1. First, the bad news - we’re all sinners in the eyes of God.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
2. More bad news - the result of sin is death.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death.
There are two parts to death. The first death is a physical death here on earth. The second death is the lake of fire (hell).
Revelation 21:8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
That’s a pretty bad list, right? But, notice at the end of the list it said “all liars.” The Bible says, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). The point here is that we’re all sinners and we’re all condemned to hell - even if the only thing you have ever done wrong is tell a lie.
3. Now the Good news – God has a gift He wants to give you (eternal life).
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God has a gift He wants to give you and that gift is eternal life and it is through Jesus Christ. You don’t have to work for the gift and you don’t have to pay for the gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
4. More Good News – Jesus paid the price for our 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.
Just because the gift is free doesn’t mean that someone didn’t pay for it. Since God wants to give you a gift, He’s the giver and you’re the receiver, so He paid for the gift. Jesus paid for the gift by His death, burial and resurrection. Do you believe that Jesus died, was buried and was resurrected on the third day to pay for our sins?
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
God says he wants to give you eternal life, that is life that will never end. This means that when you die the initial physical death, you will not die the second death of being cast into the lake of fire but instead you will go and live with God forever in heaven.
Titus 1:2: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Our hope for eternal life is that God cannot lie. So if God promises you life that will never end, then He will give you life that never ends. Salvation had nothing to do with you, remember it’s “not of yourselves” (Ephesians 2:8). When God forgives you of your sins; He forgives you of all your sins—past, present, future. That is how he can guarantee us eternal life.
5. All you have to do is accept God’s gift for you by faith.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
If someone were to buy a gift, wrap it and write your name on it, it would not become yours until you accepted it. The gift from God is exactly the same. It’s already been paid for by Jesus Christ and God offers it to everyone but you need to accept it. You accept the gift of eternal life by confessing with your mouth while believing in your heart.
Do you want to accept Jesus Christ and be saved from your sins right now? Then just say this simple prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner and that I deserve to go to hell. I believe that you died on the cross, were buried and rose again to pay for my sins. I ask you to save me, forgive me of my sins and take me to heaven when I die. Thank you for giving me eternal life. Amen.
Congratulations, you are saved!
If you prayed that prayer and got saved, send me a message - it would make an old Canadian guy very happy to hear that you got saved. God bless.
Not “obtain”, “practice”.
It is an ongoing thing. Find where you are in error/“missing the mark”/“sinning”, and work on “circumcising” that action from your heart and “repenting”/“turning away from” that sin and walking in obedience.
Three things are required to do this:
Sin follows physics. Nature abhors a vacuum. Don’t just try to pull sin out, the vacuum that is created will suck it back in. Instead, aim to replace it with acts of faith.
The “Roman Road” is likely good as a starting point, but I believe the above is the path of repentance.
Further, a lot of Christianity will claim that “sin” and “faithfulness” (negative and positive laws, respectfully) are only found in the New Testament, but the New Testament appears to be very strongly built upon the Old Testament.
While no ill intention is here, there is ill intention and misguided information everywhere, so I do recommend studying and discerning for yourself in case of error on the part of any counselor. Scriptural reference guides (such as Strong’s) and word studies can be very helpful.
People will tell you that “oh so you’re an expert in translation now! I suppose these guys over here were just dumb compared to your 15 minute study where you’re an expert now!” but always remember that Andrew Cuomo told us the same thing about Hillary’s emails. Don’t allow anyone but God, through the Holy Spirit, to be your authority, and do not forget that “faith” isn’t about studying, but about action. Like a plant, a certain amount of pulling nutrients from the soil and dormancy are necessary to bear fruit, but the fruit must be borne.
Awesome contributions. Thank you so much. 🙏
What if God through the Holy Spirit is exercising His authority through the priesthood of the Church?
How would you know?
I think it's quite clear that if the Holy Spirit was authoritatively guiding Christians in a personal manner, that there wouldn't be such a variety of beliefs between "denominations".
I agree that the New Testament is clearly built on the Old Testament. And in the OT, we are told that the man is the leader (has final say) of his household/family. Surely then it's plausible to believe that the Church is the leader (has final say) on matters of faith and doctrine.
After all, there is nothing new under the sun. The Bible prefigures everything.
I had a long post for this, but in short, Revelation 1:6 my fren.
Was it written for you, and I, and other believers, or for specific people?
I believe that message was written to us, and not to just a select group of people who have passed through a specific training and promotion process into priesthood.
The Kingdom of God is within.
To put it another way, I agree that your proposition is correct, and it seems we are not aligned on our definitions of “priesthood” and “church”.