay the command to be baptized until the bi-annual baptism service? I don’t want the potential guilt of that weighing on my soul! First century New Testament baptism was immediate because they understood people were not saved until they obeyed The Great Commission.

Finally, Jesus told his disciples, and us, to obey everything. Do we really need to say more? He had just given three commands, but just in case we think we can somehow skate around any one of them, he nails it down and puts it into a nice little wrapper, teach them to obey everything. This means that beginning with the first generation of disciples who were made on the day of Pentecost, until this very moment, as you listen to this podcast, every single person who has ever become a true disciple of Jesus has been presented The Great Commission, obeyed all of it and continues to plant it in the hearts of the people they meet and share the Gospel with. All true disciples of Jesus understand that it is their responsibility to Go, Make Disciples, Baptize them and teach them to obey these four things. Folks, we can not get around this and this is just the start of obedience. There are many other things Christ told us to obey.

The icing on the cake… the cherry on top of everything Jesus gave us in The Great Commission, is that he would be with us always. That’s awesome! But to be sure; that promise follows the commands. Without obedience to ALL the commands, there is no promise. Folks, let’s make every effort to keep in step with God’s Spirit and commands.

Ok. That’s enough for now. We’ll have more in the next podcast.

What we are looking at is how love for Christ is connected to obedience to Christ in the scriptures. The scriptures teach in a variety of ways, in no uncertain terms and in a number of places that if we do not obey, we do not love. I am just discovering this bold and terrifying truth anew. This study is pretty deep. I hope you can accept it.

For me, this teaching is tough but doable when I have a Faith that Obeys.

Enjoy!

Dana Haynes

Join the discussion here.

Listen Now – Podcast 066 – For the Love of Obedience – Part 1

Editor’s Note: This is the third lesson from our eleven part video series called, “A Faith that Obeys.” You can find the original video and transcript HERE. We are dropping this lesson into our regular podcast feed so that the information can reach a wider audience. In this lesson, we will review the Modern Plan of Salvation which includes practices like “The Sinner’s Prayer” and “Accepting Christ for Salvation.”

In this world of ours today the scriptures span the globe. There are very few places left, if any, where the name of Jesus has not been proclaimed. Millions of people have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. At some point in the past, you perhaps made a personal commitment to Jesus because of something you either read or heard. Somebody, sometime, somehow told you about Jesus

The story about Jesus, his death and resurrection is called the Gospel. And hearing the Gospel message is the first step everyone takes in the Biblical plan of salvation. I am unaware of any Christian group which does not recognize that there is a process one goes through on the way to salvation. Sometimes we illustrate this process using clever metaphors. These wonderful illustrations are designed to help us understand the plan of salvation clearly. One popular metaphor is called “The Romans Road.”

You may have heard of it. Using the book of Romans, in the Bible, we can trace out a pathway which leads to salvation. The metaphor we will use to illustrate the Biblical Plan of Salvation, is not a pathway but a staircase, as I mentioned in the last lesson. Just as there are steps we travel on the Roman Road, there are several steps on our staircase which every person takes on their journey to salvation, or the forgiveness of sins. Here’s the illustration of our metaphor. 

We have already identified the first step, so let’s label this first step, “Hearing the Message.” Every person in the history of the world, who has ever come to know Jesus, has taken this first step. This should be pretty obvious! If you consider yourself a Christian, that means you heard the Gospel, you made a conscious decision to respond positively. Perhaps you were in a church, listening to the radio, watching the TV or a friend brought the message to you. You decided to make Jesus, Lord of your life. You may remember that day clearly. You made a decision. You accepted the message; you didn’t reject the message. And guess what, that would be the second step in the Biblical plan of salvation. 

Let’s label the second step, “Accepting the Message.” Again, this is pretty obvious. For someone to be saved, they must accept the Gospel message. Rejecting it would get them nowhere!

For many people, it is at this point, as they surrender their will to Jesus and make Him Lord of their lives, that they might feel an inexpressible joy and relief as they understand they have crossed over from a dark life of sin and have been born again into the wonderful light of salvation. They are comforted by the fact that they will never walk alone again, they will have their Lord and Savior walking with them. The point in time when this occurs is what we previously called a “salvation experience.” 

The goal of this series, “A Faith that Obeys,” is to identify the exact point in time when this “Salvation Experience” occurs. Most people who call themselves Evangelical Christians can point back to a specific point in time… in the past… when a “salvation experience” happened for them. This is the moment in time which they would point back to and say, “That’s when and where I became a Christian.” or “That’s the point in time I was Born Again.”

Many churches use a well know method, which was developed in the late 1800’s, to help folks respond to the Gospel message. It’s called “The Sinner’s Prayer.” You may have prayed it or something similar. Using this technique, a minister, preacher or some other leader will ask someone who has heard the message and wishes to responded positively, to recite a brief, simple prayer which might sound something like this…

“Lord Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner and I need you in my life. I know you are standing at the door of my heart, knocking to come in. Lord Jesus, right here and right now, I invite you into my heart. Save me from my sin and help me live my life for you. Amen.”

For the vast majority of people with an evangelical background, this, or something very similar, is how they became a Christian, they gave their life to Christ or “Accepted Christ.” Can you think back to an exact time and place when this happened for you? Mark that clearly in your mind. Jot it down on a sheet of paper. By the way, this was my experience at about 22 years of age. I prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer” with a neighbor friend, accepted Christ and invited Jesus into my heart. Most folks believe, when someone accepts Christ, they are saved; which means, as we have discussed, their sins are forgiven and they begin their new life in Christ. 

Let’s mark a “Line of Salvation” right above the second step on our illustration to indicate that the forgiveness of sins occurs at this point in time. Remember, the forgiveness of sins equals saved and saved means this is the exact point in time you were born again and became a Christian. 

Born again = Christian = Saved = Sins are Forgiven, it’s all the same thing. Sometimes, if someone accepts Christ through a radio broadcast or television program, they are encouraged to join a local Bible based church in order to experience and be strengthened by the fellowship. New converts are encouraged to read and study their Bible and to live a life that honors God. In many churches, these “babes in Christ” are told that water baptism is a very important command of Jesus and they should be baptized as soon as possible… in obedience to the Lord, since they are now been saved and their sins have been forgiven.

Sometimes new converts are taught that water baptism is their first real act of obedience as a new Christian. This is a general overview of the modern plan of salvation which is promoted and used by most of the evangelical world today. Different churches and denominations use different words or phrases and make adjustments to this plan in various ways but basically, this is the plan. 

This might be summed up as, “accepting Christ for salvation.” When you believe or accept the message and receive Christ as savior, you become a Christian and your sins are forgiven. Now, there’s just one problem with the modern plan of salvation. It’s not the Biblical plan. The Bible never teaches us to simply and only believe in Christ for our salvation even though there are scriptures which seem to support that view. It never teaches us to say a prayer to be saved. It never teaches us to ask Jesus to come into our heart. It does not teach that our sins are forgiven as a result of decisions we make or actions we take outside of Biblical obedience. We are not saved by works, things we do.

The Bible never uses a phrase like “accept Christ as your personal Lord and savior.” Does this surprise you? There is much more to the Biblical plan of salvation than these first two steps. Something horrible has happened to the plan of salvation over the last millennia. It has been changed! This modern plan is still very very close, but there are critical things missing and out of place. Frankly, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Listen. If Satan wanted to offer a counterfeit plan, why would he create a lame one? Remember my $100.00 bill drawn with a green crayon? No one would accept that!

Satan’s counterfeit would need to be so good and so convincing, so very close to the Biblical plan, that it could trick anyone who is unwilling to compare the plan they learned and followed to the Biblical plan of salvation… once you are made aware of it. Satan doesn’t deny the plan, he simply changes some things around, just a little bit, then provides a warm environment in which his lie can grow! Satan’s plan is an absolutely delicious plan served up with very real emotions of joy and love, warm physical feelings and often, some very real experiences. All these are expertly crafted to confirm his lie.

I hope you are a little concerned at this point. Once again, I’m going to ask you to step back if you’re feeling a little emotionally charged. I am merely asking that you think about, pray about and evaluate the things you are learning. But please, never for a moment think that any of us could not be deceived by that snake. Remember, it has always been his trick to twist or question God’s commands from Eve’s experience in the Garden… to Jesus temptation on the temple roof…. should we be so naive to think he would not try to twist our understanding of the Bible. The only way we can possibly know God’s will and his plan of salvation is to carefully, diligently, study His word keeping a humble attitude and a heart which is open to new understandings.

You know. A counterfeit is never effective unless it’s very convincing very full of proof! But then you’re not a person who would allow your emotions, feelings or even some very real experiences to be more important and more convincing than the scriptures, are you?

Remember. I said this would be challenging. It was for me. I told you I had made a very real, very sincere, very solid decision for Christ as a young adult. But I had not yet followed the Biblical Plan of salvation. I was still in my sins and had no power over them at all. I was a very nice, very kind, very loving believer in Jesus, but I was not a Christian. I had been deceived and did not even know it. 

It would not be for years later that God very patiently, very carefully led me to discover the truth for myself. The thing which helped me see my errors more than anything else was my respect and love for the scriptures and an understanding that they are the only reliable authority. I decided, I could not rely on my feelings, emotions or experiences, no matter how real they were for me. They are not my source of religious authority. I had to put a lot of things behind me and be open to the possibility that I had been wrong.

When someone showed me what the Bible actually taught about the plan of salvation, it was so obvious I accepted it quickly and immediately obeyed it, but I did not stop there. I carefully studied everything out for myself and I am still doing so to this very day. I would love to be wrong about all of this and I have tried for 33 years to punch holes in the Biblical Plan in order to make the road just a little bit wider, but the Biblical Plan is too solid, too consistent, too prominent throughout all of scripture and too obvious, once you see it.

In the next few lessons, you will see, with absolute clarity, what the Biblical plan of salvation entails and how beautifully it is organized by God and how easily it’s seen with the heart of a child. You will begin to feel a fire in your bones and see a future for yourself which is going to get super exciting. Now it’s time to dig into the scriptures.

Enjoy!

Have you ever considered our tagline here at A Faith that Obeys? It reads, “Rethinking the Traditional Plan of Salvation.” Now, I must admit, this does sound a bit presumptuous doesn’t it? Hopefully the tagline provides a crisp clarity to the issue we are debating and anyone piqued enough to investigate this apparent arrogance, discovers a warm and welcoming place to explore the age old debate regarding water baptism.

Now, you know me. I gotta pick apart a term! After all, we need to agree on what a word means. Let’s begin with, “Rethinking.” Why are we “rethinking” anything? Well, because we think we might have gotten something wrong or we need to review our understanding of a thing; in this case, The Traditional Plan of Salvation. 

A “plan” is an ordered succession of smaller events leading to a specific goal and our plan leads to salvation.

“Salvation” means, a person receives the forgiveness of sins, from God; is moved from a lost state to a saved state and will enjoy the benefits of the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven. 

“Traditional” means; the plan is something which has been used and reused for a very long time and is assumed to be correct.

Our process of rethinking, leads us to probe, poke holes in and otherwise scrutinize the assertions made by the traditional plan. At A Faith that Obeys, we’ve discovered the primary and most glaring difference between the Traditional Plan and the Biblical Plan is this small, seemingly insignificant fact. Listen carefully. The only difference between the two plans is that the declaration of salvation is made at different points along the same common path. Let me explain because this issue can be a little hard to see.

The plan of salvation is like a map. When we look at the map carefully, we spot two different exit ramps. Both are clearly labeled, “This way to the Pearly Gates.” To arrive at our destination, we must use the correct exit ramp. But, right there on the map are two different exit ramps going off in different directions.

The traditional plan asserts a person is saved when they first believe and trust in Christ. This happens at some point before water baptism. That’s ramp one. The Biblical Plan demonstrates that a person is not saved until they obey the Gospel, which includes water baptism. That’s ramp two. Intellectual belief and acceptance of the Gospel message and obedience to that message, are two separate things and happen at different times along the same spiritual highway to heaven. The crazy thing is that if we are not paying attention, the routes look identical!

When deeply committed Christian believers, who have not yet obeyed the “Biblical Plan of Salvation,” hear about it, become convinced of its truth and want to obey, the question inevitably comes up, “Do I need to be baptized again?” They are questioning this because, sometime in the past, they experienced a full immersion baptism, and now think they may need to be baptized again, the right way.  They made a sincere commitment to Christ and believed they had been saved but, that happened well before their water baptism.

Our goal should always be to humbly obey the Gospel to the best of our ability, right? Everyone who truly loves Jesus wants to please him. If we were baptized at some point in the past with a full immersion baptism, we should ask ourselves a couple of questions; “What teaching were we following?” And, “Why did we get baptized?” Let’s jump in the Wayback Machine and review our thinking. How did our original introduction to Christ play out?

At some point in the past, we heard the Gospel message. We learned about Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. This is, of course, is where and when everyone’s journey started. We recognized our sinfulness and our need for a savior. We were ready for a change. We repented of our sins. We accepted Christ’s offer of salvation… we “received Christ.” So far, so good. These are all Biblically prescribed and sanctioned activities in response to the Gospel message. But, this is where the plans diverge. 

When we made that initial, sincere commitment, we believed we were saved. We may have even known water baptism would be an important next step, at some point in the future. Accompanying our decision may have been some really powerful and convincing emotional experiences. For example, we may have felt like the weight of the world was now off of our shoulders. We may have felt tremendous joy and a sense that we had truly begun a new life. Now let’s be honest, we were new to the faith and pretty naive.

We made a commitment to Christ based on what someone told us and had no clue there are actually two completely different paths. One claims, “You just got saved!” And one says, “Great so far; now take the final step and obey the Gospel in baptism.” One path is the correct path, one is not. One stops us in our tracks, the other urges us to continue and immediately obey Christ’s command to be baptized. Now remember, the next step in both plans is indeed water baptism so the plans can look super similar!

These differences may seem subtle and insignificant. It may even seem like splitting hairs; especially to an outsider of our argument. But one path is right and one is wrong. One is the truth, and one is a subtle and clever deception. When we first made our very real and very sincere decision, we were not aware there were two paths and neither was the person who was teaching us.

And you know what? This is nothing new. Remember those good, hard-working, sincere believers of Matthew 7:28 and following? This is the same issue they were experiencing. They made a solid decision to follow Christ. They were at a point in their spiritual life where they knew Jesus very well. They worked hard for him and called him, “Lord.” But, they were not saved. This is shocking! 

Let’s review it so its fresh in our mind.

Matthew 7:21-23
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

This little story could leave us quite distressed, but thankfully, Jesus explains the problem so we don’t make the same mistake. As He explains, it’s not about how well they know him, it’s about him knowing them. He tells them, He NEVER knew them! Think this through carefully. There’s a forensic timeline. Try this; read the account carefully following the plan of salvation. Sketch it out on a timeline. 

We surmise these sincere, hard working people followed a really solid, well presented introduction to Jesus and the plan of salvation. They heard the Gospel. That’s step one. But, the plan they heard must have diverged onto another path, at some point in time, which did not lead them to the correct destination. They never arrived at salvation. Think about this carefully. That critical point of time had to have occurred after they heard about Jesus. This is obvious. Absolutely everything else in the story looks and feels exactly like it should for a solid biblical conversion. It’s difficult to understand Christ’s refusal to accept them. It’s stunning. When we wind the tape backwards, we conclude that some sort of error must have occurred right after they learned about Christ. Something prevented them from hearing a vital bit of information contained in the rest of the story.

Now, these are not the only people in the Bible to experience this problem. I suspect God knew we might have a difficult time accepting these people as lost, so He included a sequel! 

Yeah, there is another case of this happening in the book of Acts. This is exactly the situation with a fellow named Apollos. Let’s read it.

Acts 18:24-26 
“Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.”

Apollos had the same problem as the folks in Matthew 7. He knew accurately about Jesus but did not know about obedience through the baptism into Christ! In fact, just like the people in Matthew 7, who were actively promoting Jesus, we meet Apollos while he is on his own personal mission trip. We catch him in the act, so to speak. He is doing one of the exact same things Jesus said those people were doing; preaching about Christ! 

Acts 18:26
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue.

Now don’t miss the language used in verse 25, right before this. “He taught about Jesus accurately but knew only the baptism of John.” Let’s understand this? Luke, the author of Acts, makes a comparison between two things. Apollos has experienced the baptism of John the Baptist, which is very obviously a water baptism, but he did not know about the baptism of Christ; likewise a water baptism and thus the comparison. Apollos has not obeyed the Gospel. If he was teaching the Gospel adequately, there would have been no need for Pricilla and Aquila to have him over of lamb-chops and explain the way of God, more adequately. And that is exactly the same situation as our friends in Matthew 7. They obviously knew Christ but Christ says, He never knew them.

The big take-away from all this is, “It is possible to know God, but God not know us!” That’s tough to swallow but that’s the truth. Not convinced there’s more!

Here’s a fascinating scripture from Galatians. Listen to this carefully!

Galatians 4:8-9
“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God…  or rather are known by God… how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles?”

Knowing God and being known by God, are completely different things! I know all about the President of the United States but rest assured he does not know me.

If we were baptized in a church which teaches that salvation comes before baptism, it is important to understand, that is not the Biblical Plan of Salvation.

If you have been listening to the Podcast for a while, you know I made a sincere commitment to Christ and prayed the Sinner’s Prayer when I was about 22. That’s what someone told me to do. They never opened the Bible to show me anything. I said the prayer and considered myself saved. Years later, I was shown the Biblical Plan of Salvation and quickly repented and obeyed it because I knew based on the scriptures I had been wrong. For over 10 years I believed I was saved, but I was not. When I saw the truth, I was eager to obey. I wanted to be right with God. 

But please understand something. The second time around, it was not a person who was telling me what to do. It was the scriptures. I read the Bible for myself. I made a decision based on scripture, not the same old Sinner’s Prayer confession I had previously followed. Someone showed me the scriptures and asked me if I had obeyed them. I said, “No.”

On January 20th, 1985, I stood in the waters of baptism and said, Jesus is Lord. This happened AFTER I had repented of my sins and knew I would mean what I said for the rest of my life. The older I get, the more I understand just how lost I really was. After this, my life changed in indescribable ways.

Now, there’s another subtle point of discovery in all this which I think is important to understand, I was not saved by simply changing doctrines. I did not, at one point in time, believe baptism was just an outward sign of an inward grace, and now that I understood the doctrine correctly my original baptism was somehow magically valid. I did not, at one time, believe people were saved when they Accepted Christ and now understood things correctly so I was good to go. We don’t clean up a little doctrinal error and now everything is fine. Let’s not fall into that deception. An incomplete or erroneous Gospel saves nobody! People are lost because they have not obeyed the Gospel, regardless of any religious experience they have had or have been participating in maybe for years.  Here’s why. 

Repentance always precedes salvation, right?

Sometimes we need to repent of things we have done.

Sometimes we need to repent of things we have believed.

Sometimes we need to repent of things we have taught. 

Without repentance, no one will be known by God.

Erroneous beliefs are sort of the black and white sins we repent of just like the technicolor sins of adultery, lying or stealing; and as always, salvation follows repentance.

If I have believed, followed and taught an erroneous plan of salvation, it certainly did not save me or anyone I taught. How could it? An erroneous plan is no plan at all. So, this is not a matter of patching up some erroneous doctrine and slapping a new coat of paint on it. It’s not about our doctrine. We are repenting of something we are doing wrong and obeying what we learn is right. This is a matter of facing the truth that we are still in a lost state and repenting of the things which have brought us here. Is it hard to believe God may be revealing new truth to us? Really? Do we really think we have it all figured out? I sure don’t.

For some, this is incredibly difficult to accept and I completely understand that. Some really great people have spent years serving the Lord and have experienced truly amazing things. They have known joy, peace, patience, the thrill of introducing people to Christ and more! They have given their time, money, sweat and sometimes blood for the cause of Christ. To even consider the possibility that they are not saved is pretty crazy and honestly, maybe even a bit offensive.  But step back and think about it. Let the scriptures guide us.

Are we really absolutely certain that those good folks, who had dedicated their lives to the cause of Christ back in Matthew 7:28, were really lost? Do we want to waffle on that? Because of that story, we know it is possible for someone to be in the same position. But when we think of ourselves in that position, it raises red flags and warning lights because we use our spiritual resume as our defensive proof of salvation. But isn’t that exactly what the believers of Matthew 7 did? Their protests were all about their past experiences! 

And isn’t that exactly what our dear brother Apollos did? No! Nothing like it! His reaction was far different and exemplary. We see no protest from Apollos, we just see the church rejoicing and sending on his way to continue preaching that Jesus is the Christ! He didn’t argue with Pricilla and Aquila, he accepted the truth and obeyed it. How do we know he obeyed it? Well, the church would never have endorsed his ongoing mission! Listen.

Acts 18:27
“When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.”

The church would have never approved if Apollos was still teaching only the baptism of John. He had obviously been baptized into Christ which the church would have witnessed. This is why they were enthusiastically confident sending him off to a sister congregation.

Now listen to me. Coming to the earth shattering conviction that; even though we have years of sacrifice and devotion to the Lord… we are actually in a lost state, did not suddenly remove Jesus from His throne! Nothing happened which shook the foundations of Heaven. Creation did not come to a stand still in shock and disbelief just because we have accepted new truth. In fact, I hear the distant sound of applause! Listen carefully.

Do you think God does not know or has not known what He has been doing regarding your relationship with him? Do you think he has not lovingly and patiently led you to this exact point in your life; preparing you, perhaps for years, to understand the things you are now learning? Do you think God has not been watching over you and protecting you and loving you enough to bring you to salvation, no matter how long it took? I’m pretty sure God knows what He is doing. God knows our hearts. God knows our past, our present and our future. God sees the desires of our heart and God knows how to lead us to repentance… even from bad doctrine.

Our part is to accept the truth; to gratefully accept God’s mercy and gentleness as He reveals his plan. In fact, if we really stop and think about it, we could be quite overwhelmed when we consider the gentleness and patience as He has skillfully employed, leading us to this time in our lives. Our hearts should overflow with gratitude!

No. Wait. Can you imagine complaining that God didn’t lead us to salvation in the way we thought it should be done? Shall I whine that God should have saved me sooner or used some other way to do it? Do I really want to pick that fight? No! We must never grumble, “God just took too long to save me and I have been working so hard for Him!”

Oh! Now we understand the parable of “The Workers in the Vineyard.” Some worked a full day others worked only a couple of hours but both got paid the same wage. Here’s the owners response to their complaints:

Matthew 20:13-16
“But he answered one of them, Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”

Do we really want to be the guy who complains about how God conducts his business? I hope not. God knows exactly what it took to save me and He knows exactly what it takes to save you.

In reality, this is amazingly Good News! From the first time we decided to make Jesus the Lord of our life, until this time when we can now obey the Gospel the correct way; God has kept us safe and sound, preparing us for such a time as this? Is it not amazing how God crafts all the experiences of our life to bring us… or anyone for that matter… to a knowledge of the truth? 

So, do we need to be baptized again, even though we were baptized as an infant or as an adult in a full immersion baptism? The short answer is, “No, you do not need to be baptized, again.”

In reality, you need to be baptized for the first time. 

An immersion for the wrong reason is not a Christian baptism and hopefully we want to do things the right way. Ultimately, it’s your decision. But, I can tell you that as for me and my house, we will follow the Lord, no matter how or when He leads us. We will obey the Lord, making sure that if and when any new understanding is revealed, we do not lean on our old understanding and we do not rely on our spiritual resume. Our charge is to repent and believe the Good News and that kind of belief is a special kind of belief… a special kind of faith we call, “A Faith that Obeys!”

Enjoy!

How would you like to take your prayer life and Bible Study to a higher level than you have ever experienced before? How would you like to feel like your time with God was deeper, more intimate, more vibrant, and authentic? That would be awesome, right?

In this lesson, you are going to learn two blow-away secrets that will absolutely change the way you pray and the results you experience! Let’s go!

All good relationships are based on two things; time together and communication. Our relationship with God is no exception. If we want a rich, real relationship with God, then, we spend quality time with Him by reading His Word and Praying. These two specific activities can be a pretty good barometer of how well we are doing spiritually. When someone is not spending time with God in Prayer and Bible Study, they are neglecting the most important relationship a human being can have. To have a great relationship with God, we need to have great QuietTimes!

As always, let’s begin by defining our terms. What is a QuietTime?

As the name suggests, it is a time which is quiet. There are no noises to distract us, there are no electronic devices incessantly beeping, there are no other people around and the environment is somewhat protected from interruption. It is a time we spend alone, communicating with God in prayer and allowing Him to communicate with us through his word and through the thoughts and ideas which stir our hearts and our imaginations during these times.

Communication flows in two directions; to God and from God. Our communication to God is done through our prayers. We tell Him what is on our heart. We share our hopes, our dreams and our hardships with Him. We let Him know what is going on with us and we offer up adoration, gratitude and requests for ourselves and for others. Basically, we lay our hearts bare before the Creator of the Universe in the hope He will hear us and respond favorably. And, God does respond.

God communicates to us in a variety of ways. During our time alone with him, He communicates with us through His word and those random thoughts which come to mind… that quiet still voice we all have in our head and heart. At other times, God may use another person to tell us something we need to hear.. Perhaps He may provide an experience, dramatic or mundane, which makes us pause and reflect. So, God uses four channels of communication as He is working with us: The Word, A person, An experience and that little voice in our head and heart. Which one would you place at the top of the list as the most trusted and reliable? Obviously, The Word!

We don’t completely ignore advice we receive from another person, an experience or our inner voice. We take all of these into account; carefully weighting everything in the light of Scripture. Everything must be filtered through that lens. We must never depend solely on our little inner voice! And an experience is not reliable because your interpretation of the experience is just as good as mine. The two interpretations can differ wildly. People’s advice, opinions and teachings are just that…. their opinion and their teaching, not necessarily what God desires. You must make the final evaluation and your conclusions must be in harmony with the scriptures.

So, having a quality time with God is based, primarily on that special alone time where we meet with God in His Word and in prayer; time together and communication.

So, what is prayer? What are we doing when we pray? Let’s turn to some scriptures to help us define this term.

Exodus 19:17
“Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.”

Back in the day, the people “met” with God. He appeared to them in a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of smoke by day. This is probably where the term “Holy smokes” originated!

Here’s what King David had to say about meeting with God.

Psalm 42:2
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”

In prayer, we are literally meeting with God! That is amazing! A lowly human being can speak to the creator of the universe. And guess what? God wants us to do this! Remember? “Ask, Seek and Knock.” Matthew 7:9. And, “This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven,” Matthew 6:9. And how about Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Without question, God wants to hear from us. Come to think of it, what loving Father would not want to hear from his kids?

If prayer is how we communicate with God, what is the other half of the activity? What is “Bible Study?”

Just that… a study of the Bible. But what is study? Let’s turn to our old friend Daniel Webster and his amazing 1828 dictionary. Listen to this.

“Study is the literal setting of the mind and thoughts upon a subject for the purpose of learning what was not known before. Study gives strength to the mind, conversations and grace. When we study, we give attention to and meditation on an issue. To study is to fix the mind closely upon a subject, to muse; to dwell upon in thought and endeavor diligently. Studying is done by reading or examining something for the purpose of learning and understanding. It is to consider something attentively and examine it closely.”

So if we couple this with “Bible Study” it imparts to us greater knowledge, understanding and wisdom regarding God’s nature and the nature of his creation… including ourselves.

So, a QuietTime is composed of two deliberate and distinct disciplines; prayer and Bible Study. Our QuietTime is literally a time we meet with God and without question, it will be the most important meeting you will have on any given day! No other meeting can possibly compare to meeting with the creator of the Universe. But there is one little problem with this kind of meeting. We can get super distracted very quickly. Let me explain.

All of those random thoughts tend to make us feel burdened. It feels like they pull us totally off the track. But the feeling of pressure does not come from an overwhelming sense of all the things we have to do. Listen carefully! The pressure we feel, comes from an overwhelming sense of trying to remember everything! A thought pops into our head… which may be very valuable to us… we don’t want to forget it… and… the pressure’s on!

Here’s the first secret to having an amazing time with God. What would happen if we took some paper and a pen into our meeting with the Lord? It’s obviously a pretty important meeting, right? If your boss called you into a meeting, what would you do? How would you prepare? Well, you’d probably take a pen, some paper for taking notes, right?

When we take that note pad and pen with us into our meeting with God we have just armed ourselves with an incredibly powerful tool. Every time a random thought comes into your head, jot it down and tell God “Thank you for reminding me. I will take care of that for you!”

All of a sudden, random thoughts become reminders from God. By taking notes like this, we literally begin building a divinely inspired to-do list of sorts! Instead of struggling to remember stuff, we write it down. God knows your schedule before you do and reminds you of all the cool things he wants you to accomplish today. You respectfully jot it down and thank God for the reminder.

This one little action does something amazing. I earns you the right and ability to forget about it. You no longer need to worry about trying to remember all the things you have on your mind. Once you commit a thought to paper, the pressure is gone! This is an absolutely liberating life hack. And after all, isn’t that what prayer is all about; God giving you information and reminding you to do things he is concerned about, probably more that you are? I cannot tell you how absolutely liberating it is to have a note pad and pen next to me while I am on my knees praying. All of those seeming crazy random thoughts are processed down into a wonderful task list making my relationship with God even more personal, real and vibrant. Try it! It will set you free!

Obviously, the best time to do this activity is in the morning. Let’s get our day started on the right foot; meet with God and get our marching orders for the day.

So, does the Bible say anything about having a QuietTime in the morning? Yep, in a huge way. And this is our Second Secret! Wait until you hear this!

Now, before we get there, let me pave the path with a Biblical concept which will be important to this part of the lesson. I want to talk about an interesting Biblical principle called, “foreshadowing.”

Foreshadow means “to have a warning or indication of a future event.” The Bible is full of these things. Here’s an example.

The Foreshadow of Baptism
1 Peter 3:17-22
Talking about Jesus, Peter writes, “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also…”

So, God saved some people in the days of Noah when the Ark was being built. The Bible says, “In it,” meaning the Ark, “only a few people were saved.” What happened? People were saved. By what? By the Ark. Yes, but also by the water. What did the Ark do? It saved the people who obeyed God and got in it from the deadly waters of the flood.

Peter identifies the water of the flood as a “foreshadow.” He says, “This water symbolizes baptism.” Which water? The water of the flood. Is baptism a symbol of the flood? No, the flood is a pre-symbol or a foreshadow of baptism. What did the water of the flood do? It wiped out all human life but it also did something quite amazing of which it foreshadows even more, it wiped away the sin of the world! What happens during Baptism? God wipes away sin. Why does He do this? Because we have heard the Gospel and made that final decision to obey it by being baptized. We are saved when we obey just as the people who obeyed Noah were saved.

Noah’s flood illustrates what would come in the future.

The Foreshadow of the Church
Here’s another one. I recently heard this one from my Pastor friend, Tom. In the Garden, God gives Adam an amazing and wonderful gift, a beautiful wife! How did he do this? He put the man into a deep sleep, opened his side, removed something, closed the wound and woke Adam to experience his wonderful new bride. In the New Testament, God puts Christ into a deep sleep (Death}, opens his side, removes something and wakes him up three days later to experience his amazing bride, the church! The Old Testament was rigid like bone, The Law; The New Testament is put into effect with Water and Blood. Cool!

Ok, now that we understand what foreshadowing is, here’s the foreshadowing that relates to the subject of QuietTimes… our daily time with God. This is a long passage but there is a huge pay off… wait for it!

The Foreshadow of the Manna
Exodus 16:11-21
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.

And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed. Then Moses said to them, ‘No one is to keep any of it until morning.’ However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.”

So, here’s what was happening. Each morning everyone gathered as much food as he needed for the day. When the sun grew hot, this “Food from God” melted away. It was no longer available. If you tried to hoard it, it would rot by the next morning. As the KJV says, “It stinkith.” These then were the rules you had to follow if you were hungry:

1 – God provided the food in the morning.

2 – The food from God had to be collected daily.

3 – Manna had to be collected before the sun grew hot.

4 – The food was spoiled and unusable if it was held over until the next day.

Now, flash forward and watch this closely as Jesus makes a stunning claim…

Jesus is the Foreshadowed Manna
John 6:30-38
“So they asked him, ‘What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’

Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’

‘Sir,’ they said, ‘from now on give us this bread.’

Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life.’”

(Wow, Jesus just identified himself as manna!)

If Jesus is the manna we should probably assume the pattern for enjoying it is the same:

1 – God provides the food in the morning.

2 – It should be collected daily, if you are hungry.

3 – We must collect this food in the morning before the sun grows hot.

4 – Don’t try to be sustained the second day by yesterday’s food.

So, our second secret, in taking our time with God to the next level, is found in the time of day we meet with God. Without question, the Bible specifically and in no uncertain terms, claims there is a best time for this activity. Let me show you even more!

Why should we have a QuietTime in the morning? Here are seven solid reasons.

1 – Because that’s when Jesus did it.
Mark 1:35-38

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

2 – “First Fruits!”
These were an essential part of worshiping God in the Old Testament. When you collected your harvest, you gave God the very first part of it. Since many things in the Old Testament foreshadow the realities of the New Testament, compare the Old Testament first fruits as “worship of God” to your daily worship of God. Give God the first part of your day. Give God the best part of your day. Now, don’t tell me you are not a morning person. You’ll see why in a moment. Here’s a passage regarding “First Fruits.”

Proverb 3:9
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

This scripture teach us to enter the land with first fruits, not leftovers. Your time with the Lord is like entering holy ground. Don’t squeeze it in to your day. Make it a priority!

3 – Morning is God’s time to examine you!
Job 7:17-18
“What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment?

4 – David set an example for us.
Morning is when David laid his requests to God and God listened.

Psalm 5:3
“In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Psalm 88:13
“But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.”

Psalm 143:8
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

Psalm 90:5
You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning–though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered.

Like I said, don’t tell me you are not a morning person. The Bible says you are! Everything is fresh and new in the morning. The Bible says, “Men are like grass.” it is dried by evening. If we are honest with ourselves, we know this to be true. How you feel when you get home from work? When do you get tired? There is a difference between being sleepy and being tired. Most folks sleep at night. Regardless of when we sleep, after sleep we are refreshed. That is the purpose of sleep! Don’t confuse the sleepy eyed feeling of the morning with being tired. Get that first cup of coffee, if you need it, and get your day going with God.

If you still don’t think you are a morning person, perhaps there is another issue you have not considered. Maybe there is nothing that really excites you about getting out of bed in the morning. If that’s the case, this lesson is exactly what you needed. You need to stoke your relationship with God and boost it to a level you have never done before! If meeting with the Creator of the Universe, one on one, in the morning does not excite you, nothing will. Folks, Jesus rose from the dead but you can’t get out of bed? Something is wrong! Sometimes it’s just that we are not desperate… we don’t see our need for help!

Here’s a guy who clearly understood his need and wanted to do anything to gain victory….

Psalm 119:147
“I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope on your word.”

If you are not currently a “morning person,” it can change. Your relationship with God is renewed every morning.

Lamentations 3:22-23
“Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

And of course, let’s make sure we are not confusing plain ol’ laziness with the struggle to keep our eyes open in the morning. Make the effort to push through. Start going to bed earlier.

5 – The fifth reason for having a morning QuietTime is that it forces us to deny ourselves.
Think about this one. Could saying, “I’m not a morning person.” just be another way of saying, “I don’t want to deny myself.”

Luke 9:23
“Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

One of the greatest struggles in following Christ is the struggle to deny ourselves. Yet, if we truly want to be a disciple of Jesus, it is an absolute requirement that we put Him first, regardless of how we feel.

6 – Morning is God’s time to teach you.

Isaiah 50:4
The LORD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

7 – Make seeking God your first priority. Don’t let distractions… well, er… distract you.

Matthew 6:33
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

So there you have it, seven sound reasons to have a QuietTime in the morning and two amazing secrets designed to take your QuietTimes to the next level. Let’s give God the priority He should have by meeting with Him the first thing every morning and let’s make sure we are taking notes when we pray. Try these things, even for a couple of days and see what happens. You will never be sorry or have an ounce of regret that you took even some small action which might bring you closer to God. I have a feeling He is always looking forward to blessing a Faith that Obeys!

Enjoy!

Editor’s Note: This is the audio from the second lesson about The Biblical Plan of Salvation . You may view the entire video series by starting HERE.

Thanks so much for taking the next step. You obviously have a desire to learn more about this important topic. As we begin, I wanted to say that the things we will look at are really challenging. I know because I have felt some pretty strong feelings as I learned the things you’re about to learn. Please understand that I am submitting these ideas to you with the utmost love and respect. I hope you will feel like that comes through as I make my case.

In the last video, we talked about a Biblical Plan of Salvation. I said that this plan was hidden in the Bible, and in plain sight. I said, even the most learned scholars miss it and, even explained why they miss it… they do not have the heart of a child.

I’m about to show you that Biblical plan of salvation, but before we begin, let’s lock down some of the basic Bible grammar used to define the plan. You probably know most of this but let’s take a minute to lock it down carefully. This way, there will be no confusion or disagreement about terms and definitions.

Let’s take a look at this phrase, “God’s Plan of Salvation.”

First, let’s be clear. This is God’s plan, not man’s plan. Man did not create the plan and man can not change the plan. The plan was clearly established in the Bible 2000 years ago and is the same today as it was in the first century. What is a plan? Well, Webster’s dictionary defines the word “Plan,” as a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. So our plan will contain some sort of ordered actions aimed at achieving the goal, which God has laid before us, salvation. The Biblical plan of salvation may be depicted like a series of stair steps.

Now, I need to stop right here and make sure we understand something important. These steps I am describing are not actions we take in order to be saved but they are observable, verifiable things that happen with us as we move through the plan. We are not talking about some kind of “works salvation” here. You’ll understand this clearly as we move forward. Ok, this brings us to our next term… salvation.

Salvation is a good religious word.

What is salvation? Turning to Mr. Webster once again, we see that salvation means, deliverance from sin and its consequences.

There is another phrase, common in the religious world, called “Born Again.” This phrase is another way to say saved or sins have been forgiven. 

So, born again, equals saved. There is no difference between these two phrases. 

Here’s another important point about salvation… there is no gray area. Someone is either lost or saved. We are either in the light or in the darkness. We are never kinda saved or a little saved or sort of born again.

Here is something which is a little humorous. Have you ever heard of someone referring to themselves as a “Born Again Christian?” Did you know there is no such thing as a “Born Again Christian?” Those are redundant terms! That would be like saying, I am a white Caucasian! What other kind of Caucasian is there? Any one who is “Born Again” is a Christian.

Here’s the next term: Christian. A Christian is someone who is in a saved state. And the Bible teaches only Christians are saved. People who are not saved are not yet Christians but they are certainly eligible to become Christians. 

This is an incredibly important definition to understand. The meaning of this word, Christian, has become a extremely blurred in our religious and non-religious worlds. Many people refer to themselves as Christian even though they have never had a “Salvation Experience.” People who simply believe in Jesus often call themselves Christian. Since they are not Buddhist or Muslim or Jewish, they are Christian, at least, that’s the box they check on those forms they give us from time to time at the DMV or emergency room. 

In this series, “A Faith that Obeys,” we will reserve the word “Christian” exclusively for people who are in a saved state. It is possible to believe in Jesus but never make a commitment to Him. We will call these people “believers” in order to establish a distinction. 

What is sin? Sin is defined as a transgression against God and His law or commands. Sin is that spiritual thing that separates us from God and makes us feel guilty.

A huge part, but certainly not the only part, of a right relationship with God, is that God promises two things to every true follower of Jesus; 

one, our sins are forgiven and two, we will go to Heaven when we die. These two things are absolutely sure for every true Christian the hope of Heaven and the forgiveness of sins.

When our sins are forgiven, they are removed or wiped away, by God. He is the only one with the power to forgive sin. As we progress in our studies, we want to hunt for the exact point in time when that event occurs… the forgiveness of sins. At the point in time when this occurs, we would say that we are now saved. This is another really important term. 

What does saved mean? The same thing as salvation. Saved means, saved from our sins and it’s consequences. Saved means we have received that free gift of eternal life. This is exactly what happens every time someone is saved. So, saved is another really important term on which we must absolutely agree. One is not in a saved state if their sins have never been forgiven.

Let’s apply a little logic to this matter and tighten down our definition. If someone’s sins have never been forgiven, they are not saved. This means they are not yet a Christian no matter how far along in their spiritual journey they may be. If sins have been forgiven, that person would be saved and we could call them a Christian. We should also conclude everyone who is going to Heaven has had their sins forgiven and no one in Heaven will still have their sins intact. They have been removed forever.

This is a super basic Christian doctrine. Without the forgiveness of sins, there is no life and we simply can not call someone who’s sin is still intact – saved. It would make no sense. 

So if we made up a little equation to illustrate the point, we would see that:

Christian = Saved = Sins Forgiven

These mean the same thing. There is no such thing as an unsaved Christian or a Christian who has never received the forgiveness of their sins. This is why we use the term, “believer” for folks who may love Jesus but have never obeyed the Gospel.

Some people illustrate sin as a great wall that separates man from God. 

If that wall is never knocked down by God, man would have no access to Him. At the exact point in time when God destroys this barrier, we begin our saved relationship with Him.

This term saved is what this entire series is about. At what point on our spiritual journey are we saved? And what does saved really mean? As we progress through these lessons, it will become clear; there is a very specific time and place salvation occurs. This is our goal. To clearly identify that point in time.

Try to determine that point in time, in your life, when you were saved… if you believe you have been saved. In order to help you pinpoint that moment in time, I have prepared a brief survey you can download and print. After you complete the survey, you should file it away for future reference. It will become very important at the end of these lessons. Click the link below to download a copy of the survey. 

Click the link to download your copy of the survey. I have made this a printable survey so you can know it is completely confidential and the website is collecting no information.

Well, now that we have our grammar established, let’s talk about the plan of salvation as it is generally presented in modern Christianity.

We’ll do that next, but don’t jump ahead until you get your copy to the survey and fill it out.

Enjoy!

When someone first hears about The Biblical Plan of Salvation they often express shock because they never knew there was anything different from what they had been taught and they think all of Christendom teaches the same thing. I tell them, “Yes. People really need to study the Bible in order to become a Christian!”

And when they hear this, it is not uncommon for them to go back to their denominational pastor and ask, “Do I really need to study the Bible to be saved?”

“No, of course not.” Comes the reply. “That’s ridiculous. Look no further than the 3000 who were baptized on the day of Pentecost. Do you think they studied the Bible? No, there was no time. They simply heard Peter’s sermon and accepted Christ!” Now, this reasoning sounds good but let’s think it through.

If you have never heard of Jesus, it is true; the simple Gospel message can be accepted and obeyed.
But given our current religious climate it would be highly unlikely. Let me explain.

Three thousand people did indeed become Christians on the day of Pentecost and it is unlikely that any of them opened a scroll to study it. Even the Apostle Paul, by the time Romans was written could say, “Faith comes from hearing the word…” Romans 10:17. So what’s changed? Why would studying the Bible to become a Christian be so important today?

Unlike the day of Pentecost, Christianity has been here for 2000 years and has had ample time to become incredibly perverted. Grab a phone book… if you can still find one… and look up “Churches” in the Yellow Pages. Under that category, you will find a huge number of different sub-headings for all the various denominations and within those denominational divisions a plethora of divided churches. They all teach slightly, and sometimes vastly, different things. That’s why they became divided. The goal and purpose of solid Bible study is to address and correct the denominational aberrations and bias which have been introduced over the last two millennia and bring spiritual thinking and reasoning back under the authority of scripture; since it is the source of our faith. It is, after all, our founder’s book.

This may sound really strange but based on my experience, the first battle I face teaching my religious friends, will be their acceptance of the authority of scripture. One would think this situation would be reversed. A religious person should, by nature, accept the authority of scripture and a person without any formal religion would be less ready to accept scriptural authority. But this is not the case.

Religious folks often carry decades of denominational teaching and traditions which must be carefully and gently addressed. This is done by exposing current beliefs to the light of scripture and carefully reasoning out incongruences. Even this process can be difficult because of our natural inclination to reject new ideas. We can sure get stuck in our ways, can’t we? Couple this attitude with a general apathy toward “matters spiritual” and we create a real dilemma. So, from the outset, we must establish that the Bible is the authority and we must listen to and obey it’s teachings above anything we have previously learned.

Most believers typically depend on their pastor or priest to tell them what the Bible says. A church service is the extent of their spiritual diet for the week. They rarely check things out for themselves. Most people naturally distrust anyone claiming to offer the word of God who is outside their current circle of religious experience; even if that person is asking them to read the same Bible they claim to follow. New ideas are treated with suspicion. Now, healthy suspicion can be a good thing, but we should never be completely closed to learning new truth when it comes directly and clearly from the scriptures, right? If we claim to follow the Bible, why not read the Bible? There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of, if you are trusting God to show you the truth.

Ahh… but learning new truth can be painful! When we sit down and carefully listen to and consider new ideas, process them in our heart, then take a humble, honest look at what scriptures really teach about a cherished tradition, we are pretty much guaranteed to bump into some inconsistencies. When this happens, a small warning light pops up on some security panel in our brain, and we get a bit defensive. Why? Because we just saw something in the scripture which is completely inconsistent with what we believe, value and teach. Let me walk you through my scenario as an example.

Here is a simple clear verse in the Bible. It is Jesus himself speaking.

Matthew 23:9
And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

This Biblical verse is not difficult to understand. The context of the verse does not change even if you go back and read both before and after the verse. It stands alone as a simple clear command of Christ.

I spent a good bit of time in the Catholic Church where it was a common and accepted practice to call my priest, “Father.” In fact, I liked the practice. I saw my priest as a “fatherly” figure. I loved and respected him as my religious leader. I trusted him. The term “father,” for me, carried a fondness and respect for him and it felt good. I saw nothing wrong with this. Not only did it feel nurturing, it seemed harmless. I called him, “Father” out of love, respect and reverence for God.

Then someone showed me Matthew 23:9, “Do not call any man father.”

Wow, what a bombshell. The Bible said one thing but my Catholic training told me another thing. How in the world could I possibly reconcile this discrepancy. It was simple. With a wave of the hand I dismissed issue completely. Or, should I say, “I dismissed the Bible completely?”

What else could I do. A very cherished part of my religious experience was just challenged by a Bible thumping bigot, bent on destroying the religious practices I had come to know, love and adore. I felt the conflict but dismissed it easily. I did not listen nor did I want to. I was doing what I believed was right for me. It was all very natural and very easy. But what really just happened? I thought I was rejecting the messenger but I was really rejecting the scripture. Do you see that?

The Bible clearly and simply states that we are to call no man “father.” I was unwilling to accept this command and even listen! And therein lies the key to the entire problem of studying the Bible with a religious person. Tradition is Lord! They will not listen.

Listening opens the door to new growth but to get there, a bunch of old growth needs to be cleared away and that can be a painful experience. When I see something in the Scriptures which correct one of my deeply held and cherished religious beliefs, by definition, it means I have been wrong about something. Nobody likes to be wrong! It’s embarrassing. It condemns me. Things I have said or taught previously may need to be corrected. That can add additional embarrassment. Now we’re getting to the root issue. This is an issue of pride!

The killer thing about pride is it prevents us from listening. We hear, but we do not listen. If you have never heard my podcast on this topic, I hope you will do that. It was Podcast 004 – An Awesome Gift. https://www.afaiththatobeys.org/blog/an-awesome-gift/

In that podcast, I talk about how vitally important it is to not only listen well, but stop and consider “how” we are listening. It is so important that we always keep this ability under close scrutiny. Are we listening carefully? In my example above, I was not listening carefully and easily rejected the message. I was acting like most people act. I was apathetic and unconcerned and an unconcerned person will never grow very much.

The Bible is the word of God. The Bible is the supreme source of religious authority. When we approach the cross and begin our search for salvation, it is to the Bible we must turn, not to a person or our traditions. A person may guide us… but our focus must be on the Word of God and it must become the authority for all the spiritual decisions we make. Listen to these verses from John 1. They build a framework for a very important concept.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…

Think about this. Listen carefully. John says, “The Word became flesh.” That’s Jesus. But I thought the Bible is the Word of God. It is. If Jesus is the word of God and the Bible is the Word of God, then our relationship with Him is only as deep as our Bible study! Let that one sink in. We cannot claim to know Christ and not know His word. Jesus is the word of God! When someone tells me they love Jesus but don’t read or study the word, I really have to question that claim. If we love Christ, we spend time with Christ. We meet with him every day in the pages of scripture. This is how someone has a real relationship with God.

Relationships are based on two things, time together and communication. When we spend time in the Word and prayer, we spend time with Christ. If Jesus is the word of God, then we know Jesus as well as we know the word! We cannot claim a relationship with Christ if we spend no time with him.

Bible study is an activity all Christians should practice and enjoy. If you love the Lord, Bible study should be something you want for yourself. It is a critical foundational practice you will enjoy as a life long pursuit. It goes way, way beyond the initial salvation experience. Where is your heart for God if you are not seeking him with every fiber of your being…? Where is your heart?

When a non-christian expresses an interest in Christ, I know the first order of business will be to build a respect and a trust for the word of God in their heart. This is not done through clever words or presentation, it must be done by the word itself; which convinces an individual of its importance. Listen to Isaiah.

Isaiah 55:10-11
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

It is the Word which has the power to change the heart and the eternity.

You know, in one respect, it is not my job is not to teach the truth. My job is to point people to the Bible which teaches them the truth. Faith is produced by hearing “the word,” not hearing my words. Remember?

Romans 10:17
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

So, because of the current religious environment we live in, it is so absolutely vital that we have a deep conviction that the Bible must be held up as the supreme authority and all of our religious practices must be scrutinized by it alone. The consequences of not comparing our previous religious experiences to the scriptures can be disastrous.

Did you know it is possible to believe the Gospel in vain? It all has to do with how we handle the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 15:2
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

1 Thessalonians 2:13
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

It is through the word of God, not human words, by which we are Born Again.

James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created.

Humbly accepting the Word is what will save you, not just simply asking Jesus to come into your life.

James 1:21
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

In today’s modern evangelical world, Biblical truth tragically takes a back seat to time tested traditions such as The Sinners Prayer, Praying the Rosary, Putting our hope in our Infant Baptism or asking a Saint for help. These are traditions and traditions can be massive roadblocks on that narrow path to a saving faith. And guess what? This is nothing new! This was a problem in Jesus day just as much as it is in our era. Jesus identified the exact same problem and demolished it.

Mark 7:13
“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

When we place time honored traditions above the Word of God, Jesus said we “nullify” the Word. That’s like taking a big red marker, opening the Bible and drawing massive red Xs across each page. We blindly slash away at the scripture by following man made practices and traditions. May it never be!

Someone who wants to become a Christian must develop a deep love and respect for the scriptures. They must learn to feed themselves and grow away from the weekly spoon feedings a once-a-week church service offers. Since the scripture is our sole source of authority on spiritual matters, we must desire to know them well. Sure, it’s fine to have leaders and partners who can offer guidance and direction by pointing us back to the scriptures. That’s what discipling is all about; one person sharpens another person’s faith. But, this is always done using the Word of God. The Scripture remains supreme through that entire process.

One of the first things I tell someone who wants to study the Bible is, “Don’t believe anything your priest or pastor tells you. Read it for yourself and study it out from the Word. And Oh, by the way, don’t believe anything I tell you either.”

As they recover from their shock, I point them to this scripture.

Acts 17:11
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

If the Bereans did not accept what Paul said, do you think you should trust me? No. You must search out the truth for yourself. It is your salvation. It is your relationship with God and it must be pursued through the Scriptures.

Some may complain, “You know, the Bible can be hard to understand; what about interpretation?”

What interpretation are you talking about, yours or God’s?

Do you honestly think God would graciously and mercifully provide the sacrifice for our sins in the life of Jesus Christ… for FREE… then present a book that was so difficult to understand that nobody could figure out the right way to appropriate the gift God provides? That pretty much turns God into the celestial version of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown every time he tries to kick it — then laughing hysterically. Is that the God we serve? No!

God has not only lovingly given us a savior, He has given us an instruction manual which, if read with the heart of a child, can be easily understood and followed. If you will permit me to mix metaphors once again, this is not rocket surgery!

Therefore, because of the current religious environment we find ourselves in, it is absolutely critical that before we approach the throne of Grace, we make certain we are on the correct road. We must not be on the road of traditions or the road of good intentions… no matter how well trodden it is, even by the so called giants of the traditional church such as Luther, Calvin, Wesley, MacArthur or Graham. Don’t discard what they have brought to the table but weigh carefully everything in the light of Scripture.

This is interesting. There is only one person who does not want us to study the Bible and surely, we don’t want to be listening to him, do we? Be a Berean. Then you will develop a faith that obeys.

Enjoy!

Important Note:
Don’t miss the first two articles leading up to this one for a much deeper study. Read the first one HERE and read the second one HERE.

In our last two podcasts, we dove into the possibility that the Apostle Paul is the Rich Young Ruler. In this podcast, I want to take what we have discovered so far and apply some analysis and logic.

If you are like me, for some reason we have a little blind spot regarding the Apostle Paul. I have always seen Paul’s life as sorta-kinda beginning at the stoning of Stephen. I have never really spent much time considering the glaring fact of his existence prior to his dramatic appearance at Stephen’s death. When we play the timeline of Paul’s life backward, we begin to see his place in a historical context of that day. He did not just poof into existence at the martyrdom of Stephen. He had a life before that time and I think, during that time, we call him The Rich Young Ruler. Let’s review the astonishing similarities which lead us to that conclusion.

Both Paul and The Rich Young Ruler are men. Both were young at the time we first meet them. Both are Jewish. Both are rulers. Both knew the commandments. Both kept all the commandments from birth. Both claim a faultless and blameless life. Both were zealous for the law. Both were wealthy. Both struggled with covetousness. Both were loved by Christ. Both were told to “come follow me.” It took a direct intervention by God to make it all happen, just as Jesus said it would regarding the Rich Young Ruler, and we see that miraculous event happen to Saul on the road to Damascus. We also have the statement by Jesus that the Rich Young Ruler would be in a position of “last” compared to the Apostles and Paul is the last Apostle appointed by Christ.

Through Paul’s own testimony, we know that he was raised in Jerusalem and studied under Gamaliel. His studies led him to his commission as a Pharisee. He was a star pupil! He advanced quicker and better than young men of his own age. He was a super achiever. We know he was in Jerusalem growing up, and we know he was in Jerusalem at the time of Stephen’s death. Where would he have been between those times? The same place! He would have been completing his studies and fulfilling his new duties as a Pharisee!

This means, Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, was most certainly aware of the ministry of Christ. He had to be! There is no reason to think that he was somehow sequestered in a back room of the temple writing a blog, or separated from the Jerusalem leadership in a foreign nation—completely unaware of what was happening back in Jerusalem. He was there!

Regarding the activities and thinking of the Sadducees and Pharisees about Jesus, we have quite a bit of information. We know Caiaphas, Ananias, Nicodemus, Gamaliel and all the Sanhedrin kept a close watch on Christ’s activities. As a Pharisee, Saul was part of the “in” crowd. Yet, we never hear Saul mentioned in the Gospels… but then again, we never see Gamaliel mentioned in the Gospels either; and he was a man of great influence during the days of Jesus ministry and into the church era. So Gamaliel was there too. After all, he could not have taught Saul if he was not in Jerusalem in the years prior to Acts 7 where we first meet Saul!

We noted that Luke is the only writer who identifies the rich man as a “ruler.” What kind of ruler would this be? Given all the other facts of the case, we know this had to be a Jewish ruler. It would not have been a gentile ruler. Remember, the Rich Young Man had known from birth and kept all of the commandments. Gentiles don’t do that.

Being a ruler means you rule over something. What would RYR rule over? He ruled over Jewish people. Perhaps the young man was a synagogue leader or a junior scribe of some sort. Regardless, he was a Pharisee and as such, he would have been considered a “ruler” living under the authority of the Chief Priests and Elders. In the scriptures, these leaders are often referred to as “rulers and teachers of the law.” Let me provide some examples. Jairus in Mark 5:22 is referred to as a “synagogue ruler.” In Luke 12:11 Jesus told the disciples not to worry about what to say when they are “brought before the synagogue rulers.” In Luke 23:13, Pilate calls together the “Chief Priests and rulers of the people.” And, on the Emmaus Road, Cleopas identifies the Jewish leaders as “rulers.”

The point is, Luke identifies the Rich Young Man as a “ruler,” who has a burning question about his future in the Kingdom of God.

This Rich Young Ruler approaches Jesus and falls on his knees. I believe this is a sincere effort to humble himself before what he truly believes may be the Christ, the Messiah. Jesus looks at him and loves him. There is no other individual in all of scripture of whom it is said, “Jesus loved him.” (Yes, Mary, Martha and Lazarus too.) Why do we have that pronouncement? And why does Jesus make the comparative statement about the apostles who were with him being first and the Rich Young Ruler being last? Why does he say it will take the power of God to change the man?

Therein lies another powerful testimony indicating this man may be the Apostle Paul. When Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler to give up everything, he added that faith filled statement, “then come follow me.” Remember, that command is never issued to any other person in the Gospels other than an apostle. (There is one possible exception but it was a really just a general call to the man Jesus told to “let the dead bury the dead” in Matthew 8:22.) This is huge! That specific call was only issued to Apostles! This explains why Jesus talks about a “last position” and “only God can make some things happen.”

So, what turned Saul into a murderous monster? If he sat at the feet of Gamaliel, shouldn’t he have a spirit of tolerance and patience imitating the faith of his teacher? Remember, it was Gamaliel who told the Pharisees that they might be fighting God, in Acts 5:33 and following, if they did not let the Christians be. What happened to Saul causing him to tragically lose the ability to imitate his patient and wise teacher? I think it was his encounter with Christ that drove him over the edge of reason. If Paul is the Rich Young Ruler, we might have the historical turning point of his life which lead him down the destructive dark path. Let me explain.

The Rich Young Ruler had a burning desire to know the truth and he believed, with all his heart, that Jesus had the answer he was looking for regarding his eternal destiny. He approaches, falls on his knees, asks his question and is given an answer he did not expect or want to hear! Instead of addressing his question, Jesus addressed his sin in a devastatingly painful way. “Sell everything you have and give to the poor.” With this statement, the young man’s world comes crashing down around him. Next, we note his reaction. He does not protest. He does not complain. He is caught red handed. His sin is laid bare before a gathering crowd and the God of the universe. He realizes, in an instant, he has hit an insurmountable wall. His quest comes to a screeching halt and his eyes fill with tears. He is deeply and desperately saddened by Jesus answer.

We have no indication of how much time it took The Rich Young Ruler to rise from his prostrate position… he just gets up and “goes away sad.” Unlike the frantic father of Mark 9 who exclaims, “help me overcome my unbelief,” RYR asks for no help and no clarification. The matter is over! There is no recourse… no redress. He just goes away sad. It is a devastating and crushing blow!

So, what do you think happened with this young man next. Do you think he went home to lick his wounds, thought about it real well, repented and returned to Jesus? Do you think he went immediately and actually sold all his stuff? Or, like me, do you think he went home and let a rebuke by the Lord fester and boil until it became a seething pot of bitterness and hatred? For maybe two or more years, he would watch that band of despicable disciples grow their new and dangerous religion, while in his heart, he could see the power of his cherished Jewish leadership slipping away. All the while, his rage and hatred festered and grew.

When someone does something to us which causes great injury, we don’t, in our natural self, think very highly of the person who caused the injury. It is not difficult to understand how the sadness of The Rich Young Ruler could morph into deep bitterness, hatred and a seething rage, baking an idea to get even! “Who does he think he is telling me I should get rid of all my stuff?”

When we are confronted with our sin, it hurts. Even if it is a trusted friend who confronts us, it is often a bitter pill to swallow. Thankfully, if we trust God enough to consider the possibility that the person could be right, we prayerfully consider it and God grants us repentance. Sometimes, it is quite difficult to detect or hate our own sin and it is not until we really blow it in a major way, injuring someone we care about, that we truly begin to see how wretched we actually are. This is what happened to Saul on the road to Damascus.

Whatever filled Saul’s heart with such hatred for Christians, he is brought to his knees, once again, by Jesus, on that dusty Damascus road. He is blinded. He is once again humbled. He is once again crushed. The humiliation of Saul of Tarsus, is the result of direct and prophesied intervention by God to make his repentance possible. It’s exactly what Jesus said would happen. “Some things can only happen with God.”

And… this is how the Rich Young Ruler became the Apostle Paul.

Well, this is all a bunch of fine fancy speculation, right? We will never know for sure about all this… at least, not until we get to heaven. But, our little exegetical exercise raises a good question. Why would the Bible not just come out and tell us that the Rich Young Ruler is Paul? Why all the mystery? Why is it hidden?

First, there are the practical reasons. Remember, Luke wrote The Gospel of Luke and Acts and he had no qualms about giving us all the dirt on Paul before his conversion. He held nothing back. Remember too, Luke and Paul were very close. They travelled together for years and went through many trials together. Perhaps there was some reason not to expose Paul as the ruler to protect someone else or maybe even Paul himself. Maybe Luke simply did not know. Perhaps Paul asked Luke not to tell the story. Maybe Paul felt embarrassed by it or maybe he just wanted to “not be reminded of his life before Christ.” Those reasons seem pretty lame. In the Gospel of Luke, Luke just identifies the Rich Young Ruler as “a certain ruler.” That’s pretty evasive isn’t it? It almost sounds like Luke knew but deliberately withheld details. Why would he do that? I have an answer which may delight you in a special way.

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

I think the connection between these seemingly separate people is hidden by God so that we can experience and enjoy the hunt! There are so many treasures in the Bible waiting to be discovered. Not everything is plain and simple. Remember what Jesus said?

Luke 10:21
“At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.’”

I don’t know about you, but the little tidbits I discover in scripture sort of make me want to grab the seat of my pants and giggle. I love those little things God has hidden for us to discover. I feel like a little kid opening a present. It’s all done to provoke us to look deeply into God’s word.

So, there you have it, my ramblings about why I think The Rich Young Ruler is Saul of Tarsus, better known as the Apostle Paul.

But… there is one more thing. This one is just for fun.

Do you remember that time in Matthew 23 when Jesus directly takes the Pharisees and Sadducees to task in a scathing rebuke of their hypocritical religious practices? If you are not familiar with it, you should really stop the podcast right now and go read it, seriously. What you are about to hear will captivate your imagination all the more if you have the whole story fresh in your mind. Go read Matthew 23 right now. Make it fresh.

Matthew 23 begins with Jesus taking his case to the general public, warning them about their hypocritical religious leaders. He quickly turns the tables to address the leaders themselves and addresses them directly.

In verse 13, his epic rebuke begins.

Matthew 23:13
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”

By the way, this was not presented as if Mr. Rogers was speaking, this was a fiery, blazing, powerful rebuke! For 25 more verses, he addresses the Pharisees and teachers of the law, condemning their practices and their oppressive ways. It is a tirade unlike anything else in all of scripture… a monumental, exposing, stinging rebuke.

Now, I imagine, in the crowd; is one particular Pharisee, the Pharisee we have been discussing, Saul of Tarsus. It would not be unreasonable to think he was there and because of this, my imagination is ignited once again.

As you read through all of Matthew 23, did you notice everything you read is in the plural? Yeah, Jesus addresses the entire group in the plural until… he spots one young man in the crowd and in verse 26 drops out of the plural and jumps into the singular for that one young man he absolutely loves, points his finger directly at him and says…

“Blind Pharisee!. First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Jesus tells the Rich Young Pharisee how to fix his life.

Not long after, that young injured student of Gamaliel found himself on a mission to Damascus where he would indeed become blind! His entire life is in crescendo as he stops for three days and considers what it all has meant up to this point in time. This time he reasons it all out with humility… “Who does he think he is to tell me to get rid of all my stuff? He’s the Lord! He really is the Lord! I have been so wrong for all these years. God forgive me! Forgive me for all I have done to your saints!”

The inside of the cup is clean. God has granted repentance. He now has a faith that can obey and that is exactly what he does. His sight and heart are restored and he goes on to become the second most influential man in the entirety of Christendom.

I am convinced Saul of Tarsus is the Rich Young Ruler. I hope I have given you a little food for thought, tickled your imagination and provoked you to deeper study of God’s amazing word.

Enjoy!