Spring Training Study Four

G.O.S.P.E.L. Threads
Personal Response and Life Transformation

God calls all people in all nations to repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, turning from all idols to declare allegiance to Jesus alone as King and trusting in Jesus alone as Lord of one’s life.

Table discussion, what is faith and how does it work? (See James 2:19, Matthew 7:21-23, Mark 1:15, Acts 2:37-38, Acts 16:31)

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Faith — we dilute what it means to “believe” in Jesus when we assume that someone is a Christian simply because he or she agrees intellectually with certain truths or says certain words. (James 2:19, Matthew 7:21-23)
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Faith — in an attempt to guard against the error of diluting faith, some swing in the opposite direction and complicate it to where it becomes difficult to know if someone actually has it. How do I know if I’m committed enough or serious enough, or if I’ve surrendered all?
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Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. —Hebrews 11:1-3

The Right Perspective on Faith

The

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of Faith — the goal of our faith in Jesus for our salvation is not happiness or joy or peace or satisfaction, it’s not even heaven. These things are not bad, of course, but they are not the goal of the gospel. The goal of the gospel is

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. We come to Christ so we can be restored to God.

Let’s look at true faith in relation to our salvation.

Faith is the

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of our Salvation — Jesus is the basis of our salvation, our faith is in Him. We could never stand before God and claim to be righteous on our own, for there is nothing we can do to cover the fact that we’ve rebelled against God and been disobedient. The only way we can be declared innocent before God is by claiming someone else’s innocence, namely Christ’s. We are restored solely on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Faith is the

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of our Salvation — Faith is the means by which the salvation of Christ is applied to our lives. If salvation is a gift, then faith is the hand that receives the gift. Faith is the anti-work. By true faith we are acknowledging that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation except trust in what God has done for us in Christ.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. —Ephesians 2:8-9
Faith will bring the

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of our Salvation — So if we can’t work for our salvation, where do works fit in in regard to salvation? Biblical faith and true salvation will always lead to good works (See James 2:14, 2:17). When your soul is resting upon the grace of Christ, then you begin to love as Christ loves, to walk as Christ walks, and to lay down your life for others as Christ laid down His life for you. We will love the way Jesus loved us and that will lead to good works done for the benefit of others.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. —Ephesians 2:10

A Dangerous Situation:

It is possible to believe that Jesus is the only way to God, and even to want Him as your Savior, while refusing to turn from your sin and submit to Christ’s lordship. In fact, this is what it looks like for many who claim to be Christians. But that’s not biblical faith. As we’ll see, there is no faith without repentance. Jesus cannot be your Savior if you refuse Him as your Lord. —David Platt

In the verses below there are 5 “social taboos” or topics that are difficult to talk about with others. At your tables list the 5 and discuss what each means.

…how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. —1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10

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To

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To

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Whom

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Jesus

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Turned to God from Idols — what does this mean? Let’s look at the word turned,

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, did a 180-degree turn, to God from idols. According to this verse what can be understood as the cause of the turning? It is to God. We understand and experience His love, His mercy, His grace, His sacrifice, His forgiveness, and the peace and satisfaction He brings. That is the cause of the turn. Because we are turning to God, we will naturally turn away from idols.

Who knows the main 3 idols of Israel’s day that we read about most often in the O.T.?
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  or
  
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  — Fertility goddess, Asherah was also worshiped as the goddess of love and war and was sometimes linked with Anath, another Canaanite goddess. Worship of Asherah was noted for its sensuality and involved ritual prostitution. The priests and priestesses of Asherah also practiced divination and fortune-telling.
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  or
  
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  — king or lord and involved child sacrifice. When a couple sacrificed their first born, they believed that Moloch would ensure financial prosperity for the family and future children. Ashtoreth was his consort, and ritual prostitution was considered an important form of worship. In addition to sexual rituals, Moloch worship included child sacrifice, or “passing children through the fire.”
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  — the sun god. Ba’al is a word that was also used to designate any god or ruler in the land of Canaan; Baal was the agent of fertility. The wealth and fertility of the land, crops, livestock, and humans was attributed to Baal. The lord of rain and dew, which are essentials for crops.
So who knows what we would equate these gods to today? What are our idols?

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or

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One very difficult aspect of sin is that my sin never feels like sin to me. My sin feels like life to me, plain and simple. My heart is an idol factory, and my mind is an excuse-making factory. —Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

To serve the

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and the

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God

The

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God, what does this mean and what is it implying? Our God is alive, every other founder of every other world religion is dead, not our God, Jesus is alive. Not only is our God alive, so is His Word, it is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It’s relevant, applicable, it not saying anything new, we are just seeing new things in it all the time as we study it.
The

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God, He is truth, His word is truth, Jesus is the way the truth and the life and nobody comes to the Father but through Him. If His is the only true God, then all other “gods” are false. There are not many paths to God and all religious systems are not equal, good or true.
To

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Him — To submit to Him and place ourselves under His authority. Having a new King, serving a good King who first served us and died for us. No longer pursuing our idols and trying to grow our kingdom, but pursuing Jesus and growing the kingdom of God.

Weaving our personal response and life transformation into conversation

Take advantage of every opportunity you have to tell your

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.

Keep it simple.
Keep it focused on the greatness of God and the threads of the gospel.
Keep it centered on your restoration to God.
Talking about

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…

Point out the ultimate emptiness of idols in this world. (Your personal pursuit and disappointment)
Point out the complete confidence we can have in God.
Point to the forgiveness of Christ when people around you see their sin.
Point to the presence of Christ when people around you come to the end of themselves.
Talking about

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…

Encourage people around you to see the Lordship of Christ.
Urge people around you to receive and trust the Love of Christ.