Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? Proverbs 20:9

There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. Proverbs 30:12

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. Psalm 51

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. I John 5:11-13

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell? Proverbs 30:4

...let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Most of us know our physical birthday, not because we witnessed it, but because others witnessed it and recorded it. Our birth certificates record the year, the month, the day and the time of our physical birth.

In the same light, only God knows the exact time of our spiritual birth. I believe that the Book of Life in heaven will record the year, the month, the day, the hour, minute, and second of our spiritual birth, but even if it doesn’t, our all-knowing God is our witness.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: John 1:12

Being born again or born from above is a one time action in the past.* That one time action in the past is the moment that individuals by grace (God’s help and enabling) put our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, trusting in His merit alone as our only hope of salvation. Salvation is a gift which results in forgiveness and eternal life. Eternal life begins when we are born from above.

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. I Peter 1:23

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit (practice) sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin (practice sin), because he is born of God. I John 3:9

Being born again means that we do not receive salvation in bits and pieces. When we are born from above, we are born into God’s family which is a one time action in the past. We become sons and daughters of God. Our adoption is complete and final. Being born again is not a process, it is a one time action in the past brought about by hearing the Word of God and submitting to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins; Ephesians 1:2

Note: A rather large portion of professing Christianity believes that salvation comes as a result of participating in ordinances and sacraments of the church. These righteous works are said to impart Christ to the participant and are believed to be various means of grace. The Bible embraces only one means of grace which is faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Believers trust His merit alone as our only hope of salvation.

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy (only given to the guilty) he saved us, by the washing (cleansing) of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified (acquitted) by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:5-7

Teaching and practicing multiple means of grace is the proverbial carrot before the horse. The participant is never able to come to assurance of salvation because his/her participation in the various means of grace ultimately decides who receives salvation, and who must continue to earn it through deeds of penance and time assigned in purgatory. This is works salvation.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

These things (the Scriptures) have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. I John 5:13

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. II Corinthians 5:8

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

*Whosoever is born of God doth not commit (practice) sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot (practice) sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. I John 3:7-10

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Biblical faith confidently considers (reckons) the unseen things of Scripture to be so and then acts accordingly (in agreement with or in harmony with), thus revealing the substance or evidence of those unseen things.

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

It is not how you mark your Bible that matters. It is how your Bible marks you.

Is God just one piece of your life or is He the center piece? Since it is Thanksgiving time we will use a pie to try and demonstrate what our relationship (walk) with God should look like.

Draw a circle on a piece of paper. Make the circle (pie) large enough to section it into eight individual pieces. Label each pie piece with some aspect of your life. For example; family, work, church, education, hobbies, finances, grandkids, social activity, networking, etc. Now ask yourself, how does God fit into this pie? Did you label one of the pie pieces for God? If we place God in a well meaning section of our life, is that making Him a priority or is He just another piece of the pie?

How do we make Him the priority in our life? If you labeled a piece of the pie as God, erase that label and make it something else. Now draw a circle around the center of the pie, like a bullseye. This circle should cover a portion of every pie piece. Label the bullseye God or Jesus Christ.

Let us place ourselves in the center of the bullseye in Christ. As we turn clockwise or counter clockwise in the circle looking into each aspect of our lives, we want to have God’s mind concerning every aspect.

As Christians we have the mind of Christ. We are in Christ and He is in us. His mind is to be continuously and increasingly manifested in us as we let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in us richly. With the mind of Christ, each aspect of our life is being transformed into harmony with God’s will, resulting in obedience in every part of our life with Him as the centerpiece.

God’s goal or our motivation to spiritual growth is for the size of the bullseye to increase until it covers the whole pie.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad. Proverbs 12:25 (KJV)

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 12:25 (NASB95)

Strong’s Concordance – Heaviness #1674 is defined as anxiety: care, fear, or sorrow, and is derived from #1672 be anxious: be afraid, sorrow, take thought.[1] Heaviness carries with it the idea of an added burden, weighing a man down, making him stoop beneath the load.[2]

Anxiety has no advantages. It ruins health, robs joy, and changes nothing. The Greek word the Bible uses for worry, merimnao, stems from the verb merizo (divide) and nous (mind). Worry clogs the mind, splitting thoughts between today and tomorrow.[3]

Worry causes a swarm of sicknesses: heart trouble, high blood pressure, rheumatism, ulcers, colds, thyroid malfunction, arthritis, migraine headaches, blindness, and a host of stomach disorders. Worry, it seems , hurts our health.[4]

Listen up! Here is the good word to make your heart glad!

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. I Corinthians 2:16

How can this be, that believers have the mind of Christ? We have the mind of Christ because Christ indwells believers. Ephesians 3:16&17a

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:5 The little word let implies submission clothed in humility. Let leads us to obedience.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

The renewing of the mind is the adjustment (transformation) of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God.[5] It is a process that begins at salvation, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. I Peter 1:23, and continues until we step into glory. The whole of salvation and sanctification are activated by His written Word. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:7

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; I Peter 1:13

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. II Corinthians 4:16

The word renewed in this verse is in the passive voice, meaning that the inward man is being acted upon as we search the Scripture and hide God’s Word in our heart.

For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Hebrews 12:1-3

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered (died) in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered (died) in the flesh hath ceased (parted ways) from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts (desires) of men, but to the will of God. I Peter 4:1&2

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

...let the word of Christ (Messiah Jesus) dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

[1] The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible by James Strong, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA – Hebrew & Chaldee Dictionary page 29.

[2] Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words – copyright 1984,1996, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN – Old Testament Words p.101.

[3] & [4]- Election Day: It’s a Time to Trust – Article by Max Lucado

[5] Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words – copyright 1984,1996, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN p.524.

The choice we all make is this: either we are good enough on our own, through our belief system and morality, to make it to heaven; or we’re not, and we have to cast ourselves on the mercy of God through Christ to get there. Those are the only two systems of religion in the world. One is a religion of human merit; the other recognizes that we find true merit in Christ alone, and it comes to the sinner only by grace. There may be a thousand different religious names and terms, but only two religions really exist. There is the truth of divine accomplishment, which says God has done it all in Christ, and there is the lie of human achievement, which says we have some sort of hand in saving ourselves. One is the religion of grace, the other the religion of works. One offers salvation by faith alone; the other offers salvation by the flesh. (1)

(1) Hard to Believe – copyright 2003 by John MacArthur (Published by Thomas Nelson – Nashville, TN), p.78&79

Jesus speaking:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. And many believed on him there.

John 10

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

Following Salvation:

“When they believed……they were baptized….Acts 8:12

“And the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me from being baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” Acts 8:36-37

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Acts 2:41

Conclusion: Baptism follows salvation, immediately, if possible.

What If I Refuse To Be Baptized?

Disobeying: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

Loss of Testimony: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” John 8:31

Loss of Fellowship (with God): “ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:14

Bible Answers About Baptism, Abb Thomas – copyright 1972, Chattanooga, TN, Used with permission.

I worship the Living God. He is not an idea, a power, an influence or a product of my imagination. He is the great Three in One, the God of the Bible, the Creator God, who is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, three persons who are one in essence. I worship Him and communicate with Him.

Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell? Proverbs 30:4

Who do you worship and with whom do you communicate?

People in false religions do not worship the true God by another name, as some suggest. They unwittingly worship Satan’s demons. Here is what the Bible says: ”The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God” (I Corinthians 10:20). Even so, a book called ”The Christ of Hinduism” actually exists, and it argues that Hinduism’s symbols and doctrines contain the Christian message. But there is no Christ of Hinduism, nor has the true God any part in Hinduism. Christ is the only true way to the one true God, and Biblical Christianity is the only way to the one true Christ. Misguided people who recognize any other god and engage in any other religion are not worshipping and sacrificing to God, but to demons. I didn’t make this up. This isn’t my theology. This is Christianity 101. [1]

…let the word of Christ dwell (take up its life) in you richly…

[1] Hard to Believe, copyright 2003 John MacArthur (Published by Thomas Nelson – Nashville, TN), page 38.