Let’s talk about Salvation
The message of Salvation is simple and clear, all things considered, that is a miracle in itself.
The early Christians did not have a Bible to read. They were told what to do and they did it. Back then the term follower was not just walking behind someone. It meant a believer that did what they were told to do and they believe that was “The Way” to heaven. They knew that following Christ meant a whole new moral life. They knew that following Christ was a life commitment.
The early Christians that believed in Christ knew it went far past a mere thought. It was a commitment. They knew that Christians would be known by their fruits. Their love of God, their moral conduct, and their compassion for one another would be the Christian Standard. Meaning that Christ expects us to be the light of the world, an example for all to see.
They chose to believe in Yeshua as the Son of God a full-fledged God …. Savior and Messiah that had walked among them. They believed that He was the Lamb of God that sacrificed Himself for their sins.
They were instructed on the morals of Christianity and they were told to repent of their past lives and sins and commit to the morals of Christianity.
In the interest of preaching one Gospel some of the early Christians stood with their congregations and read out load a statement of faith. These statements of faith became known as the Apostle’s Creed. Baptism was explained to them so they knew what it meant.
Romans 6:3-5 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
Along with the beliefs that in Baptism we die in Christ, the person that emerges from the water as a new person from the perspective of God. Meaning, completely and totally a new person, consequently the Trinity having no memory of the old person, their sins, or their poor character or the evil deeds that they had done. It is the proverbial, instance of starting out with a new slate. This belief has some historical precedence in the early Church, for one, some would wait until they were near death to be baptized, thinking that way their soul would be free of sin when it came time to face judgment. It has been said that Emperor Constantine did this.
There is a psychological side of this because some people have trouble forgiving themselves. That is why it is so very important to understand and believe the power of baptism. Not all of us come from a strong Christian up bringing. Some come to Christ with broken lives and horrible deeds. Things so horrible they think they could never be forgiven. One young man at the altar confessed as he broke down, I have shot up little girls with drugs so I could have sex with them! I ruined their lives and some have died. How can I be forgiven!
With baptism a person dies with Christ and all his or her sins die with them, never to be remembered by God again. --- And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins --- With that person no longer existing, a person can better understand that they can move forward with their walk with Christ. Also it denies Satan any venue to accuse you of not being good enough to be a Christian.
From there they put on the cloak of Grace and they are presented before God the Father as perfected through Christ. Now part of His sacrificial death was to cover our sins with the Blood. To blot out all memory of our past. The other side of it was to redeem us. He redeemed us from that Old Testament system of sin and tally that God kept for all. Old Testament sacrifices did not forgive sins, did not remove them from God’s memory, they appeased God to prevent the wrath of God. Christ redeemed us from that system…..He purchased us with His Blood. Although because of Grace we are perfect in God the Father’s eyes, we know we are going to sin. But God the Father does not see that. God the Father has zero tolerance to sin, if He could see our sins we could not have a relationship with Him. The Grace of Christ perfects us, that is why the veil in the temple tore in two the moment Christ died on the cross. We were no longer separated from God the Father.
After Baptism our sins are between us and Christ. --- work out your own salvation with fear and trembling --- our walk with Christ begins. We do our best to be good and do good, and we will fail. We will repent and confess our sins and He is faithful to forgive us. Christ owns the system and forgiveness comes from Him. We do this faithfully and come Judgment Day there won’t be much to talk about except how wonderful Heaven will be.
The next thing is the bread and wine ritual….communion. For the early house churches, the meal was part of the services and this ritual was performed. Paul talked about these meals and he also warned that…. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 1st Corinthians 11:28-30
So this ritual is more than physical it has spiritual ramifications.
51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
And we know that it is important to Christ because He said that if you do not perform this there is no life in you and you do not abide in Him or Him in you and will He raise you on the last day? The truth is, the Bible does not say why this ritual was so important and we do not know what all it does. All we know is that Christ told us to do it and explained the ramifications if we do not. So it is probably a wise choice to do it.
This ritual was performed by Christ at the Last Supper and became an important ritual within all of Christianity.
From there Christians assembled and worshipped the Lord. It was not long before they were doing it secretly…..In homes, in the woods, graveyards, and catacombs. Today we do not have to hide, we just have to be devoted enough to go to church….or assemble with other Christians and worship the Lord.
The message of Salvation is simple and clear, all things considered, that is a miracle in itself.
The early Christians did not have a Bible to read. They were told what to do and they did it. Back then the term follower was not just walking behind someone. It meant a believer that did what they were told to do and they believe that was “The Way” to heaven. They knew that following Christ meant a whole new moral life. They knew that following Christ was a life commitment.
The early Christians that believed in Christ knew it went far past a mere thought. It was a commitment. They knew that Christians would be known by their fruits. Their love of God, their moral conduct, and their compassion for one another would be the Christian Standard. Meaning that Christ expects us to be the light of the world, an example for all to see.
They chose to believe in Yeshua as the Son of God a full-fledged God …. Savior and Messiah that had walked among them. They believed that He was the Lamb of God that sacrificed Himself for their sins.
They were instructed on the morals of Christianity and they were told to repent of their past lives and sins and commit to the morals of Christianity.
In the interest of preaching one Gospel some of the early Christians stood with their congregations and read out load a statement of faith. These statements of faith became known as the Apostle’s Creed. Baptism was explained to them so they knew what it meant.
Romans 6:3-5 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
Along with the beliefs that in Baptism we die in Christ, the person that emerges from the water as a new person from the perspective of God. Meaning, completely and totally a new person, consequently the Trinity having no memory of the old person, their sins, or their poor character or the evil deeds that they had done. It is the proverbial, instance of starting out with a new slate. This belief has some historical precedence in the early Church, for one, some would wait until they were near death to be baptized, thinking that way their soul would be free of sin when it came time to face judgment. It has been said that Emperor Constantine did this.
There is a psychological side of this because some people have trouble forgiving themselves. That is why it is so very important to understand and believe the power of baptism. Not all of us come from a strong Christian up bringing. Some come to Christ with broken lives and horrible deeds. Things so horrible they think they could never be forgiven. One young man at the altar confessed as he broke down, I have shot up little girls with drugs so I could have sex with them! I ruined their lives and some have died. How can I be forgiven!
With baptism a person dies with Christ and all his or her sins die with them, never to be remembered by God again. --- And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins --- With that person no longer existing, a person can better understand that they can move forward with their walk with Christ. Also it denies Satan any venue to accuse you of not being good enough to be a Christian.
From there they put on the cloak of Grace and they are presented before God the Father as perfected through Christ. Now part of His sacrificial death was to cover our sins with the Blood. To blot out all memory of our past. The other side of it was to redeem us. He redeemed us from that Old Testament system of sin and tally that God kept for all. Old Testament sacrifices did not forgive sins, did not remove them from God’s memory, they appeased God to prevent the wrath of God. Christ redeemed us from that system…..He purchased us with His Blood. Although because of Grace we are perfect in God the Father’s eyes, we know we are going to sin. But God the Father does not see that. God the Father has zero tolerance to sin, if He could see our sins we could not have a relationship with Him. The Grace of Christ perfects us, that is why the veil in the temple tore in two the moment Christ died on the cross. We were no longer separated from God the Father.
After Baptism our sins are between us and Christ. --- work out your own salvation with fear and trembling --- our walk with Christ begins. We do our best to be good and do good, and we will fail. We will repent and confess our sins and He is faithful to forgive us. Christ owns the system and forgiveness comes from Him. We do this faithfully and come Judgment Day there won’t be much to talk about except how wonderful Heaven will be.
The next thing is the bread and wine ritual….communion. For the early house churches, the meal was part of the services and this ritual was performed. Paul talked about these meals and he also warned that…. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 1st Corinthians 11:28-30
So this ritual is more than physical it has spiritual ramifications.
51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
And we know that it is important to Christ because He said that if you do not perform this there is no life in you and you do not abide in Him or Him in you and will He raise you on the last day? The truth is, the Bible does not say why this ritual was so important and we do not know what all it does. All we know is that Christ told us to do it and explained the ramifications if we do not. So it is probably a wise choice to do it.
This ritual was performed by Christ at the Last Supper and became an important ritual within all of Christianity.
From there Christians assembled and worshipped the Lord. It was not long before they were doing it secretly…..In homes, in the woods, graveyards, and catacombs. Today we do not have to hide, we just have to be devoted enough to go to church….or assemble with other Christians and worship the Lord.
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