SESSION 3 ONE PROOF (Our New Life in Christ)

Session 1 - ONE TRUTH (The Gospel) The word “ GOSPEL ” in Greek literally means “ GOOD NEWS ” Nature of God : Loving and Holy

GOD LOVES US God desires to have a relationship with you!

1 John 4:8-9 8 God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him. 9 God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life.

John 10:10 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Man has a SIN problem that SEPARATES him from God Our Problem:

James 2:10 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bible talks about two kinds of death The first death is Physical. The second death is Spiritual or Eternal separation from God.

Session 2 - ONE WAY (The Savior) How many ways are there to salvation? “God will save me, after all I am not so bad.” “God will save me if I do enough good works.” “God could never save me... I am too bad to be saved.”

Ephesians 2: You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.

“ Salvation is a GIFT because Jesus PAID for it by His DEATH on the CROSS, not because of doing kind deeds, going to church, etc. “

God’s formula for salvation? FAITH IN JESUS + NOTHING = SALVATION which results in GOOD WORKS (charity, prayer, good deeds vs. sin)

SESSION 3 ONE PROOF (Our New Life in Christ) In the first two sessions, we saw that the Bible is very clear – one cannot be saved on the basis of doing good deeds, being religious, or trying to make up for our sin through religious rituals. We are saved by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ’s sacrifice for our sin. It is not because we are good that we are saved, but because God is good, and He made a way for us to be saved. At the same time, the Bible warns us that not everyone who thinks they are saved will actually experience eternal life.

Matthew 7:21 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

How can I know if I have eternal life?

1 John 5: God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. 12 And so, if we have God’s Son, we have this life. But if we don’t have the Son, we don’t have this life. 13 All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life.

What do these verses promise us? According to this passage, who has been given eternal life? Is it possible to know that you have eternal life? How can a person be sure?

“ God has given eternal life to all those who believe in his Son. This promise is written so that we will know that we have eternal life. A person can be sure of eternal life based on God’s promise. “

“One of the most powerful illustrations of the certainty of our relationship with Christ is His story of the Good Shepherd.”

John 10: I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me.

John 10: My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, 28 and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands, 30 and I am one with the Father.

What is the difference between the good shepherd and the “hireling?” What will the hireling do when things are not going well? What will the Good Shepherd, Jesus, do for the sheep? What is the guarantee that we will never be taken from His hand?

“The good shepherd will not abandon the sheep, he will give up his life to protect the sheep. The hireling will abandon the sheep when there is danger. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep.”

“Jesus promised that not one of His sheep will ever perish or be snatched away from His hand. No one can snatch them away from His Father’s hand, who is greater than all.”

THE PROOF OF OUR NEW LIFE IN CHRIST One way to be confident of our relationship with Christ is to see TANGIBLE EVIDENCE – A TRANSFORMED LIFE. The Bible mentions several ways that we can recognize that God really has entered our lives, and is beginning to accomplish His work within us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

What does this verse say we are if we have Christ in our lives? After receiving Christ into your life, what do you expect to happen in your life?

Two markers of our new life: Obedience and Love

1 John 2:3-6 3 When we obey God, we are sure that we know him. 4 But if we claim to know him and don’t obey him, we are lying and the truth isn’t in our hearts. 5 We truly love God only when we obey him as we should, and then we know that we belong to him. 6 If we say we are his, we must follow the example of Christ.

How can we say we really know God? What evidence did John say should be seen in a person’s life as a fruit and proof of his faith?

“ We can say that we really know God if we keep or obey His commands. A person who lives like how Jesus lived shows evidence of his faith in Christ. “

1 John 2: My dear friends, I am not writing to give you a new commandment. It is the same one that you were first given, and it is the message you heard. 8 But it really is a new commandment, and you know its true meaning, just as Christ does. You can see the darkness fading away and the true light already shining. 9 If we claim to be in the light and hate someone, we are still in the dark. 10 But if we love others, we are in the light, and we don’t cause problems for them. 11 If we hate others, we are living and walking in the dark. We don’t know where we are going, because we can’t see in the dark.

How should we relate to one another? How is that a demonstration of our relationship with Christ?

“We should love one another. The passage says that loving our brothers and sisters is evidence that we are in the light. Since God loves us, loving each other reflects how He relates to us.”

Titus 2:11-12 (CEV) 11 God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. 12 He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world.

Titus 2:11-12 (ESV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

How does grace work in our lives?

“God’s grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodly living and worldly passions.”

As you can see in these verses, changes are to be expected as a result of our experience of God’s saving power in our lives. The Bible tells us that true believers will be transformed – they will want to obey what God desires, and will begin to love others in ways they may have never experienced before. While we will never be perfect, people who have a relationship with Christ will continue to grow in Christlikeness. Are you beginning to see the work of God in your life? If you are beginning to see these changes take place, you can be sure that you have begun a lasting and eternal relationship with the Good Shepherd!