What this lesson will help you understand

In Lesson 6, we examined how Scripture answers the question of salvation. Now we ask what God does in the life of someone who trusts Jesus Christ. Forgiveness, new birth, adoption, and the Holy Spirit’s presence describe realities far greater than joining an organization or adopting a new outlook.

The word when in our title matters. This lesson explains what follows faith in Christ without assuming that every student has already believed. You may be a new believer, a longtime Christian, or someone still investigating. Everyone can examine the passages and learn what they teach.

By the end, you should be able to distinguish justification from spiritual growth; explain new birth and adoption; describe the Holy Spirit’s presence and work; explain Baptism as an act of faith and obedience, not a requirement for salvation; respond thoughtfully to a believer who has sinned; and explain how assurance rests upon Christ and His promises rather than an emotional performance.

Opening Prayer

Father in Heaven, help us understand the life You give through Your Son. Give us care with Your Word and honesty about our questions. Keep us from making Your promises smaller than they are, or promising things You have not promised. Help us see the goodness of belonging to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The next morning

Aron Neal is a fictional character whose story continues from Lesson 6.

The refrigerator made the same clicking sound it had made for months.

Aron Neal stood beside it in his socks, waiting for the coffee. The kitchen window needed cleaning. An envelope on the counter reminded him that the insurance payment was due Friday. His phone said he had twenty-three minutes before he needed to leave.

Everything looked ordinary.

The night before had not been ordinary.

He had stayed at the church long after the folding chairs were put away. The pastor had listened, opened the Bible, and answered questions Aron had never managed to say aloud. Eventually, Aron had stopped trying to compose an impressive promise to God.

He had confessed his sin and asked for mercy. He had told God that he was trusting Jesus Christ, Who had died for sins and risen again. He could not remember every word. He remembered meaning them.

Driving home, he had felt relief so deep that, for several miles, he had turned off the radio just to sit with it.

This morning, the relief was harder to find.

He was tired. He was worried about work. When he remembered the man he had spoken harshly to, his stomach tightened. He still needed to apologize. Becoming a Christian had not gone ahead of him and made that conversation easy.

Aron poured the coffee and sat down.

He had expected something to be different. He just did not know what.

Was he supposed to feel God nearby? Would the Bible suddenly make sense? Would the things that had tempted him yesterday stop tempting him today?

He tried to recover the certainty he had felt in the car. The harder he searched for it, the more closely he watched himself.

Then he recognized the habit.

Yesterday he had been measuring his behavior. This morning he was measuring his feelings.

He picked up his phone and typed a message to the pastor.

I’m not sure anything happened.

He deleted it. That was not quite what he meant.

I meant what I said last night. But this morning I still feel like me. What actually changed?

A few minutes later, the pastor called.

“I’m glad you asked,” he said. “What were you expecting?”

Aron looked around the kitchen.

“I don’t know. That’s part of the problem.”

“Do you still understand why you need Christ?”

“Yes.”

“And are you trusting Him, or have you decided to go back to earning your way?”

“No. I can’t earn it. I understand that.”

“Then let’s begin with what God says He does for those who trust His Son.”

Aron reached for the Bible on the counter.

“Even if I don’t feel it?”

“Your feelings matter, Aron. But they can’t tell you everything God has done.”

The coffee was getting cold. For the moment, Aron did not notice.

“Where do I start?”

Remember before moving forward

Answer briefly from memory, then consult Lesson 6 if needed.

1. What does grace mean?
2. What is the difference between knowing facts about Jesus and trusting Him?
3. Why do good works matter if they cannot earn salvation?

Keep those answers nearby. Without them, it is easy to turn this lesson into another list of things to accomplish so that God will accept us.

1 Forgiven and justified before God

Read Romans 5:1–2 and Romans 8:1–4.

Aron’s first question is whether he feels different. Paul directs our attention first to something more substantial: the believer’s relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Romans 5 connects justification by faith with peace with God. That peace concerns reconciliation with Him. A person can be anxious about a difficult workday while no longer standing before God on the basis of personal merit. Peace with God and a peaceful emotional state are related, but they are not identical.

In Lesson 6, we introduced justification: God’s act of declaring a sinner righteous in His sight through Christ. Here we need to consider what that means for someone like Aron.

He does not come before God each morning holding a new application for acceptance. The foundation is Christ. His best day does not improve the value of Jesus’ sacrifice, and his worst feeling does not diminish it.

Forgiveness addresses our guilt: God pardons sin. Justification describes our right standing before Him through Christ. These truths belong together. God is not fooled into believing that the sinner never did wrong. He deals with sin through the saving work of His Son.

Consider a courtroom. A verdict concerns someone’s standing under the judgment of the court. It is not merely a suggestion that the person try to feel differently about the case. The illustration cannot explain everything about salvation, but it helps us distinguish a changed standing from a changed mood.

Aron still owes his coworker an apology. His memory has not been erased. The other man may need time to trust him. None of those realities makes forgiveness imaginary. They show that God’s pardon and the repair of human relationships are distinct matters, both deserving attention.

The first important distinction

A new believer’s acceptance in Christ must not be confused with the degree of maturity already reached. A person can truly belong to Christ while having much to learn. We will examine that growth later in this lesson.

For now, hold onto the distinction: justification describes our standing before God; spiritual growth describes His continuing work in our lives. Confusing them can leave someone trying to earn tomorrow what grace has given today.

Knowledge Check 1: Aron wakes up anxious and concludes, “I must not have peace with God.” What distinction does he need to understand? Explain in two sentences, using Romans 5:1.

2 Born again through the Holy Spirit

Read John 3:1–8 and Titus 3:4–7.

Nicodemus is a religious leader, yet Jesus tells him that he needs new birth. His learning and position cannot produce the spiritual life Jesus describes. Nicodemus initially thinks in terms of another physical birth. Jesus directs him to the work of the Spirit. The comparison with the wind reminds us that the Spirit’s work is real even though we cannot control or fully trace it. See John 3.

The theological term regeneration means the giving of new spiritual life. Titus connects this renewal with God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit rather than deeds through which we make ourselves worthy.

It helps to distinguish improvement from life. A person can change habits, learn religious vocabulary, or become more considerate without those changes, by themselves, explaining new birth. Christianity teaches that God does something for us that we cannot produce by refining our personality.

This is why salvation is larger than a decision to become more religious. The person needs more than instruction about God. The person needs life from God.

What becomes new

New birth does not mean receiving a replacement memory, a different body, or a fully developed Christian character overnight. Aron remains Aron. He brings his history, responsibilities, abilities, and weaknesses into a new relationship with Christ.

Yet continuity of personality does not mean nothing happened. Second Corinthians 5:17 speaks of new creation in Christ. The believer’s life now belongs to Him. God’s renewing work reaches desires, loyalties, conduct, and the way a person understands the world.

Over time, that renewal should become visible. Someone may begin to take sin seriously where it was once defended, desire to know Scripture, seek reconciliation, or care about others in new ways. These developments are not a uniform schedule by which we can measure everyone’s conversion. They are examples of what spiritual life can begin to produce.

We should neither demand mature fruit on the first morning nor teach that new life will remain permanently unrelated to how a person lives.

Aron’s uneasiness about the apology does not prove new birth by itself. People can feel remorse for many reasons. But facing the wrong honestly, bringing it before God, and seeking to repair it can become part of his new life of obedience.

Pause and explain: Someone says, “Being born again means becoming a nicer version of yourself.” What does that explanation leave out? Name Who gives the new life.

3 Adopted into the family of God

Read Romans 8:14–17 and Galatians 4:4–7.

Imagine Aron understanding that his sins can be forgiven but still picturing himself outside God’s house, allowed to approach only when necessary. He might be grateful for mercy while never realizing the relationship into which God welcomes His children.

Scripture goes further than that imagined arrangement.

Adoption describes God receiving believers into His family through Jesus Christ. They belong to Him as His children. Paul connects this relationship with the Spirit’s work and with the freedom to address God as Father.

We should not confuse becoming God’s children by grace with becoming Divine. Believers remain human beings, dependent upon their Creator. Adoption describes relationship, belonging, and inheritance through Christ.

Nor does calling God Father mean that every experience with an earthly father supplies a trustworthy picture of Him. Some students have known generous, faithful fathers. Others have known absence, fear, or deep disappointment. God’s character must be learned from His own revelation. His Fatherhood is not limited by the failures of the people who should have cared for us.

Belonging changes how we approach Him

A child who knows a loving parent can bring needs, questions, and failures without having to negotiate the existence of the relationship each time. That illustration has limits, but it helps explain why Christian Prayer is more than a frightened attempt to attract a distant power’s attention.

The believer approaches the Father through Christ. Reverence remains. God does not become our equal. Yet reverence and closeness belong together. A Christian can come honestly, without pretending to be less needy than he is.

Aron has been wondering whether he is permitted to bother God about ordinary things. Scripture gives him a basis for Prayer that reaches beyond the moment when he first asked for salvation. He has been invited into a life of dependence upon the Father.

Adoption also has a shared dimension. God’s family includes other believers. Christian life therefore cannot be reduced to a private arrangement between an isolated individual and God. We will develop life in the Church in Lesson 8.

Romans 8 includes suffering in its description of the believer’s life and future inheritance. Belonging to God does not promise a life free from hardship. It gives hardship a different setting: the believer suffers as someone who belongs to Him and hopes in His promised future.

4 The Holy Spirit dwells within believers

Read Ephesians 1:13–14 and Romans 8:9–11.

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal energy or a religious mood. He is Divine, the third Person of the Trinity. The God we studied in Lesson 1 is the God Who acts in salvation.

Paul tells the Ephesians that, having heard the Gospel and believed, they were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. He also describes the Spirit as the guarantee of their inheritance. The imagery communicates God’s claim upon His people and the reality of His promise concerning their future. See Ephesians 1.

The word indwelling means that the Holy Spirit is present within believers. His presence belongs to Christian life; it is not a prize reserved for a few impressive Christians. Romans 8 closely connects belonging to Christ with having His Spirit.

Aron is not being sent home with instructions and abandoned to carry them out alone. God’s presence and help are part of the life he is learning to understand.

What His work looks like

The Spirit directs us toward Christ and truth. He helps believers in their weakness and works to produce a life increasingly consistent with God’s character. Romans 8:26–27 describes His help in Prayer. Galatians 5:22–23 describes the fruit He produces, including love, patience, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control.

This gives us a better question than “Did I feel something unusual?” We can ask how God is teaching us to trust Christ, understand Scripture, turn from sin, love others, and obey Him.

That work may be deeply moving. It may also occur in an ordinary moment: choosing to tell the truth, listening instead of retaliating, accepting correction, or returning to Prayer when discouraged. Ordinary circumstances do not make the Spirit’s work insignificant.

At the same time, not every strong impression should be called His voice. First John 4:1 calls believers to test spiritual claims. An idea that contradicts Scripture does not gain Divine authority because it arrives with intensity. Learning discernment is part of growing in faith.

Remember the relationship among these truths

So far we have considered a changed standing, new spiritual life, belonging to God’s family, and His Spirit’s presence. These describe different aspects of God’s saving work. They are not four ranks that a Christian earns in sequence.

Retrieval pause: Without looking back, explain justification, new birth, adoption, and indwelling in a sentence each. Then check your explanations against the lesson. This is a useful place to take a break.

5 Baptism and life in Christ

Read Matthew 28:18–20, then revisit Acts 2:36–41 and Acts 16:30–34.

In Lesson 6, we noticed Baptism in both Acts accounts and promised to return to it. It deserves careful attention. The New Testament includes it in the response to the Gospel and in the making of disciples.

In Matthew 28, the risen Jesus commands His followers to make disciples, baptize them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teach obedience to His commands. Baptism comes to us under His authority. It is not an accessory invented by later Christians to make a service more memorable.

In Acts 2, Peter calls his hearers to repentance and Baptism, speaking of forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Those who receive the message are baptized. In Acts 16, the answer to the jailer’s question directs him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He and his household hear the Word, and Baptism follows that very night. These accounts show the importance and promptness of Baptism as a response of faith; they do not make water the source of salvation. Read them alongside Ephesians 2:8–10: salvation is God’s gift, received through faith, not earned through our actions.

What Baptism declares

Read Romans 6:1–4.

Paul introduces Baptism while answering whether grace gives Christians permission to continue in sin. He connects being baptized into Christ with His death and burial, and with a life shaped by His Resurrection. His argument joins belonging to Christ with a new way of living. See Romans 6.

Baptism is a Christ-centered act involving water and identification with Him. Its meaning reaches into the very events at the center of the Gospel: His death, burial, and Resurrection. It is therefore much more substantial than announcing a personal intention to try harder.

A person being baptized confesses an allegiance. Jesus Christ is Lord. The old life of self-rule cannot simply continue untouched while His Name is added to it. The believer is called to live in the reality of belonging to the crucified and risen Savior.

The power to save belongs to God. Jesus’ finished work is sufficient. Baptism expresses faith in Him; it does not complete an otherwise insufficient salvation. A believer obeys because Christ has saved them, not to persuade Him to do so.

Take the command seriously and understand it

Baptism is an act of faith and obedience, not a requirement for salvation. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism outwardly declares our trust in Him and our identification with His death, burial, and Resurrection. It does not wash away sin, cause the new birth, or purchase God’s acceptance. Christ saves; the believer responds in obedience.

Read Acts 10:43–48. Peter proclaims forgiveness through faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes upon those who hear, and Peter then commands that they be baptized in water. Notice the order: they receive the Holy Spirit before water Baptism. Baptism follows God’s saving work; it does not make that work possible.

Does that make Baptism unimportant? No. Jesus commands it, and love for Him gives us reason to obey. “Not required for salvation” does not mean “without purpose.” Baptism matters because the Savior matters. It is an obedient expression of faith in the One Who has already given salvation freely.

For someone coming to faith, the practical next step is to speak with a faithful local pastor about Baptism and study these passages together. Bring questions. Seek understanding. Baptism belongs in the life of the Church, not in an online course completion process.

Aron brings the subject up during his next conversation with the pastor.

“I saw how quickly they were baptized in Acts. I want to understand that.”

“Good,” the pastor says. “Baptism is a way to confess your faith in Jesus and obey Him. It isn’t what makes Him your Savior.”

“So I’m not waiting for the water to finish saving me?”

“No. Christ saves you. Baptism declares that you belong to Him.”

Aron does not need to become an expert in every Christian doctrine before obeying Christ. He does need to understand what he is confessing and why Jesus’ command deserves his attention.

Knowledge Check 3: Using Matthew 28 and Romans 6, give two reasons Baptism matters. Your answer should connect it to Jesus’ authority and to His death and Resurrection. Then explain why it is not a requirement for salvation.

6 New life includes a life of growth

Two days later, Aron loses his temper again.

It happens quickly. Someone interrupts him, he hears disrespect in the interruption, and he answers more harshly than the situation deserves.

For a moment he begins assembling his defense. Then he stops.

“I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”

The apology is brief and uncomfortable. The conversation moves on. Aron’s thoughts do not.

By lunchtime he has returned to the question from his kitchen: If God has made me new, why am I still capable of that?

Read 1 John 1:8–2:2.

John rejects the claim that we have no sin. He also writes so that believers will not sin, and directs those who do sin to Jesus Christ as their Advocate with the Father. The passage holds moral seriousness and provision for sinners together.

An advocate acts on another’s behalf. Jesus’ advocacy is grounded in Who He is and His saving work. A believer facing guilt is directed back to Him, not told to create a substitute Savior out of personal remorse.

This does not excuse Aron’s conduct. It tells him how to face it honestly.

Sanctification means being made holy

Sanctification concerns being set apart for God and growing in a life that reflects His character. In this section, we are concentrating on that continuing growth. God works in believers, and they are called to respond in obedience. Philippians 2:12–13 places God’s work and the believer’s active response together.

Growth may involve learning what is right, resisting an old habit, accepting correction, seeking help, making restitution, or learning to love someone who is difficult to love. We do these things in dependence upon God, not to establish that Christ was unnecessary.

The distinction from Section 1 now becomes useful. Justification concerns our standing before God through Christ. Growth concerns our developing character and conduct. If Aron confuses the two, every failure will seem to erase the Gospel and send him back to the beginning of an attempt to earn acceptance.

But another error is possible. He could say, “God forgives me, so I don’t need to deal with my temper.” That would misuse grace to defend the very conduct God calls him to leave behind. Romans 6 directly challenges that reasoning.

What to do when a believer sins

Confession means acknowledging sin honestly before God. It abandons the excuse that turns wrongdoing into someone else’s fault. Repentance turns toward Him and away from the wrong. Trust returns to Christ’s provision. Where another person has been harmed, obedience may include an apology, restitution, or another appropriate effort to repair the harm.

These responses belong together. An apology without honesty can become an attempt to quiet a complaint. Remorse without turning can become a recurring cycle. Claiming forgiveness while intending to continue can become a way of protecting sin.

For Aron, growth will require more than regretting each outburst. He can begin examining what he believes in those moments, noticing when pride takes control, and learning to pause before answering. He can ask God for help and seek counsel from a mature believer. Lesson 8 will develop such daily practices.

A struggle against sin should not be confused with a settled intention to make peace with it. At the same time, no teacher can determine a person’s spiritual condition from one isolated incident. Scripture calls us to honesty, continued faith, and a life responsive to God.

Thought Experiment: Two believers have spoken cruelly. One says, “It doesn’t matter; I’m forgiven.” The other says, “It matters so much that Christ could never receive me again.” Explain the error in each response. Then use 1 John 1:8–2:2 to describe a better response.

7 Learning the basis of assurance

Read 1 John 5:11–13.

John connects eternal life with God’s Son and explains that he writes so that those who believe may know they have that life. His aim includes grounded confidence. Assurance is possible because God has given testimony concerning His Son; it does not depend upon discovering an unusually powerful feeling within ourselves. See 1 John 5.

Assurance is confidence concerning our relationship with God, grounded in His truth and promises. The first question is where that confidence rests.

Aron began by trying to measure the strength of last night’s experience. He can learn instead to ask: Who is Jesus Christ? What has He done? What does God promise to those who trust Him? Am I relying upon Him, or using something else as my claim to acceptance?

A clear memory of a Prayer can be meaningful. A date written in a Bible can be precious. Neither should replace the Savior to Whom the Prayer was directed. Christian confidence concerns Christ Himself and the truth of God’s Word.

Evidence has a place without becoming the foundation

The same letter that offers assurance also speaks seriously about obedience, love for other believers, truth, and an honest response to sin. See 1 John 2:3–6 and 3:14–18. John does not teach that a verbal claim makes the direction of our lives irrelevant.

We can therefore distinguish the foundation of salvation from evidence of God’s work. Christ and His saving work are the foundation. Growing love, obedience, repentance, and perseverance in faith are meaningful evidence. They do not become a replacement payment for acceptance.

This distinction protects us from two mistakes. We should not tell someone that persistent, deliberate rejection of Christ’s teaching is harmless because the person once used Christian words. We also should not instruct a struggling believer to examine every passing feeling until no confidence remains possible.

Honest examination asks whether we are trusting Christ and responding to Him. It brings concerns into the light, seeks help where needed, and listens to Scripture. It is different from a relentless search for a perfectly untroubled moment.

When questions remain

A person may need patient conversation rather than a quick verdict. Doubts can involve misunderstanding, difficult circumstances, recurring sin, or questions about the Gospel itself. Naming the actual concern allows Scripture to address it more precisely.

A faithful pastor or mature Christian can help someone examine those questions. Their role is to point to Christ and His Word, take sin seriously, and offer care. They should not pretend to possess God’s complete knowledge of another person’s heart.

The Academy can teach these distinctions. It cannot award assurance with a test score.

Explain it to Aron: In three or four sentences, answer his original question: “I meant what I said, but this morning I still feel like me. What actually changed?” Include two things God does, one thing that still requires growth, and the proper place of feelings.

Back at the kitchen table

A week later, the refrigerator was still clicking.

Aron noticed it as he opened the Bible before work. The insurance payment had gone through. The apology had been made. The coworker had accepted it, though their conversations were still a little careful.

Aron had more questions than he had expected. He was keeping a list for the pastor. Baptism was near the top.

On another page, he had written several words from their conversations: forgiven, justified, new birth, adopted, Holy Spirit.

A week earlier, those words would have sounded like material for a religious examination. Now he was beginning to understand why they belonged together.

He had wanted to know whether God had done anything because the kitchen looked the same and he still recognized the man sitting in it.

The changes he most needed to understand could not be discovered by inspecting the kitchen.

He bowed his head.

“Father, help me with today.”

He paused over the first word.

Then he continued.

Personal reflection

These questions are private and ungraded. You may consider them without claiming a personal experience you have not had.

• Which distinction has helped you most: standing and growth, peace with God and peaceful feelings, or the foundation of salvation and evidence of growth?

• Does your picture of God make it easy or difficult to understand approaching Him as Father? What passage in this lesson helps you examine that picture?

• What do you still want to understand about Baptism?

• If you were sitting beside Aron, what question would you ask the pastor?

Keep personal reflections in your own notebook. They are not collected or submitted here.

Lesson Review

God’s saving work reaches our standing before Him, our spiritual life, our belonging, and our future. Justification concerns being declared righteous through Christ. New birth is the Spirit’s giving of spiritual life. Adoption means being received into God’s family. The Holy Spirit dwells in believers and works within them.

Baptism is an act of faith and obedience that declares identification with Christ’s death, burial, and Resurrection. It is not a requirement for salvation; salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. Sanctification involves being set apart for God and growing in holiness. Assurance rests upon Christ and God’s promises, with the evidence of His work given its proper place.

These truths explain why a Christian’s next morning can look ordinary while belonging within a life profoundly changed by God. They also explain why learning, repentance, and growth continue.

Check your understanding

Answer before consulting the feedback. You may review and try again. These questions assess understanding of the lesson, not personal faith. The six matches in Question 1 and the choices in Questions 3 and 5 provide eight scored responses. All eight correct records mastery. Written explanations are ungraded; use the teaching notes to review them.

2. Explain the distinction. Why does waking up anxious not, by itself, show that a believer lacks peace with God? Use Romans 5:1.

4. Apply adoption. A new believer says, “God may have forgiven me, but I doubt He wants to hear from me.” Explain how Romans 8:14–17 addresses that concern.

6. Read Baptism in context. Give one reason for its importance from Matthew 28 and one from Romans 6. Explain how Baptism can be an important act of obedience without being a requirement for salvation.

7. Respond to a failure. A believer says, “I sinned again, so either grace is meaningless or trying to obey is pointless.” Using 1 John 1:8–2:2, explain why both conclusions are mistaken.

8. Distinguish foundation and evidence. Where does a Christian’s hope for salvation rest? What place do repentance, love, and obedience have without becoming the purchase price of salvation?

9. Teach someone else. Write 100–150 words answering Aron’s question about the next morning. Explain at least three aspects of God’s work and distinguish them from instant maturity. Include a Scripture reference and explain its relevance. You are explaining the teaching; no personal testimony is required.

A church family

If you have confessed faith in Jesus Christ, we would love to help you find a Bible-believing, Jesus-preaching church in your area, where you can grow in faith and take the step of Baptism. If you live near the lesson author’s home church, we would be delighted to help you connect there—and perhaps share in the joy of your Baptism. Contact us for help finding a church.

Closing Prayer

Father in Heaven, thank You for making Yourself known through Jesus Christ. Help us understand the life You give and the welcome You extend. Teach us to take sin seriously, receive Your Word honestly, and recognize the goodness of Your work. Give patience to those who are learning and wisdom to those who help them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Coming Next

Lesson 8 — How Do I Begin Following Jesus? We will move into the ordinary practices of discipleship: learning to Pray, reading Scripture thoughtfully, participating in the Church, developing obedience, and continuing through setbacks. Aron has begun to understand the life God gives. Next he begins learning how to live it, one day at a time.

Scripture reading notes

The Academy uses the NKJV for teaching. Students may consult their own Bible translations. Read the assigned passages in context. Additional supporting passages mentioned in the teaching may be explored after the core lesson.