Bible Studies
Lesson 2
Topic: Faith for Salvation
Memory Verse: John 3:15-16
Introduction:
Another important condition (apart from repentance) which we need for us to enter into the kingdom of God is “Saving Faith”. For us to be saved and become the disciples of Jesus Christ, we must believe that we are sinners and Jesus died and shed his blood for our sins. We must repent of our sin and ask God to forgive us. Then we must yield our lives to Jesus and make him Lord and Saviour of our lives (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21; John 1:12).
What is Saving Faith?
This is simply faith leading to salvation and it implies:
i. Committing your life to God (Psalm 37:5)
ii. Believing in Jesus (John 3:15).
iii. Becoming obedient (Romans 6:17).
iv. Believing with your heart (Romans 10:9-10)
v. Believing the Bible as the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
vi. Putting your trust in God (Hebrews 2:13)
vii. Inviting Jesus into your life (Revelation 3:20).
The Bridge Illustration:
What it Means to be Born Again
In Christianity, born again refers to a "spiritual rebirth" of the human soul, contrasted with the physical birth everyone experiences. When a person accepts Jesus as the Messiah and receives the Holy Spirit, a radical "change of heart" (Ezekiel 36:26) occurs. This change is marked by the fruits (Matthew 7:16-20) of an intense aversion to sin and passion for obedience to the commandments of Jesus Christ
- “therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; ... (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- “now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely; ... (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
The Bible makes reveals that we are more than just a body and soul. The body is the physical part of us. Our soul is made up of our mind, our will and our emotions.
Our emotions expresses how we feel, our mind tells us what we think and our will communicates what we want.
Until a man is born again of the Spirit, his soul will run his life. He is used to assessing situations with his mind and reaching his own conclusions.
He pays particular attention to his emotions and allows his emotions to rule him (Ephesians 2:1-2)
To be Born Again means that we receive life in our soul which has become dead because of sin. When we receive Christ we are made alive by the Spirit of God in body, soul and spirit (Galatians 5:16-25; Romans 8:9-14; John 3:3-8).
