GOD's Next

Giving up everything for Jesus is not a popular salvation teaching in church today. I think no one sees salvation this way. We're used to Paul's by grace through faith doctrine, not of ourselves, not of our works, it is a gift from God, so no one can boast. Which is true because Paul got his teachings from Christ's revelations. But church misses what it means to be saved  by faith . Faith means we believe and obey all that Jesus did for us and all he taught---ALL he taught---among which is giving up everything to be a true disciple.  Photo above by Rapha Wilde on Unsplash . Non-Christians must see that receiving Jesus into their lives for salvation includes giving up everything they have for him, not just receiving Jesus. You see this principle in the Book of Acts and elsewhere in the epistles, like those who were persecuted and "joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions," [Hebrew...

Discipleship is Part of Salvation A lot of church people will say discipleship should be done after you get saved. Jesus thought otherwise. He taught that salvation and discipleship should go together. When you share about eternal life to someone (about getting saved from sin), it's vital to simultaneously discuss about discipleship---in particular, talk about denying the self, picking up our cross from Jesus, and following him. People need to understand what receiving Jesus really means. It's clear in the passage context. Photo above by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash . When Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23), he laid down the radical essence of discipleship and connected it to salvation in verses 24-25; Jesus said anyone who wants to save his life will lose it if we ignore his challenge to deny the self and pick up our cross to follow him. This call is not about half-hearted commitme...

Born of Water and of the Spirit: A Deeper Look at John 3 The first time I saw this passage was when I was born again in 1980. You cannot see, much less enter, God's Kingdom unless these experiences are genuinely yours. "Born again" connotes a re-start or "reboot" of your life and get a chance at living a brand new one. It's not a repaired or patched up life, or a mere change of lifestyle. It's getting a totally brand new life, which Paul the apostle describes as a new creation---the old is past, gone. The new has come. It is all new. It's not a combination of old and new. It's NEW. Photo above by Kirsten Frank on Unsplash . The phrase “born of water and of the Spirit” in John 3:5 has stirred much discussion across Christian traditions. Different denominations and faith persuasions have offered varying interpretations of what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” ...