If you were with us this past Sunday and you have clicked on this page, congratulations! The step you have taken requires courage, and thoughtful consideration. Rest assured that you did not come to this decision on your own, but that God was loving you to Himself. He wants you to know and experience Him personally. During the service I called for a commitment to one of three areas:
- Be Born-again of the Spirit
- Surrender or Rededication to Jesus
- Get Connected to our Church Family
Now let’s seek to answer those questions.
How Can You Be Born Again of the Spirit?
Jesus said I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb again and be born. Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3-5 AMP Translation)
Being born-again of the Holy Spirit is referred to as a transformation in Scripture.
The Bible states: Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP Translation)
This being born-again of the Spirit or becoming a new creation in Christ doesn’t come through being a good person, baptism, church membership, Bible knowledge, or going to church. It comes simply through “saving faith.” What is “saving faith?” To understand the answer to that question you must first understand what it’s not. Saving faith is not simply agreeing with the information about Jesus. Some would call this mental assent or agreement. It’s much more than this. Every American believes or agrees mentally with the fact that George Washington was the first president of the United States. Yet I believe that we would agree that every American is not a Christian. In fact the Bible states You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. (James 2:19) The devil and demons “believe” or give mental agreement with the fact that there is God. They even “believe” that Jesus is God. But this agreement with the facts is not changing their lives. In other words they are not transformed, new creations in Christ or born-again of the Spirit simply because they know and agree that this is true.
Another thing. “Saving faith” is not momentary, or on-again off-again. Many people trust in God for temporary crises such as financial, family, or physical needs. Once the crisis is over God is placed away on a shelf only to be called on when another crisis emerges. Its good to trust God for these things, but that is not saving faith!
Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. It means resting upon Christ alone and what He has done rather than in what you or I have done to get us into Heaven.
The Bible says: “. . . Believe (trust) on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved . . .” (Acts 16:31). The question that God is asking you now is, Would you like to receive the gift of eternal life?
Before we discover the answer to that question let me ask you two more questions:
- Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you died today you would be with God in Heaven? Or are you not 100% certain?
- Second question: If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” What would you say? You don’t know? If you really don’t know the answer to either of these two question then you need to know the greatest news you could ever hear! The few minutes it will take you to read these steps to eternal life may be the most important time you will ever spend. Did you know that the Bible tells how you can know for sure that you have eternal life and will go to be with God in Heaven? The Bible says there are five things you need to know about eternal life: “These things I have written unto you . . . that you may know that you have eternal life . . .” (1 John 5:13)
What are the five things?
1. Grace
The Bible says, “ . . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). No amount of personal effort, good works, or religious deeds can earn a place in heaven for you because eternal life, like any genuine gift, is free. Suppose your best friend (wife, husband, mother, etc.) were to surprise you with an expensive gift and let’s suppose your response would be that of immediately digging into your purse or wallet for a couple of bills to help pay for the gift. What an insult that would be! If you pay even a penny, it is no longer a gift. It is the same with eternal life. Because Heaven is a gift, like any other genuine gift, it is not earned or deserved. No amount of personal effort, good works, or religious deeds can earn a place in Heaven for you. That’s why the Bible states: “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). WHY is it that no one can earn his way to Heaven? Because . . .
2. Man
Man is a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Sin is transgressing God’s law and includes such things as lying, lust, cheating, deceit, evil thoughts, immoral behavior, and more. When we think of sin, many times we think only of robbery, murder, adultery, etc. The Bible tells us that sin is anything that doesn’t please God or is a transgression of his law. Anything we do that we shouldn’t, like losing our temper or stealing – these are sins of commission. Anything we should do but don’t, like failing to pray or read the Bible, or truly love our neighbor – these are sins of omission. There are not only sins in deed but also sins in word and thought like lying, cursing, lust, pride, and hatred. The bible says these are all sins. And because of this, man cannot save himself. If you wanted to save yourself by good deeds, do you know how good you would have to be?
Suppose a person sinned only ten times a day or even five or even just three. Why, he would practically be a walking angel! Imagine if no more often than three times a day did he think unkind thoughts, or lose his temper, or fail to do what he ought towards God and man – he would be a pretty fine person, would he not? Even if he were this good, he would still have over 1,000 transgressions a year! If he lived to be the average age of 70, he would have 70,000 violations of the Law of God on his record. Think what would happen to an habitual offender in a criminal court with 70,000 transgressions on his record!
The bible says, “Be therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). With such a high standard, no one can save himself.
Suppose you were to prepare an omelet with five good eggs and one rotten egg, you couldn’t serve it to company and expect it to be acceptable. Even less can we serve up our lives to God, which may have many things in them that men would call good, and yet are filled with deeds and thoughts that are rotten, and expect them to be acceptable to God. Scripture says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). If we want to get to heaven by our good works, then all we have to do is be perfect. God’s standard is complete obedience to Him for all time. We all fall short of this. However, in spite of our sin and our imperfections. . .
3. God
God is merciful, and doesn’t want to punish us.
This is because “ . . . God is love” (1 John 4:8). And He says, “ . . . I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
But the same Bible which tells us that God loves us, also tells us that God is just and therefore must punish sin. He says “. . . (I) will by no means clear the guilty . . .” (Exodus 34:7). And
“. . . the soul that sins, shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).
Thus, we have a problem. God solved this problem for us in the Person of Jesus Christ.
4. Jesus Christ
Who is He? The Bible tells us clearly that He is the infinite God-Man.
“In the beginning was the Word (Jesus). . . and the Word (Jesus) was God. And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . .” (John 1:1,14).
Jesus Christ came to earth and lived a sinless life, but while on earth, what did he do? He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the grave to purchase a place for us in Heaven.
Imagine a book in your right hand that is a detailed account of your life. Each page details the sin of a particular day; every word you’ve ever spoken, every thought that ever crossed your mind, every deed you’ve ever done. Now imagine holding that book up. That record book of your sins is your problem. Now imagine placing that book in your left hand. God loves you but he hates your sin and must punish it. To solve this problem, He sent His beloved Son into the world (lift up your right hand parallel to your left hand). The Scripture says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity (sin) of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Imagine laying that record book of your sins onto Jesus (symbolized by your right hand.) All of your sin which God hates has been placed on His beloved Son. Christ bore our sin in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24) Jesus Christ bore our sin in His body on the cross and now offers you eternal life (Heaven) as a free gift. This gift is received by faith.
5. Saving Faith
Saving faith as opposed to intellectual faith, is not momentary or on-again, off-again. It is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. Faith is the key that opens the door to heaven. You could have a key ring with many keys on it. They may even look somewhat alike. You could go to the front door of a house and try all of them except the right one and they would not open the door. It does not matter how sincere you are in exercising belief that a different key will open the door. The fact is that only the right key will open the door. The right key to heaven is called faith, saving faith. That is what will open the door to heaven. There is nothing else in the world that will open that door no matter how sincere you are in exercising the practice of belief of something other than saving faith to open the door to heaven.
To illustrate what saving faith is you could say that you believe that chairs exist, and that they appear to be able to support you or anyone else who were to sit in them. You maybe sitting in a chair as you read this. For the sake of argument let’s say that where you are sitting represents you, and that an empty chair represents Jesus. Just like that empty chair represents Jesus, you have believed that He exists, and that He could help you, even support you. But you haven’t been born-again of the Spirit, and transformed, or made into a new creation. Simply because you have been trusting in yourself to save you. Do you remember the second question that was asked? If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” What would you say? Many people respond in one of several ways. They either say that they are good people, or they really don’t know the answer, or they shouldn’t be allowed. Any of these responses reveals who is being trusted in and it’s not Jesus. To receive eternal life, you must transfer your trust from yourself to Jesus Christ alone for eternal life or as our analogy represents, we must transfer our trust from where we are seated over to the empty chair which symbolizes Jesus.
The motive for Christian living is gratitude for the gift of eternal life and faith is the hand of a beggar reaching out to accept the gift of a King. Those who are truly born-again of the Spirit, transformed, new creations in Christ are like the beggar who reached out an unworthy hand and received the gift of eternal life. None of us deserved it then, and we don’t deserve it now – but we have it. The rest of our lives are like a P.S. to say, “Thank you.”
To receive the gift of eternal life, and be born-again of the Spirit means that you need to:
Transfer your trust
From what you have been doing to what Christ has done for you on His cross.
Accept Christ as Savior
Open the “door” to your heart and invite Him in.
He says: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to Him . . . .” (Revelation 3:20)
Receive Jesus Christ as Lord
Give Him the “driver’s seat” and “controls” of your life, not the “back seat.”
Repent
Be willing to turn from anything that is not pleasing to Him. He will reveal His will to you as you grow in your relationship with Him.
Now, if this is what you really want, you can go to God in prayer right where you are. You can receive His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ right now.
“For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:10,13).
If you want to receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, then call on Him asking Him for this gift right now. Here’s a suggested prayer:
“Lord Jesus, thank You for Your gift of eternal life. I know I’m a sinner and do not deserve eternal life. But You loved me so You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. I now trust in You alone for eternal life and repent of my sin. Please take control as Lord of my life. Thank you so much!”
If this prayer is the sincere desire of your heart, look at what Jesus promises to those who believe in Him:“. . . I say unto you, he that believes on Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47).
Welcome to God’s Family!
If you have truly repented (forsaken, turned away) from your sins, placed your trust in Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death, and received the gift of eternal life you are now a child of God! Forever!
“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name”(John 1:12).
Today is your spiritual birthday—a day you will always want to remember! The Bible speaks of those who receive eternal life in these words:
“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).
How Do You Rededicate or Surrender Your Life to Jesus?
In order for spiritual growth to continue, I need to come to an agreement with the Lord as to who is best capable of managing the growth process. Preferably this takes place at conversion, but unfortunately in many cases it is not understood and accepted, until later. Typically, there are three motivations that will help the Christian to make the decision to accept the Biblical Master-servant relationship. They are: 1) Persecution, 2) Crisis, and 3) Personal discipleship.
This graphic represents me, having made the decision to yield up my independence, having acknowledged His rightful Lordship over my life. I understands that God alone is capable of overseeing my life.
CONSIDER: Surrender consists of two parts.
1. First I make the Lordship decision to surrender my will (an acknowledgment of His ownership of my life and the obvious implications of the Master-servant relationship.)
2. This decision is then followed by the daily process of yielding up areas of my understanding. The Holy Spirit seeks my cooperation in allowing Him to transform me into an increasingly mature and fruitful Christian.This decision is then followed by the daily process of yielding up areas of my understanding and behavior. The Holy Spirit seeks my cooperation in allowing Him to transform me into an increasingly mature and fruitful Christian.
CONSIDER: A one-time surrender of the “will” precedes a progressive yielding up of “behavior.”
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will — and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Jesus says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.”
And after you surrender — then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
To make a horse useful there are two steps:
- Break the horse’s will
- Train him to be useful
Metamorphosis is a natural example of inward transformation.
THE GROWTH PROCESS: As I allow Him, God will use His Word and circumstances to gradually illuminate areas of my understanding that He wants to alter. This process is called “Sanctification” (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:22-24). “Spiritual growth” is the process in which God’s perspective of life is increasingly becoming my perspective. God does not want me to be a mindless robot, but rather a companion who increasingly enjoys fellowship with Him.
John F. Walvoord, and Roy B. Zuck in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, state: “As a Christian is transformed in his mind and is made more like Christ, he comes to approve and desire God’s will not his own for his life. Then he discovers that God’s will is what is good for him, and that it pleases God, and is complete in every way. It is all he needs. But only by being renewed spiritually can a believer ascertain, do, and enjoy the will of God.”
The Abnormal Progressive Development of a Christian
(The Common Misconception of “Progressive” Surrender)
What is the important difference between this diagram and the previous one depicting the Normal Christian life?
The Lordship decision is missing from this Christian’s life resulting in a perceived partnership relationship with the Lord, with the goal that “one day, God will have 100% control of my life”.
This diagram represents the abnormal development of a Christian.
This view of the Christian life usually results from a lack of personal spiritual mentoring and/or an unwillingness to surrender their will to His Lordship.
CONSIDER: If I view my relationship with God as depicted here, a critical error is to attribute to God, authority (Lordship) over only certain designated parts of my life, as if He had not bought all of me.
CONSIDER: If “Lordship” is presented as incremental surrender of my behavior, then I can conclude that the logical evidence of my “total surrender” (Lordship) is when I am totally obedient.
If I am in charge of this process, it can lead to cycles of frustration and discouragement, since I never see myself as being totally obedient.
CONSIDER: Since tithes and offerings are “God’s share,” doesn’t that imply that I have the right to manage the rest of my material wealth? (Read Malachi 3:7-10; 2 Cor 9:7-9; Mark 12:41-44; Proverbs 3:9-10; Matthew 6:19-33; 1 Tim 6:6-10; 17-19).
If “my time” at church on Sunday, reading my Bible daily, praying, etc. is understood to be God’s part (spiritual), doesn’t that imply that I have the right to manage the remaining hours in my day?
Additional Problems Associated with Progressive Surrender:
1. It tends to result in a Christian perceiving God as a threat; such as:
a. “What will He ask me to do that I can’t do, or don’t want to do?”
b. “What will He keep me from doing that I want to do?”
c. “What will He take away from me that I hold dear?”
d. “Will God fail me if I entrust this to Him?”
2. I view myself as being in charge of the process of spiritual growth, making the determinations as to what can and should be yielded up to the Holy Spirit. In other words, I set down the rules and limits. This perception is typically based on pride, an inflated view of one’s own discernment and capabilities, and a distorted understanding of God’s character.
CONSIDER: There is no reasonable logic for rejecting His yoke of Lordship. A lack of acceptance is typically based on: 1) a fear of the unknown, 2) an unwillingness to relinquish perceived control, 3) an unwillingness to leave a comfort zone, or 4) an over-estimation of one’s own capabilities to determine and manage their future.
Jesus said: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew11:28-30) Jesus did not say, “learn about Me, and if you like how I do things, then take My yoke!”
CONSIDER: The real question is, Is God trustworthy? If God were like you or me, we would have good reason to be fearful.
Ask: Does God love me? If God’s character is as described in the Bible, and if He promises to do only that which is in my best interest, what then do I have to fear?
Did He design me? Did He give me life? Does He maintain my very existence? Who besides God knows what will really satisfy me? Does He alone know what is best for me? Does He alone know how to shape my life and use me for His eternal purposes?
CONSIDER: God’s ownership of me is a factual truth, which is not dependent on my acknowledgment of it. I do not bestow ownership, I can only acknowledge and act upon what He states to be already true. New believers will typically not be resistant to this truth, because they don’t have preconceived ideas of God’s expectations. In contrast, older believers tend to accept this truth intellectually, but be resistant to the implications. What are the implications of ownership? What rights or authority are generally understood to be conveyed by ownership? A disciple needs to understand that he lives in a spiritual “kingdom”, not in a spiritual democracy. What is the difference?
Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Cor. 6:19-20
If God’s intention is to harm or mistreat me, do I honestly think He needs to wait for my permission?
Analogy: The Rooms of Your “House”
Does Jesus have access to all the rooms of your house?
A STORY OF TWO BELIEVERS….
When Jesus knocked at the front door of their hearts (Rev. 3:20) and asked permission to enter, both of these persons gladly received Him, realizing that His absence had been the reason for the emptiness they had always sensed (the Salvation decision).
As new believers each was overjoyed that Jesus was in his house and that his sins were forgiven. Each had a new happiness and an assurance of going to heaven. Jesus was allowed to occupy the “Guest Room” – which was always kept clean and presentable for visitors – and He was also allowed to reside in the “spiritual” room – where the believer went to church services, prayed and read the Bible.
But one day soon Jesus asked each of them for permission to make some changes in other areas of their houses, such as adopting new management procedures, rearranging items, throwing out worthless things, and bringing in some new items. He asked for access to every room. Each believer had a different response.
Salvation Decision Only – Salvation and Lordship Decisions
(Used from “Disciples Training International” at https://www.disciplers.org)
What rooms are in your house? Can you trust God with all of the rooms? Are you ready to surrender your entire “house” over to the Lord? Then consider praying the following prayer:
Loving Father, I surrender to You today with all my heart and soul. Please come into my life in a deeper way. I say “Yes” to You today. I open all the secret places in my heart to you and say, “Come in Lord Jesus! I surrender to You as the Lord of my entire life. I believe in You, help my unbelief, granting me grace to surrender and trust in you. By Your grace I hold nothing back. Holy Spirit, bring me deeper me into a conversion to the person of Jesus Christ. I surrender all to you: my health, my family, my resources, occupation, skills, relationships, time management, successes and failures. I release it, and let it go. I surrender my understanding of how things ought to be; my choices and my will. I surrender to You the promises I have kept and the promises I have failed to keep. I surrender my weaknesses and strengths to You. I surrender my emotions, my fears, my insecurities, my everything. I surrender _____________, ______________________, _______________________, _____________________.
Lord, I surrender my entire life to You, the past, the present and the future. In sickness and in health, in life and in death, I belong to You. Receive from me all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given all for me, O Lord, and by Your grace I will seek to give my all to you. All that I am and have is Yours. Use it wholly according to Your will. Fill and empower me with Your Love and grace, for this is sufficient for me.” (Continue to Give Him Anything Else He May Reveal)
How Do You Connect to the Fellowship at Bethany?
There are essentially three ways to connect with our fellowship of believers:
- At the conclusion of the message there are usually opportunities to respond to the message. When this opportunity is presented simply respond by approaching Pastor Robert and inform him of your decision to commit to our fellowship. He will direct you through the process of presenting you to our people to be received as a member. Following this presentation a new members orientation class will be provided.
- Presently we have Bible studies on Sundays at 9:30 am and 6:00 pm, and Wednesdays at 7 pm. Specialty discipleship courses are offered throughout the year, along with community home groups which have a missional focus.
- You can simply indicate your desire for membership by filling out the following information and submitting it online:
