Saved and Sealed
How to accept Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit
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To learn about Plaitra, please see the About page and the Introduction to Plaitra message.
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I'm taking this week to write another message meant for coaching. The larger website will take more time to create, so I'll keep posting messages on here until then.
Various people have reached out who want to get to know God essentially from the beginning. Honestly, I didn't expect this, as God has kind of shaken things up. I originally designed Plaitra for Christians who are already seriously following God. But everyone who wants to know and follow God is obviously welcome.
So this is an introductory message for people who are new to the Bible and, in many ways, to God. This might be introductory Christian material but, it's obviously foundational and crucial. I'm also making this shorter than other messages to see if it will improve the coaching process.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:9-10 (ESV)
(1) OVERVIEW
(1-1) The new life
This is a message about starting a relationship with God through Jesus. God makes Himself available to anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (e.g., John 3:16). Here you can decide whether you want to accept Jesus into your life as Lord and Savior, and be born again (e.g., Romans 8:29; Colossians 3:10; John 3:3). This starts the path to getting to know God, as God gives us the Holy Spirit (e.g., Ephesians 1:13-14) and we embark on a transformed life (e.g., Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24).
We get access to God by faith in Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross He paid for all of our sins, and when He rose, God counted it paid. When we believe this, all the sins in our life are forgiven and we get God's righteousness (e.g., Romans 4:22-25). Then we can have direct access to God. It's an astounding truth.