TEEN TREE 
OF LIFE
Do You Know What You Believe?
November 6, 2022
Before you begin, ask yourself a very important question: Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins? If you answered yes, you will need to be sure that you are filled with The Holy Spirit. How do you do this? You name your sins to God The Father in His Son’s Name. This is called Rebound. As a Christian, you must rebound any time you sin. This is taught in 1 JOH 1:9: If we confess [name] our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, if you have never believed that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins, all you have to do is say to yourself that you believe in Him and you are saved! The Bible verse which teaches us this is ACTS 16:31: “Believe on The Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”
Do you know what you believe? It sounds like a simple question. Stop reading for a minute, close your eyes and ask yourself that question. Many believers today – many that are much older and more spiritually mature than you are – don’t have an answer to that question. They might have a vague idea of God and Satan. They may have learned that Heaven is the place they might go to when they die. They might believe in God but not have a clue of who He is. Sadly, this type of believer has been confused by so-called Christian churches that have ruined the Gospel’s message and reputation because they are ignoring what The Holy Spirit inspired its writers to write. These believers don’t have any Bible doctrine in their souls!
Ready for a Greek word? It’s euaggelionI which is the Greek word for gospel. It’s a compound word. A compound word is where two or more root words are merged into a new and different word. “Eu” means good; “aggelos” means a messenger, or an envoy who brings good news. Therefore, the word Gospel actually means "good news." God's good news to all mankind is that God The Son became a man and died for the sins of the entire world and whoever believes in Him has Eternal Life. We learn this in JOH 3:16 (New American Standard Bible): For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
When you’ve personally believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have been saved. This process, called Salvation, is the work of God in the saving of mankind from the power and effects of being born in sin and therefore spiritually dead and separated from God. Salvation has been accomplished by means of the finished work of Jesus Christ on The Cross. Any member of the human race can acquire the Grace Gift of Salvation by simply believing in Jesus Christ as Savior. This is taught in ACT 16:31 (Amplified Bible): “Believe in the Lord Jesus [as your personal Savior and entrust yourself to Him] and you will be saved, you and your household [if they also believe].”
Now, some Christian churches teach you to invite Jesus into your heart in order to be saved. They couldn’t be more uninformed. The Bible teaches you that faith alone, in Christ alone is all you need to be saved: God’s grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn’t come from anything you do. It is God’s gift. It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it. (EPH 2:8-9 New International Reader’s Version). It’s so clear, isn’t it? Salvation is a gift from God to the whole world. It’s a gift by God’s Grace which means He did all the work and mankind gets all the benefits. It’s that simple!
You can't be saved by water baptism or by promising you’ll never sin again, or by raising your hand, or by walking down an aisle. These things are “works.” They are things you do. And they have nothing to do with salvation.If God did all the work, why would we have to do anything more? By adding “works” to faith, you’re removing God’s Grace from the picture because you’re working to get Salvation. Adding works to Salvation is like calling God a liar because He clearly states in EPH 2:8-9 (see above) that faith is a gift and you don’t have to do a thing to earn it. And how can you promise never to sin again? Duhhhhhhhhh! It’s not possible!
Most Christian churches today also teach you that being pleasant and friendly will make you a better Christian. They don’t teach you that learning God’s Word is what makes you a better Christian. The cosmic system - Satan’s system - wants you to focus on being pleasant and friendly so that you will not focus on God. There’s nothing wrong with being pleasant and friendly but Satan wants you to concentrate on these things so you’ll take your eyes off the things of The Lord. COL 3:1-2 (New International Reader’s Version) teaches us: You have been raised up with Christ. So think about things that are in heaven. That is where Christ is. He is sitting at God’s right hand. Think about things that are in heaven. Don’t think about things that are only on earth. Do you keep your eyes on the things above?
And how do you prepare yourself to face the temptations put before you every day? Ask yourself this question the next time you get ready to go to school: am I ready and prepared to go out into the cosmic system to face the kingdom of darkness? Always remember that as believers, “Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.” (EPH 6:12 New International Reader’s Version) You are preparing yourself right now by reading this. You’re preparing yourself whenever you study God’s Word with your right pastor/teacher. Remember that God has magnified His Word above His Name: “I will bow down toward Your holy temple And give thanks to Your name for Your loving kindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.” (PSA 138:2) Doesn’t that make it crystal clear how important it is? By studying His Word, you will be able to stand on the solid ground of Bible doctrine so that your entire Christian life will be based on fellowship with God. How do you get into fellowship with God? You do it by naming your sins to Him in His Son’s name. This is called rebounding. It is taught in I JOH 1:9 (New American Standard Bible 1995): If we confess [name] our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is a verse you should know by heart.
With respect to being ready and prepared to go out into the cosmic system, look at EPH 6:11 (New American Standard Bible 1995): Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Why does Paul the apostle tell us this? Because in the next verse, he warns believers that we will have a struggle! Further on in EPH 6:13-15 He goes on to say: “because of this, pick up and put on the full armor from God, that you may be able to hold your ground in the day when evil attacks you, even after you have achieved or accomplished everything, hold your ground. Because of this, hold your ground, [after you] have buckled on your combat gear around your waist by means of doctrine, and [after you] have put on the breastplate of righteousness, [hold your ground] after you have put on your combat boots on your feet with readiness, preparation, or the equipment of the gospel of peace.”
The apostle Paul wrote the Book of Colossians to the people living in Colosse. He had taught them God’s Word, but then they began to ignore his teaching and rely on human viewpoint. The Colossians were being taught directly by an apostle but were acting like spoiled brats!! The Colossians got so far off track that they no longer knew what they believed. Non-Christian teachings were circulating within the Colossian church. Jewish and Gentile beliefs and practices were being combined, creating a sort of hybrid religion that no longer resembled true Christianity. More specifically, the heresy taking root in Colosse was a form of Gnosticism which taught (among other things) that humans could transcend evil and the corruptions of the world through self-denial and their own strength of will. Gnostics believed that they could essentially ignore the world and follow their own desires and impulses. Paul wrote to the Colossian church to warn them away from error and reiterate the importance of the Christian ethic.
In the Book of Colossians, Paul encouraged them to look solely to the divinity of Jesus Christ, through whom we are all saved. In the Book, Paul refutes the gnostic heresy spreading throughout the Colossian church and presents Jesus as God, creator of the universe. He emphasizes the importance of the cross: Jesus is Savior, and only by His Blood we are saved. Like the Colossians, how can you hold your ground against the kingdom of darkness, if you don’t know God’s Word? You can’t. Don’t even try! Paul tells us to buckle on our combat gear around our waists by means of God’s Word!
Do you know what you believe? How can you protect yourself if you don’t? How can you hold your ground against the kingdom of darkness? What God wants is someone just like you who is preparing to stand firm. The Lord knows He can rely on a believer like that!
Do you know what you believe? Keep on studying God’s Word and you will!