Conversations with Ray Martinez

The belief that baptism is necessary for salvation is also known as "baptismal regeneration." Baptism is an important step of obedience for a Christian. I strongly believe that each and every Christian should be water baptized by immersion. Baptism illustrates a believer’s identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The action of being immersed in the water illustrates dying and being buried with Christ. The action of coming out of the water pictures Christ’s resurrection.

 Requiring anything in addition to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation is a works-based salvation. To add anything to the gospel is to say that Jesus' death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase our salvation is out of context of what the bible says. Yes, there are some verses that seem to indicate baptism as a requirement for salvation.  So let's take a deeper dive in today's podcast.

How can I forgive those who sin against me? Everyone has been wronged, offended, and sinned against at some point. How are Christians to respond when such offenses occur? Why do we forgive? Because we have been forgiven! Those who are not Christians, however, have not been forgiven by God and have neither the power nor the desire to forgive others. Forgiveness would be simple if we only had to grant it to those who come asking for it in sorrow and repentance. The Bible tells us that we are to forgive, without condition, those who sin against us. Jesus did not only die for our sins, but also for the sins of those who have wronged us. Join me in today's podcast as we take a deeper dive into being forgiven.

A couple of years ago we talked about this in another podcast about the power of fasting. Today, we will talk about the purpose of fasting. So you can consider this part two of the message on fasting. In the OT, fasting often accompanied prayer as a demonstration of need before God (1 Kgs 21:9; 2 Chr 20:3; Neh 1:4; Dan 9:3). Throughout the Bible we most often find God’s people turn to fasting as the natural, inevitable response to a grievous sacred moment in life, such as death, sin and tragedy. But other times a fast is not a spontaneous reaction and we have time to prepare to respond both physically and spiritually. Fasting is not an end unto itself, but a means of focusing our minds and bodies for a spiritual reason. Whenever you fast, do so for a reason that is mentioned or modeled in the Bible. Fasting is a discipline that God's people have practiced in both the Old and New Testaments and throughout church history. Listen in to learn about ten primary purposes for fasting mentioned in Scripture.

The main question is, do things happen by chance? If they do, then one can speak of someone being lucky or unlucky. But if they do not happen by chance, then it is inappropriate to use those terms. Much of what Ecclesiastes shares is from the perspective of a person who looks at life on earth without God, or life “under the sun.” From such a perspective—leaving God out of the picture—there seems to be good luck and bad luck. The idea is that God’s providence plays the determining role on all of our outcomes, whether it's action that He takes intentionally, or when God allows certain things to happen in our life. We cannot always determine whether God’s active or passive will is involved in the events of our lives, but we do know that all things that take place are under the umbrella of His will, whether active or passive, and, therefore, nothing is a matter of mere chance. 

I've questioned myself many times if my simple desire to please God was enough or satisfying to God. I think God wants me to obey because I want to please him. But he also wants me to obey because I agree with him about what is right and good. He wants my mind as well as my heart to be aligned with his.  People often say that the three words they most love to hear are  “I love you.” Running a close second must be the words, “you are right.” I know parents who longed to hear those words from their kids, which makes me think that God longs to hear those same words from each of us. Being righteous is a way of saying to God, you are right. The Greek word for righteous in the New Testament literally means “the person whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God.” In other words, God is right and I agree with him.  Listen in for a more in-depth study of agreeing with God.

Do we put our wait time to good use?  The LA Times says that we spend about five years waiting in lines. There are times in our lives when God calls us to wait so that he can help us work on our hearts, our minds, our attitudes, and even our health. Sometimes during these waiting experiences, God helps us to understand what’s been slowing us down. Once God gets us back to our “firm place,” we can run our race much more effectively, pursuing our goals with renewed energy and focus. If you find yourself sidelined or in a wait line today, think closely about the work God may be doing in your life. Listen in today to more about waiting for God.

What does the Bible say about legalism? How can Christians avoid falling into the trap of legalism? The word "legalism" doesn’t occur in the Bible. It is a term Christians use to describe a doctrinal position emphasizing a system of rules and regulations for achieving both salvation and spiritual growth. Those who hold a legalistic position often fail to see the real purpose for law, especially the purpose of the Old Testament law of Moses, which is to be our "schoolmaster" or "tutor" to bring us to Christ. Even true believers can be legalistic. Rather, We are instructed to be gracious to one another. Many legalistic believers today make the error of demanding unqualified adherence to their own biblical interpretations and even to their own traditions. Legalists may appear to be righteous and spiritual, but legalism ultimately fails to accomplish God's purposes because it is an outward performance instead of an inward change.  Let's learn more today in our podcast...

Christians attain self-worth and esteem by having a right relationship with God. We can know we are valuable because of the high price God paid for us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. In one sense, low self-esteem is the opposite of pride.  In another sense, low-self-esteem is a form of pride. Some people have low self-esteem because they want people to feel sorry for them, to pay attention to them, to comfort them.  Low self-esteem can be a declaration of “look at me” just as much as pride. It simply takes a different route to get to the same destination, that is, self-absorption, self-obsession, and selfishness. Listen in as we explore more about what the bible says about self-esteem.

The Bible teaches that to be human is to image God and to image God is to be human. In this unique relationship with humanity, God is giving to humans a special moral status and vesting them with dignity and respect. The structural view of the image of God points to certain qualities or abilities that distinguish humans from animals – rational capacity, volition, moral awareness, and consciousness, for instance. The important point is that human beings, and only human beings, are imagers of God. Every human being has special status in God’s eyes (see Psalm 8) and every person should be treated with dignity and respect.  Join me and listen to a more in-depth conversation about the image of God.

Paul is speaking in this passage of the fact that when Jesus died, he had Paul and Paul’s sin in his own body. Paul owed a great penalty for his own grievous sin, and Jesus paid it. Paul’s sin was imputed to Christ, and Christ’s righteousness was imputed to Paul. This, of course, was not just for Paul, but for everyone who believes in the name of Jesus and puts their faith in him to save them by his death on the cross. With Christ’s crucifixion, we are crucified with him. In his resurrection, we are raised with him. Now we live an eternal life, though we are still on earth in this mortal body. By faith, we remember that we are in him, having died with him, we live with him. Listen in as we do a deep dive into this verse and what it means for us and our future.