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068 – Hearing and Accepting the Message

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth lesson from our eleven part video series called, “A Faith that Obeys.” You can find the original video and transcript HERE. We are dropping this lesson into our regular podcast feed so that the information can reach a wider audience. In this lesson, we will review the the first two steps in the Biblical Plan of Salvation which are, Hearing the Message of the Gospel and Accepting the Message of the Gospel.

The Entire World Hears the Gospel

In this world of ours today the scriptures span the globe. There are very few places left, if any, where the name of Jesus has not been proclaimed. Millions of people have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. At some point in the past, you perhaps made a personal commitment to Jesus because of something you either read or heard. Somebody, sometime, somehow told you about Jesus

The story about Jesus, his death and resurrection is called the Gospel. And hearing the Gospel message is the first step everyone takes in the Biblical plan of salvation. I am unaware of any Christian group which does not recognize that there is a process one goes through on the way to salvation. Sometimes we illustrate this process using clever metaphors. These wonderful illustrations are designed to help us understand the plan of salvation clearly. One popular metaphor is called “The Romans Road.”

You may have heard of it. Using the book of Romans, in the Bible, we can trace out a pathway which leads to salvation. The metaphor we will use to illustrate the Biblical Plan of Salvation, is not a pathway but a staircase, as I mentioned in the last lesson. Just as there are steps we travel on the Roman Road, there are several steps on our staircase which every person takes on their journey to salvation, or the forgiveness of sins. Here’s the illustration of our metaphor. 

The First Two Steps – Hearing and Accepting the Gospel

We have already identified the first step, so let’s label this first step, “Hearing the Message.” Every person in the history of the world, who has ever come to know Jesus, has taken this first step. This should be pretty obvious! If you consider yourself a Christian, that means you heard the Gospel, you made a conscious decision to respond positively. Perhaps you were in a church, listening to the radio, watching the TV or a friend brought the message to you. You decided to make Jesus, Lord of your life. You may remember that day clearly. You made a decision. You accepted the message; you didn’t reject the message. And guess what, that would be the second step in the Biblical plan of salvation. 

Let’s label the second step, “Accepting the Message.” Again, this is pretty obvious. For someone to be saved, they must accept the Gospel message. Rejecting it would get them nowhere!

Be Super Careful. Never Confuse Repentance with Salvation

For many people, it is at this point, as they surrender their will to Jesus and make Him Lord of their lives, that they might feel an inexpressible joy and relief as they understand they have crossed over from a dark life of sin and have been born again into the wonderful light of salvation. They are comforted by the fact that they will never walk alone again, they will have their Lord and Savior walking with them. The point in time when this occurs is what we previously called a “salvation experience.” 

The goal of this series, “A Faith that Obeys,” is to identify the exact point in time when this “Salvation Experience” occurs. Most people who call themselves Evangelical Christians can point back to a specific point in time… in the past… when a “salvation experience” happened for them. This is the moment in time which they would point back to and say, “That’s when and where I became a Christian.” or “That’s the point in time I was Born Again.”

The Stumbling Block of the Sinner’s Prayer

Many churches use a well know method, which was developed in the late 1800’s, to help folks respond to the Gospel message. It’s called “The Sinner’s Prayer.” You may have prayed it or something similar. Using this technique, a minister, preacher or some other leader will ask someone who has heard the message and wishes to responded positively, to recite a brief, simple prayer which might sound something like this…

“Lord Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner and I need you in my life. I know you are standing at the door of my heart, knocking to come in. Lord Jesus, right here and right now, I invite you into my heart. Save me from my sin and help me live my life for you. Amen.”

For the vast majority of people with an evangelical background, this, or something very similar, is how they became a Christian, they gave their life to Christ or “Accepted Christ.” Can you think back to an exact time and place when this happened for you? Mark that clearly in your mind. Jot it down on a sheet of paper. By the way, this was my experience at about 22 years of age. I prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer” with a neighbor friend, accepted Christ and invited Jesus into my heart. Most folks believe, when someone accepts Christ, they are saved; which means, as we have discussed, their sins are forgiven and they begin their new life in Christ. 

Let’s mark a “Line of Salvation” right above the second step on our illustration to indicate that the forgiveness of sins occurs at this point in time. Remember, the forgiveness of sins equals saved and saved means this is the exact point in time you were born again and became a Christian. 

Born again = Christian = Saved = Sins are Forgiven

Sometimes, if someone accepts Christ through a radio broadcast or television program, they are encouraged to join a local Bible based church in order to experience and be strengthened by the fellowship. New converts are encouraged to read and study their Bible and to live a life that honors God. In many churches, these “babes in Christ” are told that water baptism is a very important command of Jesus and they should be baptized as soon as possible… in obedience to the Lord, since they are now been saved and their sins have been forgiven. Sometimes new converts are taught that water baptism is their first real act of obedience as a new Christian. This is a general overview of the modern plan of salvation which is promoted and used by most of the evangelical world today. Different churches and denominations use different words or phrases and make adjustments to this plan in various ways but basically, this is the plan. 

Right Plan or Wrong Plan?

Now, there’s just one problem with the modern plan of salvation. It’s not the Biblical plan. The Bible never teaches us to simply and only believe in Christ for our salvation even though there are scriptures which seem to support that view. It never teaches us to say a prayer to be saved. It never teaches us to ask Jesus to come into our heart. It does not teach that our sins are forgiven as a result of decisions we make or actions we take outside of Biblical obedience. We are not saved by works, things we do. The Bible never uses a phrase like “accept Christ as your personal Lord and savior.” Does this surprise you? There is much more to the Biblical plan of salvation than these first two steps. Something horrible has happened to the plan of salvation over the last millennia. It has been changed! This modern plan is still very very close, but there are critical things missing and out of place. Frankly, this shouldn’t surprise anyone.

This might be summed up as, “accepting Christ for salvation.” When you believe or accept the message and receive Christ as savior, you become a Christian and your sins are forgiven.

Perfect Counterfeiting

Listen. If Satan wanted to offer a counterfeit plan, why would he create a lame one? Remember my $100.00 bill drawn with a green crayon? No one would accept that!

Satan’s counterfeit would need to be so good and so convincing, so very close to the Biblical plan, that it could trick anyone who is unwilling to compare the plan they learned and followed to the Biblical plan of salvation… once you are made aware of it. Satan doesn’t deny the plan, he simply changes some things around, just a little bit, then provides a warm environment in which his lie can grow! Satan’s plan is an absolutely delicious plan served up with very real emotions of joy and love, warm physical feelings and often, some very real experiences. All these are expertly crafted to confirm his lie.

Satan Uses Traps

I hope you are a little concerned at this point. Once again, I’m going to ask you to step back if you’re feeling a little emotionally charged. I am merely asking that you think about, pray about and evaluate the things you are learning. But please, never for a moment think that any of us could not be deceived by that snake. Remember, it has always been his trick to twist or question God’s commands from Eve’s experience in the Garden… to Jesus temptation on the temple roof…. should we be so naive to think he would not try to twist our understanding of the Bible. The only way we can possibly know God’s will and his plan of salvation is to carefully, diligently, study His word keeping a humble attitude and a heart which is open to new understandings.

You know. A counterfeit is never effective unless it’s very convincing very full of proof! But then you’re not a person who would allow your emotions, feelings or even some very real experiences to be more important and more convincing than the scriptures, are you? Remember. I said this would be challenging. It was for me. I told you I had made a very real, very sincere, very solid decision for Christ as a young adult. But I had not yet followed the Biblical Plan of salvation. I was still in my sins and had no power over them at all. I was a very nice, very kind, very loving believer in Jesus, but I was not a Christian. I had been deceived and did not even know it. 

Let the Scriptures Lead You

It would not be for years later that God very patiently, very carefully led me to discover the truth for myself. The thing which helped me see my errors more than anything else was my respect and love for the scriptures and an understanding that they are the only reliable authority. I decided, I could not rely on my feelings, emotions or experiences, no matter how real they were for me. They are not my source of religious authority. I had to put a lot of things behind me and be open to the possibility that I had been wrong.

When someone showed me what the Bible actually taught about the plan of salvation, it was so obvious I accepted it quickly and immediately obeyed it, but I did not stop there. I carefully studied everything out for myself and I am still doing so to this very day. I would love to be wrong about all of this and I have tried for 33 years to punch holes in the Biblical Plan in order to make the road just a little bit wider, but the Biblical Plan is too solid, too consistent, too prominent throughout all of scripture and too obvious, once you see it.

In the next few lessons, you will see, with absolute clarity, what the Biblical plan of salvation entails and how beautifully it is organized by God and how easily it’s seen with the heart of a child. You will begin to feel a fire in your bones and see a future for yourself which is going to get super exciting. Now it’s time to dig into the scriptures.

Enjoy!



Dana Haynes

062 – The Grammar of the Plan

Editor’s Note: This is the audio from the second lesson about The Biblical Plan of Salvation . You may view the entire video series by starting HERE.

Ben White via UnSplash.com

Thanks so much for taking the next step. You obviously have a desire to learn more about this important topic. As we begin, I wanted to say that the things we will look at are really challenging. I know because I have felt some pretty strong feelings as I learned the things you’re about to learn. Please understand that I am submitting these ideas to you with the utmost love and respect. I hope you will feel like that comes through as I make my case.

In the last video, we talked about a Biblical Plan of Salvation. I said that this plan was hidden in the Bible, and in plain sight. I said, even the most learned scholars miss it and, even explained why they miss it… they do not have the heart of a child.

I’m about to show you that Biblical plan of salvation, but before we begin, let’s lock down some of the basic Bible grammar used to define the plan. You probably know most of this but let’s take a minute to lock it down carefully. This way, there will be no confusion or disagreement about terms and definitions.

Bible Names for Bible Things

Let’s take a look at this phrase, “God’s Plan of Salvation.”

First, let’s be clear. This is God’s plan, not man’s plan. Man did not create the plan and man can not change the plan. The plan was clearly established in the Bible 2000 years ago and is the same today as it was in the first century. What is a plan? Well, Webster’s dictionary defines the word “Plan,” as a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. So our plan will contain some sort of ordered actions aimed at achieving the goal, which God has laid before us, salvation. The Biblical plan of salvation may be depicted like a series of stair steps.

Now, I need to stop right here and make sure we understand something important. These steps I am describing are not actions we take in order to be saved but they are observable, verifiable things that happen with us as we move through the plan. We are not talking about some kind of “works salvation” here. You’ll understand this clearly as we move forward. Ok, this brings us to our next term… salvation.

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New Video Version Available

When I am producing my Podcast, I am typically sitting in front of an iMac, speaking into a mic and recording everything on a piece of software called “Sound Studio.” It is super easy to use and is great for editing. Recently it occurred to me that maybe I should be recording the video of my sessions as well.

When I am recording, there are lots of goofs, pauses, hiccups and all manner of things which make editing absolutely essential. You never sit down and just record a perfect first take. I began to wonder if I could edit as easily in Final Cut Pro as I do in Sound Studio. The answer is, “Yeah… pretty much.” And not only that, but I can drop the scriptures into the edited video with ease since they already exist in the script I have been reading from.

Today, I am introducing my first video version of A Faith that Obeys Podcast!

It’s not particularly flashy or heavily edited but it came out pretty good. I added a little background filter, some lighting effects and sweetened the audio just a bit. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the result. The huge bonus is that, I can now toss these up onto YouTube where viewers can watch with Closed Captions and hopefully I can gain a bit more exposure. Drop me a line and let me know what you think. I will embed the videos on the blog so you will have access to them right here without the need to jump over to YouTube, but please go there at least once and subscribe to the channel and hit the “Thumbs Up” button.

Enjoy!

Dana Haynes

005 – A Dead Religion

Editor’s Note: This is the audio from the first lesson about The Biblical Plan of Salvation . You may view the entire video series starting HERE.

Rhodi Lopez via UnSplash.com

You know, many people believe the United States is still a Christian nation.

But, I’ll bet you didn’t know Christianity is a dead religion! Yes. You heard that correctly. Christianity is a dead religion. And believe it or not, that’s a good thing! Now, that statement might surprise you. But, what if I told you that in three minutes from now, you will not only agree with that statement but you may actually be excited about what this could mean for your own personal walk with God?

Intrigued? Lets go!

Origins of the Bible

As you might know, the original Bible texts were written in Hebrew and Greek. 

In the fourth century, a fellow named Jerome, translated the Bible into the Latin language. The Latin translation of the Bible is called the Vulgate. 

Latin, in Jerome’s time, was the common language of the Roman Empire. Latin is such a precise language that it’s still valuable today. The medical community, the legal system and many other disciplines use Latin words and phrases. 

It’s even on our money “e pluribus unum,” which means, out of many we are one. Even though Latin is such a powerful useful language, every scholar will confidently tell you “Latin is a dead language!”

Obviously, this does not mean Latin is no longer used. It means, the language stopped growing nearly two thousand years ago. People stopped speaking it. Today, no one speaks Latin as their native language. All the words, the phrases, the idioms, figures of speech… it all got locked down. Nothing new was created. 

As a result, the latin language became sort of an ancient linguistic boundary stone which can’t be moved. Words and phrases that existed back then, mean exactly the same thing today and they will mean exactly the same thing a thousand years for now. The grammar of Latin is so well established that there is no confusion as to meanings or definitions. 

So, Latin is a dead language and that’s a good thing because… when your doctor uses a Latin phrase as he communicates with your pharmacist, the meaning is clear and you are safe!

Hopefully you see where I’m going with this.

Dead Things Don’t Move!

The same principal is true regarding the Christian religion! When God gave us the Bible, He locked it down! The teachings, practices and doctrines of the Christian religion were clearly established and they will never change. Just as Latin is a dead language, Christianity is a dead religion. It is locked down!

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