Bible Study Planet » Basics

Praying In Christ’s Name

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:31:48 +0000

1. Praying In Christ’s name means we depend on Christ for access to God

The way to heaven is blocked up by our sins. There is no access for a sinful person to God without a Mediator.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Jhn 14:6)

Jesus Christ is that Mediator. Christ came down from heaven, died for sinners, and gathers them to himself by His effectual calling.

“If anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (1 Jhn 2:1)

“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Eph 3:12)

“Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb 4:14,16)

2. Praying In Christ’s name means we depend on Christ for acceptance of our prayers

After Christ intercedes for us by His work on the cross, he then tells us to go to his Father in his name, and ask what we need. He also gives us His Spirit to help us with our prayers.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 Jhn 5:14)

“I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 16:23)

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Rom 8:26)

3. Praying In Christ’s name means we depend on Christ for a gracious answer

We don’t always get the answer to prayers we want but we will always receive whatever we need to accomplish God’s will in our lives through Christ.

“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (Jhn 14:13)

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13)

Related studies:

Christianity 101: What Is A Christian?

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:10:15 +0000

Christians Are Gospel People

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” – Romans 1:16

Christians are people with a distinctive story. We are people who have embraced the biblical message of the gospel — not only with our heads but also in our hearts.

For Christians, this gospel is the source of our basic identity; we define ourselves by our relation to Jesus Christ.

Christian Are Bible People

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” – 2 Timothy 3:16

Christians are people with a distinctive authority. We believe that God is our ultimate authority, and that the Holy Scriptures are his authoritative self-revelation. For Christians, our ultimate standard is God, who speaks in the Bible.

Christians Are Church People

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2

Christians are people with a distinctive community. We believe that the church is the particular context within which we are to live our lives.

It is within the community of the church that we worship god, hear his Word, and receive the sacraments. It is within the community of the church that we are loved for, cared for, encouraged and held accountable.

- Jules Grisham

Related studies:

The Kingdom of God

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:47:38 +0000

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

The kingdom of God really means the reign of God; it means the law and the rule of God.

The Kingdom Is Here

In one sense the kingdom of God has already come. It came when the Lord Jesus was here. He said, “If I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.” He said in effect, “The kingdom of God is here now; I am exercising this power, this sovereignty, this majesty, this dominion; this is the kingdom of God”.

The Kingdom In The Heart Of Believers

The kingdom of God is also here at this moment in the hearts and lives of all who submit to Him, in all who believe in Him. The kingdom of God is present in the heart of all those who are truly Christian. Christ reigns in such people.

The Future Kingdom

But the day is yet to come when His kingdom shall have been established here upon the earth. That day is coming. The whole message of the Bible looks forward to that. Christ came down from heaven to earth to found, to establish, and to bring in this kingdom.

He is still engaged upon that task and will be until the end, when it shall have been completed. The He will, according to Paul, hand it back to God the Father, “that God may be all in all.”

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” we are praying for the success of the gospel, its sway and power; we are praying for the conversion of men and women; we are praying that the kingdom of God may come everywhere in the world.

It means that we should be anticipating the day when all sin and evil and wrong and everything that is opposed to God shall finally have been routed that the name of God may be glorious and magnified over all.

- Martyn-Lloyd Jones

Related studies:

Heirs of God

admin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:58:07 +0000

“And if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17)

How we become heirs of God

“And if children, then heirs…”

We aren’t heirs because:

1) We are simply God’s creation
Our text doesn’t say “if creatures, then heirs.”

2) Of our heritage
“For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children.” (Rom. 9:6-7)

3) Of our service
“‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matt 7:22-23)

4) Of our ceremonial observances
“He is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised” ( Rom. 4:11)

We become heirs of God when we trust Christ for our salvation. Christ sacrifice on the cross brings us forgiveness of sin and adoption into the family of God. – “God sent his Son to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” (Gal. 4:4)

If we are heirs we have:

1) Believed on Jesus
“To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

2) Been born again
“Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” (John 3:3)

3) Received the spirit of adoption
“God sent his Son to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. You are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Gal. 4:4-5,7)

4) Are being renewed in the image of God
“You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Col. 3:9-10)

What We Inherit

“heirs of God…”

Our inheritance qualifies us to be:

1) Heirs of all things
“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Rev. 21:7)

2) Heirs of salvation
“Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Heb. 1:14)

3) Heirs of eternal life
“Being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:7)

4) Heirs of promise
“When God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath.” (Heb. 6:17)

5) Heirs of the grace of life
“They are heirs with you of the grace of life.” (1 Pet. 3:7)

6) Heirs of righteousness
“By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” (Heb. 11:7)

7) Heirs of the kingdom
“Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” (James 2:5)

Joint Heirs With Christ

“fellow heirs with Christ…”

1) We are only heirs if we are heirs with Christ, through Christ, and in Christ – “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

2) This shows the greatness of the inheritance — it is worthy of Jesus.

3) This guarantees it for us. Jesus will not lose it. His title deed and ours are one and indivisible. His taking us into union with himself secures our inheritance – “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:39)

4) This reveals his love for us. That he would become a partner with us in all things is love unbounded. (1 John 3:1)

5) His prayer for us attains it – “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” (John 17:20)

6) His going into heaven before us prepares it – “I am going there to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)

7) His coming again will bring us the full enjoyment of it – “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:3)

8) This joint heirship binds us to Jesus, since we are nothing and have nothing apart from him – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 14:5)

Let us joyfully accept present suffering with Christ, for it is part of the heritage. Let us believe in the glorification which is sure to follow in due time, and let us anticipate it with great rejoicing.

- Charles Spurgeon

Related studies:

7 Ways God Loves Us

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:00:12 +0000

1) God loves us with Atoning love.

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (Jhn 3:16-17)

God’s love for us is what motivated Him to send Christ into the world to save us. Christ paid for our sins, which had separated us from Him. This sacrifice not only brings us peace with God, it also brings us into a personal, loving relationship with Him. (Rom 5:1-5)

God’s atoning love through Christ is the source of all our spiritual blessings.

2) God loves us with Calling love.

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pet 2:9)

Another way God shows His love for us is by calling us out of the darkness of sin and into the light of fellowship with Him.

Even more, because God has called us to Himself, He promises to protect that relationship (Jhn 10:28) and never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5, 1 Thes 5:23-25)

God’s calling love is a promise to always be with us.

3) God loves us with Redeeming love.

“God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Rom 8:3-4)

Because of our sinful nature, we have no power to fulfill God’s law. But God’s love is shown through Christ who redeemed, or paid, the price we owed for our rebellion. (Gal 3:13)

God’s redeeming love frees us from guilt and fear.

4) God loves us with Justifying love.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Rom 3:23-25)

God’s love is shown by justifying us (or declaring us innocent) by grace through faith in Christ. Christ is treated as if he were the sinner, and the sinner is treated as if he were the righteous one. God now sees us through Christ’s righteousness instead of through our sin.

God’s justifying love allows us to stand accepted before Him.

5) God loves us with Adopting love.

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”” (Rom 8:15)

God shows His love for us by not only forgiving us of our sins, but by going even further and bringing us into His family. He has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. (Col 1:12) This inheritance includes salvation, strength, hope, peace, comfort, providence, fellowship and so much more!

God’s adopting love allows us to call Him “Father”.

6) God loves us with Sanctifying love.

“We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb 10:10)

Still another way God also shows His love is by sanctifying, or setting us apart, for His purpose. We’re sanctified in two ways: positionally and progressively.

We’re sanctified “positionally” when we come to Christ. In the Old Testament the priests would continually make sacrifices because they never permanently paid for sin. But Christ offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice and has paid for our sins once and for all. So we’ve sanctified, or set apart, to obtain salvation through Christ.

We’re also sanctified “progressively” throughout our Christian lives. Progressive sanctification isn’t about our salvation — we’re saved by grace and not by works (Eph 2:8-9) — it’s about how we live after we’ve been saved.

Progressive sanctification is the process of dying to sin and living for Christ by becoming more like Him. It’s about producing the fruits of the Spirit as opposed to producing the fruits of the flesh. (Gal 5:19-23)

God’s sanctifying love sets us apart for His special plans.

7) God loves us with Glorifying love.

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1-2)

Finally, God shows His love by glorifying us. Throughout our lives we’ll wrestle with sin, but we’re promised that the good work God begins in us will be completed. (Phil 1:6) When we go to be with the Lord our sinful nature will be left behind and we’ll like Him, and with Him, forever.

God’s glorifying love is the ultimate destination for Christians.

Related studies:

How Do We Know We’re Saved?

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:45:19 +0000

One of the core teachings of Christianity is that we need to have faith in order to be saved. But what kind of faith saves us?

In a previous study we discussed what it is we’re saved from. In this study we’re going to discuss how we know we’re saved.

To do this, we’re going to look at three examples of people in the Bible who mistakenly thought they were saved, see why they were wrong, and from that learn how we can know we’re saved.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVED THEY WERE SAVED BECAUSE OF THEIR TRADITION

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.’” – John 8:42-44

Our first example comes from a heated exchange between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees — the religious leaders of their day. Jesus tells them that He speaks the words of His Father, while they speak the words of their father, the devil.

These religious people felt they were saved because of their bloodline and because of the traditions they followed. They felt these things made God their Father. Many people believe this today. They feel because they were raised in a Christian home, or because they attend a church, they’re saved.

But Jesus refutes this by saying, “If God were your Father, you would love me…” The requirement for being a child of God is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Notice two things:

1) Notice that Jesus says “you”. Not your parents, or friends or your church but “you”. No one can have a relationship on our behalf. You alone must put your trust in Him to be saved.

2) Notice that Jesus says “me”. It’s not where you were born, or what church you attend that makes you a child of God. It’s a belief and a trust that Christ came from the Father to pay for your sins (John 3:16). John 1:12 tells us that “all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Let’s look at our second example.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVED THEY WERE SAVED BECAUSE OF THEIR BEHAVIOR

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”- Luke 18:10-14

Our next example comes from a parable Jesus told. Here we find that the Pharisee thinks he’s saved because of his good behavior. This is probably the reason most people today believe they’re saved. Most people feel that they’ve lived good lives.

But Jesus refutes this by telling us that it’s not the Pharisee who is justified (declare innocent from sin), but the tax collector. To be justified Jesus tells us we must be humble about our condition. We must realize we’ve sinned and call on God to forgive us.

Notice two things:

1) Notice that the Pharisee compared his behavior to the tax collector.

2) Notice that the tax collector compared his behavior to God.

The tax collector did the right thing because Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It’s “the glory of God” that we fall short of. Our behavior is compared to God — not other people — and all of us fall short when held to this standard. But Romans 3:24 tells us that we can be saved because we’re “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Let’s look at one final example.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVED THEY WERE SAVED BECAUSE OF THEIR WORKS

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” – Matthew 7:21-23

In our final example we find Jesus talking about who will be able to enter the kingdom of heaven. Here we find people who believe they’re saved because of good works they do. Again this is something many people do today.

Jesus refutes this by saying that He won’t accept their works. As we mentioned in our last example, God’s glory is the standard we’re held to, and it’s perfect. So unless our offering is perfect, it falls short of His glory. When we try to offer good deeds to atone for our sins, God rejects that because the sacrifice is stained with sin, and falls short of His glory.

Jesus says that only those who do the will of His Father will enter the kingdom. What is His will? “He commands all people everywhere to repent.” (Acts 17:30) What does it mean to repent? It means to turn from sin, to Christ.

Where our works are stained with sin and rejected, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is perfect and is accepted. When we repent and come to Christ to be our Savior it means we’re relying on His sacrifice to make peace with God on our behalf. When we do this God credits Christ’s perfection to us and we are justified.

HOW WE KNOW WE’RE SAVED

In this study we’ve looked at people who mistakenly thought they were saved because of their tradition, behavior or good works. Each example had one thing in common: Each tried to obtain salvation through their own strength and fell short.

God gives us salvation through His Son. Our salvation isn’t based on what we’ve done, it’s based on what Christ has done. We know we’re saved when we know we trust in Christ completely for our salvation.

VERSES TO REMEMBER

- “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:8)

- “This is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13)

– He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Heb 7:25)

Related studies:

Your Sin Cast Into The Sea

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:49:38 +0000

You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. – Micah 7:19

As soon as a person believes in Christ Jesus, their sins are gone from them, and gone away for ever.

They are blotted out now. What if a man owes a hundred dollars? If he has a receipt for it, he’s free, it’s blotted out, there is an erasure made in the book, and the debt is gone.

Though the person committed sin the debt has been paid, he is no more a debtor to the law of God. Doesn’t our text say that God has cast his people’s sins into the depths of the sea?

Now, if they’re in the depths of the sea, they cannot be on his people too. Blessed be his name, in the day when he casts our sins into the depth of the sea, he views us as pure in his sight, and we stand accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6).

Then he says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12) They cannot be removed and be here still. Then if you believe in Christ, you are no more in the sight of God a sinner, you are accepted as though you were perfect, as though you had at kept the law, for Christ has kept it, and his righteousness is yours. You’ve broken it, but your sin is his, he has been punished for it and you’ve been pardoned from it.

- Charles Spurgeon

Related studies:

Is It Fair For Christ To Die For Our Sins?

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:14:55 +0000

Is it fair for Christ, who was innocent, to be punished for our sins? Isn’t it unjust to punish someone who is innocent, even if he is willing to be punished?

In order to understand how Christ’s atonement can be fair and just, we must understand our relationship with Him.

We’re one with Christ. We’re united with Him. He willingly takes our sin and gives us His righteousness.

Imagine two companies. Company A agrees to purchase Company B, which has great debt that it can’t pay. When Company A buys Company B, they willingly agree to absorb their debt and pay it. Company B’s debt is legally transferred to Company A.

In the same way, Revelation 5:9 teaches that Christ has bought us…

“With your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

And again in 1 Corinthians 7:23…

“You were bought at a price.”

When Christ purchases us, we become one with Him, and He willingly agrees to have our sin debt legally transferred to Himself. This is taught in 2 Corinthians 5:21…

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We’re so closely united to Christ that His death is our death and His resurrection is our resurrection. This beautiful promise is made in Romans 6:5…

“If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Related studies:

What is the Gospel?

admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:03:18 +0000

The word gospel means “good news”. The best description of the gospel is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel…by which you are saved, if you hold fast that which I preach to you – unless you believed in vain. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Let’s break these verses down and see what we discover.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel…by which you are saved, if you hold fast that which I preach to you – unless you believed in vain.”

The first thing we learn about the gospel is that it is the message by which men are saved from God’s judgment. The method God chose to save us is grace. We are “saved by grace and not by works” (Ephesians 2:8) and grace is “the gift of God” (Romans 6:23). Even though we don’t deserve and cannot earn our salvation, God loves us and has made a way for us to be forgiven and that way is a free gift – that’s why it’s good news.

Now let’s look at the mechanics of the gospel.

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried…”

God is perfect and we aren’t. That which makes us imperfect is called sin. Sin separates us from God. Now, let’s be generous and say that we’re 90% good. If God let us into heaven the way we are then heaven would be 10% wicked. So before we go to heaven something needs to change. Our sin needs to be removed.

To remedy the situation God became a man – Jesus Christ – lived the perfect life you and I couldn’t, and died on the cross as a payment for our sins. If we accept Jesus as our Savior our sins are charged to His account and He pays for them (1 John 2:2). We are then “born again” (1 Peter 1:23) and able to enter heaven (John 3:16). The coming and purpose of Christ was foretold all throughout the Old Testament (Luke 24:44). I’m sure the old hymn writer was thinking of these things when he wrote…

“Nothing in my hands I bring…
simply to thy cross I cling!”

“…He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

After Jesus died for our sins He didn’t stay in the grave. After three days He rose again. This too was foretold in the Old Testament (Psalm 16:10) and, by raising His Son from the grave, God showed that the sacrifice Jesus made was sufficient. Because of what Jesus has done we too can look forward to God raising us one day. If you haven’t accepted His offer of forgiveness it’s not too late. It is still being offered today.

“May now be saved, whoever will;
Our Lord Christ Jesus receives sinners still”

What good news that is!

Related studies:

Three Steps of Repentance

admin — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:10:22 +0000

“Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation…” – 2 Corinthians 7:10

To repent means to change one’s attitude towards sin and God. It’s a change that must occur in both the mind and the heart.

In Matthew 27:3 Judas repented in his mind but not his heart. In other words, he had a sense of regret or remorse, but he remained in his sin instead of turning to God for forgiveness.

Repentance of the mind and the heart leads to salvation and consists of three steps:

Step 1 – Recognize Your Guilt
The idea here is that we understand who we are and where we stand before God. 1 John 1:8 tells us that “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” While Romans 6:23 tells us the “wages of sin is death”.

The first step in repenting involves understanding that we are sinners and stand under God’s judgment.

Step 2 – Trust That God Will Forgive You
In Psalm 51 David wrote, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”

Repentance is not only acknowledging our sin, it’s also recognizing that God is willing and able to forgive our sin.

We’re promised in Hebrews 8:12 that God will “forgive our wickedness and will remember our sins no more.”

The second step in repenting involves believing that God will forgive us.

Step 3 -Turn From Sin, To God
Once we realize that we stand before God guilty of sin, and that He is willing to forgive us, we must then come to Him to receive that forgiveness. We come to God the Father though Jesus Christ, who is God the Son.

John 3:16 declares that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 1 John 4:10 tells us that Christ is “the propitiation [or payment] for our sins.”

Because Christ paid for our sins, Romans 3:24 tells us that we have been “justified freely” through Him, and we now stand before God innocent.

The final step in repenting involves calling on Christ to save us from the penalty of sin. Acts 2:21 promises that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.”

Once we have repented and come to Christ for forgiveness Ephesians 2:19 tells us we are “no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.”