A Faith that Obeys Podcast Dana Haynes

Editor's Note: This is the fourth lesson from our eleven part video series called, "A Faith that Obeys." You can find the original video and transcript HERE. We are dropping this lesson into our regular podcast feed so that the information can reach a wider audience. In this lesson, we will review the the first two steps in the Biblical Plan of Salvation which are, Hearing the Message of the Gospel and Accepting the Message of the Gospel.







The Entire World Hears the Gospel







In this world of ours today the scriptures span the globe. There are very few places left, if any, where the name of Jesus has not been proclaimed. Millions of people have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. At some point in the past, you perhaps made a personal commitment to Jesus because of something you either read or heard. Somebody, sometime, somehow told you about Jesus







The story about Jesus, his death and resurrection is called the Gospel. And hearing the Gospel message is the first step everyone takes in the Biblical plan of salvation. I am unaware of any Christian group which does not recognize that there is a process one goes through on the way to salvation. Sometimes we illustrate this process using clever metaphors. These wonderful illustrations are designed to help us understand the plan of salvation clearly. One popular metaphor is called "The Romans Road."







You may have heard of it. Using the book of Romans, in the Bible, we can trace out a pathway which leads to salvation. The metaphor we will use to illustrate the Biblical Plan of Salvation, is not a pathway but a staircase, as I mentioned in the last lesson. Just as there are steps we travel on the Roman Road, there are several steps on our staircase which every person takes on their journey to salvation, or the forgiveness of sins. Here's the illustration of our metaphor. 







The First Two Steps - Hearing and Accepting the Gospel







We have already identified the first step, so let's label this first step, "Hearing the Message." Every person in the history of the world, who has ever come to know Jesus, has taken this first step. This should be pretty obvious! If you consider yourself a Christian, that means you heard the Gospel, you made a conscious decision to respond positively. Perhaps you were in a church, listening to the radio, watching the TV or a friend brought the message to you. You decided to make Jesus, Lord of your life. You may remember that day clearly. You made a decision. You accepted the message; you didn't reject the message. And guess what, that would be the second step in the Biblical plan of salvation. 







Let's label the second step, "Accepting the Message." Again, this is pretty obvious. For someone to be saved, they must accept the Gospel message. Rejecting it would get them nowhere!







Be Super Careful. Never Confuse Repentance with Salvation







For many people, it is at this point, as they surrender their will to Jesus and make Him Lord of their lives, that they might feel an inexpressible joy and relief as they understand they have crossed over from a dark life of sin and have been born again into the wonderful light of salvation. They are comforted by the fact that they will never walk alone again, they will have their Lord and Savior walking with them. The point in time when this occurs is what we previously called a "salvation experience." 







The goal of this series, "A Faith that Obeys," is to identify the exact point in time when this "Salvation Experience" occurs. Most people who call themselves Evangelical Christians can point ...

Part 2







In our last podcast we looked at that intense passage of scripture in 1 John Chapter 2 where John challenges us to obey the commandments of Christ and lets us know, in no uncertain terms, that obedience is not optional. Listen to this passage again…







1 John 2:3-6We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.







What Commands Does Jesus Want Us to Obey?







Just think about that one statement, “God’s love is truly made complete in him.” We need to step back and understand, it is possible for God’s love to “not be made complete” in a person! In our last episode, we learned; John’s conditional statement explains that we do not know Christ unless we are walking in obedience to his commands. But, which commands? We asked, “What commands do I need to obey?” That question launched us into a deep survey of “The Great Commission.” 







After that very thorough review, we concluded that if we are not actively involved in obeying the four crisp commands of Christ found in The Great Commission, then we fall short in our obedience. Employing this criteria is a pretty solid, albeit deeply convicting strategy for evaluating our position before God. We are forced by the tenets of The Great Commission to ask ourselves, “Am I going? In other words, "Am I evangelistic?” Am I making disciples? Am I baptizing them? Am I teaching them to make disciples and obey everything Jesus has just taught in The Great Commission and elsewhere? Do you realize; The Great Commission is the only pattern we see for converting souls in the New Testament?















Examining Ourselves







The Great Commissions is the only instruction specifically given by Jesus himself as his unambiguous mission for his followers after his departure. How can we claim to know Him if we are not walking in obedience to these very simple commands? This really puts our walk with God under a microscope, doesn’t it? It’s quite a challenge. Now some folks might object to this exercise of “self evaluation” as unnecessary, legalistic, demotivating, discouraging, perhaps even dangerous. But the Bible corrects that notion and indeed challenges us to dial up our introspection; our self-examination.







2 Corinthians 13:5Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you–unless, of course, you fail the test?







This kind of heart searching and probing might possibly reveal that we are not as secure in our relationship with God as we think. And you know what? That conclusion is not a bad thing! Yeah, it rattles our assurance of salvation; but that’s OK. Listen. If we come to the conclusion that we “fail the test,” and are willing to be honest with ourselves, it just means we are still in the process of conversion. God still has us in his plan.







Are we trusting Him?







Why in the world would we ever think Jesus is going to let us go just because we learned new truth and are convicted that we don’t measure up to the new Biblical standard? Don’t you think that maybe…. just maybe… God is trying to help us get to the place He needs us to be?







God Does Not Give Up on People







I don’t think God gives up on people if they continue pursuing Him with a humble open heart. Only our pride and arrogance keep us from growing to the next level as we point to our spiritual resume and claim,

After nearly 70 podcasts here at A Faith that Obeys, there is one aspect of our topic we have never really studied deeply. We've skirted around the issue, we've included the notion in a number of our discussions but we have never tackled this topic head-on and let the chips fall where they may.







The issue? The fact that scripture teaches us that; love for Christ is directly linked to obedience to Christ.







Study out the word "Obedience"







This showed up on my radar last week when I was creating a list of scriptures that specifically mention obedience. That study is an entire study in and of itself and I would highly encourage you to do a search for the word obey in all its various forms, using your Bible Software or online at BibleGateway.com or BibleStudyTools.com and discover the amazing things revealed by that search. You will be both delighted and challenged.







In my study, I wanted to find scriptures that spoke specifically about obedience being necessary for salvation. In the process, I was struck when I saw how many times obedience is directly connected or associated with love for God and Christ. As I read these passages I was amazed with how dogmatic they are. There is no gray area. We either love God and Jesus through our obedience or we do not.







What we are about to look at we have seen before but never in such a challenging way… never so directly.







A Quick Prayer for a Soft Heart







Lets begin with a prayer because I think we’re gonna need it!







God and Father, please be with us as we look at these challenging scriptures. Help our hearts be soft and receptive to the facts we are about to see. Help us be willing to change anything we need to change in our lives in order to follow you more closely. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.







In this podcast, let’s begin by talking about obedience in general and then talk about how it relates to the love of Christ. Here’s probably the most challenging scripture. It is found in 1 John. 







1 John 2:3-6We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, Gods love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.







This is a scripture about salvation. 







Knowing Christ Does Not Mean Christ Knows Me!







When John speaks about coming to know him, he is talking about a person’s relationship with Jesus. Implied in his assertion is the fact that not only have we come to know Jesus, but Jesus knows us, too. I point this out because I am recalling those folks back in Matthew 7 who knew Jesus super intimately and were doing amazing things for him but Jesus never knew them. There are two parts to the equation, right?







In this 1 John passage, it is clear that we are talking to real disciples of Jesus. John is talking to Christians. We also know this because he is comparing the “we” of the first sentence with “the man” of the second sentence; who is clearly lost. Here it is again for reference.







“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, I know him, but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.”







Without Obedience, We Do Not Know Christ







Now notice something critical. This first sentence is conditional. It contains an if/then statement.

Have you ever considered our tagline here at A Faith that Obeys? It reads, “Rethinking the Traditional Plan of Salvation.” Now, I must admit, this does sound a bit presumptuous doesn’t it? Hopefully the tagline provides a crisp clarity to the issue we are debating and anyone piqued enough to investigate this apparent arrogance, discovers a warm and welcoming place to explore the age old debate regarding water baptism.







Now, you know me. I gotta pick apart a term! After all, we need to agree on what a word means. Let’s begin with, “Rethinking.” Why are we “rethinking" anything? Well, because we think we might have gotten something wrong or we need to review our understanding of a thing; in this case, The Traditional Plan of Salvation. 







Defining Our Terms







A “plan" is an ordered succession of smaller events leading to a specific goal and our plan leads to salvation.







“Salvation” means, a person receives the forgiveness of sins, from God; is moved from a lost state to a saved state and will enjoy the benefits of the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven. 







“Traditional” means; the plan is something which has been used and reused for a very long time and is assumed to be correct.







Our process of rethinking, leads us to probe, poke holes in and otherwise scrutinize the assertions made by the traditional plan. At A Faith that Obeys, we’ve discovered the primary and most glaring difference between the Traditional Plan and the Biblical Plan is this small, seemingly insignificant fact. Listen carefully. The only difference between the two plans is that the declaration of salvation is made at different points along the same common path. Let me explain because this issue can be a little hard to see.















The Roadmap to Salvation







The plan of salvation is like a map. When we look at the map carefully, we spot two different exit ramps. Both are clearly labeled, “This way to the Pearly Gates.” To arrive at our destination, we must use the correct exit ramp. But, right there on the map are two different exit ramps going off in different directions.







The traditional plan asserts a person is saved when they first believe and trust in Christ. This happens at some point before water baptism. That’s ramp one. The Biblical Plan demonstrates that a person is not saved until they obey the Gospel, which includes water baptism. That’s ramp two. Intellectual belief and acceptance of the Gospel message and obedience to that message, are two separate things and happen at different times along the same spiritual highway to heaven. The crazy thing is that if we are not paying attention, the routes look identical!







When deeply committed Christian believers, who have not yet obeyed the “Biblical Plan of Salvation,” hear about it, become convinced of its truth and want to obey, the question inevitably comes up, "Do I need to be baptized again?" They are questioning this because, sometime in the past, they experienced a full immersion baptism, and now think they may need to be baptized again, the right way.  They made a sincere commitment to Christ and believed they had been saved but, that happened well before their water baptism.







Our goal should always be to humbly obey the Gospel to the best of our ability, right? Everyone who truly loves Jesus wants to please him. If we were baptized at some point in the past with a full immersion baptism, we should ask ourselves a couple of questions; “What teaching were we following?" And, “Why did we get baptized?” Let’s jump in the Wayback Machine and review our thinking.

How would you like to take your prayer life and Bible Study to a higher level than you have ever experienced before? How would you like to feel like your time with God was deeper, more intimate, more vibrant, and authentic? That would be awesome, right?







Photo by Michael Krahn on Unsplash







In this lesson, you are going to learn two blow-away secrets that will absolutely change the way you pray and the results you experience! Let’s go!







All good relationships are based on two things; time together and communication. Our relationship with God is no exception. If we want a rich, real relationship with God, then, we spend quality time with Him by reading His Word and Praying. These two specific activities can be a pretty good barometer of how well we are doing spiritually. When someone is not spending time with God in Prayer and Bible Study, they are neglecting the most important relationship a human being can have. To have a great relationship with God, we need to have great QuietTimes!







What is a QuietTime?







As always, let’s begin by defining our terms. What is a QuietTime?







As the name suggests, it is a time which is quiet. There are no noises to distract us, there are no electronic devices incessantly beeping, there are no other people around and the environment is somewhat protected from interruption. It is a time we spend alone, communicating with God in prayer and allowing Him to communicate with us through his word and through the thoughts and ideas which stir our hearts and our imaginations during these times.







Communication flows in two directions; to God and from God. Our communication to God is done through our prayers. We tell Him what is on our heart. We share our hopes, our dreams and our hardships with Him. We let Him know what is going on with us and we offer up adoration, gratitude and requests for ourselves and for others. Basically, we lay our hearts bare before the Creator of the Universe in the hope He will hear us and respond favorably. And, God does respond.







God’s Communication to Us















God communicates to us in a variety of ways. During our time alone with him, He communicates with us through His word and those random thoughts which come to mind… that quiet still voice we all have in our head and heart. At other times, God may use another person to tell us something we need to hear.. Perhaps He may provide an experience, dramatic or mundane, which makes us pause and reflect. So, God uses four channels of communication as He is working with us: The Word, A person, An experience and that little voice in our head and heart. Which one would you place at the top of the list as the most trusted and reliable? Obviously, The Word!







We don’t completely ignore advice we receive from another person, an experience or our inner voice. We take all of these into account; carefully weighting everything in the light of Scripture. Everything must be filtered through that lens. We must never depend solely on our little inner voice! And an experience is not reliable because your interpretation of the experience is just as good as mine. The two interpretations can differ wildly. People’s advice, opinions and teachings are just that…. their opinion and their teaching, not necessarily what God desires. You must make the final evaluation and your conclusions must be in harmony with the scriptures.







So, having a quality time with God is based,

Editor's Note: This is the audio from the second lesson about The Biblical Plan of Salvation . You may view the entire video series by starting HERE.







Ben White via UnSplash.com







Thanks so much for taking the next step. You obviously have a desire to learn more about this important topic. As we begin, I wanted to say that the things we will look at are really challenging. I know because I have felt some pretty strong feelings as I learned the things you're about to learn. Please understand that I am submitting these ideas to you with the utmost love and respect. I hope you will feel like that comes through as I make my case.







In the last video, we talked about a Biblical Plan of Salvation. I said that this plan was hidden in the Bible, and in plain sight. I said, even the most learned scholars miss it and, even explained why they miss it... they do not have the heart of a child.







I'm about to show you that Biblical plan of salvation, but before we begin, let's lock down some of the basic Bible grammar used to define the plan. You probably know most of this but let's take a minute to lock it down carefully. This way, there will be no confusion or disagreement about terms and definitions.







Bible Names for Bible Things







Let's take a look at this phrase, "God's Plan of Salvation."







First, let's be clear. This is God's plan, not man's plan. Man did not create the plan and man can not change the plan. The plan was clearly established in the Bible 2000 years ago and is the same today as it was in the first century. What is a plan? Well, Webster's dictionary defines the word "Plan," as a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. So our plan will contain some sort of ordered actions aimed at achieving the goal, which God has laid before us, salvation. The Biblical plan of salvation may be depicted like a series of stair steps.







Now, I need to stop right here and make sure we understand something important. These steps I am describing are not actions we take in order to be saved but they are observable, verifiable things that happen with us as we move through the plan. We are not talking about some kind of "works salvation" here. You'll understand this clearly as we move forward. Ok, this brings us to our next term... salvation.















What is "Salvation?"







Salvation is a good religious word.







What is salvation? Turning to Mr. Webster once again, we see that salvation means, deliverance from sin and its consequences.







There is another phrase, common in the religious world, called "Born Again." This phrase is another way to say saved or sins have been forgiven. 







So, born again, equals saved. There is no difference between these two phrases. 







Here's another important point about salvation... there is no gray area. Someone is either lost or saved. We are either in the light or in the darkness. We are never kinda saved or a little saved or sort of born again.







Here is something which is a little humorous. Have you ever heard of someone referring to themselves as a "Born Again Christian?" Did you know there is no such thing as a "Born Again Christian?" Those are redundant terms! That would be like saying, I am a white Caucasian! What other kind of Caucasian is there? Any one who is "Born Again" is a Christian.







What is a "Christian?"







Here's the next term: Christian. A Christian is someone who is in a saved state.