A song said: "open the doors of paradise", meaning the gates of heaven. We want that, but we know we are not worthy. We know: I'm standing outside but I'm too dirty to come in. Lord, I am not fit to enter in - - make me fit. Lord, my mind thinks wrong thoughts - - renew my mind. Lord clean me from my filth - - wash me in the blood of the lamb. Lord, my clothes are ragged and dirty - - give me a wedding garment. If my way is wrong before your eyes, make me to think and feel the right way.
We think that, but for a while we forget:
". . . because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10)
It’s so easy we stumble at it: we must believe Jesus is Lord, that he died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, is in heaven, and will receive us with him when we pass from this physical life. But Christian phrasing sometimes does not make it easy. Christians frequently use words or phrases which they understand among themselves, but which are not understood among non-Christian people, or among new Christian believers. Some of these phrases can become stumbling blocks when unexplained or misunderstood.
Some examples are:
"Born again”, what happens when a person believes that Jesus died for his sins and rose again.
"Saved”, when a person is born again, he is saved.
"Redemption”, when we are saved, we are redeemed from the ultimate consequences of a sinful life (hell, or separation from God).
Sanctification, the lifelong process of overcoming our sinful habits, thoughts and actions.
"The blood of the lamb”, a reference to what Jesus did on the cross and how it could, and can, affect our lives.
We Christians should be sensitive that our hearers understand what we mean and be ready to explain the meaning.
