“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”
Matthew 7:24-26
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 3:11-12
We talk a lot about building our homes, our marriages, our families upon “a sure foundation”, but some of our readers may wonder what “foundation” we mean. We are using this analogy to describe the fact that our faith in Jesus Christ is the bedrock of our lives. Our choices, our motives, our decisions, our thoughts, our words, our actions are all ultimately based upon our relationship to Him. He is our reason for living.
We want our marriage to reflect the selfless, sacrificial love Jesus has for His Church. We want our interactions with our children to model our Heavenly Father’s tender, patient care over us. We want the fruit of the Holy Spirit — His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control — to be evident in our lives to everyone around us. We want to bear witness to the fact that it is possible to have a soul-satisfying, intimately personal relationship to Almighty God — not as a result of anything we have done, but solely through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
The good news is that you can know Him, too. So put your faith and trust in Him today, and affirm with us the truth of His Holy Word:
- John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
- Romans 5:8 — “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Romans 3:23-24 — “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….”
- Romans 6:23 — “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 — “He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we may be made the righteousness of God through Him.”
- Romans 10:9-10 — “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
- Romans 10:13 — “…for Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Whether you are new to the faith or have been a Christian for years, we encourage you to build upon that foundation through daily Bible study and prayer. Immerse yourself in Scripture. The Gospel of John is a good place to start. You may download the gospel of John for free by clicking here. Pray that God will give you a heart to understand and apply all you read. He promises to give wisdom to all who ask (James 1:5).
EXCELLENT explanation, Jennifer! Especially the wedding ring analogy.
Thanks, Janet. My pastor used a similar analogy the same week that question came in. God’s timing is perfect!
Acts 2:38
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Mark 16:15-16
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
1 Peter 3:21
corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
I agree that baptism is very important, Becky. However, I do not believe it is the source of salvation, but rather a symbol that salvation has taken place. I view it like I view my wedding ring. I am married not because I wear a ring on my finger, but because I made a covenant with my husband. The ring is a symbol of that covenant, and I wear it so the world will know about the marriage vows I made to him before God.
If for some reason I could not wear the ring — say I lost both hands in a car accident — I would be no less married. But as long as I have a finger to wear it on, you will find my wedding band there. With the exception of two times when the diamond fell out and I had to leave it at the jeweler’s to be reset, I never take it off.
In the same way, if something makes it impossible for a person to be baptized — say he’s hanging next to Jesus on a cross when he comes to faith and dies without being immersed in water — that doesn’t mean he can’t be saved. That’s why Jesus told the repentant-yet-unbaptised thief, “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.”
Nevertheless, we are commanded to follow the Lord in baptism, and to be obedient to Him, that is what we should do if at all possible. If someone claims to be a believer yet refuses to be baptized though no compelling reason exists that would prevent his doing so, I would question his commitment in the same way I might question the commitment of a married man who refuses to wear his wedding ring when he is away from home on business trips. Is he ashamed of that relationship? What is he trying to hide?
WOW! Excellent explanation for purpose of baptism! Very well said!
Congrats for the wonderful path God is leading your family, and also for your wish to encourage others to seek God’s will in His Word!!
I shared your ‘Age-appropriate chores…’ in my blog, and there I put some stuff that also talks about the Gospel > Got S Questions?