Sometimes it helps to summarize a subject. Here is one way the gospel can be seen “in a nutshell”: (1) life and death (the problem), (2) death and life (the solution), and (3) dying with Christ (our response to God’s solution. Have you “died with Christ”?
(1) Why become a Christian? (2) How does one become a Christian? (3) What about the issue of “church”? All three of these questions are important. And for all three, we need accurate answers — from the Scriptures rather than personal opinion or popular belief.
If we are serious about Jesus today, we should want to know what He said about His purpose, so that if we come to Him at all, we will come seeking the things that were closest to the heart of His mission in the world. Here are three things worthy of our highest seeking.
Is our salvation conditioned upon anything that we must do? What happens if we disregard what the Scriptures reveal of God’s will? These questions concerning “obedience” are important, and answering them requires an honest inquiry into the Scriptures.
God has never — in any age of the world — left people without any standard which must be adhered to, in both belief and practice. So “restoration” means (a) being reminded of the standard, and (b) making constant efforts to bring things back in line with it.
