Now What?
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The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations,
and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.
II Peter 2:9
CHAPTER ONE
NOW WHAT?
Maybe you have recently made a commitment to Christ and received Him as Lord and Savior. Maybe you have been a Christian for sometime and have or are considering renewing your commitment to God and the church. Maybe you are not sure about all this and you just want to know more. In any case I encourage each of you to consider the feeling that the Holy Spirit will give you during our study as He draws you closer to God.
Dr. Latch says, “Every day as I grow older I realize anew what a wonderful thing happened to me when I became a Christian. You will too, if you give Christ a real chance in your life. How sad it is that so many of your friends, neighbors, and loved ones do not know what you know now --- the forgiveness of sin. What a tragedy for anyone to be lost from God.”
I always quote 1 John 1:9 to new converts and to those who are seeking to find a relationship with Christ. Look it up and write in the blank below.
Many times people delay making a decision for Christ because they incorrectly believe that they must correct the things wrong in their life first. As we will learn in our study this is backwards from the teachings of God. All of us have sinned and are not worthy of Christ. All sin is bad! Praise the Lord; He made a way for us to find forgiveness!
How does it happen that you are saved and others are lost? What is the difference between them and you?
1. You are “Born Again”
If you have already asked Jesus to come into your heart, you have been “born again”. “Born Again” is one of those church terms that make some people a little uneasy. I will try to limit churchy terms, but they have come into common use for a reason. Unfortunately many church folks forget that people who have not been raised in a church environment may not fully understand such terms. So, I will try to take the time to explain them as best I can.
In John 3:3, Jesus spoke of your present state as one of being “born again”. Turn to that passage and read it. I caution you, as you proceed with this study, you must take the time to read and consider the text when asked to do so.There are no short-cuts,and besides you will miss the blessings that come from reading the Word of God and hearing it with your heart. Turn to John 3:3-7 *and read it now if you have not done so.
*NOTE: For those who may not understand how to find things in the Bible; it is really quite simple. The Bible is divided into books, chapters and verses. Think of it as sort of a grid map of how to pinpoint information. For Example: John 3:3-7 means to look in the Book of John for chapter 3, and verses 3 through 7. The colon separates the chapter from the verse. If you need additional help with this ask your teacher or a classmate.
In Matthew 18:3 (Read it now), He called your present state one of being “converted” so that you are now like a little child. Paul calls your state “a new creature” (Read II Cor. 5:17). Have you read all three verses? Please do so before you go on.
When you put these three verses together, this is what you learn. You have left sin and you are now in Christ. You got to Christ from sin by being converted. This has so changed you that you are now a new person. It is as though you have been born again, and you are now a child of God. Isn’t that great! That is what makes you different from lost people. The circumstances of the world around you probably haven’t changed and some of you feel more changed that others; that is OK and not unusual. But you now have a new outlook or hope as to how to deal with them. You also have help from the Holy Spirit and the church. How did it happen? How did this change take place?
II. How It Happened
1. Look What You Were!
Before you knelt to pray for forgiveness, you were without Christ (Read Eph. 2:12 now). Write it below.
Thus, you were without a Savior (Read Acts 4:12 and write it below).
Something was missing from your life; you cannot be complete if you do not have Christ (Read Col. 2:9-12). You were condemned in the sin of unbelief (Read Romans 11:32). Perhaps you were not what the world calls bad, but you were in unbelief. You were doomed to spend eternity in everlasting punishment (Read Matthew 25:46). And saddest of all, you could not save yourself (Read John 6:44 now).
2. What God Did for You
Since you could not save yourself, it was necessary for God to do something for you. He did something for you because He loved you (Read John 3:16). He did not have to do this, because you did not deserve it. But He loved you and did something for you that you did not deserve. We call this an act of grace (Read Eph. 2:8-10). “Grace” is one of those churchy terms. It means “unmerited favor”. It is like a present given in love. You did nothing to earn it and it was not given out of a sense of responsibility; it was given simply because someone loved you.
That is why God sent His Son to be your Savior (Read Rom. 5:8). He sent the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin (Read John 16:7-8). And He set up a plan to salvation through which, if you followed it, you could be saved (Read Rom. 10:8-13). God did it because He loves you. Read Romans 5:8 and write it below.
God demonstrated His love “while we were still sinners”. Many people mistakenly believe that they must “clean-up their life” before they can become a Christian or start going to church. You can receive Jesus anytime. You don’t have to wait; Jesus is ready to forgive you, right now! None of us were Christians before we were saved; being a Christian is the result of the saving grace of Jesus.
After receiving Jesus into your heart, you have help with making changes in your life. The process of changing your life has begun. Your approach is now as a Christian with the Holy Spirit as a partner and guide.
3. The Steps You Took
You began believing (Read John 3:18). You believe the sermons you have heard. You believe the Sunday School lessons you have studied. You believe the Bible. Or, maybe it was a friend that told you about Christ. You believe God exists; that you are lost; that you will go to judgment (Read John 16:7-8). This faith brings to you a godly sorrow (Read II Cor. 7:9). This is the beginning of repentance. Let’s look at this matter of repentance.
Your physical structure is made of bone, blood, flesh, and nerves. Your spiritual structure is made of emotions, intellect, and will. You feel, think, and have the will to act or to not act. Your emotions are joy, sorrow, love, hate, and such. Thus, when you realize by faith that there is a God and that you are lost from Him, that produces sorrow for your sin of unbelief and indifference to God. This sorrow is not repentance! It is the beginning of repentance.
As you read in II Cor. 7:9-10, “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation……..”
You may weep, most of us do. But you can weep all day and not be saved! Repentance is more than sorrow. What else is it?
Here is where your intelligence comes into play. God gave you a brain and you think. Hopefully, now that you have made a commitment to God, you think in a different way that before. You have been thinking without much attention to God and what He wants you to do. Now you think of the things you should do, and the things you ought not do. You reason about things. You consider God’s will. That is what God wants you to do (Read Isaiah 1:18-19). So now both your feelings and your intelligence have come into play. Still you have not repented! What else is there?
You could cry all day and still have the setting sun find you lost. You must act upon what you have felt and thought. That is where your “will” comes into play. Until you “will” to turn away from sin and turn to God, you have not responded, you have only acknowledged the problem. You have the power to choose God. You say, “I see I am wrong; I am sorry I am wrong; I will turn to God.” When this is done, you have repented. Read the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-24 now. Note especially verses 17-20. Can you see yourself in these verses?
4. Now You Are Changed
You are not the person you used to be. The moment you prayed the prayer of salvation, your heavenly Father forgave you. Read 1 John 1:9 and write it below.
What does it mean to you? If you prayed in faith you are now cleansed, and just like the dirty laundry when it is washed, you are now fresh and clean. But much more than that, you are like a brand new set of cloths, with no history of being soiled. God no longer remembers your sin.
Let us go back and read II Cor. 7:9-11. Note especially verse 11. You have become more careful about your life. You have a new set of priorities and your motivation comes from a different place. You have cleared yourself of your unbelief and indifference to God. You are angered by those things which would make you do wrong. You now stand in awe (fear) of God where you were once indifferent. You have a real desire to please God. You really want to work for Christ (zeal) and to undo the bad you have done (restitution) as much as possible. You now KNOW by the Word of God that you are clean (Read John 1:12). So you see, you are converted; you are starting life all over again (born again). You are redeemed by the blood of Jesus (Read Eph. 1:7; 1 John 1:7). Deep within you is the conviction that you are saved; you are a Christian (Read Romans 8:16).
III. You Will Have Help
You are not alone any more. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are with you. (Read Matt. 28:20). Of course you don’t understand a lot of stuff yet; you are weak! You are child-like in your new state. You would have a difficult time surviving on your own. That is why studies like this and surrounding yourself with Christian friends is so important. God will not abandon you!
Dr. Latch gives this example in his book, “A teenager asked anxiously after her conversion. ‘What if I blow it tomorrow?” If we are not careful Satan will use concerns like this to steal us away from God. But you have power over Satan; we will talk more about that in the next section. You don’t have to depend on just yourself any longer. Read 1 Cor. 10:13.
Many times we become discouraged because we feel like we might fail or that we face issues and problems that others do not. 1 Cor. 10:13 promises that whatever the temptation might be others have already been there and done that. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear. The great news is that He also provides the way of escape. As you grow in Christ you will begin to understand all in a more complete way. To help you in this, I suggest you read the Book of James after you complete this study. “James” teaches basic Christian living.
Read 1 John 1:8-9 again. Wonderful promise; what a wonderful blessing it is! For the rest of your life you can be cleansed by confessing your sins! Jesus is always your advocate if you go to Him (Read 1 John 2: 1). You are still free to choose, and so you must discipline yourself (Read I Cor. 9:27). If you do so, no force in all the world can take you from Christ (Read Rom. 8:38-39). No person, nor devil, nor political force, nor life circumstance can make God turn loose of you. Only you can separate you from God. Jesus will be with you, help you, and sustain you. God’s grace is enough if you treat it correctly (Read II Cor. 12:7-9).
IV. Only You Can Destroy Your New Life
You were the one who had to choose God and life; no one could do that for you. Only you can choose to throw that new life away. There are some dangers you must watch for; only you can make the choices. You must not be over-confident (Read I Cor. 10:12). Never be disloyal to Christ (Read Rev. 2:10). Discipline yourself, curb your desires; control yourself (Read I Cor. 9:27). If you find that you are doing something wrong, ask for pardon from God and get rid of the practice.
Over-confidence could cause you to fail in loyalty. If you fail in loyalty, you then let down in self-discipline. What happens then is the world might overcome you (Read II Peter 2:20). If the world overcomes you, you may then fall into gross disobedience and that is fatal (Read Luke 21:34). If you fall into such disobedience, you must wake up, repent, and get back where you belong, or you will be worse than before you became a Christian (Read II Peter 2:20-21).
Understand that Satan has no power over you, except the power you yield to him. The power is yours; thereby the responsibility and consequences are on your shoulders. The great news is that you can tell Satan to beat it, and he must obey you through the power and authority of Christ.
V. How to Avoid Destroying Your New Life
Read the Bible daily. Get into church and go to work for Jesus. Give yourself to His work. We sometimes call this consecration; sometimes we call it commitment. In this book we call it dedication. We study that in the next chapter.
Take charge of your life! It is yours; given to you by God your Creator. God gave you gifts and talents and purpose. Use them! Enjoy them! Share them with everyone you know.
Beware of old friends and old habits. You don’t want to shun them but you can’t walk down the paths of your old life and not expect to get dirty. Let them see the new you!
HOMEWORK
If you know the answer, write it in the blank. If you do not know the answer or just want to be sure, turn to the Bible verse, find it and then write it in the blank. In any case write it down. This helps you to visualize what we have studied so far.
1. How did you become as a little child again? (Matt. 18:3)
2. How does God draw lost sinners to Himself? (John 12:32)
3. What are some things we show or do when we repent? (II Cor. 7:9)
4. What must we believe about God before we can please Him? (Heb. 11:6)
5. What great promise is made to all who come to Christ? (John 6:37)
6. For whose sake are our sins forgiven? (Eph. 4:32)
7. How are we redeemed from sin? (Eph. 4:32)
8. By what means do we become children of God? (Gal. 3:26)
9. Where will we get help in time of temptation? (I Cor. 10:13)
10. What should the Christian do if he sins? (I John 1:8-9)
11. What happens if we let the world overcome us? (II Peter 2:20-21)
12. Why are we to disciple ourselves? (I Cor. 9:27)
13. Grace plus something helps us to be saved for some thing. What? (Eph. 2: 8-10)
14. What happens to your faith if you do not mix it with Christian works? (James 2:26)
15. “Converted” means we are changed from going one way to going another way, turned around. Where is the sinner going? (Matt. 25:46)
Where is the person going after Christ forgives his sins? (Matt. 25:34)
16. What does the Holy Spirit do when He touches our lives at first? (John 16:8)
17. From Romans 10:8-11, what things would you tell your friends make up the plan of salvation?