Study 4 Objective: What did Jesus our Lord have to say and how does that affect us?
|
The only way back to God the Father is through the Son. Jesus said, “All things have been delivered to Me by the Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the
Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27). Therefore the beginning of repentance is to turn from other perceived paths to salvation, and to turn to Jesus. Recognising Jesus as Saviour, Lord and coming King is witnessed to through the ceremony of baptism. Christ instructs that His disciples be baptised “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Baptism is an outward expression of an inward commitment to follow Jesus. In Matthew 28:20 Jesus continued “teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. In most New Testament examples, teaching followed baptism. Note that Jesus stated clearly that He left commandments for us, as illustrated in the Sermon on the Mount. Repentance continues in the believer’s life as he or she draws closer to Christ. And, as Christ says, He is with us always. But how? How can Jesus be with us and how can meaningful repentance come about? These are discussed in the next study. Reflection: What is the beginning of repentance? How is baptism an outward expression of inward commitment? (See Romans 6:1-10) Conclusion
Jesus explained that His words are the words of life, and they affect the believer in that they inform him or her about the way to salvation. |
From the Statement of Beliefs of the Grace Communion International
https://www.gci.org/articles/the-gci-statement-of-beliefs/ The Gospel: "The gospel is the good news of the kingdom of God and salvation by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the message that Christ died for our sins and has made us his own before and apart from our believing in him and has bound us to himself by his love in such a way that he will never let us go. Therefore, he calls on all humans to repent and believe in him as Lord and Saviour." (1 Corinthians 15:1-5; Colossians 2;13: 1 John 2:2; Romans 5:8, 18-21; John 3:16-17; Luke 24:46-48; Colossians 1:19-23; Acts 8:12; Matthew 28:19-20) Additional reading material: See list of articles sourced by the Grace Communion International https://www.gci.org/articles/ Jinkins, Michael. Invitation to Theology. 2001. USA: InterVarsity Press. |
