Introduction
In Australia, the Aborigines write songs to
guide them on their journey across the
outback. They spot hills, valleys and
different landmarks, to mark their path, and
put them in their songs. Then those who do
not know the way learn the song from those
who have made the journey before. It would
be like memorizing a road map. As they
travel on, then each memorized word of the
song, will lead them to the next point in
their journey home.
With this in mind, I
set down with Bible in hand, a computer in
front of me, and Jesus in my heart, to write
a song like this, to lead the lost into a
saved relationship with our Lord. I found it
hard to come up with the right words until
one night; I was awakening from a deep sleep
and these words were running through my
mind. Therefore, as not to forget, I jumped
up at three AM and wrote them down.
Feeling lead by God, I
have put together a song that I feel, will
lead the reader on a journey through the
Bible. It will show the reader the true plan
of redemption as God intended. It will show
that we are all lost until we come to Jesus.
I pray it will bring the lost into a saving
knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, and then through Gods plan of
redemption into a saved relationship
with Him.
I pray that for the
Christian, their Faith will be strengthened,
that they will see more clearly, their next
step as they journey home, and that they
fine that peace that passes understanding.
The freedom of knowing that everything is
all right between them and our Savior.
There are really only
two kinds of people in the world, the lost
and those that are saved. God only, will
make that decision. I pray as you read this
you will find where you are in life’s
journey, and if you have not done so, please
accept Gods Invitation.
He is a wonderful God who
loves you dearly.
In Christian Love,
Kenneth M. Bee
From the Time of God's Creation
The Bible, being the
inspired word of God, is an amazing book of
books, 66 in all with 30 some different
authors, written on three continents, over a
period of 1500 years but all tell the one
story - the scheme of redemption. This book
contains the mind of God, the state of man,
the way of salvation, the doom of sinners,
the happiness of believers. Its doctrines
are holy, its precepts are binding, its
histories are true, and its decisions are
immutable.
Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe,
and practice it to be holy. Christ is its
grand object, our good its design, and the
glory of God its end. It is given you in
life, will be opened in judgment, and be
remembered forever. It involves the highest
responsibilities, and will condemn all who
trifle with its sacred contents.
In II Timothy 3:16, we read that;
All Scripture is given by the
inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be thoroughly equipped for every
good work.
As we read and study
the Bible we soon realize that it is one
continues story of redemption that could
only have come about by the inspiration of
God.
Genesis 1:1-29, 2:1-25 In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. And the earth had
no form. It was empty, covered with darkness
and water. Then the Spirit of God hovered
over the water, and God said, “Let there be
light,” and there was light. God saw that
the light was good.
Then He divided the light
from the darkness. God called the light
“day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
And the evening and the morning were the
first day.
Then God said, “Let there be
a great expanse of air to divide the waters
below from the waters above.”
And God called the expanse
“heaven.” And the evening and the morning
were the second day.
Then God said, “Let the water
under the heaven be gathered together in one
place, and let the dry land appear,” and it
happened.
And God called the dry land
“earth”; and the gathering together of the
waters He called “seas”: and God saw that it
was good. Then God said, “Let the earth
produce grass, and
herbs, and fruit trees, all yielding after
their own kind,” and it happened; And God
saw that it was good. And the evening and
the morning were the third day.
Then God said, “Let there be
lights in the heavens; and let them be for
signs and seasons, and for days, and years.”
God made two great lights; the sun to rule
by day and the moon to rule by night. He
also made the stars.
And He set them all in the
heavens to give light upon the earth; And
God saw that it was good. And the evening
and the morning were the fourth day.
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth.”
So God created great whales and everything
that moves in the water, and winged
animals—all these producing after their
kinds; and God saw that it was good. And He
blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and
multiply.” And the evening and the morning
were the fifth day.
Then God said, “Let the earth be filled with
living creatures.”
So He made the animals on the earth,
the cattle, and every thing that crawls upon
the earth—all producing after their kinds;
and God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make
man in Our image, after Our likeness.” And
the Lord God formed man out of the dust of
the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living
soul.
God created man in his own
image; and He created them male and female.
God named the first man; Adam; then later
Adam called the woman, Eve.
And God said, “A man shall leave his father
and his mother and cling to his wife: and
they shall be one flesh. And the man and his
wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.”
And God saw everything that
He had made, and it was very good. And the
evening and the morning were the sixth day.
The heavens and the earth
were finished, so on the seventh day God
ended his work. God blessed the seventh day
and made it holy.
We See the
Fall of Man
We read of the fall in Genesis 3:1-19 In
the beautiful new garden inhabited by Adam
and Eve, Satan appeared to Eve in the form
of a serpent.
Now this serpent was more
crafty than any animal which the Lord God
had made. And the serpent said unto the
woman, “Are you sure God said, ‘You should
not eat from every tree of the garden?’”
The woman answered, “We may
eat fruit from all of the trees in the
garden, except for the fruit on one tree in
the middle of the garden. About it God said,
‘You must not eat from that tree. If you do,
you will die.’”
Then the serpent said to the
woman, “You will not die: God knows that in
the day you eat this fruit, your eyes will
be opened, and you will be as gods, knowing
good and evil.”
The Bible says Satan is The
Father of Lies, so of course—he tried to
deceive the woman, and he lied to her about
God.
So when the woman saw that
the tree was good for food, that it was
pleasant to look at, and that it could make
her wise, she took the fruit, and ate it,
and gave it to her husband who was with her;
and he ate it also.
Instantly, their eyes were
opened. They saw that they were
naked; so they sewed fig
leaves together to cover themselves.
Then, when they heard the
voice of the Lord walking in the garden in
the cool of the day, Adam and his wife hid
themselves from God's presence among the
trees of the garden.
Then the Lord God called to
Adam, saying, “Where are you?”
Adam answered, “I heard your
voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
Then God asked, “Who told you
that you were naked? Have you eaten from the
one tree of which I commanded you not to
eat?” Adam answered, “The woman that you
gave to me, she gave me the fruit, and I ate
it.”
And the Lord said to the
woman, “What have you done?” The woman
answered, “The serpent deceived me, so I ate
the fruit.”
Then the Lord said to the
serpent, “Because you have done this, you
are cursed above every animal; on your belly
you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the
days of your life: And I will put hatred between you and the woman, and her
descendant will crush your head.”
This curse against Satan
is the first mention in God's book that one
day He would send a Savior, born of a woman,
to defeat Satan.
To the woman God said, “I
will greatly increase your grief. Having
children will bring you sorrow; and your
husband will rule over you.”
“The Land will produce thorns and weeds, and by
the sweat of your brow you will eat bread
until you return to the ground.”
And to Adam He said, “Because
you have listened to your wife and have
eaten from the forbidden tree, the ground is
cursed. Now every day of your life, only
through difficulty, will you eat from the
ground.
It will produce thorns and
weeds, and by the sweat of your brow you
will eat bread until you return to the
ground; I made you from dust and you will
return to dust.”
Then Came the Activation of Our Fathers Plan
Then came many years of prophesies of Christ
in the Old Testament. From the time of man’s
sin, the promises began to come of a Savior.
First, it came to Abraham, and then through
his family until as a nation they brought
Christ into the world. The prophesies of
Christ coming was first mentioned in
Genesis 3:15, 12:3, 49:10, Numbers 24:
17-19, Deuteronomy 18:15-19, Job 19:25,
Psalms 2:2, 6, 8, 12, 16:10, 110:1, 4,
118:22, plus many more books of the Old
Testament. This is what Jesus meant when he
said that in the Law of Moses, prophets, and
Psalms it tells of me.
Zechariah prophesied;
“O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, your King
comes to you: He is righteous and has
salvation; humble, and riding on the foal of
a donkey.”
King David described
how the Savior Himself would know in advance
that one of His close friends, with whom He
ate bread, would betray Him.
And Zechariah even recorded that the price
of the betrayal would be thirty pieces of
silver.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God foretold
that the coming Savior would be tortured, by
whipping, and that His face would be spat
upon.
David described the
method of execution as
“piercing the Savior's hands
and feet, yet not breaking any of His
bones.”
That the Savior would
say, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”, and that onlookers would
laugh and ridicule the Savior, saying, “He
believed that the Lord would deliver him.”
The prophet Micah
foretold the exact city where the Savior
would be born and described His eternal
nature saying, “Out of Bethlehem
shall the one come who will rule in
Israel, whose existence is from old, from
everlasting.”
God even revealed that
the coming Savior would descend from the
royal line of David. Through the writings of
the prophet Malachi, the Lord described a
special messenger who would announce the
coming Savior and prepare the people to
receive Him.
John 3:16 -17 For God so
loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting
life. For God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.
God set this plan in
motion from the very beginning to give man a
chance at eternal life. Through the
acceptance of his son Jesus as our Lord and
Savior.
God Brought Forth His Only Son, His Love the World To See
The New Testament starts with
the Four Gospels telling the life of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Christ Born of Mary
Matthew 1:18-21 "Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary
was betrothed to Joseph, before they came
together, she was found with child of the
Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband,
being a just man, and not wanting to make
her a public example, was minded to put her
away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not
be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for
that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a
Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for
He will save His people from their sins."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life."
One of our favorite
Christmas Scripture verses is;
1 John 4:9 "In this was manifested the
love of God toward us, because that God sent
His only begotten Son into the world, that
we might live through Him."
The next verse explains
that we have life through Him because God "sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins" (1 John 4:10).
Our heavenly Father
gives us eternal life instead of the eternal
hell that we deserve because His only
begotten Son died in our place for our sins.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He hath made Him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we
might be made the righteousness of God in
Him" .
From the Lofty Heights of Heaven, God Came to Dwell With Men
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth" (John
1:14).
This is the key verse, assuring us
that the man Jesus, who dwelt among us for a
time, was also the eternal Word who was
"in the beginning with God" and that He "was
God" and that "all things were made by Him"
(John 1:1-3).
He was God the Creator manifest in the flesh.
"No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom
of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John
1:18).
The Father is omnipresent, and
therefore invisible to mortal eyes, but as
Jesus said: "He that hath seen me hath
seen the Father" (John 14:9).
Men have seen and heard the Father in the
person of His only begotten Son. Whenever
God has been seen by men, it has been
through the Son who has revealed Him.
"For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life" (John
3:16).
This verse, of course, is the most
magnificent of all gospel verses; many would
call it the greatest verse in the Bible. It
assures us that, if we simply put our trust
in our great Creator, who has become man in
order to die for our sins, and then to
defeat death and become our Savior, our sins
will be forgiven, and we shall live forever
with Him.
"He that believeth on Him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God." (John 3:18)
Other than the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, "there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved." (Acts 4:12)
In view of all that our Creator/Savior
has done for us, this verse gives clear
warning that those who refuse or neglect to
believe on the person and work of God's only
begotten Son, will die in their sins,
condemned forever by the Father whose Son
they have spurned.
God sent His only begotten Son into
the world, that we might live through Him."
(I John 4:9)
Came in the Form of Jesus
I have been asked, how can this be that God
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are
all God, three different forms of the same?
Well here is an example I always like to
use. Think of this,
water, ice and steam, three different forms
of the same thing. Remember God is Spirit,
we think like mortals.
Here are many verses showing that
Jesus allowed Himself to be worshipped,
simply because He was God
"manifest in
the flesh":
Matthew 9:18 While he spoke these things to them, behold,
there came a certain ruler, and worshipped
him, saying, my daughter is even now dead:
but come and lay your hand upon her, and she
shall live.
Matthew 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and
worshipped him, saying, of a truth you are
the Son of God.
Matthew 15:25 Then she came and worshipped him, saying,
Lord, help me.
Matthew 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples,
behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.
And they came and held him by the feet, and
worshipped him.
Matthew 28:17 When they saw him, they worshipped him: but
some doubted.
Colossians 1:15 He received their worship because He
was ... the image of the invisible God ...
1 Timothy 3:16 ... God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen of angels,
preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up into glory ...
Became the Sacrifice For Sin
By God's will we have been
sanctified once and for all through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the
Messiah. (Hebrews 10:10)
I am the living bread that came
down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever. This bread is
my flesh, which I will give for the life of
the world." John 6:51
Unlike the other high priests, he
does not need to offer sacrifices day after
day, first for his own sins, and then for
the sins of the people. He sacrificed for
their sins once for all when he offered
himself. (Hebrews 7:27)
So 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. (Hebrews 9:28)
But when this priest (Jesus) had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12)
How much more severely do you think
a man deserves to be punished who has
trampled the Son of God under foot, who has
treated as an unholy thing the blood of the
covenant that sanctified him, and who has
insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29)
Closing in with this so
solemnly declared Will of God, that there is
no name given under heaven among men, by
which we can be saved, but Jesus the Christ,
we believe in him, find redemption in his
blood, and are sanctified unto God through
the sacrificial offering of his body.
On the Cross of Agony, Jesus Died For You and Me
The Passion and Agony of the Cross
The suffering Jesus experienced on the
cross is almost unbearable just to think
about it.
For instance, prior to Jesus' trial he
was flogged by the Roman guards. This
process typically involved a whip with
numerous leather thongs, 18-24 inches long,
with bits of metal, bone or glass embedded
in the leather.... Scourging was an extreme
form of punishment. The skin on the victim's
back was usually shredded, thus exposing the
underlying muscle and skeletal structures.
Severe blood loss and dehydration were the
rule. Many victims died from such scourging.
After the scourging of Jesus, the Roman
soldiers beat Him a second time with their
hands and with a reed. Then they put on him
a 'crown of thorns'.
Then came the crucifixion. "It is
arguably the most painful death ever
invented by man and is where we get our term
'excruciating.' It was reserved primarily
for the most vicious of criminals."
Even though Pilate, the Roman Governor,
said, "I find no fault in this man," he gave
in to the jealous crowd and allowed Jesus to
be crucified. With his arms stretched out
Jesus was nailed to a wooden cross. "The
nails, which were generally about 7-9 inches
long, were placed between the bones of the
forearm (the radius and ulna) and the small
bones of the hands (the carpal bones),"
permanently destroying the largest nerve in
the hand "called the median nerve ... In
addition to severe burning pain the
destruction of this nerve causes permanent
paralysis of the hand."
The positioning of the feet is probably
the most critical part of the mechanics of
crucifixion. First the knees were flexed
about 45 degrees and the feet were flexed
(bent downward) an additional 45 degrees
until they were parallel to the vertical
pole. An iron nail about 7-9 inches long was
driven through the feet between the 2nd
and 3rd metatarsal bones. In this
position, the nail would sever the dorsal
pedal artery of the foot, but the resulting
bleeding would be insufficient to cause
death.
"The resulting position on the cross sets
up a horrific sequence of events which
result in a slow, painful death. Having been
pinned to the cross, the victim now has an
impossible position to maintain ...
The result is that within a few minutes
of being placed on the cross, the shoulders
will become dislocated. Minutes later the
elbows and wrists become dislocated.... As
time goes on, the victim is less and less
able to bear weight on the legs, causing further
dislocation of the arms and further rising
of the chest wall, making breathing more and
more difficult. The result of this process
is a series of catastrophic physiological
effects."
Eventually the heart begins to fail, the
lungs collapse, and the victim suffocates.
He dies a slow, unbelievable excruciating
painful death.
And all of this Jesus did for you and me
gladly and willingly because he loves us
with an everlasting love. He died on the
cross to pay the penalty for your sins and
mine so we could be totally forgiven and
given the gift of eternal life with him in
Heaven forever.
The good news is that Jesus, after three
days, rose from the dead assuring us that we
who believe in him will also rise from
physical death to be alive forever with God.
If you've never thanked Jesus for dying
on the cruel cross in your place, don't let
this moment pass without doing this and
asking him to come into your heart and life
as personal Lord and Savior and accepting
his full and free forgiveness.
Jesus Arose and Went to Heaven
I believe that Jesus
died and on the third day, he rose again
from his grave.
Let us check the historical
evidence. When the risen Christ came to
his disciples he appealed to their sense of
hearing, "Jesus met them and said,
'Greetings!'" (Matthew 28:9).Dead men
don't talk. Jesus did because he was not
dead.
He appealed to their sense of seeing.
"Go to Galilee,"he said,
"there they will see me." (Matthew 28:10)
He appealed to their sense of
touching. "Look at my hands and my
feet,"he said,
"see that it is I
myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does
not have flesh and bones as you see that I
have." (Luke 24:39)
Night seems to be the time for ghosts.
Rarely do you hear of anyone seeing a spook
in the light of day. Perhaps it is because
evening shadows make us more susceptible to
other-worldly phenomenon. That makes it even
more amazing that when Jesus arose from the
grave he met his disciples in broad daylight
— and not once but several times. It is one
thing to see a specter in dim twilight which
might be the neighborhood cat and quite
another to see a friend who died on Friday
have breakfast with you a few days later. (John 21:1- 24)
It is one thing for a confused,
excitable person to meet someone they
thought was dead and quite another for 500
people to meet that person (1 Corinthians
15:6).Yet that is exactly what
happened. And it happened over a forty-day
period.
The book of Acts gives an account of
nine sermons preached by the apostles during
the first twenty-five years of church
history. And every one was an Easter sermon.
Every sermon was centered on the
resurrection of
Jesus Christ. At one point, the people in
Athens got confused thinking Paul was
preaching about two gods: Jesus and
Anastasia (Acts 17:18).The name,
Anastasia, is the Greek word for
resurrection. It was constantly on Paul's
lips: "Jesus and resurrection ... Jesus and
resurrection."
The gospels do not explain the miracle
of the resurrection. The miracle of the
resurrection explains the gospels. Without
the resurrection, there would be no
believing apostles to write the gospels. As
Paul said, "If Christ has not been raised
from death we have nothing to preach and you
have nothing to believe." (1 Corinthians
15:14 TEV)
Nothing short of the resurrection could have
changed Peter from the fearful denier of
Christ to the faithful pillar of the church.
Nothing short of the resurrection could have
changed James, the unbelieving brother of
Jesus into the pastor of the church at
Jerusalem.
Nothing short of the resurrection could have
changed Paul from a persecutor of the church
to a promoter of the church. The proof of
Christ's resurrection is the living church
drawing life from him who overcame death.
I believe Jesus rose again from the
dead not only because of the historical
evidence, but also because of personal
experience. Paul said, "I want to
know Christ and the power of his
resurrection." (Philippians 3:10)Notice
Paul did not say, "I want to know about
Christ," but "I want to know Christ." Not
information but association was his
desire. In addition, mine too.
The resurrection of Jesus is also a
future hope. It tells you that death is
not the end of life. It is a comma not a
period. There is more to follow.
Specifically, there is a day fixed on the
calendar of eternity when God will judge the
world in righteousness. Are you ready for
that day?
--- And Went to Heaven
Acts 1:2-3 (New King James Version) ... until the day in which He was taken up,
after He through the Holy Spirit had given
commandments to the apostles whom He had
chosen, to whom He also presented Himself
alive after His suffering by many infallible
proofs, being seen by them during forty days
and speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God.
Colossians 1:15 ... God was manifest in the flesh, justified in
the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received
up into glory ...
Jesus Ascends to Heaven
Acts 1:9 (New King James Version) Now when He had spoken these things,
while they watched, He was taken up, and a
cloud received Him out of their sight.
With a Promise to Return
John 14:1-3 (King James Version) Let not your heart be troubled: ye
believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you. I
go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
The second coming of Jesus Christ is the
hope of believers that God is in control of
all things, and is faithful to the promises
and prophecies in His Word.
In His first coming, Jesus Christ came
to earth as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem,
just as prophesied. Jesus fulfilled many of
the prophecies of the Messiah during His
birth, life, ministry, death, and
resurrection.
However, there are some prophecies
regarding the Messiah that Jesus has not yet
fulfilled. The second coming of Christ will
be the return of Christ to fulfill these
remaining prophecies.
In His first coming, Jesus was the
suffering Servant. In His second coming,
Jesus will be the conquering King. In His
first coming, Jesus arrived in the most
humble of circumstances. In His second
coming, Jesus will arrive with the armies of
heaven at His side.
Matthew 24:36 (NIV) "No one knows about
that day or hour, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father."
Matthew 24:42-44 (NIV) "Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know on what
day your Lord will come. But understand
this: If the owner of the house had known at
what time of night the thief was
coming, he would have kept watch and would
not have let his house be broken into. So
you also must be ready, because the Son of
Man will come at an hour when you do
not expect him."
To Take Us To Be With Him
John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again,
and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may
be also.
I believe we are living in the last days, so be ready my friends, for that day is
coming.
A Trip We Cannot Earn, By Grace We Are Saved
Saved by grace ...
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God; not as a result of
works, that no one should boast."
Romans 3:20, 28 "because by the works of the Law no flesh
will be justified in His sight; for through
the Law comes the knowledge of sin...For we
maintain that a man is justified by faith
apart from works of the Law."
Galatians 2:16 "... nevertheless
knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the Law but through faith in Christ
Jesus, even we have believed in Christ
Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in
Christ, and not by the works of the Law;
since by the works of the Law shall no flesh
be justified."
Salvation Full and Free
James 2:24 "You see that
a man is justified by works, and not by
faith alone."
God does not want a faith that is
empty and hypocritical. James 2 is talking
about those who "say" that they have faith
but have no works. Therefore, people cannot
tell if they are true believers or not,
because there is no fruit. That kind of a
faith is useless and is not a saving faith.
True faith results in true works.
In Matthew 19:16-17,
Jesus was speaking to a Lawyer who was
self-righteous since he wanted to put Jesus
to the test (Luke 10:25). He asked what
he must do in order to obtain eternal life
and Jesus responded with the requirements of
keeping the commandments. If a person keeps
all of the commandments, it would seem that
they could obtain eternal life. However,
nobody can keep all of the commandments.
Therefore, Jesus' comments to this man show
this man that justification can only be by
faith since no one can keep all of the
commandments. This is why it says in Ephesians 2:8
that we are saved by grace through faith.
Also, Romans 3:20, 28 and Galatians 2:16
tells us that no one is justified in the
sight of God by the law; that is, by the
works that he can do.
The Law cannot save us because we are
incapable of keeping it (Matthew 19:16-17). Therefore,
salvation is by grace through faith.
Accept the
Invitation
... To accept his full pardon without charge;
Romans 3:21-25 ... but now apart from the law
the righteousness of God has been made
known, to which the Law and the Prophets
testify. This righteousness is given
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe. There is no difference between Jew
and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and all are
justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God
presented Christ as a sacrifice of
atonement, through the shedding of his
blood—to be received by faith.
God's Word says, "And this is the
testimony: God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son Jesus Christ. He
who has the Son has life; he who does not
have the Son of God does not have life. I
write these things to you who believe in the
name of the Son of
God so that you may know that you have
eternal life."
YES, I want to Know God and accept
Jesus Christ's invitation to accept him into
my heart and life as personal Lord and
Savior and, in so doing, receive God's full
and free pardon for all my sins. The
following prayer prayed sincerely will help
you do this:
"Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner
and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have
done and the sins that I have committed. I
believe that you’re Son, Jesus Christ, died
on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me
and I invite you, Jesus, to come into my
heart and life as my personal Lord and
Savior. I commit and trust my life and way
to you. Please forgive me, and give me the
desire to be what you want me to be and to
do what you want me to do. Thank for the
greatest gift anyone could ever receive;
that is for coming to earth and dying on the
cross in my place to pay the just penalty
for all my sins. Thank you, too, for your
forgiveness and free pardon, for the gift of
eternal life, and for hearing and answering
my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus name, Amen."
If you have prayed this prayer then
“God bless you” on your decision. I want to
farther enlighten you on the plan of
redemption as outlined in the Bible. You are
on your way to a saved relationship with our
Lord.
The Bible teaches us that first
comes the hearing of the word.
Romans 10:17 ... so then faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.
Then believing,
John 11:27 She
said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you
are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
If you have heard and you believe as
this scripture says the next step in the
plan of salvation is repentance,
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is
longsuffering toward us, not willing that
any should perish but that all should come
to repentance.
This is explained
further in the section, “Turn
From a Life of Sin.”
Next Step is Confession
If you are attending Church somewhere,
I would suggest you talk to the pastor and
plan to go forward and confess that you
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of
the living God. Romans 10:9-10 that if
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 for with the heart one believes unto
righteousness and with the mouth, confession
is made unto salvation. also in I
Timothy 6:12we read, Fight the good
fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to
which you were also called and have
confessed the good confession in the
presence of many witnesses. Confession
is an act of faith on your part, to God and
those around you.
Then there is the need for Baptism. The need
for this, and how it is done, is explained
in the section, “Be
Baptized, Born again.”
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let
every one of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
Once you put this all together, the
plan of salvation is, Hear, Believe, Repent,
Confess, and be Baptized. This is very
little for God to ask when He went through
so much to show his Love for us. God gave us
a free choice to show our love for Him.
Should we do less then what He asks of us?
Some preachers say all you need to do
is pray and ask Jesus to come into your
heart and you are saved. I hope they are for
their sake. I cannot and will not tell
people that they can do less and be saved.
It is all there in Gods Word. It is entirely
up to God where He draws the line. I would
search the scriptures and satisfied my own
mind, as to what is needed, to be in a saved
relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 7:22-24 (New King James Version) Many will say to Me in that day,
‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your
name, cast out demons in Your name, and done
many wonders in Your name?’ And then I
will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness!’
In School, we were taught that proper
English would be to say. I will be saved, I
am saved, and I have been saved. With God
it is just the opposite, I have been saved,
I am saved, and when I stand before God, I
will be saved, through Jesus whom I have
accepted as Lord and Savior. Salvation is
an on going process from the time we accept
Jesus into our hearts until the day we die.
Hebrews 9:28 So 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.
Turn From a Life of Sin
Luke 13:3 (King James Version) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Romans 6:23 (King James Version) For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Luke 15:10 (New King James Version) Likewise, I say to you, there is joy
in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Believing God, the person who is
saved, has a change of heart that comes when
they believe. "Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold all things are become
new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) By putting
their faith in Jesus Christ, the person
receives from God the spiritual birth and
that changes them.
The key to understanding the matter
is to understand what the word "repentance"
means. The most common definition of
repentance is that when one repents they
stop and go in the opposite direction. In
other words, they turn around. Turn from a
life of sin and live every day trying to be
better then the day before. Always striving
to please God in all that they do.
Accept Him As Your Savior
Salvation is an appeal to God for
cleansing from sin, forgiveness, and
repentance so that we might not sin. This
appeal is a heartfelt confession of our
hopelessness before God and an acceptance of
Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. It is
simultaneous with sincere repentance, which
is a turning from sin, not to it.
To receive Jesus in our hearts means
we have first acknowledged that we are
sinners and that we are incapable of saving
ourselves or of appeasing God in any way. We
acknowledge before God that we are helpless
and worthy of damnation. But with this, we
also acknowledge that Jesus is the one who
paid the penalty for our sins. We realize
that there is no possible way that we can
make things right with God by our own works.
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are
accepting the call to repentance from sin.
God then calls us His children:
John 14: 12 But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of
God, even to those who believe in His name,"
Be Baptized, Born Again
Acts 2:38 (New King James Version) Then Peter said to them, "Repent,
and let every one of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins; and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit."
Among our Lord's last words to his
disciples was the charge to preach the
saving gospel to all men. In Matthew, Chapter
28, Verse 19, He said;
"Go you therefore,
and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
The question before us is what was and
is the action of that baptism commanded by
Christ and his apostles. The Bible clearly
describes the action of Christian baptism,
as a burial in water, for baptism is a
likeness to the death, burial, and
resurrection of Christ.
We are not saved by our own goodness,
but by the goodness, the love, and the favor
of God. We are not saved by our own merit,
but by the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus shed
his precious blood in his death and as
penitent believers in Christ; we contact his
saving blood by going through a likeness to
his death, his burial, and his resurrection.
Listen to the Apostle Paul's vivid
description of baptism in Romans 6, Verses 3
through 5.
"Know you not, that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death? Therefore, we are
buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. For if we
have been planted together in the likeness
of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his resurrection."
Here the Bible clearly describes the
baptism which was taught and practiced in
the early church and which puts one "into
Jesus Christ" as a burial. Paul said, "We
are buried with him by baptism into death".
Again, in Colossians Chapter 2, Verse 12, we
read that we are "buried with Him in
baptism".
Nowhere in the Bible is the action of
Christian baptism described as being
anything other than "a burial", or an
immersion in water.
In Mark Chapter 1, Verse 5, we find that
John baptized in water. The passage reads;
"And
there went out unto Him all the land of Judea, and they of
Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in
the river of Jordan ..."
Again, in Mark Chapter 1, Verse 9, we
find that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan.
"And it came to pass in those days that
Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was
baptized of John in Jordan."
In John Chapter 3, Verse 23, we find John's
reason for selecting the place where he
baptized those who came to him.
"And John
also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salem,
because there was much water there: and they
came, and were baptized."
Now let us notice carefully the baptism
of the Ethiopian eunuch by Philip the
evangelist. The two men were riding in a
chariot. Philip was preaching Jesus unto the
eunuch. In Acts Chapter 8, beginning with
Verse 36, we read,
"And as they went on
their way, they came unto a certain water:
and the eunuch said, ' See, here is water;
what doth hinder me to be baptized?' And
Philip said, 'If thou believest with all
thine heart, thou mayest'. And he answered
and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God'. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still; and they went down
both into the water, and both Philip and the
eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they
were come up out of the water, the Spirit of
the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch
saw him no more: and he went on his way
rejoicing."
From these verses of scripture, we find
that baptism requires "much water" and a
"going down into water". We see that it is a
"burial" in water and a "resurrection". Also
we see it requires a "coming up out of the
water". Only immersion fits the New
Testament description of Christian baptism.
A natural question would be, “does your
age make a difference?” More specifically,
you may ask whether infants or young
children should be baptized. It may help if
you understand where the idea and practice
of baptizing infants came from. Around 400
AD, a man named Augustine came up with the
idea of “original sin.” This basically said
that everyone inherits the sin of Adam at
birth and is therefore separated from God
from the beginning of their life. Of course,
this caused parents to become concerned over
the fate of their children, should they die
before “getting right with God.” Since only
one of the four steps
required to get right with God
could be done by (or to) an infant, they
decided to baptize them to “take care of the
original sin.” Since it is risky to immerse
an infant, these people decided to sprinkle
them with water instead. Thus, both
baptizing infants and baptizing by
sprinkling came from human ideas. They
did not come from the Bible.
If we look in the Bible, we see that
children are never seen to “accept Christ”
(and therefore get right with God). It is
also interesting that God never tells us
what to do to keep a child safe. Did He just
forget this important point, letting many
children go to Hell and suffer eternally?
No. A child is safe in the arms of God until
they can understand how to be saved by
accepting Jesus as their savior. (See 2
Samuel chapter 12, verses 22 and 23 along
with Matthew chapter 18, verse 10.) Thus,
only adults and older children (who can
understand separation from God because of
sin and so forth) are at the age when
acceptance of Christ is possible.
One thing is clear, the Bible always places
believing in Christ for salvation and
baptism together. Acts Chapter 2, Verse 41 (Acts 2:41) -
3,000 people were baptized after believing
on the first day of the Christian church.
Verses 38 and 39 make it clear that this is
the way that it will always be done. That
is, all people who accept Christ as their
savior will come to Him in this way.
If you believe in Jesus and want to
receive the remission of your sins; as a
penitent person, be buried with Christ in
baptism to "wash away your sins".
Romans Chapter 6, Verses 3, 4, and Acts
Chapter 22, Verse 16.
Jesus boldly stated in John 3:3,
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
We also read the frightening words of 2nd
Thessalonians 1:8,
“In flaming fire
taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
I am talking about being
Biblically born-again by the Seed of the Word of
God. You need to have your SINS forgiven.
You are the SINNER, and Jesus is the SAVIOR.
It is that simple!
This is Gods word on baptism. I did not
write it, this is Gods teaching through
reading the scripture. We have God saying,
do it this way, and it is perfect in my
opinion. We have man saying that it is not
necessary. Once man starts making the rules
then he never stops. He opens the door for
satin to enter in. Then comes their opinion,
this is not necessary, that is not
necessary, etc. etc. Would you hire a
carpenter that cuts corners, to build your
house?
Wouldn’t it be simpler to accept Gods
word for what it says and do it, then insert
mans opinion and not be sure? If you have
come to know Jesus, have accepted Him into
your heart. Have repented of your sins, then
go and confess that you believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, and get
baptized by immersion. Do not leave it
to chance or mans opinion. We are talking
about your eternal life.
Matthew 15:14 They are blind leaders of the blind.
And if the blind leads the blind, both will
fall into a ditch.”
Matthew 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is
the way, which leads to life, and there are
few who find it.
My ONLY desire in this writing is to
lead you to a saved relationship with our
Lord. I fear many are
being miss lead. I pray not, but I
fear that it is true.
By Faith, Love and Serve Him
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith
it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.
Luke 10:25-28 ... and, behold, a certain
lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying,
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal
life? He said unto him, what is written in
the law? How readiest thou? And he answering said,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind; and thy
neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast
answered right: this do and thou shalt live.
Matthew 22:35-37 Then one of them, which
was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting
him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment
in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
To serve God is to
serve others and is
the greatest form of charity: the pure
love of Christ. Jesus
Christ said;
John 13:34 A new commandment I give
unto you, that ye love one another; as I
have loved you, that ye also love one
another."
To serve God starts with serving in our
families. Daily we work, clean, love,
support, listen to, teach, and endlessly
give of ourselves to the members of our
family. We may often feel overwhelmed with
all that we must do.
This also includes helping those in the
Church family with the giving of tithes and
offerings for the spreading of Gods word.
Also helping by serving in all other
functions of the Church where possible.
The key ... is to know and understand your
own capabilities and limitations and then to
pace yourself, allocating and prioritizing
your time, your attention, and your
resources to wisely help others.
The Light You Will See
John 3:16-21 (New King James Version) "For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. For God did not send
His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him might be
saved. He who believes in Him is not
condemned; but he who does not believe is
condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. And this is the condemnation,
that the light has come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. For
everyone practicing evil hates the light and
does not come to the light, lest his deeds
should be exposed. But he who does the
truth comes to the light, that his deeds may
be clearly seen, that they have been done in
God."
Jesus Paid It All, Paid It All, On Calvary’s Tree
To receive Jesus in our hearts means
we have first acknowledged that we are
sinners and that we are incapable of saving
ourselves or of appeasing God in any way. We
acknowledge before God that we are helpless
and worthy of damnation. However, with this,
we also acknowledge that Jesus is the one
who paid the penalty for our sins. We
realize that there is no possible way that
we can make things right with God by our own
works. When we accept Jesus as our Savior,
we are accepting the call to repentance from
sin. God then calls us His children:
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, even to
those who believe in His name ..."
Therefore, everything depends on what
you do with Jesus. Maybe you have been on a
spiritual bridge trying to find a
relationship with God but it has been a
bridge to nowhere. However, right now, God,
who loves you so very much, is pointing you
to the bridge He built to bring you to Him.
It is the cross where His one and only Son
paid for you. The bridge God has provided
cost Him what mattered most to Him. It cost
Him His Son.
May God Bless you on your journey,
Kenneth M. Bee
