Chapter 1: Understanding Salvation

Q: What do you know about the word "Salvation?"

Have you ever felt like you're distant from God? Have you ever felt like you're unworthy to
come to Him and get closer with Him? There is a reason for this, it is because of our sins.
The fall (Genesis 3), caused by the serpent and Adam and Eve's disobedience to God, is the
reason why we have been separated eternally from Him. Because their sins and flaws have
been passed down onto us, we also have been separated from God since He is holy, and we
are not.

As Romans 3:23 says,

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Because of our sins, we also have to face the consequence of eternal death. Eternal death
will hinder us from entering the kingdom of God. Our flaws have made us unworthy to enter
the gates of heaven.

A part of Romans 6:23 says,

“For the wages of sin is death,...."

But this verse's other half presents us with great news. Yes, there is still hope to receive
eternal life and we can still come to God despite having a sinful nature as humans with the
help of one thing. This good news is that Jesus died on the cross for you.

WHAT DOES JESUS' DEATH ON THE CROSS MEAN FOR US?

Romans 5:8

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God saw how broken the world was, and because He loves us so much, He made a way for
you to be with Him in heaven. He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to the world and despite
living a perfect life, He let Jesus be crucified (which is something that was done to criminals,
thos that lived very sinful lives) in order to save our lives from eternal death.

2 Corinthians 5:21

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.”

In the Old Testament, in order to ask for forgiveness for your sins to God, you would have to
sacrifice animals and the best your harvests towards Him again and again. But because of
what happened on the cross, we no longer have to make those kind of sacrifices because it
is already finished. Jesus was the sacrifice. Jesus' sinless life that was sacrificed on the
cross cancelled the consequences of our sinful lives. This is what we call salvation.
WHAT IS SALVATION?

Romans 6:23 and John 3:16 are the perfect definitions of what salvation is:

Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

John 3:16

““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life.”

In short, salvation is the free gift from God through Jesus, who died on the cross to save us
from our sins.

HOW DO WE RECEIVE SALVATION?

Salvation is received when you trust your entire life in Christ. Salvation isn't based on our
good deeds and works, but on God's grace. We receive salvation when we realize that we
cannot save ourselves and are in need of a Savior, accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior,
turn away from sin, and live our lives trusting and honoring God.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift
of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Romans 10:9-10

“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is
justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

DISCUSSION TIME (For questions, clarifications and application)

Q: Do you want to receive salvation and Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

PRAYER FOR SALVATION

Heavenly Father, I come to You to confess that I am sinful and sorry for my sins. I realized
that I am truly in need of a Savior because I cannot save myself with good deeds. I
recognize what Jesus did on the cross for me and accept Your free gift of salvation. I want to
turn away from sin and live a life trusting in You, and not on my own because I am saved by
Your grace only. Help me to honor You, obey You, love You, and worship You for all of my
days. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: We no longer need to work for salvation because Jesus has finished the
work for us. The only thing left is to receive and believe.
CHAPTER 2: Having a Personal Relationship
with God
Q: How do you view God in your life? Do you personally know Him?

Before we serve in a ministry, we must first know well who we are serving. In order to serve
meaningfully, we must first learn how to draw near to God. Accepting Jesus in your life is
one thing, but you also need to be close with Him, though in what way?

As God is a Holy Trinity, we must also have these 3 important types of relationship with Him.
What are these types of relationships?

WHAT KINDS OF RELATIONSHIPS SHOULD I HAVE WITH GOD?

1. God is my Father

You may always hear Christians say that God is our Heavenly Father. He indeed is, and we
are made in His very image, just like a father and his son. Some of the important things that
a child must have for its father are love and obedience. Since we are God's children, we
must learn to love, obey, and honor Him in everything that we do.

As John 14:21 said:

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he is who loves me. And he who loves
me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.””

It is believed that children reflect the characteristics and teachings of their parents, and that
is also exactly what we are meant to do as a son or daughter of His. We are to show His
love, kindness, compassion, and grace to the world as He has shown it to us.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says:

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and
gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

2. Jesus is my Best Friend

Worldly logic tells us that the relationship between a king/prince and a regular citizen should
be kept civil and that citizens have rules, boundaries, and limitations when it comes to
interacting with them. Though this may be true on earth, it is not the same when it comes to
Jesus. The Prince of Peace wants us to be friends with Him. God wants us to pursue a close
relationship with Jesus Christ as our friend.
As Jesus said in John 15:15:

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but
I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to
you.”

Who is it that we come to whenever we are in need of help? When we need advice or
comfort? When we need someone to fix things for us when we can't do it ourselves? Who is
it that understands you best or is your emergency contact other than your family? That is
your friend. That is what Jesus wants to be in our lives. He wants us to come to Him in times
of trouble. He wants us to tell him all of our problems and trust Him that He will make a way
for us. When we can't talk to anybody else, He makes sure that we know that we could
always talk to Him. He understands us because just like us, He was also a human.

In Matthew 11:28-30, it says:

““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.””

3. The Holy Spirit is my Guide

When you accept Jesus Christ in your life, not only do you have the Holy Spirit with you, but
the Holy Spirit is now within you for you have been adopted into God’s kingdom. In John 14,
Jesus promised to His disciples that they would not be alone when He comes back to
heaven. As promised, the Holy Spirit came down on earth to comfort the 12 disciples and
guide them in continuing the ministry that Jesus has already started. In our prayers, we
always say “Holy Spirit, help me, guide me” and that is exactly the Spirit’s purpose. Since we
have also received the Holy Spirit in our lives, the Spirit will guide us into a path that leads to
truth and also help and encourage us in our mission to spread the Gospel all around the
world. Other than that, the Spirit also works in our lives by producing the fruits of the Spirit,
strengthening us in times of weakness and bringing unity among believers.

Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

HOW DO WE DEVELOP A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?

Now that we know what kinds of relationship we should have with the Trinity, what should we
do in order to draw near to God?

1. Intentionally spend time with Him

Emphasis on the word “intentionally.” It’s important that we spend our time truly trying to get
close to God. If you are waiting for a miracle to happen right in front of you just for you to
actually start praising and spending time with Him, then chances are, you will never get
there. A miracle is not what you need, but rather willingness. In courting, in order for a
woman to get closer to her suitor, he must intentionally spend time with her for them to get to
know each other even more. Likewise, we must spend time reading the Bible, setting aside
some time in our day for our quiet time and prayer, etc. When we spend our time with Him,
we find out about His nature and get to know Him on a personal level.

James 4:8

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you...”

2. Fix our eyes on Him

You don’t just allot some of your time to spend it with God, you must also fix your eyes on
Him. As the saying goes, “focus on what truly matters.” Everything in this world is temporary,
but God is eternal. This is why we should focus on Him, if nothing around us will actually last
forever, then why not just focus on what will? Sometimes, we get too caught up in what’s
happening in the world around us that we don’t get to see what God is doing in our lives. We
miss out on the tasks that He has for us because we are too busy looking at other things
rather than looking at God. When we fix our eyes on Him, we get to see His goodness,
blessings, and how he works in our lives. The quality of our serving and worship improves
because we are now driven by genuine awe of what God reveals to us.

Colossians 3:2

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

DISCUSSION TIME (For questions, clarifications and application)

KEY TAKEAWAYS: God is my Father so I shall obey Him. Jesus is my Best Friend so I shall
come to Him when troubled. The Holy Spirit is my Guide so I shall seek Him for guidance. In
order to have a close relationship with God, I must learn to intentionally draw closer to Him
and focus on Him.