Most Churches Teach One of the Following Ways to become a Christian:

Scriptures

Comprehension Questions

Listen to James and Jesus explain that Faith and Love mean knowing and obeying Jesus' Words:

1 John 5:2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome...

2 John 1:6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.

James 2:17-26 Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder. 20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22

You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Luke 6:46 46 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?

John 12:47-50 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48

There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words ; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life.

According to James 2.24, "A person is justified by what he _______ and not by _______ alone. "

Faith is made complete by what you ________.

If you don't do what Jesus says, is he really your Lord? Yes/No

Jesus came to save the world and all who obey him are saved. But according to John12.48 if we do not accept Jesus' words we will be ___________________ on the ___________ day.

According to John 14:21, who is the one who loves Jesus? Jesus and the Father love those who have and obey Jesus' ___________.

Those who do not love Jesus will not obey his __________________.

If you believe Jesus is Lord but do not do what he says, will you be saved? Circle one : Yes/No

John 14:21 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

John 14:23-24 23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

John 3:3-7 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4 "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

Mark 16:15 Jesus said to them, Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.

Acts 22:14 14 "Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16

Romans 6:3 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

According to the text, we will be united with Christ in his resurrection if we are united with him "like this." What does like this refer to? (Hint, it's found in Rom 6:3 and Rom 6:4 - the sentences above this one.)

Answer here: _____________________________

Romans 6:8 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Matthew 3:16 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.

Acts 8:35 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, " Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"

Acts 8:38 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

1 Peter 3:18 18. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21. and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ...

Acts 2:36 36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." 37. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, " Repent and be baptized , every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call."

Acts 2:41 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Galatians 3:26 26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ .

In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins...

(Acts 16:14 NIV)  One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.

(Acts 16:15 NIV)  When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

Hebrews 6:1-2 Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Acts 18:8 Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.

Ephesians 4:4-6  There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--  ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Does "washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" sound similar to what Jesus said about being born again of water and the Spirit in John 3:5? Circle one: Yes......No.

Does the text say He saved us through the "washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit? Circle one: Yes......No.

baptized by him in the Jordan River.

On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus

On hearing about Jesus, they were ____________ into the name of _________________. Does this immediate response to the gospel seem rare or common in all the Scriptures above? Circle one: Rare / Common.

What should be anyone's immediate response upon hearing the gospel and believing that Jesus is the Son of God who was crucified for their sins and resurrected on the third day? They should believe, repent and be (____________________) in the name of Jesus Chr_______ for the forgiveness of (______________) and they will receive the gift of the (________ _______). Isn't Acts 2:38 true when it says "This promise is for you, your children and all who are far off, all whom the Lord our God will call?"

The Blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin if we "______________________________________"

Why is the word "if" there?

Luke 14:25-35 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.

33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. 34 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Matthew 5:13 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

According to Luke 14:26-27 - what must be the mindset of someone wishing to become a disciple of Jesus?

Before making a commitment to follow Christ one must "first sit down and estimate the _______________ to see if he has enough money to complete it"

Complete what? And what does he mean by money?

Jesus says, in Luke 14:34 that salt is good but it can lose it's ________________.

In Luke 14:35 Jesus says that if salt loses it's saltiness it's good for nothing and in Matthew 5:13 he says if salt loses it's saltiness the only thing left for it is to be trampled by men.

By all of this, isn't Jesus saying that if you too quickly commit to becoming a disciple of Jesus, but didn't take time to consider the costs of a life time of saying no to sin and temptation and carrying one's cross daily, it's better to not make that commitment?

How important is it then that one first consider what Jesus is asking of us before making a hasty decision in a moment of emotion?

Perhaps that's why all the examples above show a process of:

1.) Believing

2.) Counting the Cost

3.) Repenting of sins

4.) Being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

and, of course, walking in the Light.

2 Peter 2:20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

The Verse You DON'T want to happen to you

Hebrews 10:26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

And one More you DON'T want to Happen

Hebrews 6:4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

According to this passage, what seems to happen to those who deliberately keep on sinning after they have received the knowledge of the truth having been sanctified by the blood of the covenant?

According to Hebrews 6, if someone has "once been" _______________ and have tasted the ___________________ and have shared in the ______ ______ and have tasted the goodness of the _______ of ________ and the powers of the coming age and then fall ________________, it's impossible for them to be "brought back to" ______________ if they continue to _______________ the Son of God all over again and subject him to public _________________.

Considering all this - how hasty should someone be in rushing to the "altar" in the so called "Sinner's Prayer," making an instant commitment to follow Christ the rest of one's life in what is usually a very emotional and sometimes coercive moment?

When Jesus recommended that people wishing to become a disciple should first sit down and count the costs - is this good advice or bad advice?

Should Jesus' advice apply to a.) Everyone or b.) Everyone except those rushing forward in altar calls every week?

(Circle correct answer above)