01 October 2017
Two-Minute Features | 08 October 2017

Jesus Setup the Second Type of Repentance (TMF:750)

Friday, October 06, 2017
Peace to Live By: Jesus Setup the Second Type of Repentance (TMF:750) - Daniel Litton
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       Now, let’s look at our second area of discussion today, which is the second type of repentance we face in our daily lives. So, while we all have had an initial point of repentance from our sins and believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we all will sin on a daily basis and will need to repent from those sins as well. Jesus setup this foundation of daily repentance in the Lord’s Prayer. You’ll remember; he said, “Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:11, 12, ESV). I went ahead and included the preceding verse there, “Give us this day our daily bread,” verse 11, because it shows that this prayer from our Lord is a “daily” prayer, a model for prayer that we should be following daily. This, then, in turn shows that repentance from sin is to occur daily.

Jesus Commands People to be Baptized, Part 3 (TMF:749)

Thursday, October 05, 2017
Peace to Live By: Jesus Commands People to be Baptized, Part 3 (TMF:749) - Daniel Litton
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       Third, water baptism is not necessary for salvation, to go to Heaven. A good example of this is the fact that the thief on cross was not water baptized after he believed, yet Jesus said he would be with him that very day in Paradise. Another example comes to us in Mark chapter 16. Here Jesus says the following: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16, ESV). So, we see here that Jesus does not include water baptism in the second part of the verse, about being condemned. He just says whoever does not believe will be condemned, not whoever does not believe and is not water baptized will be condemned. Now, if a Christian decides not to get water baptized while knowing he or she should in this life, the person will still go to Heaven; however, there will be a loss of reward incurred in Heaven because the commandant of God was not fulfilled in the person’s life.

Jesus Commands People to be Baptized, Part 2 (TMF:748)

Wednesday, October 04, 2017
Peace to Live By: Jesus Commands People to be Baptized, Part 2 (TMF:748) - Daniel Litton
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       Notice how the people received the Holy Spirit after repenting, which shows the fact that conversion is in a moment. And then verse 41 says, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41, ESV), Hearing the Gospel then requires the listener to receive it, and after believing it, a person should be water baptized. And there are three things to note quickly about water baptism. First, infants should not be water baptized because water baptism occurs in the Bible after a person’s conversion to Christ, not when a person is physically born. And second, water baptism does not save a person, make the person guaranteed a ticked to Heaven. Rather, it is a symbolic act that represents that a person has already been saved, and it witnesses this salvation to the church and perhaps any unbelievers that are looking on. I’m not so sure I want to say there is nothing spiritual about water baptism because even Jesus’ baptism by John was definitely spiritual.

Jesus Commands People to be Baptized, Part 1 (TMF:747)

Tuesday, October 03, 2017
Peace to Live By: Jesus Commands People to be Baptized, Part 1 (TMF:747) - Daniel Litton
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       Nevertheless, after repenting of sin and turning to God, Jesus commands people to be baptized (that is, water baptism after they become saved, after they believe). This is an outward testimony of the transformation in Christ that has occurred. In Acts chapter 2, when the Apostle Peter gives his great sermon in Jerusalem before the Jews, he actually ‘commands’ the people to be baptized. We often make it an option, just like the Gospel, but Peter commanded it. Why don’t we go ahead and look at the passage. Acts 2:37, 38 state: “Now when they heard this [that is, Peter’s sermon] they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “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” (Acts 2:37-38, ESV).

Do We Need to Have a Specific Date? Part 3 (TMF:746)

Monday, October 02, 2017
Peace to Live By: Do We Need to Have a Specific Date? Part 3 (TMF:746) - Daniel Litton
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       Of course, there is an actual ‘moment’ in time when the salvation of each and every individual occurs, but sometimes people don’t know when that moment occurred. If we turn to John chapter 3, we can see from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ the fact that conversion, believing in him, is a one time process. In this passage, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a person of nobility and wealth, has come to seek out Jesus about salvation, the question of how to be sure you’re going to Heaven when you die. It is recorded in verse 2 by Jesus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, ESV). So, just as a natural, physical birth is a one-time process that occurs rather quickly, so it is with a spiritual birth into Christ.