Before I got saved, I went to a few altar calls.I heard the gospel but there was this constant worry about not being able to follow the rules. In my hometown church, It was as if there was a checklist I had to live by and if I fell short or made a mistake I would be condemned. Don't wear this, don't eat that and so on. A young man was sent out of church for wearing a pair of sneakers! That was disturbing to me.
I now believe these are some of the reasons I kept going to the altar but not following through in that church. As is the case with many who may be misled with an alternative kind of gospel, that is based on merit. If I'm good enough Jesus will accept me. We should pray earnestly for God to change the hearts of those who are leading people astray.
God sent His Son so that all through Him may be saved. His only requirement is that we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus died for our sins. Our lives will be renewed not by anything we do, but with God's Holy Spirit working in us to transform us. We cannot do this in our own strength. God didn't save us to then leave us alone to figure things out for ourselves.
Before Jesus went back to the Father He promised a Helper who proceeds from God, who will be with us to guide us in all things. God is with us as believers at all times and it does not matter our circumstances and what lies the enemy tries to tell us. Our salvation is not dependent on us being good. Jesus wants us to come exactly as we are. It is all about God loving us so much and including us in His eternal plan of salvation through Jesus. It is He that is good and has freely given us this undeserving Gift.
If you are a new believer, I urge you to make prayer a vital part of your Christian journey. God loves it when we come to Him. Nothing is too small to talk to Him about and nothing is too big for Him to handle. Tell Him what's on your heart even though He already knows it. Jesus Himself often prayed to the Father during His time on earth, leaving a good example for us to follow. Asking God for wisdom when reading the Bible is so important and asking Him to direct you to the right church is equally important. Not every preacher points people to Jesus. Praising and worshipping God with thankful hearts will help us to stay connected to Him.
God molds us into becoming who He wants us to be in Him through Jesus. We are to be mindful that the enemy will try to trip us up and we will stumble at times. The important thing is to get up and keep pressing on. God is ready and willing to help us to get back on track.
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
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