Beyond the Sinner’s Prayer

12th January 2025
Salvation extends far beyond the initial moment of conversion or the sinner's prayer. A good representation encompasses both Jesus' ministry to the lost, as seen in His encounter with Zacchaeus, with its challenge for a change of ways and example of change in behaviour. Jesus’ call is not just to conversion but also for the new believer to pursue godly perfection. The Lord's work of salvation includes not only forgiveness of sins but also the ongoing transformation of the believer's character through sanctification, ultimately looking forward to Christ's return. This broader understanding of salvation helps explain why many Christians struggle with living the Christian life after conversion, when their new salvation needs time to find help and hope through the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work.

Called to Be Salt

5th January 2025
Being salt of the earth is not about doing good works or creating Christian institutions - it is about who we are in Christ. When believers embrace their God-given distinctiveness rather than trying to blend in with the world, even a small percentage can transform their community. The Lord calls His people to promote what is good and resist what is evil, not by starting programmes, but by living openly as those who belong to Him. Just as salt in Jesus' time both fertilised good growth and prevented corruption, Christians are meant to stand out and influence society through their different way of thinking and living.

Joseph’s Silent Obedience

25th December 2024
The birth of any child reveals the miracle of God's creation, but the birth of Jesus Christ uniquely bridges Heaven and Earth. Through Joseph's eyes, we see the extraordinary responsibility of raising One who was both fully human and fully Divine. The humility of Christ's birth in a manger foreshadows His ultimate purpose - to become the perfect sacrifice for humanity's salvation. This same Jesus, who began His earthly journey as a helpless infant, now reigns as King of Kings, watching over us until His return.

The Lion King and Christmas

22nd December 2024
The Kingdom of God operates as a divine monarchy, not a republic. While God the Father maintains His rule from Heaven, He established His Kingdom on Earth through Christ's birth into the royal line of David. This truth appears even in modern children's stories like The Blood of the King, which mirrors the Christmas narrative of royal lineage. The Church flourishes when it embraces this monarchical structure, recognising Jesus as its sole ruler rather than operating by democratic principles. Through Christmas, God demonstrated that He not only rules from above but comes near to His people.

Understanding the Trinity

15th December 2024
The doctrine of the Trinity - One God in three Persons - is not merely an abstract theological concept but also shapes how we experience the Christian life. While we often begin our faith journey speaking generally about "God," we come to know Him more fully through the distinct yet unified work of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father receives our prayers, the Son makes these prayers possible through His sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit applies God's power and presence in our daily walk. Though challenging to fully grasp, this three-in-one nature of God is central to authentic Christian faith and practice.

The Monarchy of Christ

15th December 2024
The Kingdom of God operates as a Divine monarchy with Jesus Christ as King. This spiritual Kingdom, foreshadowed in earthly constitutional monarchies, requires our willing submission as subjects. Matthew's Gospel traces Jesus' royal lineage through Abraham and King David, establishing His legitimate claim to the throne. Just as earthly monarchies provide stability through proper authority, true spiritual stability comes only through accepting Christ's Lordship and receiving His forgiveness for our rebellion against His rightful rule.

The Missing Key

1st December 2024
The Church, particularly in the West, seems to have lost the key to how discipleship is achieved. The true meaning of discipleship has been misunderstood many times in church history, particularly in understanding the Great Commission. While some believe discipleship and evangelism are separate activities, the original Greek text reveals that making disciples happens through preaching the Gospel taught with depth and substance. The power of transformation comes not because of programmes and human genius, but through the power of the Gospel itself - this is the real 'missing key' that Jesus gave His church. Just as a missing key contributed to the Titanic's fate, having the wrong interpretation of discipleship can lead the Church astray from its primary mission.
The path to genuine Christianity is through a narrow gate that few find, not because it is physically restrictive, but because it demands costly commitment. Many religious activities and outward displays of faith—even miraculous gifts and prophecies—cannot substitute for true knowledge of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit's work of conviction and call for genuine repentance marks the difference between authentic faith and mere religious observance. Without this deeper work, one's spiritual house, though impressive on the surface, may collapse when tested by life's storms or the final judgment.
Making disciples is not separate from preaching the Gospel - they are one and the same process. The evidence from Matthew and Mark's Great Commission accounts reveals that genuine discipleship occurs through deep, sustained exposure to Gospel truth rather than through a shallow initial conversion followed by different teaching. When churches focus on teaching the Gospel thoroughly and repeatedly, rather than seeing it merely as an entry point, their converts are far more likely to remain strong in their faith. This understanding shaped the early Church's approach and remains the Biblical pattern for creating lasting disciples.

The Narrow Gate of Discipleship

17th November 2024
The Christian life was never meant to be an easy path needing only minimal commitment. Jesus taught that the gate to true discipleship is narrow, and few find it. While salvation is freely given through Christ's work on the cross, and not based on one's own good works, it leads nonetheless to rigorous training and transformation resulting in upright living. Many churches today have widened the entrance to attract the crowds, but this compromises the deep discipleship that Jesus and the Apostles established which is aimed to produce righteous living. The Lord's design involves both grace for salvation and training for godly living—a narrow but life-giving path that produces lasting spiritual fruit.

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