No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and the Spirit. John 3:5
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:47
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Rom 10:13
| Open their eyes and turn them to the light and God. Acts 26:18
When they came up out of the water… . The eunuch went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:39 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Col. 1:13 |
| Acts 26:18
Turn them from darkness – And from the power of Satan. Enemies of Jesus Christ. 2:35 Corrupt generation. 2:40 Wicked ways. 3:26 The new birth plus justification by faith doctrines This chart is to be used by a member of the church for his or her personal evangelism. The intent is to teach justification by faith in conjunction with one’s new birth. Please note the movement is from left to right on the chart – from darkness to light (Acts 26:18). Emphasis is on the concept of the two realms as they are set forth in Eph. 2:2 and 2:6. The continuous flow of God’s grace is received by Christians based upon our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. This continuity of being counted righteous and holy by God is accomplished by adding justification to the new birth. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Rom. 4:25. We have emphasized man’s part in the new birth processes. Man’s part in the new birth is faith and repentance (see chart). God has supplied all the other parts – the blood of Jesus and even the water for the Biblical practice of baptism. Please note how man’s part in his or her new birth is also a Christian’s part in justification by faith. The doctrine of justification by faith is only for Christians. By our faith and its continuous strengthening in Christ we are counted as righteous (I John 1:7). This gives us a peaceful fellowship with Deity (Rom. 5:1). Because of our continuous attitude of repentance we are saints in God’s view (Rom. 6:19-23). The grace of being counted righteous because of our faith demands slavery to God’s righteousness. Christians are saints because of our willingness to maintain a repentant attitude. This demands a Bible definition of the quality both faith and repentance. The quality of faith that works for us in justification can be understood by a study of Abraham’s faith in James 2:18-24. Please note how God tested the faith Abraham already possessed. Abraham’s faith was classified as “perfected faith,” only after he passed the test. See verse 22. This is the quality of faith that works for Christians in justification. John the Baptist’s definition of repentance is that one’s repentance should be witnessed in his or her changed life in regard to the sin of which they repented. (Luke 3:8). No fruit, no repentance. We need to understand both the state and process of a justified life in Christ (Rom. 5:18, 19). The state of the relationship with God of a faithful repentant Christian at any moment is that we are 100% righteous and a saint. See I John 3:7-10; I Cor. 1:2. Righteousness has to do with what we do and holiness has to do with what we be – who we are. At the same time we are in the process of practicing righteousness more perfectly, we are in the process of becoming more like Jesus (Gal. 4:19). We understand we come short of God’s glory as we move from glory to glory; however, as we are in this process of growth, our state is that we are “holy and blameless.” Our state relates to God’s view of our dedication and faith. Because of our faith in the doctrines, our view of our “self” is the same as God’s view. See Eph. 1:4; Rom. 3:23; II Cor. 3:18. This view of our “self” is the goal of our spiritual growth. Christians are continually in the process of recreating ourselves (Gal. 6:15). |
