new believers class

WELCOME TO NEW BELIEVERS CLASS!

Thank you for joining our class for new believers at Freedom Life Church. In this class, we will take you through a quick introduction to what it means to be saved and to take your first steps in becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

(NOTE: Scripture references are taken from the New Revised Standard Version.)

SAVED FROM SIN AND DEATH

DOMINION

In the beginning of human history, God created people to rule his new creation in partnership with him.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)

God’s goal was that humans would manifest his image and likeness as royal priests and reshape the physical universe into the glory-filled, cosmic temple of God. This co-ruling with God was called “dominion.” Humans were given dominion over the earth so they would expand the Garden of Eden and fill the earth with the glory of God.

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings. (Psalm 115:16)

God’s goal was that heaven would come to earth, that heaven and earth would become one. Jesus summarized the purpose of God in the most succinct, memorable way:

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Human dominion given in the Garden of Eden was the first expression of “the kingdom of God” (sometimes called “the kingdom of the heavens”) on earth. Get this:

→ The kingdom of God is God’s rule with and through humans over heaven and earth.

Human dominion was delegated divine sovereignty, the inherent instinct to rule that God embedded within humans when he created them to reflect him. Dominion is the “kingdom instinct” that God put in all of us. This is why we are not satisfied as humans until we discover our purpose and destiny hidden in God. We all were created to have dominion.

INTERACT:

(1) What is the simple definition of “dominion”?

(2) What is the kingdom of God?

DEATH

However, humans sinned in the Garden of Eden, which allowed death to enter the world.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned. (Romans 5:12)

Humans, who had been given dominion over the earth, abdicated their dominion to death.

Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. (Romans 5:14)

Humans were created to manifest the glory of God through dominion over the earth. But now death seized dominion over all creation. Human dominion was not revoked (Psalm 8), but it was brought under the power of death. Through death, sin gained dominion over all creation, bringing the entire cosmos under the curse of sin and death. (Romans 8:18-25)

So, get this: You were created to have dominion over your assigned area of influence in the earth—but death robbed you of your freedom to rule with God!

This is why you must be “saved.” Saved from what? From sin, death and the devil.

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, [Jesus] himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14–15)

The devil enslaved humans through the fear of death. Because humans were created to be threefold creatures (spirit, soul and body), when we died, we died in three ways: spiritually, psychologically and physically.

→ Mortality (temporal death) is the core problem, and immortality (eternal life) is the core solution.

Jesus came to set us free from the devil by breaking the power of sin and death at the cross. When we are saved from sin and death, the devil no longer has power over us.

  1. When we hear and believe the good news that Jesus died for our sins and that he defeated death at the cross, the life of the Spirit enters our human spirit and we come alive in Christ. We are saved from spiritual death.

  2. Then, the life of the Spirit flows up into our soul, and we are made alive in our emotions, will and mind. The life of the Spirit breaks “the lie of alienation” that lies at the heart of the spirit of rejection. (Ephesians 4:18) We are saved from psychological death.

  3. Finally, the life of the Spirit flows out into our body, bringing healing and wholeness in anticipation of the final resurrection when our body will be made immortal. We are saved from physical death.

When we “live” through the Spirit, we are made “free” from the power of the evil one.

This is why we use the phrase “Live Free” so much at Freedom Life Church!

When we are delivered from the devil, we are then free to rediscover the dominion for which we were created.

If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

When you realize you are saved from sin and death and delivered from the power of the devil, then you are free to live out your purpose in the world. You are free to release the glory of God in your “metron,” your “assigned area of influence.”

But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. (2 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)

You are saved from sin and death and the power of the devil so that you can live out the kingdom of God in your metron, so you can have dominion. Then, at the end of this age, the life that you have now received in Christ guarantees that you will be resurrected at the last day and live forever in the age to come.

This is what it means to be saved.

INTERACT: We are saved from ______________ so that we may exercise ____________________.

SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Our victory over death was won by Christ at the cross. He saved us. Thus, our salvation was won by Christ and offered freely to those who believe the truth of what Christ did for us. We are saved “by grace through faith.” Paul explains all this in Ephesians 2.

1 You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:1–10)

There are several things to note from this passage:

  1. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. As we noted above, death is the core human problem. Thus, eternal life is the core solution.

  2. We were slaves to:

    1. The flesh

    2. The world

    3. The devil

  3. But God loved us! And through his great mercy, he saved us through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

  4. God also raised us up with Jesus and seated us with Christ on the throne of God in the heavens. This means God has restored our dominion!

  5. We all are saved “by grace through faith.”

  6. We are not saved by our righteous works.

  7. But we are saved for righteous works.

Paul goes on to say in the rest of Ephesians 2 that we were saved by grace through faith so that we could be restored as God’s royal priesthood and cosmic temple. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

What does it mean to be saved by grace? Simply that God saved us freely apart from any effort we have made or will make. We are not saved by our works—we are saved by God’s work in Christ on our behalf and God’s work in us by the Holy Spirit.

Look again at the key “by grace through faith” passage:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Here’s how salvation works:

  1. God saved you freely through Christ’s defeat of sin, death and the devil at the cross. You don’t have to do anything to earn this salvation. It is a gift to you. You are saved by grace.

  2. God then breathes his Spirit into you through his Word when you hear the gospel. As Jesus said, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). As the Word of God breathes life into your human spirit by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, your faith is made alive with the faith of Jesus Christ. In one of the most astonishing realities revealed in Scripture, Jesus embeds his own victorious, resurrected faith into your dead faith. That is how you hear the gospel and “believe unto salvation.”

As Paul said in Romans 10:

6 But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. 11 The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:6–13)

This is how we are saved from death, sin and the devil. We hear the gospel of grace—the shocking fact that God has already saved us freely through the death of his Son—and we believe it. How do we believe it? Because the Spirit pierces our soul with the living faith of Jesus, and his own faith animates and enlivens our dead faith.

As Paul said, even our faith is “the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Our faith is empowered and energized by the faith of Jesus embedded within us. Thus, when you feel like your faith is faltering, look to the “word of faith,” the promises proclaimed for you in the Bible. Your faith will be renewed as you yield your spirit to the faith of Jesus carried by the Word.

One more thing about faith. The word “faith” in the Bible (Gr. pistis) also carries the idea of “faithfulness.” The faith of Jesus Christ that we are given by the Holy Spirit carries within the power to be faithful. It is like taking a capsule of time-release medicine: the power of the medicine is contained within the capsule. So it is with the faith of Jesus: the power to be faithful is embedded in Christ’s faith within us. As Paul put it, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Since faith includes “faithfulness,” then another dimension of faith comes into focus: Faith is allegiance. When we place our faith in Jesus as Lord, we pledge our allegiance to him as the one true King of all creation. (We will discuss this more when we talk below about baptism.)

INTERACT: How would you define “grace”? How would you define “faith”?

REPENTANCE

When salvation comes by grace through faith, our response is repentance. When we hear the gospel, receive the Spirit and believe the truth of what God has freely done for us in Christ, then the Spirit of God explodes up from the depths of our spirit like a mighty river, flowing up through our soul—through our emotions, our will and our mind—and pours out of our body from our thoughts, words, deeds, our actions and behavior. As Jesus said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

At the center of that transformation lies an action that the Bible calls “repentance.” Repentance comes from the Greek word “metanoia,” and it simply means “a mind-turn.” When the Spirit of God floods our soul, our mind is “renewed.” The old mind once enslaved through the fear of death is liberated. The liberated mind does a full turnabout, and our thinking completely changes.

This is called “transformation.” Another word for it is “conversion.” Jesus compared it to being “born again,” or “born from above.” (John 3:5) Repentance is the gravitational center of a new way of living that redefines who you are and releases the true you hidden in Christ. (Colossians 3:2)

When we repent—when our mind does a full 180—then we confess our sins. This does not mean that we run down a long list of crimes against God and humanity that we committed throughout our lives. No, to confess our sin is to say about it what God says about it. And what does God say? That we are freely forgiven!

INTERACT: How would you define “repentance”? How would you define “confession”?

WATER BAPTISM

The next response to salvation by grace through faith is simple obedience. Our mind has spun around in the opposite direction, and now we are ready to obey what Jesus commanded us to do. What is the first command to those who have heard, believed and repented? It is to be baptized.

Why You Should Be Baptized

Let’s start with a few passages on water baptism.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” (Acts 2:37–39)

16 And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’ (Acts 22:16)

21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (1 Peter 3:21–22)

Every believer is called to baptism. Baptism is much more than just a Christian rite or ritual—baptism is the official induction ceremony whereby believers pledge allegiance to King Jesus and are authorized to represent the King and his kingdom as kingly priests in their assigned area of influence and throughout the world.

Baptism is the legal, official ceremony of the church that declares to the whole world that you have become a disciple of Jesus. Baptism binds on earth what has already been bound in heaven.

Through baptism, we officially proclaim that God “rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). Through baptism, God transfers our citizenship from this world to heaven, which means that humans, through whom the evil powers wielded control over the nations of the world, are delivered from evil and brought into allegiance to King Jesus. Then, these redeemed humans are sent into the world by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the lordship of Jesus in every realm of life, recovering human dominion and displacing fallen, evil powers, the false gods of the nations.

This is why we often say at Freedom Life that “baptism is the greatest form of spiritual warfare.” (1 Peter 3:21-22) The power of the enemy is forever broken when we pledge our allegiance to Christ in baptism!

Take a minute to read a few powerful truths about baptism and why it matters so much.

  1. Baptism is commanded for every believer. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 8:12; 10:48; 19:1-7) Baptism is not optional. We are saved by grace through faith in what Jesus already did at the cross, but baptism “actualizes” in time and space what Christ did for us and as us.

  2. Baptism is a cleansing of the conscience for every believer. Baptism internalizes and personalizes the forgiveness of sins that Christ already provided at the cross. (Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21) When we are baptized, our sins that were washed away by the shed blood of Jesus at the cross are washed away in our conscience, in our awareness by faith of what God has already done in Christ.

  3. Baptism is a confession. Baptism is a confession that we are forgiven (Mark 1:5) and that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). Baptism is a public confession of faith. When we confess that Jesus is Lord, we also renounce the works of the devil. We formally and publicly break any alliance we’ve had with false gods, with the idols of the world. As Dr. Michael Heisser put it, “Baptism is a loyalty oath.”*

  4. Baptism is done “calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 2:21, 38; 15:17; 22:16; Romans 10:13; James 2:7) When a believer is baptized, they publicly proclaim their faith in Christ by “confessing with their mouth” the first Christian creed: “Jesus is Lord!” This is what it means to be “baptized in the name of Jesus.”

  5. Baptism is circumcision. (Colossians 2:11, 12) The ancient Hebrew rite of physical circumcision foreshadowed the spiritual circumcision of the heart that happened in the circumcision of Christ at the cross. When we are baptized, Christ’s victory over sin and death at the cross becomes “subjectivized” in us and the power of sin and death are broken in us, cut away by the “cutting off” of Christ at the cross.

  6. Baptism is a covenant ceremony. (Hebrews 10:16) When we are baptized, we declare to heaven and earth that we are submerged by faith into the covenant that God made with Jesus, the divine and human Son of God. God’s covenant faithfulness in Christ is embodied within us through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and we are made faithful by “the faith of Jesus Christ.”

  7. Baptism inducts us publicly into the church. “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13, NRSV). When we are baptized, the church recognizes and authorizes us officially in a sort of “swearing in ceremony” as members of Christ’s kingdom ekklesia. In baptism, we receive through the “laying on of hands” and spiritual impartation our first keys of the kingdom.

  8. Baptism is a certificate of citizenship. (Philippians 3:20) When we are baptized, we are “rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred…into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13–14, NRSV). Baptism transfers our citizenship from the fallen domain of Adam into the heavenly domain of Christ.

  9. Baptism is our consecration by the Holy Spirit as kingly priests. All believers are called to be kings and priests in the New Covenant ekklesia (church), and baptism is our official ordination as priests who minister to God and others. (1 Peter 2:4-10) Baptism is the first step toward “the ministry of the saints.”

  10. Baptism commissions us into the Army of the Lord and deploys us into our “metron” of kingdom authority where we enact dominion displacement of the fallen, evil powers. (1 Peter 3:21-22) As we noted above, baptism is the greatest form of spiritual warfare!

SPIRIT BAPTISM

When you hear and believe the gospel, repent and get baptized, then you will be “filled with the Spirit.” Now, we who believe receive the Spirit at the moment of faith. In fact, we who believe are empowered to believe by the Spirit—it is the Spirit that gives us faith, as noted above. (Ephesians 2:8) As Paul put it, we have “received the Spirit by the hearing of faith” (Galatians 3:2).

Believers receive the Spirit when Christ “breathes” on them. (John 20:22) That only happens once. However, once you have received the Spirit, you will be filled with the Spirit many times. This happens when the Spirit wells up within you and fills you up to overflowing.

Here’s how Paul put it:

18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18–20)

The disciples in the Book of Acts were filled with the Spirit many times. When they were filled with the Spirit, the supernatural power of God came upon them. As Jesus said:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

According to Jesus, the inevitable sign of being filled with the Spirit is empowerment, Spirit empowered speech and action. When we are “filled with the Spirit,” divine power bursts out of our mouth and flows through our hands and feet. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, when people were “filled with the Spirit,” their infilling was described as “the Spirit of the Lord came upon them” as they said and did supernatural things. Being filled with the Spirit is always a matter of being empowered by the Holy Spirit for supernatural service.

In the Old Testament, being filled with the Spirit was temporary and limited to a few anointed people. In the New Testament, being filled with the Spirit is available to all who believe and is available to “remain” upon us.

Spirit-Empowered Speech

When we are filled with the Spirit, there are seven ways that the Spirit speaks through us:

  1. Personal witness: "You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you." (Acts 1:8)

  2. Praise: "they were filled with the Holy Spirit and magnified God." (Acts 10:46)

  3. Prophecy: "they were filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied." (Acts 19:6) "Your sons and daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2, Acts 2) All the people shall be prophets, a prophetic community.

  4. Prayer: "The Spirit himself makes intercession for us." (Romans 8:26)

  5. Psalms: "Do not be drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart." (Ephesians 5:18, 19) "I will sing praise with my spirit..." (1 Corinthians 14:15)

  6. Positive confession: "I have believed, therefore I have spoken." (2 Corinthians 4:13)

  7. Prayer language: "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 14:2, 4, 14, 15, 18)

God fills us with the Holy Spirit So that he may empower us to change the world. This is God’s strategy! Salvation is coming to all nations through the river that is flowing out of you!

DECISION

Questions:

  1. Do you believe that you were saved from sin, death and the devil when Jesus died for you?

  2. Do you repent as your heart turns toward God’s truth and away from Satan’s lies?

  3. Are you ready to obey Christ’s command and be baptized?

  4. Are you ready to the filled with the Spirit?

 

Welcome to the family of God! Always remember that we are hear to walk with you on your faith journey. Never walk alone! Get involved in the church and connect with fellow believers.

Thank you for joining us for New Believers Class!