1. Man's problem:
Man is spiritually dead and in need of life. God created Adam and said to him, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die". God gave Adam the choice to either remain dependent on Him for life or to become independent from Him which is spiritual death. Wanting to become like God, Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that day he died spiritually. Each of us are born into this world in the likeness of Adam. Sin and death have been passed on to every human being, Romans 5:12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and deaththrough sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Eph.2:1"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins..." From God's vantage point, the problem of man is not just that he is a sinner in need of forgiveness. His greater problem is that he is dead and in need of life!!!
2.God's Solution:
John 3:16, 10:10, and 11:25 which says "I am the Resurrection and the LIFE. He who believes in Me, though he were DEAD, will live; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. " Salvation is being saved from the wages of sin (death) by the gift ofGod (life) Romans 6:23.Eph2:4,5 " But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -it is by grace you have been saved". Colossians 2:13 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you ALIVE with Christ. He forgave us ALL our sins..." John 20:31 says "But these are written that you may believethat Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have LIFE in His name." However, before life could be given, sins had to be forgiven or taken away. Only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:7) God became a man (Phil 2:5-8) He died in our place Rom. 5:8 "...While we were still sinners, Christ died for us". He is the Sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1John 2:2). Then on top of all this he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. " Hebrews 10: 17,18. He took away our sins!!! John 1:29 says "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world". 1John 4:10 says, "This is love; not that we loved God, But thatHe loved us and sent His Son as the One who would turn aside His wrath, taking away our sins." We have been reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:18,19 says "All this is from God, who...was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" Praise God!!! Because we are saved by His life, the cross was not an end in itself, but a means of accomplishing the end----that of restoring life that had been lost through sin. Col. 1:21,22 says "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation...". Romans 5:10 "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled,shall we be saved through His life! Hebrews 9:28 says "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him". Praise God again!!!!!
3. In Christ we are a new creation.
Jesus said, " I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again". That was John 3:3. 2Cor 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is anew creation; the old has gone, the new has come". Becoming a Christian can be likened to a caterpillar being transformed into a butterfly. Although you might not always act like a good "butterfly", you are never going to be a worm again! We are complete in Him. "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Him you have beenmade complete...(Col2:9-10). In Christ there is now no condemnation as stated in Romans 8:1,2 : "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE set me free from the law of sin and death." Of course in Him we have forgiveness (Eph 1:7) 4. Religion is man's best effort to reach up to God, but Christ is God's only method to reach down to man in forgiveness and offer him true life! Salvation is by faith. Eph 2:8,9 says "For by grace you have been saved, through faith ----and this not from yourselves, it is the gift ofGod--not by works, so that no one can boast." Salvation is crossing over from death to life. To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become CHILDREN OF GOD...John 1:12. John 3:36 says " Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." "I tell you the truth, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal LIFE and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)
5. What we need to do after receiving His Life is :
1. Abide in Christ. John 15:5 2. Walk in truth. John 8:31,32 3. Grow in grace. For thegrace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ...Titus 2:11-14. Galatians 5:13 sums it up "You, my brothers, were called to be FREE. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love!!!!!!!!
So everyone will understand were we are coming from, these are our basic beliefs,
Yours in Christ,Mike Southerland
