THE LAST TWO
SOUL-SAVING LESSONS
ARE NOW AVAILABLE

"The Joy of Salvation"
"What Is Your Life?"

In his lesson on "The Joy of Salvation," Ben Bailey begins the discussion by asking two questions: "What makes salvation a joy?"; and "What makes being a Christian a joy in this life?" As he answers those questions, he provides a comprehensive list of some of the things associated with being a Christian that, by all accounts, ought to bring every Christian immense joy. For example, Ben mentions the following items:

• The redemption we have in Jesus Christ should give us great joy. To use Ben's exact words, "Before we became Christians, Satan had us in a stranglehold. We were under the condemnation of sin and death. But through Jesus we have been bought back to God."
• Christianity also should bring us joy because there is "no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). Condemnation is not something about which the child of God has to worry.
• Christians have the joy of knowing that they have attained victory in Jesus Christ. Christians are not going to lose the battle of life.
• Christians get a second chance in this life. All of us, at one time or another, have made mistakes. We have all done things that are wrong. As Christians, we get to start over again. As children of God, however, we get to "begin again" and make a fresh start.
• As children of God, we have "every spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ" (Eph. 1:3). What a wonderful privilege it is to know that we not only have been given the tools to help us defeat the devil, but that we also have been given spiritual blessings in this life that can help us get to Heaven.
• Another blessing that Christians possess, and that makes salvation such a joy, is the forgiveness that we receive in this life. The sins that we once committed, we no longer have to bear. Sin is indeed a heavy burden, as the psalmist said in Psalm 38:4 when he wrote, "My iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me." We cannot bear our sins alone. The guilt, the consequences, and the heartbreak that they bring are unbearable. But the joy of being Christians is that we do not have to bear those things alone because we have forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Ben ends this lesson with two things: (1) a plea for those people who are not Christians to become Christians so that they, too, can experience the same joy that Christians do on a daily basis; and (2) an acknowledgment of what the New Testament says a person must do in order to become a Christian.

This lesson by Ben is a very upbeat and uplifting presentation that can serve to strengthen the faith of the Christian or help convert a non-Christian. In fact, it was designed to do exactly those two things.

In his lesson on "What Is Your Life?," Ben begins by asking a series of questions: "What is your life? What is life all about? What is the basic purpose and meaning of life? Why are we here on this Earth? What goals do we have? What accomplishments do we plan on making?" He then quotes James 4:14 where the inspired writer asked, "What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." Using the brevity of life as his springboard, Ben discusses the fact that life is neither an "evolutionary accident" nor a "game" of some sort. Rather, this life represents a "probationary period" for each of us as we make our preparations for eternity. As the writer of Ecclesiastes put it, "He has made everything beautiful in its time, and He has put eternity in their hearts" (3:11).

Expanding on this concept, Ben moves forward quickly in his lesson to point out how important it is for every person to understand that life is not, as some have suggested, "an adventure in humanism." As Ben puts it, "Many people on this planet think that life is all about humans. It's 'all about us,' and everything we do should somehow promote the human race. This is the idea that 'whatever the majority says' is the way it should be." But, as Moses was quick to point out in Exodus 23:2, "You shall not follow a crowd to do evil." The simple fact is that, more often than not, "the majority" is wrong. Truth has never been decided by majority opinion or popular vote. As Jesus remarked in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." It is God's Word that is the standard, not some "imagined" standard that humans may wish to dream up. As Ben correctly points out, following humanism to its logical conclusion can lead only to a life of misery. True joy and happiness can be found only in recognizing that God is our Creator, and by understanding that we must (to use the words of the writer of Ecclesiastes once more), "fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man" (12:13).

In this context, Ben notes: "Life is not a pleasure-seeker's paradise. That is not what life is all about. We are not here to fulfill pleasures. We are not here to fulfill our own lusts or the lusts of others." This assessment, of course, is based on the text of 1 John 2:15-17, where the apostle wrote: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." As Ben observes, "There is a group of people—Christians—that has a higher calling. They realize that life is worth living, and they also realize that life is not just about them." It is this "higher calling" to which God says that we must aspire (and to which Ben points us in his discussion).

As Ben closes out his presentation, he reminds us to think about Jesus' two questions in Mark 8:36-37—"What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" The Scriptures are clear that there is indeed a Day of Judgment awaiting every human (Jn. 12:48). It therefore behooves each of us to prepare for that Great Day. And the best way to do that is to correctly answer the question, "What Is Your Life?"

We invite you to preview each of these new lessons in our second "Soul-Saving Series." You will find them available on our Website in video, audio, and written transcript formats.

Have you ever been sitting in the easy chair in your living room watching the television, when suddenly there is an interruption in the regularly scheduled programming and the person who appears on the screen says, "Please stay tuned for important breaking news"? It's fairly difficult to grab the remote control and change the channel after that happens, isn't it?

Well, you're about to experience the same thing once more—except this time it's coming to you via e-mail instead of on your television. All we're going to say here is: "Please stay tuned for important breaking news." [Oh, all right. We'll go ahead and give you a hint. In our next newsletter, we are going to be announcing the placement on our Website of the first lessons in a series devoted entirely to evangelism. But that's all you're getting out of us. No. Really. We mean it. That's all. So whatever you do, don't shut down your e-mail account between now and the arrival of our next e-newsletter. We would hate for you to miss "the big announcement" about the first two lessons in this fascinating series.]