Salvation and Life

HOW SALVATION AFFECTS OUR LIVES

This is a very important lesson. One of the most significant factors in a person's conversion experience is learning how to approach living the new life in Christ. The world in which we live out our faith is hostile to the ways of the gospel.In this lesson you wi11learn some key elements to strengthen your walk with Christ.In Salvation 101, we used a funnel to illustrate the approach the enemy of God takes with our lives, as well as how the Bible describes the journey. You will recall that salvation is not something we can earn. Although this is true,we are responsible for how we live our lives once we have accepted God's redemption.In order for us to live victorious lives in Christ,we must desire growth in our walks.Consider1 Peter 2:2.

This passage tells us that we are to crave spiritual milk. That means we should really desire the things of God in our lives. To crave something, we must have tasted it and liked what we tasted. Our salvation experience should do that in our lives. We have experienced such a sense of the presence of God that we desire that experience everyday of our lives. It is an incredible privilege to have the opportunity to know Christ, and particularly to be able to have a growing relationship with the Creator of the universe.

TAKING A CLOSERLOOKATYOUR WALK

On any given freeway, you will pass mile markers that let you know where you are on the road you are traveling. If your car breaks down, if there is an accident, if you want to see how far you have come, the mile markers give you a way to see where you are. The Christian faith has mile markers, points we can look back on that help us in our journey with the Lord. They are character-building events that increase our faith; they are the times we know the Lord has spoken to us or done something special in our lives. Those events determine where our faith is today. God provides these mile markers to help us in our salvation experience.

Without mile markers in our walk of faith, we can lose sight of the great things God has done for us. So it is important to have times in your life that you can look back on to draw strength when you seem to be struggling down the road of life. Look at2 Peter 1:10-18.What does this passage teach us about being reminded? If we will establish mile markers in our faith, our salvation experience will never be an event of the past that means nothing to us today. All in all,mile markers help to keep our salvation experience and walk with Christ fresh.

SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT FOR STRENGTHENING YOUR WALK

The Bible provides for us a great example of what your salvation experience could grow into. As you pursue s biblical approach to living out your salvation, there will be some disciplines you will have to implement into your life. Your salvation experience is intended to move you on to growing in your walk with Christ. Just as a baby grows, so the person who has accepted Christ into his life must also grow. A growth process must take place. However, the growth in your walk with Christ is left up to your own desire and pursuit of God. The following will help you greatly in the growth process if implemented immediately:

·Cultivating a desire for God

·Faithfully attending a Bible-practicing church

·Surrounding yourself with positive role models

·Whole-heartedly engaging in the discipleship process

In your Christian journey you decide the path on which you will walk. Your salvation experience can be as strong as you wish, or it can become a past experience, which you allow to become just another event, which no longer has any impact on your daily life. Salvation is a life-changing encounter with God. If you have not had that kind of encounter, you would benefit greatly by pursuing a fresh new encounter with the Lord.

APPLYING SALVATION TO YOUR DAILY LIFE

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BIBLICAL EXAMPLES

To accomplish the things we have just discussed, it is important to understand what the Bible says about our journey with Christ. InRomans 7:14-25,Paul presents a very real analogy to a life in this world. He points out that there is a law of sin at work in us. He also points out that there is a desire in every man to do good things. A battle takes place in our lives that each of us must face. Paul was a man of God, yet he himself had they challenge of keeping his salvation experience a part of his daily life.

Do you find yourself facing the same struggle that Paul faced?

Generally speaking, what sins do you see people struggling with the most?

Are there things you do that you know displease the Father?

Who does this passage indicate is the only one who can help us deal with our sin?

I am sure you realize by now that you cannot accomplish the things God desires for us on our own. It is by the grace of God, demonstrated by His love for each of us, that we can have the privilege of living our lives for God. You should never take for granted that opportunity. Although it is difficult at times to live out our faith, we have the presence of God in our lives to help us in those difficult times. Whatever you do, don't give up on God. WE MUST PUT OUR FAITH INTO ACTION.

PUTTING YOUR SALVATION INTO ACTION

In order for your salvation experience to be more than an act of forgiveness, there must be a standard for you to use as you put your salvation experience into daily practice. Living by that standard daily is the purpose of Christianity. We are to be like Christ, to imitate His ways. As you draw closer to God, your salvation experience becomes more meaningful. The moment you invite Christ into your life, your journey begins. That journey is this - to live a life pleasing to God. In order for each of us to be able to live a life pleasing to God, there must be an example we can follow. The Bible tells us who that example is to be inEphesians 5:1.

There is a BIG difference between being an imitatorofGod and being an imitatorforGod. If you truly want to become like Christ, you must understand His ways. You must study the Word of God and determine to model your life after Christ from the inside out. You are to be interested in what God does for you in your heart, so that what you do will not be a performance, but a true response to what is in your heart and mind. As you see this happening, you will know that you are growing in the discipleship process.

If your intention for God is just to be an imitator for Him, you will soon find out that the performance of Christianity is too draining. You will not be able to perform for long what is not truly in your heart. The Bible teaches us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

It is God's desire that each of us have a salvation experience that moves us closer to Him. Whether or not you take the steps to ensure a deeper walk with God is entirely up to you. Are you willing to listen to the voice of God and to those who are over you in the Lord? The disciples had to be taught. Their eagerness for God did not mean they didn't have to listen to solid teaching and grow from their mistakes. Their hunger for more of God allowed them to grow to a powerful relationship that God used mightily. That growth process in their lives allowed them to be used of God in dramatic ways. Their obedience to the Father led to may of the being used to write many books of the Bible.

Your salvation experience can lead to a relationship that will allow the Lord to use you in greater ways than you would ever think possible. As you pursue a relationship with God that takes on the very character of God, you will find yourself being very pleased with your life. That peace will lead to a life that is very fulfilling. Make a determined effort to go after God with and intensity you have never demonstrated before. God's Word promises a life with Christ if you will do so!

SALVATION 201 IN CONCLUSION

ASSINGMENTS

1.Read Romans 7:14-25. Write a one-page paper on the areas of your life with which you struggle. List some of the things that you do that you know are wrong, and some of the things you know you need to do but don't.

2.Write at least a one-page paper on some of the mile markers in your Christian journey. These should be situations that have had an impact on your faith, significant times that strengthened your walk with Christ.

3.Memorize the following verses: 1 Peter 2:2,3 and Exodus 15:2

4.Complete the Accountability Sheet.

5.Contact your discipleship partner at least on time this week outside of church. Get his input on how he sees his faith growing.

6.Complete Sermon notes for every service you attend, minimum of one.

7.Pray 15 minutes per day.

8. Read the Bible 15 minutes per day.