White Birch Martial Arts (330) 329-5990 Larry Vincent's Classes Get You Lean, Strong, Fast, and Focused with "Old School" Training Methods Straight Out of Kung Fu/Tai Chi History!

Becoming a Christian: Lesson 1 - Getting Started Right!

Introduction:

• The purpose of this course is to help Christians get off to a good start!!
  • This study is not only designed for new Christians, but also for those who have been recently restored in Jesus.
• It is designed to fulfill the responsibility of the verse
  • Matthew 28:20:   teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you
• Its primary purpose is to build strong Christians who are faithful to the Lord, ACTIVE and ZEALOUS in His service. God wants no one to fall away. This study will help you to remain steadfast and build you up in the faith.
• It is essential that you commit yourself in the very beginning to complete this course and to be prepared at each class session.
• The lesson before us, "Getting Started Right", presents some things you need to remember, and some things God wants you to do. This lesson will help prepare you for the rest of the study.

A. When I became a Christian God saved me from past sins.

• You were cleansed when you obeyed the Gospel.
  • Romans 10:17:   Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
  • Hebrews 11:6:   And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
  • Acts 2:38:  Peter replied, �Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
  • Acts 17:30:  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
  • Matthew 10:32:  �Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
  • Mark 16:16:  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
  
  
• We enjoy the remission of sins that are past.
  • Romans 3:25:  God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood�to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished

B. God wants us all to be saved eternally.

• 2 Timothy 2:10:  Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
• 1 Timothy 4:16:  Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
• Revelation 2:10:  Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor�s crown.

To be saved eternally, there are some things to remember:

• You are a new creature.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17:  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
  • Romans 6:4:  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
  • Because of this you should have respect for yourself, treating your body and mind with proper caution and care.
    • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:  ¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
  
  
• You are a babe in Christ. Your thoughts and actions will sometimes reflect this.
  • 1 Peter 2:2:  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
  • 1 Corinthians 3:1-2:  ¹ Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly�mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
  
  
• You are in a critical period. The devil desires to see you fall. Don't over estimate your spiritual strength.
  • Matthew 4:1-11:  ¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, �If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.�

    ⁴ Jesus answered, �It is written: �Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.��

    ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ �If you are the Son of God,� he said, �throw yourself down. For it is written: ��He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.��

    ⁷ Jesus answered him, �It is also written: �Do not put the Lord your God to the test.��

    ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 �All this I will give you,� he said, �if you will bow down and worship me.�

    ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, �Away from me, Satan! For it is written: �Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.��

    ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

  • 1 Corinthians 10:11-13:  ¹¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. ¹² So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don�t fall! ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
  
  
• Recognize the possibility of falling. You have help to keep you from falling.
  • Acts 8:17-24:  ¹⁷ Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

    ¹⁸ When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles� hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, �Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.�

    ²⁰ Peter answered: �May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. ²² Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. ²³ For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.�

    ²⁴ Then Simon answered, �Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.�

  • John 8:31:  To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, �If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples."
  • 1 John 2:l-2:  ¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father�Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
  
  
• You are a representative. Your family, friends and the world all know you are a Christian. They will be watching you. Observing if you are what you profess to be, a Christian!!
  • 2 Corinthians 3:2:  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
  • 1 Timothy 4:12:  Don�t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
  
  
• Jesus is your example. God does not leave you adrift without direction for living a godly life. Jesus is who we follow, not men. Remember, men are only servants.
  • Hebrews 12:1-2:  ¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
  • 1 Peter 2:21:  To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
  • 1 Corinthians 3:1-7:  ¹ Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly�mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, �I follow Paul,� and another, �I follow Apollos,� are you not mere human beings?

    ⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe�as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

C. To be saved eternally, there are some things God wants me to do:

• Love Him FIRST!! God wants you to continue in the same love you first showed in obedience to Him through the Glorious Gospel!!
  • Matthew 22:37:  Jesus replied: ��Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.�
  • Matthew 10:37:  �Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
  • 1 John 2:5:  But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him
  
  
• Study His Word. The same study that led to learning the truth, will also lead to spiritual maturity.
  • 2 Timothy 2:15:  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
  • Acts 17:11:  Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
  • 1 Peter 3:15:  But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
  
  
• Pray to Him for help. God does not leave you on your own. Put you total dependence upon Him, for He cares for YOU!!
  • Hebrews 4:16:  Let us then approach God�s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
  • Philippians 4:6-7:  ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:17:  pray continually
  • 1 Peter 5:7:  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
  
  
• Worship Him faithfully. Attendance is never a problem to one who desires to worship and serve the Lord.
  • John 4:24:  "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.�
  • Acts 2:42:  They devoted themselves to the apostles� teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
  • Hebrews 10:24-31:  ²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another�and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

    ²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, �It is mine to avenge; I will repay,� and again, �The Lord will judge his people.� ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

  
  
• Give to Him. First, make sure you have given yourself. Show love and devotion to God's Cause.
  • 2 Corinthians 8:5:  And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.
  • 1 Corinthians 16:1-2:  ¹Now about the collection for the Lord�s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. ² On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
  • 2 Corinthians 9:6-7:  ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
  
  
• Help save others. Others need the same blessings you have
  • John 15:1-8:  ¹ �I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ �I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father�s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
  • 1 Timothy 2:3-4:  ³This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
  • Mark 16:15-16:  ¹⁵He said to them, �Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
  • 2 Timothy 2:2:  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

Conclusion:

• What happens to you after conversion is just as important as what happened before conversion.
• Apply each of these principles DAILY!
• Enlist the help of other Christians with special problems you may have.
• God wants you to succeed! He wants you to grow into a mature, faithful Christian!
• Read the following verses. Set these as your goals from the beginning, resolve to finish the race as a faithful Christian!!
  • 2 Peter 1:5-11:  ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.