Tag Archives: new believer

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Charles Stanley – A Lifetime of Holiness

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Romans 12:1-3

By placing faith in Jesus Christ, a new believer is sanctified—that is, he is set apart for God’s purpose. Unlike salvation, which takes place in a single moment, sanctification is a lifelong process. We who have trusted in Christ as Savior and allow His Holy Spirit to control our lives are currently being sanctified, no matter what we may feel or how our actions appear to others. We are progressively maturing in our faith.

If we are progressing, then we must be working our way toward something. The apostle Paul explained the Christian’s mission this way: “For those whom [God] foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). The character, conduct, and conversation of a believer are to reflect Christ, who lives within through His Spirit.

On our own, we would place too much emphasis on conduct and get caught up following rules and rituals that look Christian but do not actually reflect Christ. God, however, has given each believer His Spirit as a teacher and guide. The Holy Spirit’s work is to transform our minds and hearts so our character is markedly different from that of our unsaved peers. Only when we are under the Spirit’s control can we speak and act according to who we truly are: God’s sons and daughters.

Our heavenly Father wants His children to be living examples and reflections of who He is. He doesn’t expect perfection from us—He knows that we cannot be totally sinless as long as we remain in our human body. Rather, He shows us how to think and act so we may “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called” (Eph. 4:1).

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Charles Stanley – How to Build Truth Into Our Lives

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James 1:23-25

As a teenager and a new believer, I would pull out my mother’s worn Bible when I needed God’s opinion on a matter. In the back were words written in bold type with verses beneath (I didn’t know then that this was called a concordance). I’d look up a subject, write down the Scripture references listed, and then read them to get my answers. This simple activity was how I began to build truth into my life.

Believers who have decided to make God’s truth the foundation of their life need a place to start building. First, identify a point of need—some area that requires attention, like financial stewardship. Then search the Bible’s concordance for verses related to that topic. The passages on the subject will form a blueprint of what a believer’s life should look like.

The Holy Spirit provides the construction material. Using His guidance, strength, and wisdom, install new truths in your life by practicing what you read. Let’s again look at examples from the topic of stewardship: Matthew 6:24 teaches that we can’t serve both God and money, so attitudes must change. And since a borrower is the lender’s servant, spending on credit should be carefully evaluated (Proverbs 22:7). That’s how new ways of thinking will replace faulty ideas.

It is a good idea to note—literally—the results of our obedience to God’s instructions. Journaling about His provision and the growth of our faith will inspire us to continue adding to our foundation of truth. That means choosing new areas to remodel according to God’s blueprint.

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Rocky Road Hearers – Greg Laurie

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“The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.”

—Luke 8:13

Some people like the idea of having their sin forgiven and going to heaven, but when it comes to Jesus’ command to deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow Him, their response is, “Uh, I don’t know. . . . That sounds a little hard. I don’t think I want to do that.” And they turn away.

I believe that if someone professes faith, falls away, and never comes back, it is not an issue of losing their salvation; it is an issue of someone who never was saved to begin with. I base that on 1 John 2:19, which says, “These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.”

However, I do acknowledge that you can make a commitment to Christ, fall away, and return. A prodigal always will come home. But people who leave and never return are not prodigals; they never were believers. Otherwise, they would return.

Maybe it was unbelief that set in and caused them to fall away. Every new believer, especially, will be hit by tests of their faith. And one of the first things the devil whispers in the ear of a brand-new Christian is, Do you really think God saved you? It isn’t real. That whole Christianity thing isn’t real.

But the assurance of our salvation is not based on our emotions; it is based on what God’s Word has to say. Our confidence should be in Christ Himself. And when we build our foundation on Him, we will be able to weather any storm.

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Son of Encouragement – Greg Laurie

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And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. . . .—Acts 9:26–27

You would think that, upon hearing of Saul’s (later known as Paul) conversion, the early church would have given him a standing ovation. The fact is that the believers were still suspicious, because in Acts 9:26 we read, “When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him. . . .”

They must have been thinking, Really? Yeah . . . no. He is not a Christian. There is just no way.

Where was their faith?

But the same thing happens to us as well. We may hear that a certain person has become a believer, and we’ll say, “Oh, I don’t know if I really believe that.”

Even after someone makes a commitment to Christ, sometimes there are rough edges that remain, and we are very quick to criticize: “He is not a Christian because he cussed.”

True, he shouldn’t have cussed, but I wouldn’t say he isn’t a Christian because of that. I would say that perhaps he is a work in progress. Maybe we should put a little sign around a new believer’s neck that says, “Under construction.”

Has it really been so long since we began to walk with Christ that we have forgotten what it is like for new believers? They don’t know how it works yet. I am not excusing anyone’s sin, but all of us have some growing to do, don’t we?

Saul was converted, but many of the Christians didn’t believe it. Enter Barnabas, who put it on the line and backed up Saul’s story, taking him to the apostles. We need more men like Barnabas today. The name Barnabas means “son of encouragement.” And we need people that are encouraging, because often people fall through the cracks after they have come to Christ.

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Desert Training – Greg Laurie

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So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown—Acts 9:28–30

If the apostle Paul had converted to Christianity in our day, he would be offered a book deal immediately. He would be discussing his unexpected conversion on all the talk shows and would be sharing his dramatic testimony in churches across the country.

The problem is that sometimes when a person of some notoriety professes faith in Christ, we Christians immediately want to propel them to the front.

But they may not be ready yet. The Bible tells us that we should not raise up a novice, or a new believer, “because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall” (1 Timothy 3:6). Sometimes a celebrity who professes faith in Christ is elevated to a place of leadership, only to crash and burn later. That is because they weren’t ready. They needed time to prepare.

After Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road, he went on to get his degree: a B.D., or backside of the desert, in ministry. He was sent to the desert, in an exile of sorts, to be prepped for service. Paul didn’t need promotion; he needed seclusion.

In fact, God whipped a lot of His people into shape in the desert. That is where David got ready as he watched his little flock of sheep, never realizing that he was being groomed to be the greatest king in Israel’s history.

Moses spent time in the desert as well. He spent 40 years in Pharaoh’s court, finding out he was a somebody. Then he spent 40 years in the desert, finding he was a nobody.

Then he spent 40 years finding out what God can do with a somebody who realizes he is a nobody.

The same had to happen for Paul. And the same may happen for you as well.