THE GOSPEL REACHES OUT BEYOND JERUSALEM (Acts 8:1-17)

THE GOSPEL REACHES OUT BEYOND JERUSALEM (Acts 8:1-17)

With the death of Stephen, the intent, and purpose, of the religious leaders changes from keeping the church from being created, to destroying it and anyone who would dare to become a member. Saul of Tarsus was put in charge of this persecution.  It was religion without the Holy Spirit that blinded Saul’s eyes, as it has many others throughout history.  When you look back at the history of this world, a significant portion of the wars that have occurred were fought because of the blindness that religion without the Holy Spirit brings to people.  Religion without the Holy Spirit is one of the cruelest forces in the world.  

Click on the link below to hear a message that teaches us that being saved is much more than simply believing in Jesus.  Satan truly believes in Jesus, but he is not saved.  For a person to be saved they must Be convicted by the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit that convicts the lost person of the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ.  It is not true that a sinner, in and of himself, repents and believes, and then God enters into the process in forgiveness.  God seeks the sinner. It is God that calls man unto salvation. 

Next, for a person to be saved, they must acknowledge and confess their sin before God.  Confession of sin on the part of the Christian is not a mere admission of that sin to God.  The act of confession includes the Christian coming into agreement with God in regard to his sin, of agreeing with God as to what He says about that sin, and what the Christian ought to do about it.  It requires the Christian to repent of that sin, meaning they have a change of heart about that sin.  It means stopping, turning around, and choosing to turn away from that sin and follow the will of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Confession of Christ means the public acknowledgment of Christ and all that He is and stands for. The act of confession implies that the one confessing, or professing, the Lord Jesus, has come to agree with the Bible's estimate of Jesus. To confess Him means much more than to make a statement with the lips. It also means to back up that statement with the life.  It is one thing to say, "Jesus Christ is Lord," and quite another thing to surrender to Him and obey His will. The walk and the talk must go together.

God desires that all men are to be saved, but that salvation requires all three elements, conviction, confession, and repentance.  And most of all it requires the cleansing power of the precious blood of Christ.   

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.