“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations..."
If you are here, you may be looking for more information.
Perhaps someone spoke with you or gave you something to read about Jesus and you want to know more specifics about what they believe.
As you can see from the Scripture quoted above, our intent here is very obvious. We want everyone to know the good news about Jesus.
In case this good news about Jesus is not clear to you, we have two videos for you.
The first is a light, yet clear explanation of the gospel.
The second video is a deeper version of the same gospel.
Are You a Good Person? 5 minutes 3 seconds
Paul Washer - The Gospel 10 minutes
Do you believe the Gospel? Has your trust shifted away from yourself and now rests completely on Christ? If that describes you, then what happens now?
Well God doesn't typically immediately call you into heaven. Part of being made alive in Christ are new desires and new motives that change your outlook on life. It can be a lot to figure out, but God hasn't left you alone in this.
Perhaps the most important starting point is to find a good church. The sad reality is that there are lots of bad "churches" out there that the bible warns about.
For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
So how do you find a "good" church?
A very basic question comes to mind:
Which do you think is more important: Man-centered worship or God-centered worship?
Our suggestion is find a reformed church. If you cannot get to a reformed church then find a church that describes themselves as Calvinistic.
If you are in the Toledo, Ohio area, we are partial to:
Providence Reformed Baptist Church
5926 Meteor Ave, Toledo, Ohio 43623
prbctoledo.org
While you are considering a church, it can sometimes be unclear what a church actually believes and teaches. These details are sadly often sparse on church websites. A good sign would be if the church holds to a historical confession. We highly recommend the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession.
Why the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith?
Everyone says that they believe the Bible, but what do they believe the bible teaches? We can have our own opinions, but what have Christians throughout church history believed? This is why having a church confession is important, it protects the church members from heretical teaching and brings real unity to church life.
How do you grow as a Christian?
Is is by disciplining yourself in things like bible reading, prayer, scripture memorization, journaling, fasting, evangelism, or daily devotions? If you notice, these are all self-focused things. Things that you do. While these things aren't bad, the reformed position is that growth and maturity primary comes not from an individualistic source but rather from a corporate one.
It's called the means of grace. You don't start by faith and then grow by works. Rather, your maturity comes by faith in the means that God provides for you. Summarized as the Word, Sacraments, and Prayer. Sitting under the Word of God faithfully preached to you, partaking in the Lord's table and baptism, and corporate prayer will strengthen your faith by the means that God has given in His Word.
What about others who are sincere in their faith? Like Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Catholics, Mormans, Jehovah Witnesses, Oneness Pentecostals, etc.
Every false religion can be identified by:
False religion will deny either the diety or humanity of Jesus. The truth says that Jesus is fully God and fully man.
False religion requires that you trust in something else, or in addition to Jesus, in order to make it to heaven.
What about repentance?
Saving faith is a repentant faith. A regenerated heart will see Christ as precious and all-together lovely. It will turn away from sin in order to pursue Christ.
The believer in Christ is a lifelong repenter. He begins with repentance and continues in repentance.
Confession by itself is not repentance. Confession moves the lips; repentance moves the heart.
This video and this one may help you understand this better.
What is the Prosperity Gospel?
This false teaching is sadly very common in our area. In a nutshell, it says that it's always God's will that you be healthy and wealthy. If you aren't, it's your lack of faith.
Common warning signs:
Watch this 10 minute video for more details. Also this follow-up article.
What if I need a church in another area?
We are working on building a church finder tool that will help you find options near your location. Stay tuned.
If you have any questions, we'd love to hear from you.
Send an email to us at
Turn2Christ2Live@gmail.com