The Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ

The mission of the church was given by Jesus Christ himself directly to His disciples.

This commandment, given by Jesus, is sometimes referred to as "The Great Commission". It can be found in the New Testament in Matthew 28:19-20 and reads like this (NIV):

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.

"What must I do to be saved?"

I am glad you asked...
Before we begin a discussion of how to be saved, let's see if we can discover why it is necessary in the first place.

In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we find the story of the creation. I will give a brief synopsis here, however you can find the whole story in Genesis Chapter 1.
When God began, the earth was "void and without form", covered with water. God created light, an atmosphere, and dry land. The land, he caused to produce vegetation of all kinds, he placed the stars and the moon in the heavens, and created all manner of life in the oceans, as well as birds of all kinds. He then created animal life upon the dry land. These things were done by His simply speaking these things into existance.

All that God had done to this point was done to prepare a place for His greatest, and most special creation. Unlike His previously discussed creations, this one, he formed with His hand. For His next creation, He did something else He had not done for any of the other creatoins. He gave him a living soul. Read Genesis 2:7

The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

God placed this special creation in a beautiful garden (the Garden of Eden). God told Adam that he was to tend the garden and could eat any of the fruit except the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam that to eat of this fruit would mean death. In Genesis 2:16 & 17 we find this:

And the LORD God Commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die

Adam and Eve (you will find the story of how Eve was created in the book of Genesis, as well) were happy in the Garden, and tended it. One day, Eve was tempted by a serpent (Satan) to break God's law and eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Read Genesis 3:1-6) Adam and Eve broke God's law, and were cast out of the beautiful garden.

The living soul (breath of life) was dead. This "breath of life" was an essential part of our makeup as human beings. It was necessary for us to commune with God. Once that unity with God was broken (by sin), every person born since that time, has been born with a void where the "breath of life" once resided. We (mankind) have all sinned against God and broken his law. Romans 3:23 says:

...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. God had created man in His own image. We are His special creation. God made a way for us to reconcile ourselves to Him. The penalty for sin is death. In Romans 6:23 we can read: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the old testament, sacrifices were made for the sins of the people. Jesus Christ, God's son, was born as a human, and lived a life totally without sin. Jesus Christ became the sacrificial Lamb of God. He died on a Roman cross in order to pay the death penalty for our sins. This is still not the end of the story. Three days after his death on the cross, Jesus was raised from the dead. Read what Acts 5:30-31 says:

The God of our Fathers raised Jesus from the dead-whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Isreal.

His resurrection makes it possible for Him to be a bridge between man and God. There is no way to get to God, except through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 says it this way:

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus' death paid for our sins, but his resurrection makes it possible for him to bridge the gap between a holy God and sinful man. The "Who" spoken of in Romans 4:25 is Jesus Christ. Read it here:

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

All that is required of you to recieve this free gift of salvation is to admit your need for him, express sorrow for your sins by repenting (turning away from your sins), place your faith in Jesus Christ and invite Him into your life. If you do not know what to say, you can say something like this:

"Dear Heavenly Father, I know that you love me and sent your Son, Jesus, to die in my place. I am sorry for my sin and ask for your forgiveness. I now invite Jesus into my life to be my Savior and Lord. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

If you prayed that prayer as a genuine desire of your heart, Jesus is now your Personal Savior. Your next step is to tell someone about your decision. You may send us an EMAIL to let us know of your decision. You will, also, want to find a church home, where the Word of God (the Bible) is preached. You can start your search HERE for a good church. A good, Bible preaching church is ESSENTIAL to your continued growth as a Christian.

May God's richest blessings be yours...Butch

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