The Trinity is the makeup of God as three distinct persons in rank, yet all are God:
This is the only thing that’s required of the christian: how to become eternally saved.
God made the way of salvation the easiest way possible.
Because He truly loves us so much and desires all to be saved.
Man is separated from God the Father because of our sins.
God is 100% pure and holy (which brings true joy and peace, which feels amazing), and cannot be associated with sin, because sin brings: depression, anxiety, stress, fear, panic, worry, nervousness, sadness, anger, envy, bitterness – all things making life not worth living.
We all have an account with God that records all of our sins.
We need those sins forgiven and removed from our account in order to be reconciled back to God.
If we don’t get our sins forgiven, we have to pay that sin debt with our life for eternity in hell.
Doing a good deed doesn’t get a past sin forgiven and removed from your account.
So, how do we get our sins forgiven and removed from our account? The cross:
What do we have to do for that payment to be credited to our account?
All God asks is that we simply acknowledge what He’s done for us: believe the gospel (the good news): that Christ (1) died to pay for all our sins (2) was buried and (3) rose again the third day according to the scriptures — 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Do we have to turn from our sins in order to be saved?
No. Remember, salvation and reconciliation back to the Father happened when Jesus died to pay for all of our sins in order to have them forgiven and removed from our account upon belief. Turning from a sin does not get an old sin forgiven and removed from your account. You need Jesus’ payment to have a sin forgiven and removed from your account. Doing a good deed and turning from a sin (following the law) are what the bible calls “works”. And salvation is not by works, it’s by faith: Ephesians 2:8-9 — For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
What happens to me after I believe the gospel?
The nanosecond you believe the gospel found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, you are indwelt with and sealed by the Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of your eternal life (your inheritance) — Ephesians 1:13-14
What happened to Jesus after He died?
This is more advanced, but the only thing you need to accept right now is that the Father rose Him from the dead on the third day, which proved that He was a legitimate sacrifice (a legitimate payment for our sins) and sealed our justification through His death and resurrection. If He wasn’t a legitimate sacrifice, He would be in hell paying for His own sins, and therefore wouldn’t be resurrected and alive today in heaven.
Can you lose your salvation?
No! You have passed from death to life eternal. Eternal by definition is never ending. See this note on Eternal Security.
Now that salvation has been accomplished (us being reconciled back to the Father through faith in the gospel), we can optionally choose to walk in “the ways of God” vs “the ways of the world”.
The whole point of life is to be at complete peace and have the fullness of joy in whatever situation you find yourself in. Why? Because it feels amazing. And if you don’t feel amazing (depressed, anxious, stressed, sad, worried, fearful, panicked, nervous, envious, hateful, bitter, angry), then life isn’t worth living.
The world promises you peace and joy through:
The truth is, none of these things bring any true peace and joy. Instead, they bring you depression, anxiety, stress, nervousness, panic, fear, worry, envy, doubt, sadness, hatred, bitterness and anger. Deeply consider and meditate on these things.
You can choose to not walk in the “ways of God” and instead walk in the “ways of the world”, and it won’t affect your salvation, but you just won’t find any true peace or joy in this life.
Before we get into the full “ways of God” that bring true peace and joy, understand these things:
“The ways of God” all boil down to what’s known in the Bible as “The Fruit of the Spirit”. These describe the character of God, His personality, and what we are to emulate as children of God:
“The ways of the world” (the wisdom of the world)
The ways of the world are really just Satan’s ways. And the way Satan works is simple: he literally takes a way of God and does the exact opposite. For example, God says to be humble, so Satan makes everyone prideful. God says to be patient, so Satan makes everyone rush everything. And you know the ways of the world and its wisdom because you’ve been living in it your whole life.
The inner man vs the outward man
For brevity here: we are actually a soul (us as our reborn, renewed, sinless inner man) that has a spirit and lives inside our unregenerate, sinful fleshly body (our outward man). Also, the Holy Spirit lives within us as well. For more details on this dichotomy, see the note on The Inner Man vs the Outward Man.
The growth journey
The way to walk in God’s ways per the Bible is to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” A shallow reading of these things and expecting to be miraculously transformed won’t do you any good. The Bible says we must deeply consider, meditate on and exercise ourselves in godliness (the ways of God). Much like lifting weights and jogging to become strong and fit in your outward physical body, you must exercise and “work out” the attitude of you as your inner man in order to become “strong” and “fit” in the ways of God. Example: one of God’s ways is to be kind to everyone, all the time. If you meditate on what “kindness” is and keep “kindness” at the top of your mind and TAKE ACTION to do something kind for others every opportunity you get, you’re exercising yourself as your inner man in kindness. And just like starting to lift weights or jog for the first time, it can be hard and exhausting and sometimes mentally painful at first, but the more you do it, the stronger you become, till eventually it’s completely natural like second nature. And just like working out your physical body, you notice little gains each time which keep you motivated and excited. It’s not like it’s painful for a month with nothing to show, and then all the sudden after a month you’re miraculously “kind” in every aspect of your life.
The Bible likens the growth of a christian to the growth of a human. A baby, when first born, needs milk. After some time, the baby can start eating solid food, and can eventually begin to walk and grow into a mature adult. It’s hard for the newborn to walk at first, as they need to practice and strengthen their feet and ankles and legs. There’s lots of falling down, but the good parent lifts the child back up and helps them continue to learn how to walk, until one day they’re walking on their own, and eventually running and growing into a mature adult. A new christian is a “babe in Christ”, needing the pure “milk” of the word, the gospel. They need to become strong in the gospel in order not to be tossed to and fro by all the wind of false works-based doctrines that will inevitably come their way. Once they are firm on the gospel (the milk), they can begin to move on to more advanced biblical knowledge (solid food). Also, the newborn christian needs to learn how to “walk” in the ways of God (as we’ll get to in a moment). Just like a baby human learning to walk for the first time, it can be hard for a newborn christian learning to walk in the ways of God for the first time. There will be lots of “falling down”, but with some exercise and practice, it quickly becomes second nature. And Christ, the good parent, is right there with you, holding your hand every step of the way, never getting impatient or angered, but instead lifting you back on your feet, cheering you on with all patience, kindness and self-control.
Finish here: here is the link to the note on The Ways of God vs The Ways of the World
All Notes: