GOD   AND   FAITH

            Kombelani looked at Kuvoni and said, “You Christians believe in God. How can you believe in something you cannot see?”

            Kuvoni pointed to Kombelani’s smart new Italian shoes and asked, “Who made your shoes?”

            “Some person in a factory,” replied Kombelani.

            “Have you ever seen that person?” asked Kuvoni. “Yet you believe in him – you even believe he is an Italian!” After a short silence Kuvoni added, “Kombelani, look at your body – your hands, your feet, your mind! Who made it? Could it have just happened? Were your ancestors just apes who evolved into humans?”

            Kombelani stood up and exclaimed, “Do you think I come from an animal?”

            “Then who made you?” demanded Kuvoni.

            “Some great all-knowing person,” Kombelani replied.

            “YES! Exactly!”exclaimed Kuvoni.

            Kombelani thought deeply. “Because of his work, I can believe in my shoemaker – and even know some things about him. Yes! By God’s work, I can believe in my Creator – and even know some things about Him!”

            “He is your God!” said Kuvoni.

            “Your God and my God!” cried Kombelani.

            “Some day...” began Kuvoni.

            Kombelani put his hand over Kuvoni’s mouth and said, “Not so fast my good friend. Give me time!”

            Kuvoni reached into his pocket for his little Bible. Kombelani thought about how always in the past he felt uncomfortable when he saw his friend with his Bible. Now he felt OK with it.

            Kuvoni turned to the middle of his Bible and read, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” (Ps.19:1) Then he flipped to the beginning of his Bible and read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...” (Gen.1:26).

            A bell rang. Lunch time was over. It was time to get back to work. Kombelani grabbed his friend’s hand and shook it warmly. “Thank you, Kuvoni! With your help and these words from the Bible, I now have faith. I believe!”

JESUS   AND   FAITH

            Kombelani had a lot to think about that evening as he walked home from work. He could understand how there must be a very powerful God who made everything – but who was Jesus?

            At lunch the next day, Kuvoni spoke to him. “You say you would like to hear how Jesus fits in with belief in God.”

            “Yes, I am confused by this strange talk of Three, but One.” said Kombelani.

            “Well, let’s go back to the beginning, before anything we see was made. Remember that verse I read yesterday – ‘Let Us make man in Our image?’ When you say, ‘Let us do something,’ you are talking to other people – not just yourself. So who do you think God was talking to when He said, ‘Let Us make man?’ If we read the Bible, we see that there are Three who were present when God made everything – God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. These Three, working together, are the Ones who made us. All Three are known as God because all Three are Creators and all-powerful.  Since They were not created, They have always existed.”

            “But still I am not clear,” said Kombelani. “How can Three be One?”

            Kuvoni looked at his friend and smiled. “You have a great family, Kombelani. You and your wife have been married 15 years. You have three resepectful, obedient children – and you are rightly proud of them! So many fail to have obedient children. How did you manage to achieve that?”

            “Well,” said Kombelani, “My wife and I worked as a team. When I was a young man playing soccer, I learned that teamwork was very important....” Kombelani started to say more, but suddenly stopped. His face displayed understanding. “Yes, I see! My wife and I were united in how we handled the children. If a child was disrespectful to my wife, then I treated the child as though he were disrespectful to me. Yes, my wife and I are two in one. So in that way, I can see that God can be Three in One – a team working together to make everything we see.”

            As he had done the day before, Kuvoni pulled His Bible out of his pocket, and turned to the first page. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Then he turned to the New Testament and read, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds...” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

            “You have opened my understanding so much!” cried Kombelani. “But the more I understand, the more questions I have! How can Jesus be the SON of God if He always existed and helped God create everything? Was He born to God at some time before the world began? And who was His mother?”

            “That is an excellent question, my friend!” As Kuvoni turned the pages in his Bible he said, “God wanted to reveal Himself to us and to show us how to live so that we could be saved. So He made a plan to send Jesus to earth. When the time was right, God sent an angel to a pure virgin named Mary to tell her that she was going to have a son.” Kuvoni began to read, “Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:34-35)

            “You see,”added Kuvoni, “Jesus is called the Son of God because when He came to earth, He was conceived through the power of God instead of in the ordinary way. But He always existed – even before He came to earth.”

            “I understand what you are saying, but it is a lot to think about!” said Kombelani. “How can you know that everything you read in the Bible is true?”

            “Think about it,” Kuvoni said as the lunch bell rang, “and we will talk again tomorrow!”

THE   BIBLE   AND   FAITH

            The next day at lunch break, Kombelani found Kuvoni reading his Bible under a tree. “You are always reading your Bible,” said Kombelani. “But how do you know that everything the Bible says is true?”

            “Sit down, my friend, “said Kuvoni. “That is a very good question. Coming to believe in the BIble is very much like coming to believe in God. Why is it that you now believe in God?”

            “By the things I see around me. Like you read the other day,’The heavens declare the glory of God,’” answered Kombelani.

            “Exactly,” said Kuvoni. “When we look at the world, we see many things that tell us it was created by God. So, too, when we look at the Bible, we can see many things about it that show us that it comes from God. First of all, the Bible was written by about 40 different men over a period of 1600 years. The Bible claims that these men did not write down their own words, but words that they got directly from God. If that claim is true, would you expect the 40 different men to agree with each other, or would they contradict each other?”

            “Well, if there was just one author, especially if that author is God, then the whole Bible should have the same message,” answered Kombelani.

            “Right,”said Kuvoni. “Many men have tried to find mistakes in the Bible - like where one book in the Bible would say one thing about God, and another book would say something completely different. But no one can find a single mistake like that. Now, Kombelani, let me ask you something else. If GOD wrote the Bible, would it have any mistakes of any kind? – mistakes like saying a certain person was a king, but he really wasn’t? –  or a mistake like saying the earth is flat when it really is round?”

            “No,” said Kombelani. “If God truly wrote the Bible, then everything it says must be true. If there is just one mistake, then it would prove that God didn’t write it.”

            “It’s hard to imagine,” said Kuvoni, “but many men have spent their whole lives digging up old cities, finding their histories written on clay tablets or on stone, and figuring out how to read those old languages. Some of the men do this because they want to show that the Bible has made a mistake. But every time, the history that they find agrees with the history written in the Bible.”

            “That’s amazing!” exclaimed Kombelani.

            “Yes, but it gets even more amazing!” answered Kuvoni. “About 400 years ago scientists used to believe many wrong things – for example they believed that the earth was flat. But thousands of years ago, Job said that God sits above the circle of the earth. (Job 26:7) How could Job know that – unless God told him? About 150 years ago, a man by the name of Matthew Maurey was lying sick in bed and his son was reading the Psalms to him. In Psalms 8:8 the Bible says that the birds of the air and the fish of the sea go through paths. Because Maurey believed the Bible was written by God and must be true, he determined to find these paths – and he did! The sea currents and the air currents that he discovered are still used by ships and planes today – because they can use these paths to go much faster and use less fuel.  And there are many other scientific discoveries that were made because people believed in the Bible.”

            “I am so surprised!” exclaimed Kombelani. “I always thought that scientists did not believe in the Bible.”

            “Some scientists do not. They are always trying to prove the Bible wrong. They may believe in evolution, but they have never proved it. As a matter of fact, the latest scientific discoveries have caused many scientists to stop believing in evolution and start believing in God!  However, I have left the most amazing thing about the Bible until last. The Bible is full of prophecies that have come true. For example, Isaiah said (13:20) that the great city Babylon would be destroyed and would never be rebuilt. Alexander the Great conquered the world in three years and wanted to rebuild Babylon, but he died. Even in our times, Saddam Hussein said he was going to rebuild it, but that also came to nothing. The most amazing prophecies of all are the prophecies about Jesus. Prophets who lived hundreds of years before Jesus told the people where he would be born (Micah 5:2), that He would die by crucifixion (Zech.12:10), that He would rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10), and many other prophecies! Then when Jesus came, everyone who had read about Him could believe in Him. Every single prophecy in the Bible has come true except those that are still to happen in the future.”

            “I never realized all these wonderful things before,” exclaimed Kombelani. “I guess I just thought the Bible was like any other book. Now I can see that it truly must be the word of God!”

            “Would you like to get to know this Book better?” asked Kuvoni.

            “For SURE!” exclaimed Kombelani.

TEAMWORK   AND   FAITH

          Kombelani could not wait for lunch time to find out what he would learn that day. “I notice that you always pray silently before you eat,” he said to Kuvoni. “Today will you pray out loud for both of us? Now that I am beginning to understand just how wonderful and powerful God is, I can see that I need to thank Him for every good thing that I have.”

          Kuvoni was deeply stirred by his friend’s request. After the prayer, Kuvoni said, “Kombelani, the other day you spoke about how you and your wife were like a team. Now that you believe the Bible, would you like to see what the Bible says about how God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit work together?”

          “Yes, that really sounds interesting,” replied Kombelani.

          “Let’s read from the book of Ephesians, chapter 1, beginning at verse 3. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...’  Who does this verse say is the first One to be blessed?”

          “It’s God the Father,” replied Kombelani.

          “Good! And who else is blessed?”

          “We are!” correctly replied Kombelani.

          “Now, where must we be if we want to be blessed?” asked Kuvoni.

          “In the heavenly places in Christ....but I don’t really understand what that means.”

          “You will understand more about heavenly places as you grow in the knowledge of the Bible,” said Kuvoni, “But for now can you see that being ‘in Christ’ is like being on Christ’s team? We need to be on Christ’s team if we want God the Father to bless us  – because if we are not on Christ’s team, we are on the opposition team – the team of Satan!”

          “Yes, that makes sense. I can see that God would not want to bless those who are opposed to His Son!”

          “Right! Now let’s read verse 4: ‘Just as He [that’s God the Father] chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.’”

After reading the passage, Kuvoni asked Kombelani, “When did the Father chose for us to be in Christ? When did He make that plan?”

          Kombelani had to read the verse again carefully to answer the question. “Oh! Before the foundation of the world!”

          “Yes,” said Kuvoni. “Before God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image,’ He already had made a plan to have us on Christ’s team! But He did not work alone. Read verse 7.”

          Kombelani read, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Then He said, “Oh, I see. Jesus had to die on the cross to save us.”

          “That’s right,” said Kuvoni. “The teamwork of God is very much like the teamwork of you and your wife. You and your wife have a common goal – you want to raise your children to have a good education so they can be good providers of their families one day. So your work in achieving this goal is to get a job and get the money for their education. Your wife’s work is to take care of the children’s daily needs and teach them how to respect their teachers. So you are one in your desire, but you each have different jobs. So God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one in Their desire to save us – and to have us together on Christ’s team – and to bless us! But they have different jobs. The job of the Father was to make the plan. And the job of Jesus was to die for us on the cross to pay for our sins.”

          “So simple, so clear,” exclaimed Kombelani. “But what is the work of the Holy Spirit?”

          “Tomorrow, my friend...” promised Kuvoni.

THE   HOLY   SPIRIT   AND   FAITH

            “Look what I got!” exclaimed Kombelani. He held up a brand new Bible. “Yesterday when we got paid, the first thing I did is set aside money for a Bible. After all, it is more important to have God’s word than buying time on my cell phone.”

            “You have a good heart, my friend,” said Kuvoni. “And God will bless you for it! As a matter of fact, what you have done fits very well into what I want to speak about today – the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me start by asking you a question....”

            “You are always asking me questions!” interrupted Kombelani.

            “Yes, that’s to make you think! Think about this question. Would Jesus’ death on the cross help you in any way if you didn’t know anything about it?”

            Kombelani thought. “Well, if I didn’t know about Jesus, then I wouldn’t be able to believe in Him and that He died for me. So I would be not be able to go to heaven.”

            “Right!” said Kuvoni. “Now let me help you find Ephesians chapter 1 in your Bible. Remember, yesterday we read verses 3,4, and 7. And we learned about the work of the Father and the Son. Now read verse 9.”

            “Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.” read Kombelani.

            Kuvoni spoke. “You see, as long as God did not reveal His will to us, it was a mystery. A mystery is something that is hidden. It was hidden from us because we cannot see into the mind of God. We could know that there IS a God by the things that He made. But we could not know what God expects of us so that we can go to heaven unless God made that known to us. Now look on the next page of your Bible to see what God says about this mystery. Read chapter 3:1-5.”

            “1. For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles – 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets:”

            “To make this verse easier for you to understand,” said Kuvoni, “I am going to draw a chart for you.” Kuvoni took a stick and began to draw in the dirt. “Look in verse 2 to see where Paul talks about the grace of God. Grace is a gift we don’t deserve. Remember, yesterday we saw that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all worked as a team to give us the gift of salvation – a gift we do not deserve! However, God’s grace was a mystery to all the people. They didn’t know about it. So when Jesus Christ came to earth to die for our sins, He preached to the people. He began to reveal that mystery – that plan of God to save us. After Jesus went back to heaven, He gave the message of God to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit revealed the message to the apostles like Paul and other prophets. They wrote down what the Holy Spirit told them about God’s plan to save us. Now where do you think they wrote it?”

            “OH! Now I see! They must have written it in the Bible!” exclaimed Kombelani.

            “Yes, the Bible is the special work of the Holy Spirit. It was his work to reveal the plan of God to the apostles and prophets, word by word, so they could write it down. Many people have worked hard through the years to make accurate copies of what the apostles wrote so we could be sure we have the exact message the Holy Spirit gave. By reading the Bible, a special gift from the Holy Spirit, we can be sure that we know everything God wants us to know about His wonderful gift – His plan to save us. We also find out what to do to receive God’s gift of salvation. I am so happy for you, Kombelani, that you now have your very own copy of this wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit!”

            “I have always wondered how we got the Bible,” said Kombelani. “Now that I understand, I will take special care of it and read it every day!”

WHAT   IS   FAITH?

           “I am so happy and excited to be learning so much,” said Kombelani. “I give thanks to God for you, my friend.”

          “I am happy too,” said Kuvoni. “But I think it is time now for me to ask you a very serious question. “If you were to die today, do you think you would go to heaven?”

          “Oh, yes!” replied Kombelani. “That is why I am so happy. I do remember the verse my grandmother taught me – John 3:16. ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ Now that you have helped me to have faith in Jesus, I believe I will go to heaven when I die.”

          “That is a wonderful verse,” said Kuvoni. “But before we talk about what that verse means, I want to ask you something else. Do you have a good doctor that you have a lot of faith in?”

          “Yes, certainly! He once saved our son’s life,” answered Kombelani.

          “That’s great! But if you suddenly became very sick, would you just lie in your bed with great belief in your doctor and expect to get better?”

          “Oh, no, my wife would get afer me! She would hound me until I made an appointment to see him. Then she would make sure I did exactly what he said.....oh....yes, now I see! To believe in Jesus means to do exactly what He says – to obey Him in everything.”

          Kuvoni reached over and shook his friend’s hand. “Kombelani, with that understanding, it will be easy for you to understand many other Bible teachings. For example...” Kuvoni pulled his Bible out of his pocket and turned to James 2:19.  “...this verse says that the demons believe - and tremble! Why do they tremble if they believe? Because they do not obey. And now, Kombelani, read verse 21.”

          “‘Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?’”

          “Did your grandmother ever teach you the story about the great servant of God, Abraham? God tested his faith by asking him to sacrifice his only son on an altar - but God stopped him just as he was about to kill Isaac. And then God blessed him greatly because of his faith AND his works. Now read the conclusion James reaches about faith in verse 24.

          Kombelani read, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”

          Kuvoni said, “Now with this new insight you have about faith, what do you have to say?”

          “Just about all the religious people I know are wrong! They have been telling me that if I would just believe in Jesus, I would be saved. Since it is true that man is not saved by faith only, then....”

          “I think I know what you want to ask,” interrupted Kuvoni, “but before you ask that question, let me just give you one more verse to strengthen your conviction that faith alone does not save anyone – Matthew 7:21. ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” and I will declare to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”’”

          “What frightening verses! Even some religious people will not be saved! Now I see my question is more important than ever. Since it is true that man is not saved by faith only, then what must I still do to be saved?”

REPENTANCE   AND   FAITH

            Kuvoni looked at Komelani and said, “Now you are asking me questions! But I am glad you asked what to do to be saved, because your question is the most important question a person could ever ask. Your question tells me something important about you already – you can see that you have done wrong things – like perhaps sleeping with your wife before you married her or getting drunk or stealing or lying.”

            “Yes, I did use to drink quite heavily, but it was a terrible waste of money and it was harming my relationship with my wife, so I stopped. However, my younger brother still gets drunk from time to time and abuses his wife and children. I remind him of the pain and sorrow in our childhood home because of our father’s love of alcohol and the early grave it led him to. ‘No, no!’ he cries. ‘I don’t want to go the same way – I will stop!’  But the very next pay check he gets drunk again. I felt that since I had stopped drinking and I believed in Jesus, I was OK in the eyes of God – I felt it was really my brother who needed help!”

            Kuvoni said, “I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians 7:10 and read it. This Scripture will help your brother – and it will help you too.”

            Kombelani read, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” Kombelani thought for a minute. “I am not sure how this verse applies to us,” he said.

            “Well, think about your brother’s sorrow. In what way is it the sorrow of the world?”

            “I guess it means that his sorrow is just because he doesn’t like what happens when he gets drunk – just like the thief is sorry when he gets caught, but he is not sorry that he stole!”

            “Yes! And what about you – why did you stop drinking?”

            “Oh! My eyes have been opened! Even I myself, I stopped drinking – not because I was sorry I hurt God, but because I didn’t like what drinking did to myself. I have tried to be a good father and husband, but for many years I have been my own man. I have rejected God and ...” Kombelani’s eyes filled with tears.

            “The word of God has hope for you, my friend!” said Kuvoni. “Now, for the first time, because of your faith in God, you have godly sorrow. What does this verse say that godly sorrow produces?”

            Kombelani read the verse again. “Repentance – leading to salvation!” he exclaimed. “But I am not sure what the verse is saying.”

            “To have godly sorrow means that you are sorry for the pain you have caused God by your lack of faith in Him and just doing what you felt was right. This motivates you to repent. To repent means to change your mind about doing the things you want to do and determine to spend the rest of your life searching the word of God to find out what He wants. That is the true repentance that leads to salvation because when you really care about what God wants, then you will DO what God wants. That is the way to salvation.”

            “I do really care! I really care about what God wants! Can you help me?” asked Kombelani.

            “The Word of God will help you! But you have to be prepared to sacrifice. Just like Jesus sacrificed His life for you – now you must sacrifice your life for Him.” answered Kuvoni. “For example, what do you normally do on Sunday mornings?”

            “Well, that is the only day I can sleep late! And rest! And visit my family! And....oh! I see, I will need to sacrifice to get up early and get things taken care of so I can go to church.”

            “Exactly!” said Kuvoni. “I see you have truly repented and are willing to sacrifice to serve God. But remember, the verse you read said that repentance only leads to salvation. There still remains something very important you need to do in order to be saved – in order for you to get forgiveness for the sins you committed before you had faith in God.”

            “Well, there is nothing more important than salvation!” said Kombelani. “When I can speak to you again?”

            “How about tonight at my house?” suggested Kuvoni.

            “Yes! Thank you, my friend!”

BAPTISM   AND   FAITH

          “Welcome to our home, my friend,” said Kuvoni later that evening. “You have such a big smile on your face tonight!”

          “What you have taught me has lifted many burdens from my shoulders. And tonight I am so happy to think that I can finally learn what I need to know about salvation,” answered Kombelani.

          “Since you are speaking of happiness and salvation, I want you to know that the first four books of the New Testament are actually called ‘gospels.’  Do you know what the word ‘gospel’ means?” asked Kuvoni.

          “Does it have something to do with being happy?” asked Kombelani.

          “That’s very close! It actually means ‘good news.’ Hearing the good news about Jesus is what will make us happy,” replied Kuvoni. “1 Corinthians 15 tells us that the gospel is what saves us – so that is very good news indeed! Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 15 and see just what the gospel is. Kombelani, you can start reading in verse 1.”

          “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel, which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved....”

          “There, Kombelani! You see! What does the gospel do for us?”

          “It saves us!”

          “Great! Now start reading again from verse 2.”

          “By which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.”

          “Komelani, do you see anything about faith in that verse?” asked Kuvoni.

          “Yes, the verse says that the gospel saved them unless their belief was in vain,” answered Kombelani.

          “Remember, Kombelani, the verse that taught you that the devils believe – but their faith is vain? What kind of faith is vain?”

          “Oh, yes, Kuvoni. I remember. The devils aren’t saved because, although they believe,  they don’t obey!”

          “That’s right, my friend! You have learned well! In verses 3-4 we will see three things that we must believe – and we will see that we must also obey those same three things. Kombelani, please read verses 3-4.”

          “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

          “Kombelani, can you see three things that Christ did that you must believe?”

          “Yes, they are easy to see. 1. Christ died for our sins. 2. He was buried. 3. He rose again the third day.”

          “Kombelani, do you believe those three things?”

          “Yes, thanks to your teaching, I now believe! But what must I obey about those three things?”

          “That’s a good question,” replied Kuvoni. “And the answer is in Romans, chapter 6:1-6. Let’s turn there and read verses 1-2. While you are finding the spot, I just want to explain to you that the Roman Christians had a misunderstanding about the grace of God. You know, even though you are doing things that God commands in order to be saved, you are not earning that salvation. Salvation is by grace! Grace means something that we do not deserve. We do not deserve to have our sins forgiven, but God, by grace, forgives those sins when we do what He says.”

          “Yes, you did explain about grace to me before,” replied Kombelani. “Let me begin reading chapter 6, verse 1: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

          “Obviously we know that we must not keep on sinning. So what is going to cause me to stop sinning?” asked Kuvoni. “Do you see anything in this verse about dying?”

          “Yes, a person must die to sin. How does a person die to sin?” asked Kombelani.

          “I think you already know the answer if you think about it awhile. What is it you have to do that involves sacrificing yourself? Putting yourself to death?”

          “Oh! Now I see! That is repentance! So when I repent – it is like I am dying. I am killing all the things I want to do and deciding to sacrifice them for what God wants. Then I will stop sinning.”

          “Yes! Repentance is a part of the gospel that you have already obeyed. Now for the next part. How do you think you get buried? Read verse 4.”

          “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  Kombelani thought for a moment. Then he said, “This verse talks about being buried in baptism. I have already been baptized – but I wasn’t buried in anything.”

          “I myself also had water sprinkled on me when I was a baby,” said Kuvoni, “but that is not baptism according to what God says in the Bible. When I found out I needed to be buried in baptism, I realized that I needed to be put under the water! That is true baptism. Just like Christ was buried, I must be buried. If I am not buried, then I cannot be raised to a new life! Acts 22:16 says our sins are washed away when we are baptized. After I am buried in baptism, I begin a new life, completely cleansed of all my sins!”

          “That is so simple!” cried Kombelani. “I wonder how anyone can miss it?”

          “That is not the only simple thing that people often miss. I now want to show you something equally simple about the new life,” said Kuvoni.

FAITH   AND   A   NEW    LIFE

            “Turn to 1 Corinthians 12:12-13,” said Kuvoni. I want to show you something that happens when we are baptized.”

            Kombelani read: For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body...

            “Kombelani,” said Kuvoni, “What would happen to your finger if you were to accidentally cut it off? Could it live apart from your body?”

            “No, of course not,” answered Kombelani. “I can see by this verse that when a person is baptized he becomes a member of the body of Christ. And just like the finger can’t live without the body, so no one can live without Christ.”

            “Amen! We can learn other things from this picture too,” said Kuvoni. “Read verse 21.”

            And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’

            “What lesson do you get from that verse?” asked Kuvoni.

            “I think every single person is important to Christ.”

            “Yes, that is very true, but there is still another lesson. Read verse 25.”

            “That there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another,” read Kombelani. “Yes, I see. Not only is each member important to Christ, but each member should be important to the other members, and all the members should care for each other.”

            “Yes! This same picture of the body of Christ is also given to us in the book of Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 22-23; and there is a very important lesson to learn from those verses: And He [God] put all things under His [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body...”

            “I think I can see this picture,” said Kombelani. “Christ is the head, so all the members must listen to Him!”

            “That is correct, my friend,” said Kuvoni. “But what I think you will find interesting is that the body of Christ is actually called something else in this verse. Can you see it?”

            “Oh, yes, the body is the church.” said Kombelani.

            “Whose church?”

            “Oh, now I understand! That is why you say you belong to the church of Christ. You are right! It is so simple!” cried Kombelani. “So why are there so many different churches?”

            “Well, look at them,” said Kuvoni. “Are they all teaching what I have shown you from the Bible? If they did, they would be the church of Christ. But because they aren’t, they are some other church.”

            “So, do I understand correctly? If I am baptized, I will have all my sins forgiven and I will rise up to be part of the body of Christ, a member of the church of Christ?” asked Kombelani.

            “Yes, my friend,” answered Kuvoni. “Your new life will be to listen to your Head, Christ in everything. Every Sunday you will gather with fellow members of the church of Christ to worship Him in love and thanks for all He has done for you. There you will learn more about God, and you will get to know and love your fellow members of the body. They will help you – and you will also help them. And of course you will want to tell others about how to be saved! In the body of Christ each member is important.”

            Kombelani grabbed Kuvoni by the arm. “The river is not far. Will you baptize me? Tonight? I want to have my sins washed away and be raised to a new life right away!”

            Kuvoni took Kombelani’s hand and shook it hard. “This is indeed GOOD NEWS, my friend! I will be happy to baptize you right away! There is just one question I must ask you first. It is the same question that Philip asked the Ethiopian in Acts 8:36-37. Let’s read: Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, ‘See here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’ Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’  Kombelani, my friend, do you truly believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, understanding that means you will always obey Him?”

            “Yes, I truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God!”

            “May God bless you, my friend! Let’s go to the river!”