How To Read The Bible For Better Understanding Bible Topics In The Christian Library How To Read The Bible For Better Understanding The Bible is its own best teacher. The Bible however is not arranged like an encyclopedia. You cannot go to chapter 1 and read everything about God and go to chapter 2 to read everything about Jesus, etc.

Remember when reading the Bible the verses and chapter breaks are placed in the scriptures by man. It is better to read by paragraph, these too are man-made but they do conform better to the original language than verses.

Although Genesis does not directly name its author; Jesus and the writers of Scripture clearly believed that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible, also called “the Law”; see Exod 17:14; Deut 31:24; 1 Kgs 2:3; Ezra 6:18; Neh 13:1; Dan 9:11-13; Mal 4:4; Mark 12:26; Luke 16:29; John 1:17;. Key Art: A drawing, illustration or image of the cast of characters in significant action poses in their environment that best visualizes the characterizations and story. Some creators like to bring in separate presentation boards of the art for the pitch only, with the pitch book as the leave-behind.

Some ground rules need to be set up first: • Pray first before opening God's word. Ask for guidance and to be able to accept what is written and to be able to apply His will to your life. • Never, never read the Bible trying to proof your belief on any subject. It is only human nature to take ideas out of context. • When you are reading and come across something that does not make sense, reread the paragraph or chapter again.

If you still do not understand, write down the problem area and continue onward. You may discover the answers later in your reading. • Do not read large amounts of the Bible in one setting. Take breaks often. Or stay with about 4-6 chapters a day. A good reading schedule is. • Start with the New Testament, people who start with the Old Testament almost never read the Bible all the way through.

The New Testament is what is binding on us today not the Old. We need to follow God's will for us today not what was intended for the Jews. • Forget everything you have ever heard about Jesus, God and the Bible before you start reading the Bible.

Don't take what you want it to say with you first. • Always use a 'literal' translation like the,, YLT, NKJV, KJIII,. (Other translations not listed should be avoided.) • If you don't have a cheap Bible, buy one.

Write on it, highlight it, make notes, if later you want to retire it for better, do so. NEVER buy a 'study bible.' They are full of peoples opinions which you don't need clouding your mind!

The MLV with 2' wide margin is. ($6.50) Now with those in mind, let's lay out the way to read the Bible to let it build on itself: • Read 'Mark.' (It is written in chronological order.) • Read 'Matthew.' (It goes into better detail of some events and adds more about Jesus.) • Read 'John.' (It contains a lot of the life of Jesus not read before, especially his last two weeks before his crucifixion.) • Read 'Luke' then 'Acts.' (Both written by Apostle Paul's traveling companion Luke. Acts is a continuation of Luke.

It describes the early church and contains the examples of New Testament conversions.) • Read 'Galatians.' (It deals with the reasons why we do not follow the Old Testament Laws in a more simplified way than does Romans or Hebrews.) • Then read the rest of the New Testament starting at Romans and going to Revelation.

Your voyage through God's Word will take about 6 weeks. It will be the best traveling you can ever take. You will laugh and you will cry. It has everything that makes a very good book, and lots more, but all true. It can teach you the most important things for this life and the one to come.

Second Part: If you want to read the world's most accurate bible translation and have a personal PDF for your phone or computer. (Sunday, Nov.

22, $4.30; other days depending on Amazon's markup this week $6.50-$8) More info on the Holy Bible: Modern Literal Version,. Copyright 2014 by Butch Walker may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes at no cost to others unless otherwise stated. (Most unfinished works are still under copyright before release to the Public Domain.).

How to Be a Real Christian What is a real Christian, and how do you become one? Is there anything you must do? Don’t fall for the “easy believism” of today’s popular Christianity; you need to understand real Christiany—and how to live it! All Scripture quotations were taken from the King James Version except as noted. We all use them. We’ve all done it.

Labeling or pigeonholing gives us a false sense of secu­rity. Once we’ve labeled or classified someone or some­thing, we feel more comfortable and more “in control” of it.

We’ve all heard the saying, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.” But have you ever won­dered if we can safely apply this principle to Christianity? If one wears a Christian label and is kind and good and sincere in his beliefs, does that automatically make him a Christian? Before we can become any­thing in life, whether it be a doctor, lawyer, plumber, or factory work­er, we must know what it is and what we must do to qualify to become one. In like manner, before we can become a Christian, we must know what a true Christian is and how to become one.

There are many religious people in the world today and many dif­ferent persuasions. Jesus Christ said it would be so and warned us to “take heed” (Matthew 24:4). It’s one thing to be “religious”; it’s quite another thing to be a real Christian. A few years back a book called The Bible Code clawed its way to the top of the best-seller charts.

Have you ever wondered why a book purporting to find “hidden messages” in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament would sell hundreds of thousands of copies to believers and nonbelievers alike? The answer should be apparent to all. Simply because people have an innate hunger for spiritual truth, and, if they cannot find it by normal means, they will reach for anyone or anything that promises to give them an answer.

And sometimes “the mysterier the better”! Millions are deceived by cults who promise deeper insights and rev­elations into “new truths.” By the same token many people seek a deeper reality through what is commonly called “organized religion.” They join a church, are bap­tized and confirmed, give their money, attend services faithfully, pray daily, read the Bible, and in general obey the rules of the church of their choice, hoping that somehow their outward performance can lead them to find inner peace and a deeper relationship with God. Many people feel that if you are religious, then you must be a “real Christian.” At the same time many feel a deep-down gnawing inside— a hollow, empty, unsatisfied craving. Many sense something is miss­ing. Seeing hypocrisy in the churches at large and the confusion of contradictory doctrinal tenants, many are confused and throw their hands up in despair. They recognize there is a fundamental difference between just “being religious” and being a “real Christian” but do not know what to do about it.

If you were to survey a cross section of soci­ety and ask, “Are you a Christian?” many would reply, “I’m a church member” or “I’ve been baptized” or “I go to Sunday school” or “I go to mass every week.” But those replies raise another important ques­tion: Is being a Christian simply a matter of outward activity or sin­cerity of belief? Sincerity is an admirable quality, but it is no criteria for the truth.

Even the most pious person eventually perceives that “religion” alone cannot satisfy. Sooner or later most find that fever­ishly burying themselves in religious activity can neither produce the peace of mind nor guarantee the acceptance with God they were seek­ing. At the end of life’s journey, when looking back and all is said and done, it sometimes seems that a cold wind of uncertainty blows over us and, like the song, many end up crying out to heaven and asking, “Is that all there is to life—is that all there is?” This leads us to ask a very personal question.

We need to ask our­selves while there is still time, “Am I a real Christianor am I just a religious person? Am I a Christian just because I think I am?” Friends, we need to prove what we think we know (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “He [God] hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.” He added in Proverbs 25:2, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.” Pascal, the French philosopher, said there is a “God-shaped vacu­um” inside every human heart. When God created man, He instilled within the mind of man several driving forces, including self-preser­vation, curiosity, procreation, and the desire to worship something greater than himself. Man is incurably religious by nature. That’s why every human society—no matter how advanced or primitive—has some concept of a higher power, some vision of a reality that goes beyond the natural.

Science—mankind’s newest messiah—will never eradicate religion from the earth because it cannot fill this “God-shaped vacuum” in the human heart. Thus it is that even in “enlight­ened America” millions of people consult their horoscopes each morn­ing while millions more counsel with the Psychic Friends Network looking for answers. “Religion” vs.

Real Christianity What is a true Christian anyway? To most, the word “Christian” is ambiguous, even in our so-called Christian culture. Happier faces are seen on bottles of iodine than on some Christians. A “Christian” in our Western world may mean anyone who is not an atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, or Moslem.

As a result of this confusion, to some Christianity is an argument. To many, it is a performance. To a few, it is an experience and a way of life. There are many organizations extant calling themselves “Christians”: Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Mormon, and Independent. There are Churches of Christ, Churches of God, Episcopalians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Unitarians. There are Amish, Mennonites, and Quakers.

There are Pentecostals, Presbyterians, and Spiritualists. All told, there are many thousands of differing denominations, sects, splits, and offshoots in the United States today, all claiming to be “Christian.” There are countless “slants” on what is popularly called “Christianity”: traditional, conser­vative, moderate, liberal, and radical, all claiming to follow Christ but having vastly different and sometimes diametrically opposite beliefs. Have you ever asked yourself, “What does Jesus Christ think of the spectacle of thousands of different, competing denominations and sects—each calling itself ‘Christian’—and yet differing and bickering over nearly every doctrine and tenet imaginable?” Is God divided?

Is God the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:23)? Some advance the notion that “We are all trying to go to the same place; we are just tak­ing different paths to get there.” In defending some commonly held (but unbiblical) beliefs, some reason, “But surely, all these churches can’t be wrong.” We should ask, “Since so many commonly held beliefs are at variance with the Word of God, can all these persuasions be right?” Truth is exclusive and logical.

If any one is right, since they are all different, all the rest must logically be wrong. Jesus said that the gates of hell (Greek, hades, meaning death or annihilation) shall not prevail over His church (Matthew 16:18). Did Christ teach several thousand different methods of salvation and ways of life—or just one? In John 10:1–14, Jesus pointed out that He is the Good Shepherd and that any who would enter into the Kingdom of God by any other means than the way He prescribed were thieves and robbers.

He point­ed out that many “shepherds” of God’s flock are but hirelings, follow­ing the almighty dollar and the path of least resistance. To cut through some of the confusion shrouding men’s minds about real Christianity, let us first establish what a true Christian is. What Is a True Christian?

According to Webster II’s New Riverside University Dictionary, a Christian is “a believer in Christianity; of, pertaining to, or professing belief in Christianity; relating to Christianity or its adherents.” If this definition alone were true, then Satan the devil is a Christian, because we read in James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Does Satan the devil believe in Jesus Christ? Indeed he does, so much so that he trembles at the thought!

But that does not make him a Christian. More than mere belief is required. Faith without works is dead, says the Lord’s broth­er James (James 2:17–19). Some want to be counted in, but not to be counted on. It is not always easy to tell a Christian from a non-Christian. Just because one walks like a Christian and talks like a Christian does not necessarily make him a Christian. Today, we have too many sermon­ettes by preacherettes for Christianettes.

Today, too many Christian soldiers are fraternizing with the enemy. Jude admonishes us to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [lawlessness], and [thus] denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3–4). History records that more people have been slaughtered “in the name of Jesus Christ” than in any other religion. Untold millions were savagely butchered in various “holy wars” in the past, and your Bible says that millions more will be annihilated in the not-too-distant future. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs documents Christian persecutions by “Christians” down through the centuries. Compare this with Luke 21:12, 16–17, where it warns, “But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and per­secute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” Many, seeing the hypocrisy of many others calling themselves “Christians,” have given up on belief in God altogether.

Christ went on to say, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). Unlike the entertaining and watered-down “Christian” messages we often hear today, “the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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).

Why such confusion? Who should we listen to? Do “Christian” bands and charismatic speakers who tell stories that make you laugh and cry validate one’s ministry? Is there a source we can go to—some ultimate authority—to clear away all the confusion?

Yes, there is. It is called the Holy Bible. Installer Aplikasi Persediaan 2011 Ram. The Holy Bible Must Be Our Ultimate Authority The value of the Bible does not consist in merely knowing it, but in obeying it.

Many pious people would rather study the Bible than prac­tice what it teaches. No one ever says, “We are the wrong church; don’t listen to us.

We are false ministers pretending to be true ministers of God.” All claim to be at least a bonafide Christian church, if not “the one and only true church.” Many will be so audacious and intimidat­ing as to claim that if you do not belong to their particular church, group, or organization, you will go straight to hell. (“Do not pass ‘Go’ and do not collect $200!”) However, God’s end-time body of believ­ers does not consist of weak-willed, compromising, “converted antin­omians” (law breakers) who cling to a phony Messiah, but rather those who keep God’s Ten Commandments and hold firmly to the true teachings of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17)! We see in Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” There are those who hold the truth—that is, they hold up the very Word of God—but suppress the truth it contains.

The Bible reveals that “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Second Corinthians 11:15 goes on to say, “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” Yes, Satan the devil has minis­ters, all claiming to be ministers of Jesus Christ. Is it any wonder peo­ple are confused? Is it any wonder pagan traditions such as Christmas, Lent, and Easter—disguised and relabeled “Christian”—have clouded the minds of men to the point that they are no longer enlightened by God’s truth, but deceived by Satan’s lies (2 Corinthians 4:4)? Instead of rejoicing in the liberty of God’s truth, most are chained to the shack­les of tradition. Satan’s serpentine ministers are in the majority and have poisoned the churches with their deceitful venom and smitten the unsuspecting with their message of “love, love, love” to the exclusion of God’s laws. The one claim most churches have in common is that their doctrines, tenets, and beliefs come straight from the Holy Bible.

How ironic that many identifying themselves with the Christian label expect the world to respect the Book they deceitfully hold to give themselves credibili­ty! Each claims, at least subliminally, that you must come to them for interpretation, clarification, and guidance. Yet, if all these churches are “true churches” of the One Way, why do so many believe and teach just the opposite of what the Bible plainly teaches? It almost seems that some go to great lengths to find places where God says “do,” and they say “don’t,” or where God says “don’t,” they say “do.” Sad to say, no one is a Christian just because he goes to church, any more than one is a mechanic just because he goes to a garage. Satan the devil is per­fectly willing to have a person “confess” Christianityas long as he does not practice it. Satan is never too busy to rock the cradle of a sleeping Christian.

An idle Christian is the raw material of which back­sliders are made. In a very real sense, Christianity is a test of endurance. Christ said that he who endures to the end shall be saved (Matthew 24:13), not those who start out like a house afire and later “burn out.” Since we are left in a quandary upon seeing all the con­tention, backbiting, and disagreement of these hundreds of groups claiming to be Christian churches, we need to go to the very source they claim as their source—the Holy Bible. The Bible is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the Christian.

What, then, is the Bible definition (not Webster’s) of a Christian? Read and memorize Romans 8:9: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” There it is as plain as can be! There— from your own Bible—is God’s definition of a Christian! If one does not have, possess, and follow the Holy Spirit of God, he is not a Bible-defined Christian no matter what he says, how he acts, or what he teaches.

The Holy Spirit is the essence, power, mind, and spiritual extension of God. God begets Christians as His sons and daughters through this Spirit. It strengthens and fortifies a Christian spiritually, converts his mind, leads and guides him as necessary, and serves as an earnest or guarantee of eternal life (Ephesians 1:13–14). Now that we know the Bible definition of a Christian, we must go on to ask, “To whom does He give His Spirit?” Read and memorize Acts 5:32: “And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, which God hath given to them that OBEY Him.” Now, isn’t that plain?

It cuts right through so much human reasoning and sit­uation ethics! Disobedience is not an option. We find no category of “converted lawbreakers” anywhere in the Bible.

Christ said, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). So a real Christian is a person in whom God’s Holy Spirit dwells, whose attitude and behavior are consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Through the Holy Spirit one is literally begotten by God the Father as one of His sons, to be born again by a metabolic change from physical to spirit at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ into the very family (Ephesians 3:15) and Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:51–53; Philippians 3:21). The process is perfectly analogous to the human birth process. The true Christian maintains an upright relation­ship with God and man throughout his life of love and service.

A real Christian is as horrified by his own sins as he is by his neighbors. A Christian is a living sermon, whether or not he preaches a word. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). Christianity Is a Way of Life True Christianity is, literally, a way of life. In the Bible, early Christians referred to Christianity as “ the way of the Lord” (Acts 18:25) and “ the way of God” (verse 26). Paul said, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets” (Acts 24:14; see also 19:9,23; 24:22). A Christian seeks God’s way of life, His thoughts and His will.

A real Christian is one who is willing to do what Jesus said to do. “If you know these things,” Jesus exclaimed, “happy are you if you do them” (John 13:17). Just as a good parent protects his children by placing certain restric­tions upon them for their own good, so God places certain constraints upon His children. When you become a Christian, you will not be able to do everything you would ordinarily like to do. You will not be able to go everywhere you would like to go, eat everything you would like to eat, or say everything you would like to say.

In short, Christianity interferes with your normal way of life! Many would resent this.

Some unsubmissive souls today have the attitude that “ Nobody is going to tell me what to do—not even God Himself!” Consider: what father, when his son strikes out on his own in the world, would not put a lov­ing arm around him and advise, “Now, son, when you are out there in the world, be careful. Don’t be like everybody else. Don’t curse and swear. Don’t lie or steal or yearn for what isn’t yours.

Don’t defraud anybody. Don’t worship any false gods. Watch out for wayward women. Windows 7 Starter Iso Download Chip. And don’t work yourself to death—remember God’s Sabbath day.” Are these the harsh commands of a vengeful dictatoror loving advice from a father to a son to guide him and keep his son out of harm’s way?

And so it is with our heavenly Father. Christianity—the way of Christ—is a program of behavior modification and character development.

We are to grow, change, and overcome (2 Peter 3:18), to become more and more like Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed. A real Christian will begin to follow Christ in all that he does, says, and thinks.

As a result of following the leading of God’s Spirit, he will begin to develop godly character, replacing human carnal nature, which is largely rooted in vanity, jealousy, lust, and greed. Replacing these will be the fruits of God’s Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22–23). God never deprives us of anything wholesome and good. There may be times when we do not fully understand why God commands us to do or not to do a certain thing, but as an obedient child we are to obey. That is where the walk of faith comes in.

True Christianity has no regrets, no kickbacks, no “mornings after.” True Christianity is not a boring, never-get-to-do-anything lifestyle. True Christianity is the “Greatest Adventure Ever Lived.” In light of the rewards in this life and in the life to come, it is hard to imagine why anyone would not want to become a Christian! Christianity Is a Calling If you are not a Christian already, have you ever considered becom­ing a Christian? In the end of days, as you gaze into the fiery eyes of Jesus Christ at the judgment, what will be your excuse? It is true that some go through the rituals of their church only because it “seems like the thing to do,” like buying a car or a house, getting married, or hav­ing children. Some join a church out of peer pressure or because of family, friends, or coworkers. Still others pay lip service to a deity “just in case”—to be on the safe side.

If God is opening your mind and heart so that you see by the Scriptures, what is the proper thing to do? First of all we must realize that the Christian walk is a direct calling of God. Christ tells us in a first-person quotation in John 6:44 that “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Greek word translated “draw” is helkuo and means literally or figuratively to “drag, tug, haul, or tow.” It sometimes seems that God “drags us” kicking and scream­ing into His fellowship in the midst of problems, trials, and despair.or perhaps because of them. Our calling is a divine act outside our con­trol.

No one can come to God on his own terms. Our calling is some­thing more than merely hearing the message of the Word of God.

It goes much deeper than that. It is internal, and is the miraculous result of God the Father “turning on the lights” in our minds to understand the spiritual (Acts 26:18; John 6:44). God the Father specifically chooses and calls us, effectually drawing us to Christ, almost as though by a magnet, enlightening our minds, enabling us to receive and understand the truth (John 6:45; Acts 16:14; Ephesians 1:17). “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26). What a privilege to be called of God!

For double emphasis, Christ repeats again in John 6:65, “Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.” Christ also said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (verse 37). As shock­ing as it may be to some, God the Father is not calling everyone at this time. God is sovereign. He chooses whom He will call and whom He will not call and when He will call them. He is not trying to save the world now. If He were, being omnipotent, He would save it!

Quite the opposite, we read in John 12:40 that “He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” Contrary to what many have been taught, God is calling only a select few at this time. For what purpose? First Peter 2:9 reveals, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar peo­ple; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” Revelation 1:6 goes further, “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.” Revelation 5:10 sums it up nicely: “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Where? No, “on the earth.” Read it in your own Bible. Jesus said in John 3:13, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven.” He said the same in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Does this shock you? Here we see still anoth­er common “Bible opposite” from the popular teachings of churchian­ity.

(For more information on this important subject, be sure to send for our free booklet, Immortality: God’s Gift to the Saints.) “Repent and Be Baptized” But is there anything we must do? Are there any requirements? Indeed there are.

We see an incremental motif to becoming a real Christian. Throughout the Scriptures we see a progression: conviction of sin, repentance (turning from sin), faith, baptism, and a lifelong process called conversion or transformation. To one degree or another we all resemble the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:12–24, a type of the redeemed sinner. In this parable we see seven downward steps and then the upward climb of the Prodigal as he repents of his old lifestyle. At first he was caught up in self-will and selfishness, of wanting his own way. Then came separation, sensuality, and spiritual destitution. He came to the point of self-abasement and finally to phys­ical or spiritual starvation.

Who among us has not strayed far from God at some time in our lives and traversed these same steps? Finally the son came to the point of realization—he saw his plight and the rea­son behind it—and resolved to do the right thing. There followed repentance, return, and reconciliation to his father. There was a reunion and much rejoicing. This parable is a type of what we, as sin­ners, must do to be united with our heavenly Father. Peter, on the Day of Pentecost in the second chapter of Acts, had just finished convicting his hearers that they were guilty of crucifying their long-awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ. They were convicted of sin, pricked in their hearts, and cried, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 3:37) Then Peter revealed unto them, “Repent, and be bap­tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” On that day alone three thousand were baptized into the body of Christ!

Simply put, baptism is a prerequisite for receiving the Holy Spirit. The word “baptize” literally means to dip, immerse, or bury under water. Baptism was an ordinance instituted by Christ (Matthew 28:19,20), designed to be observed in the church. The ceremony of water baptism is performed by immersion, for the forgiveness of sins upon true repentance and acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice. After this observance, and as a result, one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands (Hebrews 6:2). Baptism symbolizes the forsaking of the old sinful ways of life, the remission of sins, the bury­ing of the old self in a watery grave, and the arising of the new, Spirit-led man walking in Christ.

(Read Matthew 3:13–16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1–8; and Colossians 2:12. For a deeper understanding of this vital subject, be sure to send for our free booklet, Is Water Baptism Required for Salvation?) In reading Acts 2:38, many understand the “baptism” role but total­ly disregard the “repent” part. Indeed, to repent—to change one’s behavior—is getting down to the “nitty-gritty” where people live.

Repentance is a lifelong process of changing one’s mind, attitude, and behavior. What Is This Thing Called Repentance? Calling sin “sin” is not fashionable today. It is “politically incor­rect.” The world is caught up in “gray thinking”—situation ethics. The hedonistic approach seems to be, “If it feels good, do it; if it looks good, watch it; if it tastes good, eat it.” Believing there is any such thing as sin “marks” you as being at odds with society.

Even some “professionals” deem “the sin concept” as “obsolete and harmful to the human psyche.” And yet sin is mankind’s number-one problem today. If you say sin is not a problem, you’re missing the whole point. Once again, the Bible is crystal clear sin as to what sin is: “Sin is”—here’s the Bible definition—“the transgression [breaking] of the law” (1 John 3:4).

The “wages” of sin—what you “earn” by sinning— is “death.” Death for all eternity, not “eternal life” in a different loca­tion. “But the gift of God,” by contrast, “is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Some falsely claim that the law of God is “done away” or “nailed to the cross” and quote various out-of-context scriptures to allegedly back up their claim. THINK for a moment! If the law of God was “done away”— if there was no law to break—then by Bible definition there could be no sin!

“But sin is not imputed when there is no law,” Paul says in Romans 5:13. And if there is no sin, Jesus did not die for your sins and mine. But Jesus did come to die for our sins, to pay the death penalty that you and I should rightfully pay. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets,” Jesus thundered.

“I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil [perform, carry out, fill to the full]. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17–18)! Look out your window. Have heaven and earth passed away? Then neither has God’s law!

Thus saith the Lord! The law of God as revealed in the Bible is a good, right, and perfect system of eternal directives and principles that reflects God’s charac­ter and serves as a means of expressing His love toward man.

God’s law teaches man how to properly worship God, how to love his fellow man, how to live life abundantly, and, at the same time, how to prepare for an eternal spiritual life in the family of God. The law of God is exemplified in both the Old and New Testaments, and is expressed by both physical actions and spiritual motivations. The Ten Commandments, given by God Himself, are the perfect expression of His love and are the foundation of all biblical teaching, showing man how to express love toward God and fellowman, and are consequent­ly the focal point of the Christian way of life.

A real Christian knows that sin—the breaking of God’s law—is very real. A real Christian really repents. He stops sinning—stops trans­gressing God’s law—and comes to the real Jesus with real repentance for real forgiveness. A real Christian has not lost the power to sin, but the desire to sin. Anything other than real repentance and change of heart may appear righteous for a while but is in reality only a satanic counterfeit.

Know this: for every sin, Satan is ready to provide an excuse. He is perfectly willing to have a person confess Christianityas long as he does not live it. Repentance is the act of acknowledging one’s sins, and resolving to fully obey God. It begins when God opens one’s mind to see himself in comparison with God and His law.

True repentance is the first step toward reconciliation with God, and thereby toward ultimate salva­tion. A truly repentant Christian realizes that not only has he has “missed the mark”—that he has sinned—but he also has a deep appre­ciation of God’s unmerited pardon, mercy, and grace (Psalm 51:1; 130:4). When a Christian slips, falls down, or backslides, he is con­scious of guilt (Psalm 51:4,9), of spiritual pollution (Psalm 51:5,7,10), and of helplessness (Psalm 51:11; 109:21,22).

Thus he comprehends himself to be just what God has always seen and declares him to be: a sinner. In 2 Corinthians, Paul spoke of two kinds of repentance: worldly repentance, such as being sorry you “got caught” and had to pay the consequences, and godly repentance, which is a true change of heart— to be sorry to the point of changing your mind and behavior. It seems that more people repent of their sins from fear of being caught than from a true change of heart. To grieve over sin is one thing; to repent is another. It takes more courage and motivation to repent than to keep on sinning.

Godly repentance means that you literally turn around and go the other way. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Be sure to read David’s beautiful Psalm of repen­tance in Psalm 51, which shows a broken and contrite heart.