Salvation In Christ

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="b0b50761egerdp.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>BIBLE STUDY OF THE WEEK</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>     |</B></FONT><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BIBLE STUDY OF THE WEEK"><U><B>Bible Study Of The Week Home Page</B></U></A><B>      </B><A HREF="worship_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bible Study of The Week"><U><B>Bible Study of The Week</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><B>Salvation In Christ</B><B>   |   </B><A HREF="christian_believers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Christian Church of Christ Links"><U><B>Christian & Church of Christ Links</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Borrowed Articles"><U><B>Borrowed Articles</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Message To The Unforgiving"><U><B>A Message To The Unforgiving</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/rjmcclur55/HolySpirit/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.tripod.com/rjmcclur55/Hol"><U><B><U>Studies On The Holy Spirit</U></B></U></A><B> </B><B> </B><A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/rjmcclur55/Worship/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.tripod.com/rjmcclur55/Wor"><U><B><U>Twelve Lesson On Worship</U></B></U></A><B>  </B><A HREF="http://members.tripod.com/rjmcclur55/Leadership/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://members.tripod.com/rjmcclur55/Lea"><U><B><U>Qualified Church Leadershi</U></B></U></A><B><U>p</U></B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#DDDDDD" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="b063c543.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BIBLE STUDY OF THE WEEK"><U><B><U>Our Pages</U></B></U></A><B> !</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="b08a94d0.jpg" border=0 width="169" height="77" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="worship_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bible Study of The Week"><U><B>Bible Study of The Week </B></U></A><B>           </B></div> <bR> <div> <B><This link's target cannot be found></B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Message To The Unforgiving"><U><B>A Message To The Unforgiving</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Borrowed Articles"><U><B>Borrowed Articles</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="christian_believers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Christian Church of Christ Links"><U><B>Christian & Church of Christ Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="grace.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Salvation In Christ"><U><B>Salvation In Christ</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/Worship" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/Worsh"><U><B><U>Twelve Lesson On Worship</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/HolySpirit" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/HolyS"><U><B><U>Studies On The Holy Spirit</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/Leadership" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/Leade"><U><B><U>Qualified Church Leadership</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/Beatitudes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblestudyoftheweek.com/Beati"><U><B><U>Ten Lessons on the Beatitudes</U></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="b0998973.gif"> <div> <B>Salvation In Christ</B><B>*</B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B><B>      </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#006699" FACE="Arial" ><B>             </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>What Does The Bible Say About Salvation? How do we get </B></div> <div> <B>"</B><B>i</B><B>nto Christ"?</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U>BELIEVE</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Romans 10:9-10:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"....if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,you will be saved;for with the a person believes, resulting in righteousness,and with the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Mark 16:16:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Belief, or "faith," must come from the Word of truth, the Bible. And how will one know of the truth outside of the Scriptures or one bringing him or her the Gospel from the revealed Word of God (Rom. 10:14-15)?  They Cannot! Rom 10:17:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Acts 18:8:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> "And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>REPENT</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Luke 13:3:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Acts 17:30:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Acts 26:20: Paul told</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> "both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance." </B></I></FONT><I><B>Repentance involves "turning" from sin, and "turning" toward God. It involves "turning" our life over to God and offering ourselves to Him!</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>CONFESS</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Rom 10:9-10 tells us that, </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>10</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Matthew 10:32,33:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>In "confessing" Christ, we acknowledge our faith in Him as the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who can and will save us from our sins, and He who is Lord. When Peter made that confession in Matthew 16, He knew just who Jesus was!</B></I></FONT><I><B> "He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>16</B></I></FONT><I><B> And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>17</B></I></FONT><I><B> And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>(</B></I><I><B>Matt 16:15-17).</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>BE IMMERSED</U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B><U>FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND </U></B></I></div> <div> <I><B><U>THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT</U></B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Acts 2:38:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#800000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> </B></I></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"......,Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Acts 22:16:</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B> "'And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'"</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Gal 3:27:</B></I></FONT><I><B> "For all of you who were baptized </B></I><I><B>into Christ</B></I><I><B> have clothed yourselves with Christ."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Peter writes about  </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>21</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>22</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him"</B></I></FONT><I><B> (</B></I><I><B>1 Peter 3:20-22). Baptism certainly is involved in our salvation, since it is for the forgiveness of sins, and Peter says that it "saves us." Above we see that Paul told the Galatians that this is how they got "into Christ."</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B><U>BE FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH</U></B></I></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#111111" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Revelation 2:10:</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"...Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life."</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Rom 6:12-13:</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts,</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>13</B></I></FONT><I><B> </B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."</B></I></FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><U>IS GOD CONCERNED ABOUT THE ETERNAL DESTINY OF YOUR SOUL</U></B><B>?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>2 Peter 3:9 says,</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#990000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>John 3:16 says,</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#990000" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Yes, God cares.</B><B> He wants you to spend eternity with Him! He loves you and has provided Jesus Christ as a way for you to come to Him.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I>(All scriptures are from the New American Standard Version of the Bible.)</I></div> <bR> <div> <B> <img src="HTMLobj-303/aniGif.gif" alt="Green Bar" border="0" align="bottom" width="576" height="14">  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>COMMUNION MEDITATION</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>JOHN 2</B></div> <div> <B>They Have No Wine</B></div> <bR> <div> “And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and Jesus also was invited, and His disciples, to the wedding. 3 And when the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come."  5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the headwaiter." And they took it to him. 9 And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom” (John 2:1-9).</div> <bR> <div> As many of you know, the account here in John chapter two is the first recorded miracle of Jesus. During this wedding in Cana, the wine runs out. And Jesus' mother says to Him, “They have no wine.”</div> <bR> <div> As we assemble, we come to drink the grape juice, described in scripture as the fruit of the vine; this exemplifies the sacrificially given blood of Jesus. We might say that we are drinking the “new wine” (It has no fermentation.), which points us to the blood of Jesus. “Do this in remembrance of Me.”</div> <bR> <div> Unfortunately, Mary's words that day to Jesus could symbolically be applied to many people today, “They have no wine.” There are many people; whether by a lack of knowledge or by choice . . . they have no portion in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. I say that to remind us of the blessing that we have as Christians, because we do share in the blessing of Christ's precious blood.</div> <bR> <div> As the account continues, Jesus has the servants fill the waterpots, which are normally used for purification with water. And upon their doing so, the water becomes wine.</div> <bR> <div> Again, the account can be used as an analogy for today. We cannot have the “wine” without the “water.” We cannot share in the blood of Jesus Christ and the resulting blessings without following His instructions. Mary said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”</div> <bR> <div> When we obeyed Christ, we were blessed with all of the abundant blessings that are found only through His purifying blood. To again use words from our text, we are filled “to the brim” with the soul-cleansing power of the blood.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>OFFERING MEDITATION</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Truth About Materialism</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Proverbs 10:15, “The rich man's wealth is his fortress, the ruin of the poor is their poverty” (NASU).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>By definition, materialism is not about how many things we possess, but about our desire for those things (and more). Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (NASU).</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The many things that we have are our possession. We own them. But the question is, “Do they have us?” Are these things our treasures? As Jesus said, if so, that is where we will find our heart also. That is materialism.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Paul told Timothy to warn those who would “fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches” 1 Tim. 6:17, NASU). We have no hope if we only hope in the physical realm and the many things that we have acquired or would like to possess.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B> So when we come together to give to God, the questions that we ask ourselves shouldn't be, “How much do I have to give?” or “If they see me put this in the plate, will they be impressed?” Rather the question that we should ask ourselves as we sit at home and write out that check is, “What or where is my treasure?” And if we find (and I pray that we do) that our treasure is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal relationship that we have with our God. . . . </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Then we will see giving of our tithes and offerings as another opportunity to show our love to the One that has shown such great love for us.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <img src="HTMLobj-3637/aniGif.gif" alt="Green Bar" border="0" align="bottom" width="576" height="14">  </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://users.aol.com/OpenBible/100.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://users.aol.com/OpenBible/100.html"><U><B>Bible Research Library: Salvation</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.uponthisrock.com/Coolgraphics.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.uponthisrock.com/Coolgraphics"><U><B>Some of the Graphics From This Page Are From REAL COOL CHRISTIAN  GRAPHICS</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>