Study Four

Knowing Faith

Prayer:

“Listen, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into His house and eat with him, and he will eat with Me.” (Revelation 3:20). O God, I hear You knocking at the door of my heart. I know that I want You to come in and I know that when You do, things will be different. Lord, help me to open the door of my heart to You.

Amen

There is a painting based on Revelation 3:20 that shows Jesus standing outside a door, poised to knock. The interesting thing about the door is that there is no doorknob. Hence the door can only be opened from the inside. It is the same for us. God wants to forgive us and bring us back to the state of fellowship He has enjoyed with Adam and Eve. Jesus Christ is God’s way of forgiveness for us. He stands at the door. But we still have to open the door. We have to believe in God’s promises, repent of our sins and open the door to receive His Son. That is faith. Read chapter five, “Christ Our Life”: A Communicant’s Manual.

REPENTANCE

1. What do you understand by ‘repentance’?

(Mark1:4,15)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(1John1:9)___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(Luke19:1-10)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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FAITH IN CHRIST

2. What God offers is salvation, what we do to receive this salvation is faith. Read the following verses to see what we must do and what God offers.

What we must do

What God offers

Matthew 1:28

Revelation 3:20

John 1:12

Isaiah 45:22

Psalm 34:8

FRUITS OF FAITH

3. What is this salvation that God offers?

(Romans 5:1)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(1 John 1:7,9)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(Galatians 4:5)_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(John 5:24)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(John 10:28)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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In our study so far, we have learned about a holy God and his love for us. Man sinned when they disobeyed God. To restore our relationship with God, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ who is fully God and fully man to die on the cross for our sins. When we believe in what God has offered us, repent and invite Jesus into our hearts, the Bible says that we are ‘born again’. We are a new creation in Jesus Christ. Here, let us take a moment to consider whether you have believed in God’s promises and have invited Jesus into your life.

If you want to invite Jesus into your life, here is a simple prayer to God:

“Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner. Thank You for bearing my sins on the cross for me. Thank You for making it possible for me to receive God’s forgiveness. Come into my life now and take control. I profess that You are my Lord and Saviour.”

Amen

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE ‘BORN AGAIN’?

4. What happens to you when you receive Jesus into your life?

(Romans 8:9)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(Romans 6:1-14)_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(2 Corinthians 5:17)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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(Romans 3:24)_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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“The basis or ground, of our justification, or being declared righteous, is twofold. Christ’s death as our Substitute satisfied the claims of God’s holy law against our sin. ‘While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him’ (Romans 5:8,9).

The other basis of God’s declaring righteous is Christ’s perfect obedience. ‘For as by one man’s [Adam’s] disobedience many [i.e. all men] were made sinners, so by the obedience of One [Christ] shall many [i.e. all who believe] be made righteous’ (Romans 5:19). Christ became identified with us when He was made sin for us on the cross; and we are identified with Him in His newness of resurrection life, and share His righteousness. We are justified by faith”

Paul Little

5. After we are ‘born again’, God begins to work in our lives through a process called ‘sanctification’. What do you understand by ‘sanctification’? Read 2 Corinthians 3:18

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6. How would you answer if someone is to ask you “Why do you believe you are a Christian”?

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Only by faith do we accept that Jesus Christ died for our sins. Only by faith do we accept the forgiveness of God and enter into a new life with Him. Martin Luther, the great Reformer called this, ‘justification by faith’.

Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us the faith to accept You as our Lord and Saviour. Thank You for Your work on the cross, for redeeming us and renewing us in our relationship with Your Father. Father, we ask that You will continue to help us as we grow into the likeness of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray in Jesus’ Name.

Amen