The general theme and goal of our life should be to please God. In Ephesians 2, we were God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The New Testament clearly teaches that we each have been uniquely created and gifted. We are to exercise those unique gifts and abilities. We must conclude that God has a very particular plan for each one of us. When the Psalms refer to the fact that all the days of our life were written down in God’s book (Ps. 139) before there were days – He’s thinking about that plan.

I think that some people’s problem is not that they cannot believe but that they are unwilling to accept His offer of life. Spiritual death is separation from God, they don’t seem to want the life He offers and prefer to stay dead in their trespasses.

According to Paul, all Christianity rises or falls on the fact of the resurrection. Paul defends and explains the doctrine of the resurrection and basically says that if Christ has not risen then our faith is useless.

Salvation is received

1 Corinthians 15:1-

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,

The (ye have received) part is crucial. When you dig deeper into the Greek, it explains it as something to take to, to take with oneself, and to join to oneself. It also defines it as accepting or acknowledging one to be such as he professes to be and not rejecting or withholding obedience. I liked when I read that it was to receive something transmitted and to receive with the mind, by oral transmission.

It seems that evidence of salvation is obedience. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made an appeal for obedience, saying, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). Jesus repeatedly called people to respond to God’s Word with obedience. It has been my observation that many pastors simply ask their congregation to close their eyes and ask if anyone wants to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior and if so, to simply raise their hand. I remember the old-fashioned Alter calls. An altar call can be an opportunity for people to commit to obeying what they’ve just heard from Scripture. It’s a challenge to declare Christ publicly. In Romans 10:9–10, Paul stressed the importance of proclamation. An altar call is just that: a public declaration of Christ! Why wouldn’t you want to challenge people to make this statement?

Now, let us look at the ending of verse 15:1 (ye stand):  in the presence of others, in the midst, before judges, to make firm, fix establish, to stand, be kept intact (of family, a kingdom), to escape in safety, to be of a steadfast mind, before members of the Sanhedrin.

I find it interesting that the Sanhedrin was included in the Greek meaning of the word stand:

 The “Sadducees” were the Congressmen and the Supreme Court justices of Jesus’ day, all rolled into one body called the “Sanhedrin.” They took offense at the controversial pronouncements of Jesus, twisted his words, relentlessly condemned the “hard sayings” that came from his mouth, even though they were true, and made one false accusation against him after another. They persuaded people in his own circle to turn on him and treacherously sell him out.

They took Jesus down with a sham, scam, and hoax of a trial that pretended to be about justice but was nothing but a jealous, greedy, and malicious lust for and abuse of power. They conducted this trial in secret, behind closed doors. Their case against him was so thin they had to suborn perjury, but their witnesses couldn’t keep their stories straight. They allowed no witnesses to testify on his behalf.

Even though they had no case against Christ, it didn’t matter – they still found a way to bend the rules and come up with a guilty verdict, removing an utterly innocent man permanently (or so they thought) from public life. https://barrongreenwalt.wordpress.com/2019/11/19/sadducees-sham-scam-and-hoax/

The Greeks scoffed at the idea of bodily resurrection (See Acts 17:32). They believed the body was a barrier to the immortal soul. Therefore, the attainment of the good required an escape from the body. Paul portrays the resurrection as a qualitative life (qualitative refers to measurements of the characteristics of something), involving the eternal redemptive plan of God with the destruction of all enemy powers. He shows the importance of the resurrection as it relates to Jesus Christ and to Christians; he defines the nature of the resurrection body, and he reveals how the resurrection will take place.

The gospel is more than the forgiveness of sins; it includes Christ’s resurrection and the subsequent renewal of all creation.

Our pamphlet lists John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” I chose to expand on this

To enter the kingdom of God, one must be born again, not by experiencing a second biological birth but by spiritual birth from above. Understand that perceiving the kingdom of God and entering it is impossible without spiritual rebirth.

There are different levels of belief if you will, and different objects of belief, and not all that’s called “belief” is saving faith. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” So, if a person simply believes that there is a God in heaven—and that’s the extent of his faith—then he has the same faith as the demons of hell. That’s not saving faith, even though it involves a measure of belief. Therefore, yes, a person can “believe” in some sense but not be saved. Only preserving faith is saving faith.

John’s Gospel introduces the Holy Spirit’s role in spiritual growth. The New Birth and the baptism with the Holy Spirit endow the believer with the life and gifts of the Holy Spirit, including the ability to pray in the Spirit’s power. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, Helper, Advocate, and Guide. He is our source of true spiritual understanding. He lifts up Jesus and builds up believers, enabling them to live the Christian life.

Outward Evidence, The new man

Ep. 4:17-24 (Read)

The old man vs the new man, this is a contrast between the old lifestyle dominated by the spirit of disobedience with the believers’ newly created capacity for a lifestyle of obedience to the Holy Spirit’s power.

Be renewed in your heart and mind. We are created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness

We are to pursue holiness. Because of the great love God has for us, He has cleansed us by the blood of Jesus, making us holy by His grace. We cannot earn His forgiveness or become holy through our works. It is by grace through faith in Jesus that we are made righteous. However, God has created us to do good works, things He prepared in advance for us to do. Do the good things God gives you to do but know that you are holy by His grace.

(Read) Titus 2:11-15 (Trained by Saving Grace)

v.11 (NET) It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

We were made holy to live holy lives. God’s grace teaches us to do good works not to earn salvation, but because we are free from sinful behavior and free to do good things for God. This is a privilege and inheritance of God’s people, not a harsh law to be followed and fulfilled. Holy living is the response of God’s chosen and special people to the redeeming love and immeasurable grace of Jesus Christ.