Believing Requires Action
“But when they believed
Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God
In the Bible there was a
definite course of action that was followed when someone believed. Let us take a closer look at this course of
action. It is here that we will
understand God’s plan for man.
Personal Action Plan for Believers
q 1. Hearing the
Gospel.
q 2. Accepting and
having faith that Jesus is the Savior.
q 3. Accepting that
I am a sinner; hopeless without help.
q 4. Repenting of my
evil ways. Turning toward God and away
from sin.
q 5. Being baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ.
q 6. Receiving the
baptism of the Holy Ghost.
q 7. Continually
obeying God’s commandments and Word. I
become a “Doer” of the Word.
Believing through...
Hearing the Gospel.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...”
(Romans 1:16)
“He that believeth on me, as the scripture
hath said...” (John 7:38)
“...And they believed the scripture, and the
word which Jesus had said.... Many
believed in his name...” (John 2:22-23)
“...Should hear the word of the gospel, and
believe. And God, which knoweth the
hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto
us...But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be
saved, even as they.” (Acts 15:7-8; 11)
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving your own selves.” (James
1:22)
Believing through...
Accepting that
Jesus is the Savior.
“The same came for a witness, to bear witness
of the Light, that all men through him might believe.” (John 1:7)
“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) In John 3:15-18, words
with the root word “believe” are
used five different times. Prior to
these verses you will note that Jesus instructed Nicodemus concerning the
necessary action of entering the kingdom
of God kingdom
of God
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection,
and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
(John 11:25)
“...if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall
die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
“But without faith it is impossible to please
him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
(Hebrews 11:6)
Here we see that we not only believe in God, but diligently seek
him.
“...Through his name whosoever believeth in
him shall receive remission of sins.”
(Acts 10:43)
It is so important that
we believe correctly about Jesus Christ.
If we believe wrongly, we reject Him.
To reject Jesus Christ is to reject “Truth”
itself. (John 14:6)
Believing by...
Accepting that I
am a sinner.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin
did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)
Believing by...
Repenting of my evil ways.
If we believe that Jesus
is the Savior and we are a sinner, we will turn from sin towards God. The initial message of both Jesus Christ and
John the Baptist was simple; “Repent.”
(Matthew 3:2; 4:17) Jesus also said, “...Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)
The disciples were
instructed to preach repentance. “And that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem
The Apostles obeyed this
command in the Book of Acts. “And the times of this ignorance God winked
at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” (Acts 17:30)
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that
your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached
unto you.” (Acts 3:19-20)
“And how I kept back nothing...and have taught
you...repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts
20:20-21)
Believing by...
Being baptized in the name of Jesus.
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved...” (Mark 16:16)
“But when they believed Philip preaching the
things concerning the kingdom
of God
“And Crispus, the chief ruler of the
synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians
hearing believed, and were baptized.”
(Acts 18:8) By the way, did you notice what happened when they believed?
The devout man, Cornelius
(and others) received the Holy Ghost and immediately commanded to be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ by the Apostle Peter. (Acts 10:47-48)
The Philippian jailer
believed and was immediately baptized.
(Acts 16:31,33)
Paul explained to the
believers at Ephesus
“When
they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:5)
The Apostle Paul (Saul)
became a believer on the road to Damascus
Believing by...
Receiving the
baptism of the
Holy Ghost.
“...If any man thirst, let him come unto me,
and drink. He that believeth on me, as
the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. (But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet
given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:37-39)
“Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and
all thy house shall be saved. And as I
began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ...” (Acts
11:14-15; 17)
“...Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye
believed?...” (Acts 19:2) The literal translation of
this question reads, “Having believed, did you receive the Holy Spirit?”
“ETERNITY
No comments:
Post a Comment