The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Ephesians 2:1-7, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

In these seven short verses, the Apostle Paul speaks of the reality for each of our lives. Initially, we were spiritually dead when we were born. That’s why the Scripture tells us that “we must be born again” (John 3:3, 7; I Peter 1:3, 23). No one is automatically a Christian. I once knew an elderly woman who believed she was a Christian because her parents were Christians. I often wondered if her parents had been truly born again spiritually.

I never knew the woman’s parents, so I cannot speak to whether they understood God’s plan of salvation. My parents were both Christians, but I came to understand that I was not and needed to be born again spiritually.

My assessment is (and I am not the only subscriber) that hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and committing one’s self to Him as the Savior constitutes “being a Christian.” Some of the finest Christians in all of history belonged to a different church than I. Some viewed baptism in a different way than I.

The Bible teaches that at some point in life we reach an “age of accountability.” We learn from Scripture that Jesus is God and that He lived the life that God the Father wished Him to live. Ultimately, Jesus went to the Cross, giving His Life for the sins of mankind. Some come to believe in Him and have their lives transformed. They are afterwards called “Christians.”

Everyone needs to commit his or her life to Jesus Christ. When we make that commitment, He forgives our sins and we become “new creatures in Christ Jesus.” That is the most vital aspect of it all. Thereafter, we should acknowledge Him in water baptism and church membership. We should study His Word and pray for understanding. It’s truly a conversion!
Everything is new! And part of that “everything” is the knowledge that True Life has just begun.

Yes, there are skeptics. But some of the finest Christians ever started out being skeptics.
What have you got to lose? I’ve been there and done that and am always ready to say that
I know Him, and one day I will live with Him in the glories of Eternity! You can only lose what you have never tried.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom