Mahukah Anda Ingin Kenali Tuhan Secara Peribadi?
1.
God loves you and created you to know Him personally.
(references contained on this Home Page are linked to the
actual verses from the Bible, and should be read in context wherever
possible.)
God's Love
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life"
(John 3:16).
God's Plan
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3, NIV). What
prevents us from knowing God personally?
2. Man is sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.
Man is Sinful
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans
3:23). Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his
own stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and
fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an
attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of
what the Bible calls sin.
Man is Separated
"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God]
(Romans 6:23). "...(Those) who do not know God and do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus...will be punished with everlasting destruction
and shut out from the presence of the Lord..." (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9)
This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A
great gulf separates the two. The arrows illustrate that man is
continually trying to reach God and establish the personal relationship
with Him through his own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or
religion - but he inevitably fails. The third principle explains the
only way to bridge this gulf...
3.Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin. Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God's love.
He Died in Our Place
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on
the third day according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then
to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1
Corinthians 15:3-6).
He is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that
separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the
cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
It is not enough just to know these truths...
4. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love.
We Must Receive Christ
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)
We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one
should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). When We Receive Christ, We Experience a
New Birth (Read John 3:1-8.)
We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if
any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him"
(Revelation 3:20).
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance)
and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins
and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our
sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We
receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.
These two circles represent two kinds of lives:
]
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?
The following explains how you can receive Christ:
You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer
(Prayer is talking with God)
God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as
He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested
prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for
dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive
You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and
giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me
the kind of person You want me to be."
Did you pray this prayer?
I still have questions
If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.
How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life
Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise
in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you?
Christ said that He would come into your life and be your friend so you
can know Him personally. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you
know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God
Himself and His Word.)
The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ
"The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and
this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does
not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have
written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that
you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13).
Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will
never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise
that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very
moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.
An important reminder...
Do Not Depend on Feelings
The promise of God's Word, the Bible - not our feelings - is
our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the
trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.
This train diagram illustrates the relationship among fact (God
and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the
result of our faith and obedience) (John 14:21).
The train will run with or without the caboose. However, it
would be useless to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the
same way, we as Christians do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we
place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises
of His Word.
Now That You Have Entered Into a Personal Relationship With Christ
The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened, including the following:
1. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20 and Colossians 1:27).
2. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
3. You became a child of God (John 1:12).
4. You received eternal life (John 5:24).
5. You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to
you than entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would
you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you?
By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.
To enjoy your new relationship with God...
Suggestions For Christian Growth
Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The
righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith
will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your
life, and to practice the following:
Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).
Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11) - begin with the Gospel of John.
Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).
Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8).
Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).
Holy Spirit - Allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8).
The Importance of Baptism
The view of most evangelical Christian scholars is that
salvation is by grace through faith alone. This is especially indicated
by Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, 1 John 5:1. It is important to understand
that baptism is a result of salvation, not a cause.
There are different baptism methods. They may include the
sprinkling of water over the head of the professing believer or the
total immersion of the person under water (Greek: "Baptismo" = to
immerse). However, the procedure is not as important as the individual's
understanding and motivation to seek baptism.
Some cite Mark 16:16 as their proof text that baptism is
necessary for salvation, but they only quote the first half of the verse
and typically leave out the second half, which indicates the necessity
of belief as being the prerequisite to the salvation issue.
The way to resolve most problems pertaining to the issue of
baptism is to look at the whole of Scripture. When we do, we find that
there is absolutely nothing we can do as humans to earn salvation.
Romans 6:23 tells us that salvation is a "free gift." Free means that
there is nothing we can do to deserve it. On the other hand, baptism is
something we choose to do. If baptism or any other human work or
activity (such as going to church regularly, going on a pilgrimage or
visiting a "holy site") contributed to our salvation, we could boast
that we did something and contributed to our salvation. However,
Scripture says that no one should boast before God Ephesians 2:8-9 .
We come to Christ though grace by faith, and our public baptism
brings glory and honor to God. Baptism is an act of obedience, not to
obtain salvation, but because of it -- because we love Him and want to
obey Him. The motivation to pursue baptism should originate from a
desire to show to the world an outward demonstration of the person's
decision as well as the inward work the Holy Spirit has already begun in
us. An unsaved person would not likely want to be baptized, because he
would not have the Holy Spirit indwelling him to prompt his desire to
follow Christ in obedience (unless a sect or cult group has erroneously
taught him or her otherwise.) The fact that one even wants to be
baptized (being assured that only faith alone in Jesus Christ saves) is
evidence that the Holy Spirit already indwells that person, a result of
being born of the Spirit by faith alone.
In the book of Acts, baptism is typically the outward response
to coming to faith. It was seen as part of a process which includes: 1)
hearing (or reading about) the gospel, 2) being convicted and led by
the Holy Spirit to confess one's sins (Greek: "Homologeo" = to agree
with, to speak the same), 3) coming to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior,
4) beginning the progress of growth (which includes repenting from
known sin), 5) joining a group of believers or church fellowship, and 6)
being baptized. The last two parts are where there are different
opinions among believers or churches.
Where some churches differ with what has been stated above
chiefly centers on whether a person is saved if they have not been
baptized (or if they have not been baptized the "right" way). In our
understanding a person is saved when they put their faith in Christ. Of
course, we all want them to join a church which exalts Christ and be
baptized.
Fellowship In a Good Church
God's Word admonishes us not to forsake "the assembling of
ourselves together..." (Hebrews 10:25). Several logs burn brightly
together; but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So
it is with your relationship with other Christians. If you do not
belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call
the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is
preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.
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