Making sure your message is biblically sound, learn to share the gospel in a way that is simple and easy to understand so you will always be able to explain the way of salvation to others.
Can a person be saved by faith, without any works at all? This question is asked frequently, and it is important to know the biblical answer. Not only is it true that a person can be saved by faith without works of any kind, but it is the only way that anyone can ever be saved. Consider some of the clear statements by God concerning this important matter.
It may surprise some of you to learn that there are Christians who either do not believe we go to heaven when we die, or that it is not that important whether or not we go there. Some even think that "going to heaven when you die" is not a legitimate biblical emphasis. They point out that anticipating heaven is not even discussed in most of the Bible, meaning the Old Testament. We are told that believers back then did not concern themselves with heaven, but were intent on establishing God's kingdom on earth. Therefore, we too should have God's kingdom on earth as our focus today.
If by winning the lost we're talking about saving them, then obviously the answer to the question is a firm no. However, if by winning the lost to the Lord we are speaking of reasoning with them and persuading them to trust Christ, then our answer to the above two questions must be an equally firm yes.
How can a loving God let anyone go to hell if they have never heard of Christ and are therefore incapable of believing in Him? Does it seem fair for God to bar people from heaven if they are living up to the light they have?
There is an ongoing debate in certain circles as to whether one may truly believe in Christ as their Savior and keep quiet about it. To put it a little differently, does the Bible allow for what some call "secret believers," or will all genuine believers in Christ publicly confess their faith?
We live in a sense-crazed age where everyone seems to be crying out, "Touch me. Make me feel good. Thrill me. Move me. Excite me. Entertain me. Satisfy me." This blend of existential/relativism has moved right into the churches and living rooms of many of our Christian homes and taken up residence in our lives.
Hypocrites, by their very nature, have no place in their lives for privacy with God. Oh, they may delight in privacy with their books, with their sermon building, or with their thoughts as they plan great things for their careers, church or ministry. But: "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth" (John 4:23–24).
Emotionally people struggle with hell being real for good reasons. Loved ones may have already died and there were clear indications they did not know the Lord. Intellectually it gets no better. Many are persuaded that it is inconceivable that a loving God would allow any of His creatures to endure eternal suffering for any sin no matter how gross, nor for any number of sins no matter how many. Both emotionally and intellectually, many reject the reality of hell.
It is not uncommon for some Christian leaders to resort to isolating verses for the purpose of bolstering a view that would be difficult to support otherwise. This is particularly true when an awkward or wrong interpretation of Scripture provides desired comfort and/or protection to a leader. Such is the case when a pastor, evangelist, Bible teacher, missionary, author, or teacher of God's Word uses the statement "touch not God's anointed" to mean no one should question or force accountability upon them because they are specially anointed ones.
Does the ministry of which you are a part have cultic characteristics? What exactly is spiritual abuse? Spiritual abuse is present when there is the misuse of power, position and influence for the personal gain of the leader or leaders of an organization or movement. Of course, no cult or false religion would ever admit to abusing anyone; nor would any non-cultic church, group, or movement. But when it is being practiced, denying its presence doesn't make it go away. Unfortunately, it seems, spiritual abuse is on the rise in this country.
Does the thought that your prayers to God may not change a thing concern you at all? Are you disturbed by the possibility that God has arranged things so that it only appears as if prayer matters in the outcome of things, but that it really doesn't?
This passage is often quoted by some who teach what is commonly called baptismal regeneration. Usually the teaching goes like this: to be saved you must repent (turn from your sins) and be baptized in water. When you meet these conditions (and usually a few others as well) you will receive "remission of sins."
On the surface this may seem to be a reasonable interpretation — until you begin doing some biblically guided thinking.
Do we who believe in Christ have any rights at all? Yes, indeed we do, but those "rights" may not be what we normally would want to embrace. The biblical rights of true believers in Christ can be categorized as both spiritual and physical and, depending on how you view them, may be seen as either positive or negative.
We should not think it strange that those who boldly proclaim salvation "by grace through faith plus nothing" — are under attack. One of the most diabolical forms of the attack is to say that we are preaching cheap grace and easy believism, implying that we who proclaim such a free, fully-paid-for salvation teach contrary to the great spiritual giants of church history. Even if such criticisms were true, we should never take our beliefs or practices from other men. There is only one authority and that is the Bible! However, such accusations are decidedly not true, as the following samplings from "great spiritual giants of church history" should demonstrate.
Ever since the First Church Council was held in Jerusalem (Acts 15) there has been an ongoing, constant turmoil brewing among Bible believing people concerning what is required for a person to be saved.
The Lord Jesus Christ is One of a kind; there is not, nor has there ever been, anyone like Him. He is not to be compared to any religious leader, for He is far more than that. He was a teacher par excellence, but He was far more than that. He was a miracle worker unlike any this world has ever seen, but He was far more than a worker of miracles. His uniqueness in all areas points to one undeniable fact: He is God Himself who took on flesh and lived among us!
If we who know Christ personally could somehow become fully convinced that "the things which are seen are temporary", we would be the most positively motivated people on planet earth — as, indeed, we should be. Nothing would stop us from being and doing what we should be and do. We would sacrifice anything and everything to carry out God's will as revealed in His Word.
There's no sense in denying that atrocities against the Lord are happening, because they are. We may somewhat understand why such things would occur in the lives of the unsaved, religious person who is a stranger to the new birth and devoid of God's Spirit, but what of the genuine child of God? How is it possible that a man or woman who truly belongs to the Lord would be led into a life that would be an utter disgrace to their Savior?
If we must have faith to please the Lord, it is imperative that we know what faith is and how to appropriate it to our personal lives, our families, our ministries, our businesses, our needs, our wishes, our dreams, and to all of life.
