Describing My Personal Salvation Experience Without Using "Christian-ese"

So here is the project. Describe your conversion experience in 250 words or less without using Biblical terms, church terms, or "Christian-ese". In essence, tell a Non-Christian how you were "saved" in terms they can understand. This is my theology project for this week. Easy enough, right? Wrong. What does salvation, regeneration, being "born again", even sin, and other terms mean to someone who isn't a Christian or hasn't grown up in the church their whole life? Ultimately nothing or these terms are vague and diluted at best. Here is my attempt to do just that, describe how God saved me without using any of these terms or at the very least I will try to define them in very short definitions.

Salvation is this: A person must recognize that there is a God, and that He is three parts (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). They must recognize that they are born a sinner (separated from God). That without Him their life is empty and meaningless (dead). Jesus (The Son) is the answer: He was sent by God (The Father) to be a bridge, to take the sin of all man-kind onto Himself. The only way he could do this was live a perfect human life and to die. At His death Jesus took on the sin of the world (past, present and future). Because Jesus is God, He didn't stay dead, but after three days He rose again to life.  This is why Jesus is called life and the light of the world, because He saves us, (salvation). This is important to salvation. A person must feel a deep urge and wanting to believe and follow God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). They must turn from this life of sin (death), toward God and believe in Him (life). So two things happen in Salvation: God calls a person to believe in Him when they hear this message. How? A deep desire to learn more about Him or a deep desire to follow Him. The second thing that must happen in Salvation: a person must respond to God's call, (believe, turn from sin, and follow Him). This experience of Salvation happened to me when I was eight years old. (246 words)

- Jared Kaijala

Is Swearing Wrong, and what does the Bible have to say about it?

My cousin Peter asked: What are you views on swearing? What does the bible say about it? 

Good Question. Its interesting because growing up in a Christian home, and culturally, swearing is just bad. Your not supposed to do it, yet a lot of us, especially when we're younger do it with out even really thinking about it. Just off the top of my head, Biblicaly there is the passage: "Do not say the Lord's name in vane", but specifically about swearing not including the Lord's name, I'm not really sure and I'll look into it. What I do know is this, that a lot of Scripture focuses on the heart. Jesus especially, lays a pretty undeniable framework for this thing called the heart. Proverbs 4:23 is another good example of the hearts importance: "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." In the New Living Translation it translates/says it this way: "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." Do you think this is true? Is your heart the determining factor for the course of your life? This gets into Character stuff, like how you live out your life daily. So the emphasis, for me and I believe all of Scripture is that of a person's heart. So to get back to swearing, though I'm not sure about a specific verse in scripture on swearing, there is another passage on taming the tongue that comes to mind. 

James 3:1-12:

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ² We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

 ³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

 ⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

 ⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

So to curse here means: to wish evil on someone. James points out the hypocrisy of praising God in verse 9 with the cursing of our fellow man, who have been made in the image of God. Maybe not the same as swearing in the modern sense of the word, unless swearing at someone in anger, wishing evil to happen to them, (road rage is a good example). There is a good take away here between the parallel of this passage and that of a heart issue.

To sum up. How humbling this is. Many times I have sinned against others, cursed them, not loved them or encouraged them despite the wrong they may have committed against me. We are the means that God has chosen. Scripture says that we, all of us, were created in the image of God, with His own hands He created us. We are separated from God by sin, yet we are saved through His son Jesus. How beautiful a picture of God's grace. 

Hope this helps. Thanks for the topic. Love talking about this stuff.

There are rules

This blog will raise questions about theology in an attempt to answer some of those questions or at the very least clear the muddied waters. It is impossible to approach theology with a completely objective point of view, all I ask is that you follow the rules of systematic theology rather than a pure opinionated approach. Those with a close minded perspective are neither respectful to the other side nor care about pursuing any understanding out side their own. "Me and my truth" will not fly here. There is such a thing as true and not true, rite and wrong. If we can not agree on this Truth then we can not agree at all. Now not all answers are black and white and I do understand this, you must come to grips with this as well. The final thing I will say on this is not all questions of God have human answers, yet a better understanding of the theology can be reached.

Now as for me, I am a Christian, seeking Christ minded answers, real truth from the Bible, not my opinion or my truth, but solid Scriptural truth. Mud has been slung at both sides, so I will do my best to settle the chaos. Know that Christians are just as guilty about handling Scripture as non-believers. But I will neither belittle nor disrespect the other side. I only ask that you do the same.

My final request is this: If your a non-believer, an atheist, a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or just a regular seeker of truth, please leave (as best you can) your presuppositions at the door of this blog.

Thank you, and I look forward to blogging you.

-Jared Kaijala