Now that you are saved
Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
The old life is gone; an new life has begun! - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Let me be the first to say “Congratulations!” You have just made the most important decision of your life! You have invited Jesus Christ to become you Lord and Saviour and Best Friend. Now you belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to you. He will be your Provider, and your Protector, your Healer and your Master.
The Bible says that you now been “born again” into the family of God. (John 3:3-7). God has given you a new heart, old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17) You have passed from death to life (John 5:24), an the life you have inherited is eternal - both in terms of its duration and supreme quality. For it is the abundant life of Christ, and it is yours NOW! (John 17:3; 10:10)
Let me share with you three things you need to know:
First every sin has been completely ABSOLVED. That’s right! Now you are as righteous as you will ever be. In fact, you are as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself because He has clothed you in his own righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Secondly, you have been ADOPTED by God because of your faith in Jesus. You are now a part of the family of God and His Spirit has come to take up permanent residence in your heart! (Galatians 4:4-7)
And finally, you have been ACCEPTED by the Beloved. From this moment forward, you are in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.
He wants you to know him and love Him more dearly than your closest friend. Please take the time to read through this booklet carefully. It is a gift that comes to you with our LOVE. It is going to help you to take the next step in you walk in Jesus.
Grace and Peace.
Todd Hunter
The Way Community
ADOPTED
ACCEPTED
ABSOLVED
What to do now?
Now that you have received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, this book has been written for you. it aims to do two things: to introduce you to the idea of connecting to the Body of Christ - the church and to how you can be completely certain that God has accepted you.
Your best next step as a Christian is to connect to the family of God, the church, where you can feel at home. But why go to church?
Think of it like this: candles stand in candlesticks, light bulbs go into light sockets, and trees grow in soil. Without the candlesticks, candles would fall over. Without being plugged in, light bulbs would never shine. And without soil, trees would simply die.
For Christians, the church is a candlestick, a power source and soil to put down roots - so that you can stand, shine, and grow. Alongside the Bible and prayer, God gave us the church as a rich, powerful resource to make our lives in Christ flourish.
FAITH
TOGETHER
Just as Jesus surrounded Himself with twelve disciples, we must connect with other followers of Jesus. The church shows us that the Christian faith is a “together” faith. When you became a Christian, you were not only brought into a relationship with God; you were brought into a relationship with other people, too. You became a part of God’s people, the church, living on earth.
By new birth you have entered the family of God and belong to the HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH (Galatians 6:10). This is good news, because it means belonging to a group of people, rather than to an institution
Being a Christian means to FOLLOW JESUS. As Christians, God calls us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. So - did He actually go to church? There were no churches in Jesus’ time, but He regularly went to a place where people worshipped the true God. And so did His first followers. Worshipping God together with other believers is an essential part of being a Christian.
The Bible says nothing about “solo” believers. To say, “I want to be a Christian, but I don’t want to belong to a church,” would be like saying, “I want to be married, but stay single!” You simply cannot become a Christian on your own.
THE CHURCH
AND YOU
Because the church consists of God’s people, it is where you encounter God in community with a others. One Christian leader put it simply: “A church is where the Holy Spirit is.” In the presence of God’s people, we are brought face to face with God’s love, power, and majesty. By new birth you have entered the family of God and belong to the household of faith.
BY BEING A PART OF THE CHURCH YOU CAN...
Get to know other Christians an make new friends who will be able to encourage you in your newfound faith. Hear teaching from the Bible, which will help you to understnd your faith better, and enable you to grow. Meet with Jesus in the company of others.
A CHURCH IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN FEEL AT HOME AND WHERE YOU CAN PUT YOUR ROOTS DOWN, LIKE A TREE PLANTED BY THE RIVERS OF WATER. (PSALM 1:3)
A healthy and solid expression of the Body of Christ
Good biblical teaching
Worship that enables you to encounter God
People who are friendly and committed to your growth as a Christian
BECOMING PART OF THE WAY COMMUNITY
You have been blessed because you have been born again into a wonderful expression of the family of God - The Way Community. The person who introduced you to Jesus and gave you this book is part of this spiritual community. So that makes you family! You can trust that you will be warmly welcomed and you don’t have to make your way into this new community alone, because they will be there to introduce you around.
The starting point for most people is by going along to a house church with your friend. You will find it a lot easier meeting a few people there before visiting a larger gathering.
AS JESUS HIMSELF SAID: WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, I AM THERE IN THE MIDST OF THEM.
(MATTHEW 18:20)
THE CHURCH IS NOT FOR ME
You need others. And others need you! The church does not exist only for the people inside it, but also to serve the world around it. Others need what you have found in Jesus Christ. Churches like The Way Community all around the world are working to bring the good news of Jesus to people in need - and everyone willing to join that work is welcome! Your church will help your reach out and help others. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and join in the greatest move of God ever known; bringing the new life of Jesus to everyone on earth.
THE CHURCH IS THERE NOT JUST FOR THE PEOPLE INSIDE IT, BUT ALSO TO SERVE THE WORLD AROUND IT
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO ME?
Sometimes a television report will show the exact moment when someone is told they won a large cash prize. At first the winner refuses to believe it They think it’s a mistake or some kind of hoax. The after a few seconds they accept the news and start to jump up and down. But even during the excitement, they can’t quite take in what winning means for them. They still do not fully understand what just happened.
The same is often true when someone like you turns to God and stars to follow Jesus. You know that you’ve taken an important step , but still have many questions. What does it all mean? What has happened to me? How will this change my life?
The bible answers these questions and many more. It uses several rich images to describe what happens when we turn to Jesus. Here are just a few.
YOU HAVE BEEN DECLARED “NOT GUILTY” BY GOD
On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for everything we do wrong, setting us free so we are completely forgiven by God. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED FROM DARKNESS
Whatever kind of darkness you were in - fear, despair, guilt, addiction, grief, or bitterness - Jesus has rescued you from it and is already bringing you into the light. “God has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN
What has happened to you is so important that the Bible calls it being “born again” (John 3:3). Your life has been changed forever because God now lives in you by HIs Holy Spirit. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
YOU HAVE BECOME A CHILD OF GOD
As a son or daughter of God, you can begin to talk to Him personally, as your Father. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
YOU HAVE COME HOME TO GOD
Like the prodigal son Jesus’ parable, you have returned home after being far from God, and He has WELCOMED YOU WITH OPEN ARMS. “For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24).
YOU HAVE FOUND PEACE WITH GOD
Becoming a Christian marks the beginning of a new relationship with God. You have been reconciled to God, and you will find a new quality of living at peace with Him. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
YOU HAVE JOINED THE PEOPLE OF GOD
As well as a new relationship with God, you have also become part of the people of God. You need other Christians and they need you. “Once [you] were not a people but are now the people of God” (1 Peter 2:10).
RELATIONSHIP
WITH GOD
As we will see in the next few pages, the Bible is a major resource for every Christian to use in their relationship with God. If you have a Bible, take a few minutes now to read Jesus’ story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. Jesus told this story to paint a vivid picture of how God welcomes those who turn to Him.
Discovering what happened to you as a new Christian is an important first step. Of course, it is only the beginning. God is so great and inexhaustible that we will continue to discover new things about Him to the end of our lives. Some have even said that, the more you know about God the more you realize there is to know!
MADE RIGHT
WITH GOD
The Bible uses many pictures to describe what we were like before God took action to rescue us. It says that we were “far” from God (Ephesians 2:13). We had “fallen short” of what He created us to be (Romans 3:23). We were spiritually “dead” because of our sins (Ephesians 2:1). Far away from God, cut off from God, guilty of our sins, our situation was desperate. So how did God save us?
BROUGHT TO JUSTICE
The New Testament uses courtroom language to explain what Jesus achieved for us. Paul says we have been “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). What does this mean? One way to picture it is like this... Imagine a courtroom filled with stern officials, a prosecutor, a judge, and two defendants - a man and a woman - standing in the dock. The jury returns with a verdict of guilty. The defendants stand condemned. They must suffer the penalty an pay the price. If they ask to be set free, the court would bust into disbelieving laughter. Now picture a similar scene, but in a different place: heaven’s courtroom. The defendants stand before the highest judge of all - God. Acting against them is “the accuser,” Satan, who demands a verdict of guilty. Acting for them is their Advocate, Jesus. As John wrote, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).
THE MISSING EVIDENCE
The problem is that the defendants know they are guilty. And the Judge of all the earth must act justly. There seems to be nothing left to do but to pass sentence. But then Jesus steps forward and challenges the accuser: “Where is your evidence?” That causes quite a stir! The accuser is embarrassed. As he goes through his case papers, he cannot produce any evidence: no exhibits, no statements by witnesses, no records of any description. Not a single scrap of proof - no sign of wrongdoing can be found in the entire universe. Paul describes it in this way: And you , being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14).
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO IT?
The evidence of our sin has been destroyed! Jesus Christ gathered it all and carried it into the fires of God’s judgment at His crucifixion. During the terrible hours of Jesus’ death, the record was consumed without a trace.
NO
CON
DEM
NAT
ION
Jesus the advocate now makes His sensational claim to the whole court: “There is no evidence against this man and woman.” The accuser withdraws in rage, and the Judge pronounces the defendants “not guilty.” They are set free, justified by God’s grace.
This is a simple, graphic way of beginning to understand what Jesus had done for us. He puts us right with God. He declares that we are not guilty. As Paul says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Our sins have been forgiven and forgotten by God because of what Jesus achieved on the cross.
Because of this, Christians never need to fear God’s final judgment. Jesus promised, “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” (John 3:17-18).
Jesus came to set us free from fear - the fear of judgment, sin, and death. The New Testament word for “judgment” is the Greek word “krisis” - from which the English word “crisis” is derived. So anyone who has been born again will never know the “crisis” hour of standing in the judgment, waiting to find out whether he or she is saved or lost. The matter is already settled.
HOW CAN I BE SURE
If you still feel uncertain, you are not alone. Some of the biggest questions people have when they first become Christians are: How can I know that God loves me? How can I be certain that I am forgiven? How can I know that I have eternal life?
BECOMING CERTAIN
The good news is that God understands your questions and wants you to be certain of you new faith. You don’t have to wonder whether God loves you - you can know it for yourself. In one of the Bible’s great stories, Paul brings the good news of Jesus to the town of Philippi in Greece. He and his friends are beaten and thrown into prison. But an earthquake shakes the prison as they pray and sing to God during the night. Frightened for his life, the prison guard cries out: “What must I do to be saved?” Paul’s reply is full of certainty: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31)
The first Christians were sure about the faith. Here a just three examples of what God has done for us... John, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, wrote this in one of his letters: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have Eternal Life” (1 John 5:13).
Paul wrote to some of the first Christians: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but...
The Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God
1 Corinthians 2:12
Paul prayed this great prayer: I pray that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and...
Ephesians 1:18-19
What is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe
How can we have this confidence in God for ourselves? How can we have “the full wealth of assurance,” as Paul puts it? God has given us two “witnesses” to reassure us of His LOVE and ACCEPTANCE. These witnesses are the Word of God (the Bible) and the Spirit of God.
YOU HAVE
ETERNAL
LIFE
THE WORD
OF GOD
Many people think that they can base their faith on their feelings. The problem is when their feelings plummet, their faith goes down with them!
The Christian faith is based on something much more solid than feelings. It is based on what Jesus accomplished for us through his life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. The bible witnesses to these historical events, and it is through the Bible that you can become certain of your newfound faith.
But what is the Bible? The Bible is not a record of what people have thought about God; it is a record of what God thinks about us!
It is God’s inspired message to humankind. That is why Christians call it “the Word of God.” The Bible is a book you can completely rely on to tell you the truth about God and about yourself.
As Jesus said, Heaven and earth will pass away, by My words will by no means pass away (Matthew 24:35).
Our feelings my come and go, but we can know that we are saved and accepted by God because the says we are.
PROMISES
YOU CAN
RELY ON
HOW CAN I KNOW THAT GOD HEARS ME?
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12-13).
HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT GOD LOVES ME?
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39.
HOW CAN I KNOW THAT GOD IS WITH ME?
Jesus said, the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. (John 6:37) God HImself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
HOW CAN I BE CERTAIN THAT I AM FORGIVEN?
If we say that we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).
HOW CAN I KNOW THAT I HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?
Jesus said, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (John 5:24).
An interviewer once asked a professor of theology how he would sum up the Christian faith. The interviewer expected a long, complex reply. The professor thought for a moment, then simply quoted a children’s song:
“JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.”
This is truly the heart of the Christian faith. We know that we are loved and accepted by God because of what the Bible, God’s Word, tells us.
HERE ARE SOME OF GOD’S PROMISES FROM THE BIBLE FOR THOSE WHO TURN TO HIM. IF YOU HAVE ASKED GOD TO FORGIVE YOUR SINS AND GIVE YOU NEW LIFE, THEN YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THESE PROMISES ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO YOU.
BELOVED NOW WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD
1 JOHN 3:2
Jesus said that when someone enters God’s kingdom, or becomes a Christian, they are born again. “Most assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3)..
When you were born, your parents received a birth certificate, which you stil use to prove your identity. You are who you are, no matter how you feel about it. Even if you were to suffer a memory loss, your identity would remain the same. Your birth certificate states who you are and that settles it.
The same applies to what the Bible says about you. If you have received Jesus Christ into you life, then you have been into God’s family. The Bible is your birth certificate. It declares your identity even when you do not feel like a Christian, or if you forget it! We can trust the Bible to declare our new birth the same way we trust our original birth certificate.
MOST ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, HE WHO HEARS MY WORD AND BELIEVES IN HIM WHO SENT ME HAS EVERLASTING LIFE AND SHALL NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT,
BUT HAS PASSED FROM DEATH INTO LIFE.
(JOHN 5:24)
These are powerful words from Jesus! They affirm that if you have repented and received Jesus, then you have eternal life and have crossed over from death to life. You can stake your life on it!
YOUR LIFELINE
God has given us His Word, the Bible so that we can understand Him better and grow strong in our faith. IF you start reading it regularly, you will quickly discover that the Bible is a lifeline for you.
You may still feel worried about your new faith. Is it all really true? Has God actually recued me from sin? The Bible warns us that satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). He is a master at the game of deception. You might feel certain of your faith one day, but uncertain the next. Your faith can come under attack.
What should you do? The answer is: GO TO THE WORD OF GOD. Find a Scripture like John 5:24, and read it over and over again! Take it to God in prayer and ask Him to write it on your heart. Remember that the Bible is your birth certificate. God says that you are His child and that you have eternal life - and His Word is true. These are promises you can stake your whole life on. As you read the Bible, you will discover more and more of God’s promises to you. They will help you to become established in your faith.
GOD'S WORD ESTABLISHES
YOUR FAITH
THE SPIRIT OF GOD
The second way you can be certain of what God has done for you is through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. When someone becomes a Christian, God becomes present in his or her life, by the Holy Spirit.
But who is the Holy Spirit? Christians believe that God is so much greater than us, that He is on a different level of being. This is why Christians say there are three persons with the ONE GOD - THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.
This belief in God as a Trinity is much more than just a dusty old theory. It tells us that the God of the Bible is much greater and more glorious than we can ever think or imagine: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honour, and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).
CHILDREN OF GOD
The Holy Spirit is the person who puts us in touch with God. He brings God’s presence, God’s love, and God’s power into our lives. He gives us the strength to live as Christ lived, and He gives us the inner certainty we need about our faith.
The Bible tells us: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). Notice that the Bible use the “spirit” twice? Once with a capital letter for God’s spirit, then with a small letter for our human spirit. God’s Spirit assures us, deep inside our hearts, that we truly are the children of God.
As children of God, we start to relate to God as our Father. Many people have had bad experiences with their human fathers, but God is the Father according to original specifications - loving and patient, protective and caring, ready to listen and speak to us, and is also firm with us when we need it.
So it is the Spirit who enables us to relate to God as our Father: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba Father’” (Romans 8:15). As God’s Spirit works inside you, your life - the way you behave, think, and feel - will be changed.
In the coming months as you grow in your faith and learn to relate to God in prayer, your own experience of Him will ring true to the promises of the Bible.
Someone once pictured the Holy Spirit as the “Secretary of the Trinity.” One job of any company secretary is to communicate the board’s decisions to the right people. This is similar to what the Holy Spirit does. After you have received Jesus into your life, the Holy Spirit immediately swings into action. A registered letter, so to speak, arrives at the door of you heard with the following message...
The Secretary of the Trinity
Dear ........................
The Father and the Holy Son have asked me to tell you that your sins have been forgiven and completely blotted out. You are a child of God.
They have also asked me to let you know that your name has been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in heaven.
I have been told to encourage you to be faithful to Jesus to the end because an incorruptible crown and inheritance are waiting for you in heaven.
Finally, I urge you to be strong in the Lord and in His great power!
Yours forever.
On behalf of the Trinity
The Holy Spirit
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE
PLUG INTO
GOD'S
POWER
HOW TO BE A
HEALTHY CHRISTIAN
BY READING THE BIBLE, WHICH IS GOD’S MESSAGE TO US.
EAT GOOD FOOD
BY PRAYING TO GOD AND ALLOWING HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO CHANGE YOU.
DRINK PLENTY
BY LIVING FOR GOD AS A CHRISTIAN IN TODAYS WORLD.
EXERCISE
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BY READING THE BIBLE, WHICH IS GOD’S MESSAGE TO US.
EAT GOOD FOOD
IN THE COMPANY
OF GOD’S FAMILY
RELAX
That brings us back to the beginning, connecting to a church that will encourage you as a Christian. The church is the only place where you can start to receive all the God longs to give you and your connection to The Way Community means you already have start!
May God richly bless you as you follow Jesus. In the words of the Apostle Paul:
I pray that God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
(Ephesians 3:16-19)