GET
ROOTED IN YOUR FAITH
In the coming days Satan will begin an assault on you
in an attempt to undermine your faith in Christ. (I
Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:16, Matthew
13:3-24).
Some of his specific goals are:
- To plant seeds of doubt and despair in order to rob
you of the joy and assurance of your eternal
life.
- To lead you astray in order to keep you from growing
in the knowledge of the truth, and
- To keep you from sharing your faith in Christ with
others.
Here
are some tips on how to stand firm against his
attack.
THE SHIELD OF FAITH: EPHESIANS
6:10-17
1. Since the gospel is the
cornerstone of the Christian faith, Satan will immediately
begin his attack by trying to confuse you about the truth of
the gospel. To withstand the assault you are about to
face, you must become firmly rooted in the truth of the
gospel. To do this, determine right now that you will
read this Gospel presentation once a day for an entire
month. Don't stop after ten or fifteen days even if
you have memorized it! And above all, don't let Satan
discourage you by telling you that you "don't have time," or
that you have more important things to do. This is a
classic lie of Satan. Don't believe it. (Matthew
13:1-9, 19-23; 8:21-22; Luke 10:38-42, 12:16-31, 14:16-20;
Ephesians 5:16).
2. Don't try to gain assurance of your
relationship with Christ or grow in spiritual truth through
"mystical feelings" or "quiet little voices" inside your
head. What we "feel" in our hearts is no more reliable
a guide to spiritual truth than it is to truths concerning
mathematics or geography. Would you try to drive
hundreds of miles of back country roads in the fog without a
road map simply by trusting your "feelings"? Of course
not! Yet this is how many people foolishly try to live
their Christian lives!
3. In order for us to grow in spiritual truth,
God has given us a source of truth which is sure and
steadfast. It is called the Bible. Try to read
your Bible every day. Start by reading the Book of
Galatians. It is St. Paul's defense of the gospel and
the doctrine of grace. Read one chapter each day until
you have read the entire book (6 chapters) five times.
This will take one month. In the next month, read
through the entire book once a day. This will firmly
establish you in some of the most basic and important
doctrines of the Christian faith, providing the kind of
foundation that is essential for sound Christian
growth.
FEELINGS MAY BE THE WHISPERING OF
SATAN. BUILD
YOUR FAITH ON THE WORD OF
GOD.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God. Romans
10:17
4. Once you have become
rooted in your understanding of the gospel, find a good
church. To do this, ask the pastor how one gets to
heaven. If he says it is through living a good life,
obeying the Ten Commandments, baptism, confession, church
membership, or some other incorrect answer -- turn around
and look for another church. If the pastor doesn't
even know the gospel, the most basic belief of the Christian
faith, then he doesn't even know the first thing about
Christianity! Why would you want to go to a church
where the pastor doesn't even know how to get to
heaven? Find a good
church! THANK
GOD DAILY
According to the Bible, many wonderful things happened
to you the moment you understood the gospel and trusted in
Christ alone as your Savior.
- You received a pardon for all the sins you will ever
commit. (Romans 5:1)
- You received eternal life as a free gift.
(John 5:24, 10:28)
- You are assured of going to heaven. (John
14:1-3)
- You became a child of God. (John
1:12)
- You have a friend who understands what you are going
through and is there to help you in time of need.
(Hebrews 2:18, 4:15-16,; Psalm 68:5)
In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus cleansed ten lepers, and nine
of them went their merry way without so much as stopping to
thank Him! So that you don't follow the example of the
nine ungrateful lepers, you can show your thanks to God for
what He has done for you by living your life in a manner that
is pleasing to Him, obeying His commandments and walking
according to His Word. (Luke 7:40-43, I John 4:19,
John 14:21)
SHARE THE GOSPEL
Imagine that one day you are walking down the
sidewalk, and a piano which was being hoisted into a tenth
story apartment broke loose, and was falling towards you
without your knowledge. All of a sudden someone you have
never met runs over to you and pushes you out of the way to
save you, only to be crushed himself by the falling
piano. As he lies dying, his trembling hand takes a
letter from his pocket, and he asks you to take it and deliver
it for him. Would you?
Jesus, who died to save you, has left such a letter
with you. That letter is called The Gospel. "And
He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to every creature.'" Mark 16:15 (Also see Matthew
28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Romans 10:14-15) Are you
willing to take the letter which Jesus has left with you and
try to do as He has asked?
If you are, simply ask a friend or an acquaintance:
"Has anyone ever shown you from the Bible how you can know for
certain that you will go to heaven when you die?" If
they say no, simply ask, "May I?" Most people will be
eager to find out how they can know this for sure! If
they are interested, simply sit down and take time to share
this presentation with them. They will be eternally
grateful!
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