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Supposed to be on the focus the main focus the main point in our life in this church and and for born-again Believers is to bring other people to Christ. It's the Great Commission. It's the gospel We're supposed to go out and preach the word and preach God's Word and get other people saved That's what it's all about. That is the main thing But we need to make sure that we've got the main thing, right? We got the right doctor who it goes out I'm preaching a gospel. What is the gospel? What is it that we believe now people ask me out? Soul-winning very frequently. I don't know what it's like here, but I can't imagine it's that much different You run into a lot of people who are relatively ignorant when it comes to Christianity and the Bible and things like that and they have this real real vague kind of concept of what Christianity is Maybe they're Catholic or maybe they brought up some type of Christianity But they don't really know anything and one of the main questions I get is Well, what's the difference between Christian and Baptist or between Catholic and Baptist it's kind of funny because when people ask What's the difference between Christian and Baptist? I'll say hey, I'm from a Baptist Church, you know, I'm from strong old Baptist Church I'll say well, what what's the difference between Christian and Baptist? Well Baptist is Christian first of all, we're not like Catholic now There is a distinction where people would say why are you Catholic or are you Christian and that for you for decades? that was a common question and it actually made sense because Catholics aren't Christian. I mean they may claim to follow Christ or whatever, but but they're really not it's a false religion But that is a common question that you'll probably get that's a common question that I've always gotten is well What's the difference and I always tell them? Well, there may be many differences There's a lot of little things that we could point to and it's not that not it's not that any of those things are unimportant You know people have a lot of different beliefs But the main thing and the main reason why I'm a Baptist the main reason why I'm a pastor of a Baptist Church The reason I call myself a Baptist is because of salvation It's because of what different churches and what people believe it takes to be saved And I sum it up for the person just say, you know the vast majority of people out there Even those that call themselves Christian whether it be non-denominational or Lutheran or Catholic or whatever whatever denomination The vast majority of churches out there are gonna tell you to one degree or another That in order to be saved and go to heaven you have to be a good person Is what it boils down to they may tell you have to believe in Jesus or go to church You have to do all these other things in addition to believing but you have to do more that believing is not enough And I always explain to people we don't believe that We believe very specifically that salvation is a free gift and it's not of works It has nothing to do with how good you are whether or not that means You have to be a certain, you know good in order to get salvation Or you have to be good after you get salvation in order to keep salvation We don't believe in any of that works that works are required at all. They are not salvation is completely free It's a free gift. We started off reading here in Ephesians chapter number two Because this is where we get what we believe about salvation not being of works now This isn't the only passage but this is a very clear passage in one where it's spelled out very very clearly now I'm gonna mention this as well when you go out and preach the gospel to people or Talk to anybody for that matter when it comes to Scripture when it comes to doctrine We always want if you're trying to convince somebody or persuade somebody you want to start with using the most clear concise Verses that you can possibly find to teach on any given subject no matter what it is now We're talking about salvation specifically and when it comes down to our works necessary our works required Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 are Extremely clear on this you don't want to go to parables You don't want to go to other passages where it could be easy to kind of Misunderstand or misinterpret what the Bible's saying we want to go to a passage It's gonna be just very clear black and white there is no wiggle room or getting around What the Bible actually says look down there in verse number? Well look at worse hurry in verse number five says even when we were dead in sins Hath quickened us together with Christ by grace ye are saved And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus for by grace Are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works? Lest any man should boast so what I love about this verse is very clear verse 8 is talking about being saved It's talking about our salvation very clearly It's spelled out in the first verse there in verse 8 for by grace Are you saved through faith grace is something that's given to us that we don't deserve. It's undeserved It's a it's like a gift which is already mentioned in this verse for my grace Are you saved through faith faith is just what you believe? We're saved by God's grace. He's had mercy on us and extended grace unto us and we're saved through Faith and that not of yourselves. It's not based on us It has nothing to do with us. It is the gift of God