Life and Peace

A verse I've been chewing over these last couple of days:

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."
Romans 8:5-6

This verse has really spoken to me as I definitely feel the weight of conviction that I'm more caught up in the physical world (the flesh) than I should be. Preoccupied with material possessions, benefits, pursuits and pleasures, the Spirit is so often shoved into second place.

And this verse says that is death.

Death!!!

That's not good. And the truth is you can feel a death within you when you get preoccupied with the physical. Because it doesn't satisfy, at all. When time with God gets squeezed out you feel very hollow.

These last few days I've reprioritised a few things and it's been really liberating. Setting my mind on the Spirit has been very refreshing. Physical, material things fall out of focus. All of a sudden, they're not so important. Your weight, fitness, bank balance and leisure time — when you set your mind on the Spirit you remember they're just temporary things. This physical world is all passing away.

"but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace" — how awesome is that promise! Life and peace are two things that everybody craves. To be alive spiritually and at peace with God is very, very good. There's an eternal ring to that phrase.

George Muller on Debt and Romans 13

"My wife and I never went into debt because we believed it to be unscriptural according to Romans 13:8, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another." Therefore, we have no bills with our tailor, butcher or baker, but we pay for everything in cash. We would rather suffer need than contract debts. Thus, we always know how much we have, and how much we can give away. Many trials come upon the children of God on account of not acting according to Romans 13:8.
p43, The Autobiography of George Muller

"Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."
Romans 13:7-8

The above is quite an interesting point from George Muller on debt, and his conviction on the matter really makes you think. I've heard people say that verse 7 shows the Bible doesn't prohibit borrowing, it's just that you are to pay back what you owe in the manner you agreed. So credit cards, loans, and mortgages aren't necessarily bad things as long as you stick to your repayment agreements.

But then you throw verse 8 into the mix, "Owe no one anything", which is very straightforward. It's a phrase which really seems to limit the extent to which verse 7 applies. It basically says "just don't be in debt". Debt is bondage, and throws up all sorts of difficulties.

Verse 7 refers to taxes and revenue, and even respect. It is referring to on-going expenses that are unavoidable. You should pay your taxes, your household bills, your rent and such things. They're not so much debts but normal day-to-day expenses. You only become in debt if you miss a payment and get in arrears. So paying them is actually a means to keeping out of debt.

Verse 8 seems to specifically prohibit any sort of owing that isn't necessary. And it seems really personal – "Owe no one anything". It sounds different to owing tax to the government. It seems more like a friend, a neighbour, a local business, your bank. So don't owe your mate Bob £50. Don't rack up bills on your store cards or credit cards. Avoid your overdraft like the plague. As Muller says, it's better to suffer need that suffer debts.

What seems to sit awkwardly is all that stuff in the middle. Like loans and mortgages. What's unavoidable? When your boiler breaks down and you have to borrow a load of cash off your dad? And is a mortgage more of a good investment than debt? Is a business loan justified if it provides a means to generate income and cover the expense in the long run? Hmmm… there's always grey areas where you have to discern what's good, what's absolutely necessary and what can be avoided with better financial planning.

Fear

Last thursday at Life Group we watched the Francis Chan 'Basic Series' on the fear of the Lord. The week leading up to it I was chewing it all over, and it's been really good. I've done a few talks on the fear of the Lord before but this DVD has thrown some extra verses into the mix and shed further light. As it happens, the fear of God plays out in some quite unexpected ways.

One of the things that really strikes you from the DVD is how fearful of God we should really be. My gut reaction is this: I have a certain level of fear, but nowhere near enough.

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead"
Revelation 1:17a

Francis Chan relates to all these biblical characters that had an encounter with God and were absolutely terrified. Even when people see Angels in the bible they're nearly scared to death. All of this leaves certain questions spinning round your mind:

Should I have that terrifying level of fear?
Is it even possible?
Is it even appropriate for daily life?
Does it not conflict with all the hope and promise we have in Jesus Christ, that we are in fact reconciled to God, and can boldly approach his throne? (Hebrews 4:16)

On the one hand you would have to conclude that the appropriate level of fear would probably kill you. Like in Exodus 33:18-23, Moses isn't allowed to see God's face, only his back, because no one could survive that. Part of my speculation on the hiddenness of God is that it's not his plan to terrify us on a daily basis.

But on the other hand a certain level of fear is prescribed. Without it, you wouldn't even be a Christian.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."
Psalm 111:10

Some musings

These two verses highlight some really interesting points. Firstly, why is the fear of God the beginning of knowledge and wisdom? It must lay the foundation for everything else. If we don't understand that the universe and humanity was designed and created by an awesome God, all of our knowledge runs astray.

You can be really, really intelligent in the same way that you can run really fast in completely the wrong direction. All these scientific, social, biological, philosophical theories are constructed, but they miss vital ingredients and it changes everything.

Secondly, in the first verse, why does it say 'fools despise wisdom and discipline'? Surely it should say 'fools despise the LORD'. I would guess that wisdom and discipline both imply a change of lifestyle. It feels restrictive. Fools hate the idea.

But this has some personal implications. To what degrees, as Christians, are we fools? What areas do we despise wisdom and hate discipline? We've all got areas where we accommodate all sorts of sin and disobedience, lack of discipline, lack of fear. It's so easy to read about 'fools' in the bible and not think you're one of them.

Fear of God equals faith

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
Matthew 10:28-31

This concept of fear is not just an Old Testament, Old Covenant thing. Here Jesus himself, in the New Testament, tells us to fear. But the theme develops.

He says “be afraid” and then “don’t be afraid”.

We have one type of fear that conquers all others.

And this seems to rather aptly answer the question 'what level of fear is appropriate?'. Our fear of God should quench all others. When we're on the same team as God, when eternity is secured, even death is now an upgrade. In the verse above, the threat of murder is completely annulled. Fear of God equals faith in God.

The fear of the LORD is the weight behind us

"What, then, shall we say in response to this?
If God is for us, who can be against us?"
Romans 8:31

It’s not just Christians who should fear God. It’s everyone. If we could really grasp how terrifyingly awesome our God is, we might understand the depth of our confidence in Him.

And finally...

The fear of the LORD equals life

"The fear of the LORD leads to life: then one rests content, untouched by trouble."
Proverbs 19:23

That sounds unbelievably good. Life, rest, contentment, peace – untouched by trouble even if surrounded by it.

The Hiddenness of God

"Moses said, "Please show me your glory." ... "But," he said [the LORD], "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live¹."
Exodus 33:18-20

"Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him², because we shall see him as he is."
1 John 3:2

¹ There seems to be a real need for God to speak to us indirectly. Occasionally people hear the audible voice of God, yet it's very rare. But no-one's ever seen God the Father and lived to tell the tale. If he was to just turn up and show himself, like many people wish he would do, we would all die instantly.

² We would also be transformed into perfection with utter purity and holiness, just as Jesus Christ. So in short, we would cease to be of any earthly use.

It seems that God filters down His voice to a level that we can cope with. We have the Bible, and the whisper of the Holy Spirit to our soul. We are ministered to by angles, often without realising it. All very quiet, subtle ways. Some had even entertained angels and had no clue (Hebrews 13:2). But when people do see angels in the bible, they are usually terrified. And these are just created beings like us.

I would guess it's not God's plan to terrify us to on a daily basis.

But if we accept that we can't see God, we might at least question why He doesn't provide undeniable proof of His existence? Apparently, He already has...

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."
Romans 1:20

"He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"
Luke 16:31

If we can't see Him from creation, if we don't believe the very words of God, written, in the bible, we will never believe no matter what.

Being Filled With The Spirit

Below is a story regarding the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the life of a young missionary (name unknown) in the China interior in the 1890s. I've been studying bible verses and listening to loads of sermons on the baptism of the Spirit in preparation for a Holy Spirit evening at Life Group. This account is absolute spot on with my present understanding that 1, the Spirit is a person to be personally welcomed and accepted into one's life (we don't need to plead, but simply ask and believe); 2, the purpose of being filled is to be clothed with power to continue the work of Jesus Christ; 3, the evidence of being filled is a supernatural effectiveness in ministry and witness; 4, the filling is not a condition of salvation, but a gift; and 5, manifestations may well occur at the point of receiving, but this is not always the case and is neither the main goal, purpose or evidence of being filled.

Here's the excerpt... it's quite long but very good!

Four years in China had taught her something of the joy and blessing to be found in the deeper fellowship with the Master, but something also of the deadening influences of heathenism, the power of evil within as well as around her, and the blank despair of seeking to help others when her own soul was out of living touch with Christ. How she longed for 'the exchanged life', the life she saw in others, but knew not how to attain. Praying in an anguish no one suspected for light and for help, it was the last Sunday before Christmas when a word was spoken that, under God, brought the deliverance and made all things new. After the evangelistic service in the C.I.M. hall, an entire stranger – a Christian seaman – came up to her and said earnestly:

'Are you filled with the Holy Ghost?'

Filled with the Holy Ghost? She remembered no more of the conversation, but that question burned deeper and deeper into her heart. This, then, was the explanation of all the inward failure, the sorrow that seemed unavailing, the purposes that came to nothing. God had made a provision, given a Gift that she had never definitely accepted. She knew that the Holy Spirit must be in her life in a certain sense, for 'if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his'. And yet, just as certainly, she knew that she was not 'filled with the Spirit', and was experiencing little of His power.

But how afraid she was of being misled, of running into error and mistaking emotion for reality! The Word of God was full, now she came to study the subject, of the personality and power of the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles - what was it but the acts of the Holy Ghost, transforming and quickening lives just as she knew she needed to be quicken and transformed? O yes, why had she never seen it? It was indeed the Holy Spirit, to make unseen things real to her and impossible things possible. And there stood out in Gal. 3. 13, 14 the words:

'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us ... that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.'

What was she doing with the infinite Gift purchased at such a cost? She saw that just as Christ is ours by the gift of God, and yet we have each one personally to receive Him, so with the Holy Spirit. She saw that He too was a Person, just as real as the Lord Jesus, and to be just as truly welcomed by faith into the heart that cannot do without Him as a living link with the risen, glorious Lord. All the rest that can be told is that she took the step, though with fear and trembling - scarce knowing what it meant - and trusted the Holy Spirit to come in and possess her fully, just as she had trusted the Lord Jesus to be her Saviour. Feeling nothing, realising nothing, she just took God at His word, and then and there asked that the promise might be fulfilled, 'When he is come (to you) he will reprove (or convict) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment'. Her chief sorrow for many months had been that she seemed to have little power for soul-winning, and hardly knew of any who had been brought to Christ through her instrumentality. It was Christmas week, and believing that a real, a definite transaction had taken place alone in that quiet room, she asked in faith that God would give her to see the proof of it in actual conversations every day that week, in connection with meetings that were being held.

And every day that week the prayer was answered. More than twenty people, young and old, sailors, visitors, and residents in Shanghai, it was given her to help a definite decision for Christ, while the joy and liberty of her own heart were so manifest that others could not but long for and seek the same blessing.

Biography of James Hudson Taylor, 1973 edition, p456-8

"if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."
Romans 8:9

"He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."
Galatians 3:14

Hudson Taylor on debt

It's so unbelievably easy to buy some immediate want or apparent need with a credit card or an overdraft. But in doing this we fail to realise the opportunity of prayer laid before us, an opportunity to listen to our Father and wait for His answer. We forget that all our money is His. And we deny Him headship over our finances, even in the small purchases. Slowly but surely you creep into the oppression of debt and find yourself in a place your Father never intended.

Perhaps many of our 'needs' are really 'wants'. A little bit of discipline and self-denial is good for the soul.

From the Biography of James Hudson Taylor:

"To me it seemed that the teaching of God's Word was unmistakably clear, 'Owe no man anything'. To borrow money implied, to my mind, a contradiction of Scripture –  a confession that God had withheld some good thing, and a determination to get for ourselves what He had not given. I could not think that God was poor, that He was short of resources, or unwilling to supply any want of whatever work was really His. It seemed to me that if there were lack of funds to carry on work, then to that degree, in that special development, or at that time, it could not be the work of God."
p198

    "They who trust Him wholly
     Find Him wholly true,
but also that when we fail to trust fully He still remains unchangingly faithful. He is wholly true whether we trust or not.'If we believe not, he abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself'. But oh, how we dishonour our Lord whenever we fail to trust Him, and what peace, blessing and triumph we lose in thus sinning against the Faithful One. May we never again presume in anything to doubt Him."
p199

"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."
Romans 13:8

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself."
2 Timothy 2:13

What Is Sustaining Grace?

Here's a really excellent poem by John Piper titled "What Is Sustaining Grace?":

"Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then, in the darkness, is there to sustain."

I think the hardest line in the poem is "The grace that orders our trouble and pain". It would be easy to think that God is the source of that pain and trouble. But if you read the manuscript for Piper's message (found here) he states that God is actually permitting and measuring out the pain in an exact amount, which is not beyond what we can cope with. He then sustains us through this dark period. His reason for doing so? He works all things for good (Romans 8:28) and we can trust He is working out a greater end and purpose than we can see.

Finite Time

"You never get it back... waisted time"

This is a line from the film Benjamin Button which really jumped out at me. It echoes Psalm 144:4

"Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow."

We have a very small and finite amount of time in which we can live on this earth and serve God's purposes. We only get so many opportunities to walk in his plans, trusting and living by faith. Soon our days will be over and all those opportunities will be taken from us. The adventure that might have been slips by. Our life's work ended and recorded as we stand before the judgement seat of God.

We should dread the thought of waisted time – years spent asleep, drifting and spinning our wheels. How many of us have spent 5, 10, 20 years in this condition?

"For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God."

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God."

Romans 14:10-12

The Burden of Souls

I've been reading up on the Whitefield and Wesley revival in the 18th Century for a short talk that I'm doing at our church prayer meeting next week. The most immediate observation you can make is this –  it's largely known as the 'Whitefield and Wesley' revival. It's God and man working together to bring salvation.

Salvation belongs to God, and you can't overestimate God's sovereignty. But you can totally underestimate man's role. We're his instruments, we're the men on the ground. Does God allow his plans (even for salvation) to be frustrated and delayed by us? I think the answer has to be 'yes'. 2 Peter 3 talks about us having the ability to actually speed Christ's return. It must also follow that we can choose to not speed Christ's return. We have a significant effect, and burden, for the salvation of souls.

"You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming."
2 Peter 3: 11-12

"Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
Revelation 7:10

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Romans 10: 14-15

Dissecting Verses: Romans 15:13

"May the God of hope ¹ fill you ² with all joy and peace ³ as ⁴ you trust ⁵ in him, so that you may overflow ⁶ with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit ⁷."

My thoughts...

¹ God is being described here as the God of hope. That immediately raises the question "why?". God is many, many things and this is just one of his attributes. It's because, I think, it is incredibly easy to despair in this life. Hope is very good, and this is a reminder that God is the source.

² "fill you" → the notion of filling implies that you can be full or you can be empty, or somewhere in between. Perhaps you can have a certain measure of hope in your soul at any given time. Perhaps it's something that rises and falls, and changes over time. Maybe it's something that depletes if left unattended.

³ "all joy and peace" → who wouldn't want that? Is there a man or woman alive who wouldn't want to be completely full of joy and peace? Isn't this the void in our lives that the world is incessantly trying fill with all sorts of idols and pleasures? I would guess this is the thing most people spend their lives in search of.

An interesting definition of peace which I've heard is this: "peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God, even in the most troubled situation". Also, I've often heard joy described as a sort of consistent inner state, like a thermostat setting on your life; distinguishable from happiness which is simply an emotion experienced at a particular moment in time.

⁴ "as" → a crucial point. It's the key link in the chain, a conditional pivot point. It's something that we have to choose to do, and simply won't happen by itself. Suggests that our default position is a distinct lack of hope, joy and peace.

⁵ "trust" → I don't know about you, but I tend not to trust people I don't know. To trust God requires you to know him on a personal level. To have a relationship with someone you need to spend time with them, interacting, listening and speaking. Meditation and prayer are the order of the day. My dictionary describes trust as "firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something". This firm belief has to be rooted in our knowledge and experience of God in our day-to-day lives.

⁶ "overflow" → it's back to this idea of filling. The level at which God wants you to be full of hope is the level at which you are completely overflowing. It spills out on the people around you.

⁶ "by the power of the Holy Spirit" → suggests that a mark of being full of the Holy Spirit is your level of hope. If it's a quality that is severely lacking in our lives then it suggests we need to trust in God again. We need to go back to the word of God and re-align ourselves.

Incredibly hard workers

One thing that's really come to mind from reading a number of biographies is that the people worth writing books about are always incredibly hard workers and very passionate people. None of them were slack. None of them were half-hearted. None of them started well, only to lose their way later on. They didn't backslide. They all persevered right the way through their lives to the very end.

A very interesting note I think. Although it's all about grace, to actually produce a life of meaning and substance requires hard work, diligence and real grasp of holiness. And these need to be sustained through all the years we live on earth.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."
Romans 12:11

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:58

Sin after salvation

The gospel is very good news because it tells us that everything's been put on Jesus. Every one of our sins – past, present and future – has been laid on him. The Christian stands before God with the righteousness and purity of Christ. There's not a spot of guilt or shame, but absolute holiness. And that's our position before God at this very minute.

But we still sin though right? Romans 7 confirms this. And we're still totally righteous before God in-spite of this. Romans 8:1 (the very next verse) confirms this.

But lets be honest... sin still has an effect on us.

I've been churning this over in my mind for the last couple of years, about the nature of sin. And I've started to think that maybe the Christian life is like climbing a mountain. When you enter into relationship with God it's like you're at the bottom; you've placed one foot on the beginning of the path.

At this point, you can see the immediate and most obvious sin that surrounds your life. As you mature and travel further up the path, your perspective changes. You're perspective becomes increasing closer to God's perspective. Interestingly, I've heard wisdom described as "thinking God's thoughts after Him".

As you look back over your life, more and more of your sin comes into view. Old things that you never previously considered now look ugly. Here, in this new position, the nature of sin is different. Instead of drowning in sin, it's now takes the form of a stumbling block.



The stumbling block can cause you to slip and lose ground already trodden. It can slow your momentum or completely halt your progress. Could it be that certain repeated sins completely halt the depth of your relationship with God? You're still in the same place (justified and on the path), but the ground beneath your feet ceases to increase.

How do you know you are saved?

This is the classic question the now retired founder of my church Don Smith used to drill us with. And as long as you knew Romans 10:9-10 you were safe! But this has got to be one of the most important questions to ask. I've been at my current church for 18 years, and one thing I can definitely say is that not everyone who believes they are a Christian is one.

Faith is tested over time through the course of life. Many people start well, hit a snag, and then drift off into the abyss. As Matthew 13:21 says "since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away." Being a Christian isn't easy.

"small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it."
Matthew 7:14

I never want to sow seeds of doubt about whether or not you are saved. But sometimes it's just not clear. If certain people I know died today, I would be left wondering whether or not they had gone to Hell, even though they professed to be Christians. And I hate that. As Paul said in Acts 26:20 "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds."

I would totally stress the need to prove your salvation to yourself and everyone around you. To make it abundantly clear that you are what you say you are. A few additional verses which I feel support this viewpoint:

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
James 2:17

"Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
Philippians 2:12

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure."
2 Peter 1:10

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The sinners prayer is nowhere in the bible.

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Francis Chan (a church pastor in California) pointed this out in a preach, and I found it quite provoking. Nowhere in the bible do you see a one paragraph prayer that makes you a Christian. Not that the sinners prayer is essentially bad, definitely not if you truly mean every word you pray. But really, it's a very very condensed summary of a process that can take months or years.

So what would you find if you just read the bible and let it speak for itself? I've done my best to collate all the verses that relate to salvation. In doing this, they seem to suggest a certain process:

believe in Jesus > realise you are a sinner in danger of Hell > repent > be baptised > regeneration & new life.

In this, repentance seems to be the clear point of salvation. But I would argue that what follows (baptism and regeneration) are key evidences of salvation. When these are missing you get either carnal or counterfeit Christians. There's no real proof and a lot of uncertainty.

Below are the verses. This takes the form of a handout which I produced for one of my life group talks... hope it's useful!

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1. Believe in Jesus Christ

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"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Romans 10:9-10

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16

By believing in Jesus, you are not merely believing that he existed, but you are believing in everything he said and did. This includes believing that:

He is the Son of God (Mark 14:61-64, John 8:58-59, John 10:30-33, John 14:8-9)

He came from Heaven (John 6:38, 41-42, 60, 66; John 16:28)

He was sinless (John 8:46)

He is the only way to heaven (John 14:6, John 11:25)

He was crucified on a cross (Matt 27: 32-66)

On the cross he paid the penalty for all your sins (past present and future), dying in your place and purchasing salvation. (1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 10:12, Romans 3:25-26, Romans 5:19)

Three days after his death, he resurrected (Matt 28: 1-10)

Today he is seated on a Throne in Heaven, where he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Philippians 2:9-11, Revelation 19:16, Hebrews 12:2)

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2. Realise you are a sinner, in danger of Hell

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"There is no one righteous, not even one"
Romans 3:10

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Romans 3:23

"But unless you repent, you too will all perish"
Luke 13:3

"For the wages of sin is death"
Romans 6:23

"Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment"
Hebrews 9:27

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins"
Ephesians 2:1

"They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts."
Ephesians 4:18

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3. Repent

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"Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
Mark 1: 14-15

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord"
Acts 3:19

"I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus."
Acts 20:21

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4. Be Baptised

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"Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins" ... those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Acts 2:38

"Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:19-20

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3. Regeneration and New Life

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"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
John 7:38

"By their fruit you will recognize them... a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
Matthew 7: 16-20