"Understanding Salvation Now That I'm Getting Married"

Ephesians 5:31-32 (NKJV) 

³¹ "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."

Ephesians 5:32 (NKJV)
³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

What's that noise I hear?

Dum... Dum... Da... Dum... Dum... Dum... Da... Dum

     It sounds like a wedding is taking place. And I'm excited because I get to participate in this one, and it's a pretty big deal. May 11, 2013 I'm getting married to my best friend and love of my life Sydney Brooke Lindsay... Some of you know her as the girl with the three first names, though I'll be changing that.

     Notice how when I tried to create the sound of the wedding music via typing I put "dum" not to be confused with "dumb." I say that because I've often wondered throughout my life who I would marry. And I would listen to those preachers who would say to pray for your future spouse and I did that. At the time I did not know who Sydney was, only briefly saw her at camp. Sadly though she remembers me, but I didn't  remember her, overall the good thing is I didn't do anything when I was 16 to mess up the relationship with the girl who would end up being my future wife. Was I dumb? I think not! =)

     Since I've been engaged I've some what changed my approach to how I witness. It's very important when you witness that you share the gospel first, because it happens to be the good news about what the person you are sharing has done for not only you, but everyone. After sharing the gospel I walk the person through the plan of salvation which can be found in Acts 2:38.

    Now many people have been exposed to some sort of Christianity especially here in the U.S., but we can't just assume they know the gospel, WE MUST SHARE IT! While many people will understand and even accept the fact that they need to KNOW Jesus, must CONFESS Jesus, and REPENT of their sins, many get caught up on why they must be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. This is mostly due to the fact that somewhere down the line they were exposed to some sort of Christianity. I used to explain and still do that not only is this a command of the Lord which is important, but that we can relate to the death (repentance), burial (baptism), and resurrection (infilling of the Holy Ghost) of the Lord Jesus when we obey Acts 2:38.

     My new approach since I'm about to be married has come from the stand point of the church being the Bride of Christ. For example my sister Charity understood the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus because we were raised Church of Christ and because Mel Gibson made a movie showing the suffering and death of the Lord and how He resurrected in the end. But when I explained to her that Acts 2:38 can be seen as a marriage it really caught her attention. Three years ago I had the honor of officiating her wedding and the following year baptizing her and two of my nieces (one being her daughter). So when I explained that repentance is when we set our sights on Jesus and turn from others, that baptism was when we take on his name (just like she took her husbands name), and the Holy Ghost is where a person and the Lord become one because His Spirit dwells inside of you she got excited. I told her that's why the church is known as the Bride of Christ and that's why we are excited about the Lord's return.

     I've found that when I can relate personal experiences with the gospel that it's much more easier for the person to understand exactly what the Lord did for us over 2,000 years ago. Remember that the Apostle Paul did this when he spoke of the "Unknown God."

Ephesians 5:23 (NKJV)
²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

Ephesians 5:25-27 (NKJV)
²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:31-32 (NKJV)
³¹ "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
³² This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.