Chapter 6. 6
Four Spiritual Laws
God’s
plan for your life
Campus
Crusade
Dr.
Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ in 1952 put out a tract
in a very simplified form titled; the FOUR
SPIRITUAL LAWS, which put the cookies of salvation on
the lower shelf where regardless of maturity level, anyone could get to them,
understand and receive them.
The First Law is
that God loves you; God is Love and has a plan for your life. When
I was just a child, the first Bible verse I ever learned was John 3:16, that God so loved me that He gave His ONLY Son to die on the cross for me so that
I could have eternal life with Him. The
Good Book says one of the reasons Jesus came down to earth was to give us
a rich and satisfying life.
THE QUESTION; what’s preventing you from receiving
God’s love; getting in on His plan and enjoying the abundant life now?
1) John 3:16 – God Loves the World
16 For GOD LOVED
THE WORLD so much that
HE GAVE HIS
ONE AND ONLY SON, so that
everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have
eternal life. (NLT)
John 10:10 – God’s purpose is to give life
more abundantly
10 The thief’s (Satan) purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.
MY PURPOSE is to
GIVE THEM
A RICH AND SATISFYING LIFE. (NLT)
The Second Law is that
you are sinful; we have all sinned and fall short of the standard
that God has set. When we fall short; and we all do, the penalty is harsh;
it’s DEATH, not just physically, but we
are spiritually separated from God for eternity and cannot experience
His plan for our lives nor His fellowship.
The Book says our self-willed
passive indifference is evidence of our rebellion and this is the Sin that
ruins the relationship that was intended for us to have with God; our
fellowship is broken. There is now a great gulf fixed between God and sinful
Man.
THE QUESTION; what’s the solution to bridging the gulf
between man and God?
2) Romans 2:23 – We dishonor God when we
break His Law
23 You
are so PROUD OF
KNOWING THE LAW,
but YOU DISHONOR GOD BY BREAKING IT.(NLT)
Romans 6:23 – When we break God’s law, the
penalty is death
23 For THE WAGES OF
SIN IS DEATH, but the FREE GIFT of God is
eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.(NLT)
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – Sin separates us
from God’s presence
7 …He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire
8 bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus.
9 THEY WILL BE PUNISHED WITH
ETERNAL DESTRUCTION,
FOREVER
SEPARATED FROM THE LORD and from his
glorious power. (NLT)
The Third Law is Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for THE
WAY back to Him. It is through the person of
His ONLY Son, Jesus the Christ that we can have our relationship
restored and experience His fellowship for eternity.
The Book says Jesus
is the Way, the Truth and the Life and there is
just NO other way. The sect that believed that Jesus
is the Messiah were known as followers of “THE WAY”.
THE QUESTION; what
must happen in order for you to be a follower of THE WAY?
3) Romans 5:8 – God sent His Son to bring us
back to Him
8 But God showed his great love for
us
BY SENDING
CHRIST to die for us
WHILE WE WERE
STILL SINNERS.
(NLT)
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – For our sins Jesus
died, buried and raised
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been
passed on to me. CHRIST DIED FOR OUR
SINS,
just as the Scriptures said. HE WAS BURIED.
4 AND HE WAS RAISED
FROM THE DEAD on the third day, just as the Scriptures
said.
(NLT)
John 14:6 – Jesus is the ONLY Way, the
Truth and the Life
6 Jesus told him,
“I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.
NO ONE CAN COME TO THE FATHER
EXCEPT THROUGH ME.
(NLT)
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 – Jesus died for our
sins & was resurrected
3 I PASSED ON TO YOU what was most important and
WHAT HAD
ALSO BEEN PASSED ON TO ME
CHRIST DIED FOR OUR
SINS, just as the
Scriptures said.
4 He was BURIED, and he was RAISED
FROM THE DEAD on the third day, just as the Scriptures
said.
5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.
6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of
his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have
died.
(NLT)
Acts 24:14 – The sect that followed Jesus
was called THE WAY
14 But I admit that I follow THE WAY, which they call a cult.
I WORSHIP
THE GOD OF OUR ANCESTORS,
and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the
prophets.
(NLT)
The Fourth Law is we must individually place
our Faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and believe He will give
us the free gift of Salvation and experience His plan for us. It’s not enough
to have an emotional experience or intellectually say; “okay, I believe in
Jesus”; the evidence is the way that you live your life: are you willing to change your worldview?
The Book says we
are saved by God’s Grace alone and not by any thing we have done, are
doing or hope to do. We don’t do good works to be saved, we do good
works because we are saved. Those who place their faith in Him and DO what He commands will receive
the right to become children of God. It’s in the Book
THE QUESTION; Do you
want to receive the gift of salvation & know God’s plan for your life?
4) John 1:12 – All who believe received right
to become children
12 But
to ALL WHO BELIEVED HIM AND
ACCEPTED HIM,
He
gave the right to BECOME
CHILDREN OF GOD.
(NLT)
Acts 16:31 – Believe in the Lord Jesus and
you will be saved
31 They replied, “BELIEVE IN
THE LORD JESUS
AND YOU
WILL BE SAVED, along
with everyone in your household.”
(NLT)
Ephesians 2:8-9 – We are saved by Grace
when we believe
8 GOD SAVED YOU BY HIS GRACE WHEN
YOU BELIEVED.
And
you can’t take credit for this; IT
IS A GIFT FROM GOD.
9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none
of us can boast about it. (NLT)
The Take
Away
It
is the job of the Holy Spirit to plant the seed of Faith
in someone, it’s the Christian’s job to water the seed and its God’s
job to harvest the seed. So we are
not responsible for the planting, nor the harvest, but only for the watering of
the seed.
I was in a Billy Graham Crusade, when the
invitation was given and some people next to me said, “Yawl
Ready” and immediately they ALL went out on the field joining the thousands of others
committing their lives to Jesus Christ. Billy Graham got to water
the seed that the Holy Spirit had already planted and as a bonus he saw God’s harvest and so did I. SELAH
When Jesus Christ ascended back to
the right side of the Father God, He sent the Holy Spirit to draw men unto Himself. So, all
through your life someone has watered the seed that
the Holy
Spirit has planted inside of you; your parents, your school
teachers, your friends or perhaps someone you have just been observing THE WAY they
live out their life.
I will never forget the day that a
co-worker came up to me at the water fountain and said, “I WANT WHAT YOU GOT” and I led him to Christ that very day; I
got to see a seed harvested. We don’t
realize that our everyday lives are a sermon to someone. One of the Thief’s on the cross GOT IT for only
a few brief hours on earth, but HAS
IT now for an eternity in heaven. GET IT while you
are young and have a lifetime to enjoy it. You get to be a part
of what God is doing now; you get to share it with others and change their
destiny. Sometimes we not only get to water the seed, we get to see
the harvest
If you want what I got you can have
it. There is just four simple steps; 1) Believe in Jesus the Son of God. 2) Repent of
your sins. 3) Confess publically Jesus is the Son of God. 4) Be
Baptized in water.
The Book says that
before you begin a project you should sit down and count the cost and
see if you can finish it. There is a cost to Discipleship; it’s
obedience. Noah had faith in God, but it
took more than his faith to save him. He had to obey what the Lord
commanded and BUILD THE ARK. Genuine Faith
brings obedience to God’s commands which in turn brings glory to
God.
Obedience is the difference between being a Believer
and a Make-Believer.
The Book says; FAITH WITHOUT GOOD WORKS IS A DEAD FAITH. Christians are not members of THE SECRET
SERVICE; they should
make a PUBLIC profession of their faith through the sacrament of BAPTISM; they should share their faith through THE WAY they live their everyday lives. We
are NOT saved by our good works; we do good works BECAUSE we are saved. God’s saving GRACE and
our FAITH through obedience complements each
other.
Your actions make your Faith complete. Grace + Faith = Obedience.[1]
1) John 3:16 – Step one; Believe in
Jesus Christ
16 For God loved the
world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who BELIEVES IN HIM will
not perish but
have
eternal life.
(NLT)
2) Luke 13:3 – Step two; Repent of your
Sins
3 … And YOU WILL PERISH, too, UNLESS you
REPENT OF YOUR
SINS and turn to God.
(NLT)
3) Romans 10:10 – Step three; Confess
that you are saved
10 For it is
by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it
is by CONFESSING WITH
YOUR MOUTH that you are saved.
(NLT)
4) Acts 2:38 – Step four; Be Baptized
publically
38 Peter replied,
“Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and BE BAPTIZED in
the name of Jesus Christ TO SHOW that
you have received forgiveness for your sins. Then you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
(NLT)
Prayer
You don’t have to have it all figured
out to become a Christian. God will accept you right where you
are and bring you into the family of God and grow your faith. There is no special prayer; words do not save
you, only Jesus can save you. You can
just tell God you are ready to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Prayer is just a conversation with God. PRAY, just talk
to God.
Father God, I’m
a mess, I feel a heaviness and emptiness inside, and realize that because of my
sins, I am separated from you and deserve death; but Lord God I so want to know
you personally.
I
know I can never reach heaven by my own good deeds, but you have made
provision for my sins to be forgiven by your Son Jesus the Christ dying on the
cross for my sins.
I still don’t understand it all; how the blood of Jesus satisfies my debt, but YOU SAID it satisfies
YOU and that’s all that matters. Right now I place my faith in Jesus Christ who
died in my place and rose from the dead so I could receive the gift of eternal
life.
Please forgive me of my sins and open
up my spiritual eyes to help me to live a life that brings glory to you. Thank
you for your grace of forgiveness and accepting me as a child of God
and giving me fellowship with you for eternity.
Help me to help myself be the kind of
person you would have me to be in your plan. I believe, help me to grow my faith; AMEN.[2]
Mark 9:24 - Help my belief
to increase
24 The father
instantly cried out, “I DO
BELIEVE,
BUT
HELP ME OVERCOME MY UNBELIEF!”(NLT)
Join a
Church
Get
involved with a LOCAL church and be baptized in whatever manner
they offer. There are only two sacrament of the
Church; Baptism and taking Communion. Baptism is not the cause of your salvation,
baptism is a result of trusting Jesus unto Salvation. It is not something
that you do, it’s something that God does to you.[3]
[1] Luke 14:28 – Discipleship
has a cost; it’s OBEDIENCE --
Genesis 6:9-23 – Noah had Faith and OBEYED God’s commands -- Romans 1:5 – Faith and OBEDIENCE brings Glory to God -- James
2:14-26 – Faith without OBEDIENCE is a DEAD FAITH
[2] 1 John 5:11-13 – You can KNOW that you have eternal
life -- John 17:3 – You can know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ -- Ephesians
2:8-10 – We are saved by our Faith & by HIS Grace -- 1 John 5:1 – When we believe, we
become a child of God -- Romans 6:23 – Salvation is a FREE GIFT from God -- John 15:7 – We are charged to READ God’s Word -- John 14:21 – Obey God’s
commandments - Do the Word -- Matthew 4:19 – If you love God, you will SHARE your faith -- John 15:8 –
Doing good works brings God great glory -- Acts 1:8 – The Holy Spirit will help
you share your Faith -- Galatians 5:16-17- The Holy Spirit will guide you into
all truth
[3] Hebrews 10:25 – Join in
and fellowship with a local church -- Acts 2:38 – Repent
of your sins and be baptized -- Acts 22:16 – Why wait? Get up, be baptized into
Jesus Christ -- Galatians 3:27 – Be baptized unto the Character and image of
Jesus Christ -- Revelation 3:20 – Christ knocks at the door of your heart; It’s
your FREE WILL choice
to open. The Holy Spirit can only show you THE WAY to the DOOR; it’s up to you to WALK THROUH
IT.
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