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If you have not yet done so already, seal your decision to follow Jesus by getting baptized in water. Ask a fellow believer to baptize you with the following words:
'In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, I baptize you into the name of the Lord Jesus, into His death, burial, and resurrection.'
Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit (if you have not yet realized that you are born again!) The evidence that you are born again is that you come forth with spontaneous 'spiritual' speech, praising & glorifying God from deep joy, either in your own language or other tongues. Such speech includes the cries 'Jesus is Lord!' or 'Father!'
2. "Way of Life"
Involves reading the "Letters to the churches for their encouragement & building up in the faith"
· Ephesians & Philippians for an understanding of your identity in Christ, plus Romans 1-8.
· Luke & Acts as a prelude to studying Colossians, Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, for an understanding of life lead by the Holy Spirit and not just by our bodily desires and not legalistically.
3. "Discovery & use of Gifts"
Involves reading the "Personal letters to leaders"
· In the context of seeking advice from other Christians who know you, and whilst being aware of the desires of your heart, your established abilities, your personality and your experience, study Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Peter 4 (here we find lists of spiritual gifts) and ask God to reveal to you what gifts you have.
· Then study 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon putting yourself in the shoes of the recipients of those letters and discern how one should exercise the gift one has received.
4. "Faithful in opposition; Future Glory"
Involves reading the letters which concern "Surviving attack from within and without (Within: heresy and false doctrine in the church; Without: violent persecution from non-believers)"
· John as a prelude to studying Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1 & 2 & 3 John, Jude, Revelation, for an understanding that Jesus alone is the Messiah, and that He really is all sufficient, and that we should never swerve away from Him, and that truly in Him we know what God is like!
Expect to discover that though Christian living will bring opposition from other people, we have no need to fear, for God has great things in store!
5. "The Big Picture"
Involves reading again the "Personal letters to leaders"
· Matthew as prelude to 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, then followed by Romans, putting yourself in the shoes of the writer and the recipients, so that as witnesses, evangelists, and leaders, we know the right use of the law, what the Christian life is, and how / how not to teach and lead in the above.
(Note: the above provides a way of systematically reading the New Testament in order to help you foundationally "cover all the bases" of Christian living. Expect to find much more in your reading that will bless you!)
Whilst having divided the New Testament (NT) up in such a fashion, let me say that I believe all the elements of the six steps can be found in the four Gospels, since Jesus' life necessarily encompassed all these things. He taught concerning the Kingdom of God, He lived it out in practice, and made it possible for us to be a part of this Kingdom through His death and resurrection. We are called to emulate all these things - teach, live, even sacrifice ourselves for others that they may enter the Kingdom - and the rest of the NT is basically extrapolation or application to new converts around the world of all Jesus said and did!
(I also sense that in Romans, a systematic exposition of the gospel, we also have all of the six steps; A being in chapters 1-11, and B,C,D,E,F being in chapters 12-16.)
Furthermore, the Gospels are what the whole Old Testament (OT) always looked forward to, always talked about, and always were pregnant with in its narratives, teaching, and prophecies. Thus the OT is never redundant, and always provides for us rich background and never redundant information for living the Christian life. Thus I suggest a few ways to study and read the OT:
a) in the above curriculum, whenever NT passages refer back to or may be 'similarly found' in OT sections, these sections should be read and studied in their OT context, and then full riches will be abundantly added to you in your faith! (especially when the same themes exist).
b) when reading the OT, note and absorb the following things:
· the nature of God
· the nature of humanity
· the nature of world history, the cosmos, the spiritual realm
· the nature of how God deals with & relates to mankind.
· the nature of the People of God, in times of obedience and disobedience
· the nature of the future
· the nature of the Messiah & His Kingdom
· the nature of the People of God in the Messianic Kingdom
· God's righteousness (tseddeq), justice (mishpat) and covenant faithfulness (hesed), the three of which produce shalom.
May God bless your journey into the Christian life!
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the person who takes refuge in Him" (Psalm 34:8).
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