 Guidance Foundation Freedom Fellowship Foundation
Step 1: The Secret = Family The
secret to society is family. A society made up of great families will
be a great society. A society where families suffer will also suffer.
Family is the foundation. Most of us did NOT have a great family
experience, which is why we suffer. Fix our family and fix our
problems. It really is that simple.
STEP 3: The Pathway Once
we understand why we are here and that what we are living is one
big testing ground for eternity, we can begin to make decisions
accordingly. Of course, God instills in us a conscience that has been
prompting us to choose the pathway all along. Once we get in touch with
our conscience and thereby God, we must
differentiate a life ON the path from one that is veering from it.
So, what is the Pathway? The Bible is a good source for answering this question, but where does one begin and how does one make sense of it all? In a moment we're going answer that question, but first, let's save you some of the trouble and answer the first question in a straightforward, compact way you can immediately sink your teeth into, "what is the pathway?" God's way is the pathway. How does one walk on the pathway? Become one with God. How does one become one with God? Ahhhh...good question. Through the Gateway to the Pathway... STEP 4: The Gateway (Jesus)
"but
we preach Christ ...a stumbling block ...and foolishness" -1 Co 1:23
Some may think, "WHAT is the BIG DEAL about this simple carpenter from Nazareth? For cryin' out loud! What about Buddha, what about Muhammad...for that matter...what about ME?! What makes HIM SOOOOO SPECIAL?!!" Well, whether you think that or not, that's what I thought when I had to confront the Jesus dilemma. I had no problem embracing a Creator, God, etc. but JESUS??? Why?? Who is this guy anyway? Well, that is a good question. But, perhaps not as much WHO, but WHAT. Without going into too much detail at this point and perhaps losing you...and yes, perhaps even boring you. Let's simply say that Jesus was a promised gift. That's it. God made a promise to send a gift and he sent it, on time, as promised: Jesus. (If you're in the mood, check out Isaiah chapter 9:6-7 and chapter 53. These were written about 700 years before Jesus was born and are just a couple of the over 300 promises the gift of Jesus fulfilled. Apparently, mathematicians claim the odds of fulfilling just 30 of these promises is beyond human mathematics or comprehension, let alone 10 times that, as Jesus did.) Rather than get caught up on him being some dude, it's easier to focus on him as why or what he was, rather than who, i.e. a gift from God, a package, something God said he was going to deliver and did, as promised. Simple as that. Like an express mail carrier that promises to have it there next day, God said He would deliver this gift at a certain time in a certain place, known as the Messiah, the Savior, the Christ that would give mankind a gateway to God. That's it. So, back to our question: How does one become one with God? If faith is the key, then Jesus is the gate. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~Jesus (John 10:9, Matthew 7:12-14, Jn 14:6) Hmmm...OK. So, Jesus is the gateway to the pathway. Why him? In short... I and the Father are one. ~Jesus (John 10:30) So, to be one with God I need to be one with Jesus...how? If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ~Jesus (John 8:31) Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. ~Jesus (John 14:21) OK...so, obey Jesus to a be a true follower. Then I'll know the truth and truly be free (i.e. be on the Freedom Pathway). Cool. I think we may be getting somewhere, but...what does Jesus command? In a word, to believe. And, how does one believe...? STEP 5: "Faith Works" (Faith & Repentance) Jesus answered, “The work of God
is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”" (Jn 6:29)
Faith is funny and arguably deceptive. It sounds simple, but what is it? ...faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (He 11:1) OK. And, what does that look like? Hmmm...Good question. There are some who would argue it doesn't LOOK like anything. It's a belief, essentially a feeling that one holds inside guaged only by our feelings and has nothing to do with action. The reason some individuals are so adamant on this point is because faith is directly tied to our salvation... For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. -Eph 2:8 True enough, however, what's interesting is that strong proponents of this verse will often, conveniently, entirely leave out the very next verse... For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. -Eph 2:9 This is clearly the completion of the previous verse without which the previous verse leaves us up in the air – where do “good works” fit into the picture? Obviously, we're not just supposed to sit around and twiddle out spiritual thumbs...right? Faith and “works” inescapably go hand in hand. Though no one can work their way to Heaven, one has no faith if it is not reflected in his/her “works”. See how that...works? James puts it best... Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (Ja 1:22, 2:14-26) What if Jesus, who spent his entire ministry doing one good “work” after another, simply sat in one place and directed his disciples to do the same because he claimed no “works” were necessary and that all one needed was to “believe”, i.e. have warm, fuzzy feelings inside about God? Would he be the Jesus we know? Would he have even died for our sins? Jesus himself inextricably linked faith and works in his ministry... Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father. ~Jesus (Jn 10:37) Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ~Jesus (14:11) Without the “works” of Jesus would anyone even believe in him? And, it's clear he expected us to do the same “works” he did...even GREATER "works"... Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ~Jesus (Jn 14:12) Then Jesus came to them and said, ”...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” ~Jesus (Mt 28:18-20) Throughout his ministry, Jesus made statements like this about obeying his teachings, i.e. doing “works”, and what's interesting is this last statement is one of the last things Jesus commands his disciples before leaving and it's not pray with people or sit with people and simply “believe”, but rather “teach them to OBEY everything I have commanded you.” Jesus was very much about action. The action of these disciples motivating others to action, i.e. “works”. So, are you “saved” by “works”? No, of course not. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Ro 10:10) And, what does that faith look like? Well, if we're following (a "work") Jesus it looks like, you guessed it, “works”. (Even professing it with your mouth is technically a "work".) It's laughable the way people dance around this - you can't avoid it. (It's like the Pharisees in the Bible attempting to do no "work" on the Sabbath. It's an impossibility. Do you breathe? Well, the Bible says do EVERYTHING as though you are serving the Lord. DOH! That's a "work", too! HELP!! I CAN'T AVOID DOING WORK FOR THE LORD!...see how crazy it can get?) If you're following Jesus you will inevitably encounter "good works" in his name and if you don't your faith, by definition, is dead. So, where does that leave us? REPENTANCE In the days of Moses, the Jews lived under the “old covenant” which was chock FULL of “works” to do. In fact, they even went so far as to create ANOTHER set of rules for the rules called the Talmud. Talk about complicated. It was never meant to be so. Why do you think God only gave the Jews 10 commandments when they left Egypt? He didn't want to overwhelm or overcomplicate the matter. He kept is simple. Jesus did the same, which is why he simply preached faith and repentance. “Repent and believe the good news!” ~Jesus (Mk 1:15) So, what is repentance? Repentance simply means to “change your mind”, to “turn” or “return” and apparently was even used as a military term, meaning “about face” - to turn 180° and march in the opposite direction. Simply put, in spiritual terms, it means to turn away from sin and to turn toward God or stop doing wrong and start doing right. So, what are the wrongs or sins we need to turn away from? The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Ga 5:19-21) Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Co 6:9) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Ro 21:8) Even Jesus weighs in with a list... He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” ~Jesus (Mk 7:20-23) And, these are just a sampling. There are plenty of other lists and examples in the Bible. And, those are jus lists of the sins or wrongs you DO. There is also the sin of NOT doing... Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. (Ja 4:17) So, what then? Doomed if you do, doomed if you don't? No, of course not. We're saved by grace, thank God. God knows our hearts, but our actions ultimately reflect our hearts... If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (He 10:26-27) Our actions are a good litmus test of whether or not we truly have faith. Grace for when we mess up, sure. Deliberate sin hiding behind the name of God? Not a chance. “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me
with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’” ~Jesus (Mt 15:7-9) God doesn't want lip service, he wants your heart. And, just going through the motions doesn't cut it... “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ~Jesus (Mt 7:21-23) STEP 6: Rebirth (Water & Spirit) And now what are you
waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on
his name. (Acts 22:16)
What is baptism? What's the point? IF I'm already “saved” what is the point of the big show? Is this some sort of parlor trick? Jesus came down pretty hard on empty traditions, especially those related to ceremonial or “symbolic” washings...(what's important to note here is, similar to baptism, these ceremonial washings were not done for hygienic reasons, as we do today, but so one would be spiritually "clean" and not defiled before God...and this is what Jesus took issue with because they were following man-made traditions rather than God...) (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These
people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! ... Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down...” (Mk 7:1-13) So, why would Jesus be so adamant against empty human tradition, including ceremonial washings, and yet not only support baptism but take part in it himself and even state it as necessary for salvation? Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved... ~Jesus (Mk 16:16) Is Jesus a hypocrite? Or, is baptism more than a ceremonial, i.e. “symbolic” washing? Why DID Jesus get baptized? Let's take a look... Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Mt 3:13-17) So, DID Jesus NEED to be baptized? Was this “symbolic” or necessary? Well, Jesus says “it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” So, obviously it is much more than a “symbol” and even necessary to “fulfill all righteousness”. We also see 2 other significant events that occur in conjunction with Jesus' baptism, the first of which we NEVER see happen to Jesus at any other time, before or after. The Spirit of God (i.e. Holy Spirt – Lk 3:22) descending on him like a dove (HIGHLY unusual – Why didn't this occur sooner? Why doesn't it occur ever again?) and the VOICE of GOD? Speaking from Heaven (only happens one other time)? And, what does the Father declare? “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” It's intriguing that this is the FIRST time we know of that God declares Jesus His son (the only other being the Transfiguration). Whether or not Jesus, himself, NEEDED to be baptized, he certainly set an example for us to follow that “fufills all righteousness” along with receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and being declared God's child by God Himself. This is obviously a DON'T MISS EVENT! THIS IS IMPORTANT! But, why? We need a demarcation point and God knows it. Why do we celebrate weddings, birthdays, etc.? We like demarcation points, rights of passage, etc. And, so does God. It never fails, that those who “pray Jesus into their hearts” or “accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior” question their point of salvation and if they even are. They pray again, and again, wondering - “Am I saved...NOW??” That's because, though prayers are nice, they are not the point of salvation. You'll never find any example of “praying Jesus into your heart” in the Bible. When Peter, who Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and told him whatever he made "binding" would be "bound" in both heaven and earth, was asked how to be saved, he didn't tell the people to say a prayer or "accept Jesus" - they had already done that - but rather imitate Jesus's example in “fulfilling all righteousness”... “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:36-41) These were people who obviously “believed” in Jesus, as Peter stated, that he was "both Lord and Messiah" (or Master and Savior), but they felt compelled to ask, “what shall we DO?” What action should we take? They had faith, but what they needed to DO was "REPENT", as we already discussed, and then "BE BAPTIZED" in the name of Jesus Christ – but why? As Peter states, there are 2 reasons: 1. “for the forgiveness of your sins” 2. to “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”, just as Jesus did And, if the example of Jesus can be relied upon, this is the time when God embaces us as His “sons and daughters”. Peter makes it clear that this is not a one time method but that this “promise is...for all whom the Lord our God will call”, i.e. everyone for all time. So, it's not like baptism was “cool” then, but not “cool” now. Salvation is not a drive-thru – say this prayer and *POOF* you're saved. It's about literally starting a brand new life with God... What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Ro 6:1-4) Why is it called “rebirth” or being “born again? Because salvation is a participation in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus died on the cross, we too die to our old life through repentance. Then, just as Jesus was buried in the tomb, we too are buried in the waters of baptism (baptizo literally means to “fully immerse”). Then, just as Jesus was raised to life again, so we too are raised to “a new life” or are “born again” into a new life as a genuine child of God, living each new day for Him. So, if salvation occurs at baptism, then what about faith? Aren't we saved by faith? Yes, of course. We are saved by our faith at baptism…everything working together... ...having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Col 2:12) This miraculous power of baptism to bring about “new birth” through the Holy Spirit is what Jesus demonstrated to all of us through his own baptism which began and ushered in his earthly ministry. This is also what he explained to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, who was desperately trying to get his head around this concept of 2nd birh, and went so far as to secretly meet with Jesus at night at the risk of being found out by the other Pharisees... In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ After this, Jesus went back to praying with people for their salvation...? No. You mean, Jesus wasted what little ministry time he had perpetuating an empty "religious" tradition? Nope. Immediately following his time educating Nicodemus on 2nd birth, Jesus put his own words into practice and spent time doing the single most important thing he could do to initiate others into the Freedom Pathway…he baptized people… After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. (Jn 3:3-7, 22-29) Copyright © 2011 Freedom Pathway |
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