One Step to Jesus: New Life, Forgiveness, Baptism

Devotional

Day 1: The Problem of Evil in a Fallen World

The presence of evil and suffering in our world is a profound and troubling reality. It can lead us to question the nature of God and His goodness. Yet, the Scriptures provide a clear answer: we live in a creation that has been fractured by sin. This is not a reflection of a distant or uncaring God, but the consequence of humanity's choice to turn away from His perfect design. The brokenness we see is the symptom of a deeper spiritual condition that affects every one of us. [38:50]

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23, ESV)

Reflection: When you observe the pain and injustice in the world, where do you most struggle to reconcile it with the character of a loving God? How might understanding the world as a fallen creation change your perspective on current events?

Day 2: God’s Holiness and Our Need for Cleansing

God’s primary attribute is not merely love or forgiveness, but holiness. His nature is utterly pure and separate from all sin. This divine standard is one we cannot meet on our own, no matter our efforts. Our inherent sin nature creates a chasm between us and a holy God that we are powerless to cross. This is the root of our deepest need, a need that God Himself has moved to address. [39:26]

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9, ESV)

Reflection: In what specific area of your life are you most aware of the gap between God's holiness and your own nature? What would it look like to bring that specific area to Him for cleansing today?

Day 3: Finding True Meaning and Purpose in Christ

Many spend their lives in a perilous pursuit of meaning through achievements, relationships, or possessions. These things can provide temporary relief but never address the core longing of the soul. True purpose is found not in an addition to life, but in a transformation of life through Christ. In Him, we are made new creations, and our lives gain eternal significance as we know God and enjoy Him forever. [43:36]

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been seeking temporary relief or purpose in something other than Christ? How can you actively shift your focus this week from treating symptoms to embracing the new identity He offers?

Day 4: The Assurance of Eternal Life with Christ

The question of what happens after death is one of ultimate importance. For those in Christ, death is not an end to be feared but a gateway to gain. This life, with all its struggles, is the worst it will ever be for the believer. This assurance provides a profound peace that transcends circumstances and the fear of death, anchoring our hope in the promise of eternity with Him. [47:38]

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21, ESV)

Reflection: How does the assurance that "to die is gain" influence the way you face daily challenges or anxieties about the future? Is your hope based on a feeling or on the promise of God's Word?

Day 5: The Urgent Call to Surrender and Confess

A relationship with Christ begins with a single step of surrender, a calling out to Him as our only hope of salvation. This is not a passive hope but an active, urgent trust, like a drowning person grasping a life preserver. This decision must then be followed by a confession, making our faith public. This act of crossing the line is an essential part of following Jesus, moving from a private decision to a public declaration. [55:22]

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. (Romans 10:9, ESV)

Reflection: If you have placed your trust in Christ, what is holding you back from making that faith public through baptism or simply telling another person? Who is one person you can share your story with this week?

Sermon Summary

The Gospel frames a clear evangelistic aim: empty hell and enlarge heaven. That vision drives a focus on three urgent questions: why evil exists, what gives life meaning, and what happens after death. Scripture receives primacy as the authority that answers those questions, resisting feelings as an unstable moral guide. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus models the radical encounter that reorients identity: meeting Christ does not add religion; it transforms existence from the roots upward.

Humanity bears a universal sin nature traced back to Eden, and divine holiness demands a decisive remedy. The text juxtaposes God's holiness with human failure to show why forgiveness requires more than moral improvement. Christ’s life, death, burial, and resurrection provide that remedy: active love placed himself between humanity and condemnation, offering full forgiveness and cleansing that the believer receives by faith.

The meaning of life appears not in achievements or pleasure but in newness of life in Christ. Being “in Christ” creates a new creation rather than merely producing better behavior; desires, priorities, and endurance change because the root changes. Temporal pursuits numb symptoms but never heal the soul; true healing addresses root causes through union with Christ, which adds life to years rather than merely years to life.

Believer’s baptism serves as the visible gospel: immersion symbolizes death with Christ, burial, and resurrection into newness of life. The practice functions as definition, demonstration, and public inspiration—an embodied testimony that proclaims an empty tomb and an occupied throne. Urgency colors the invitation: salvation remains accessible to “whosoever” calls on the Lord, and that call requires sincere surrender rather than a ritual.

Public confession and communal accompaniment follow personal surrender. The act of stepping forward and being supported by others models the community’s role in discipleship—friends go with friends into new life—and emphasizes accountability and proclamation. The present moment holds spiritual significance: when someone responds with surrender, the community responds with presence, baptism, and practical follow-through to mark a decisive turning toward Christ.

Key Takeaways

1. Sin explains the world's brokenness Human rebellion and a fallen creation account for pervasive evil, not an absent goodness. Recognizing sin as the root prevents misdiagnosing symptoms as the disease; it reframes personal struggles, societal decay, and moral confusion as matters that require divine remedy rather than mere policy or self-improvement. Facing this truth opens the way to true hope because it makes the need for redemption specific and addressable. [38:50]
2. Scripture is the final authority Feelings fluctuate; the Bible provides stable, actionable truth for life’s biggest questions. Placing Scripture over subjective impulses anchors identity and decision-making in an objective story of creation, fall, and redemption that transforms how desires and fears are handled day by day. This posture invites constant correction and peace because commitments rest on revelation, not mood. [35:31]
3. Christ offers radical cleansing and newness Jesus’ death and resurrection remove guilt and recreate identity, offering forgiveness “as far as the east is from the west.” Forgiveness here is not mere pardon; it effects inward cleansing that changes desires and enables practical holiness. Trusting that work shifts spiritual life from symptom management to root transformation. [42:14]
4. Baptism embodies death and resurrection Immersion communicates the gospel in visible form: burial with Christ and rising to new life. This public act does not produce salvation but declares and celebrates the reality already received by faith, encouraging both the believer and the watching community toward faithful living. Baptism enacts theology so the gospel becomes both seen and contagious. [51:01]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:47] - Evangelistic Vision: Empty Hell, Enlarge Heaven
[33:13] - Three Questions Everyone Asks
[35:31] - Scripture as Ultimate Authority
[36:17] - Transformation: Saul to Paul
[38:50] - Human Sin and God's Holiness
[41:52] - Christ’s Cleansing and Forgiveness
[43:36] - Meaning of Life: New Creation
[49:55] - Baptism: Death, Burial, Resurrection
[54:36] - Urgency of Salvation: Whosoever
[60:59] - Invitation: Surrender and Community Response

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Romans 6:3-4 (ESV) - Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Romans 10:13 (ESV) - For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Observation questions

According to Romans 6:3-4, what three key events of Christ's experience does baptism symbolize for the believer?
What does 2 Corinthians 5:17 state happens to the "old" things when a person is "in Christ"?
In the sermon, what was described as the right mental picture for "calling on the name of the Lord" and what does it illustrate about our state and the nature of salvation? [54:36]
What three functions of baptism were outlined in the message? [51:01]

Interpretation questions

The statement "you don't turn over a new leaf, you become a new tree" [43:36] contrasts two ideas about change. What is the fundamental difference between these two types of change?
Why is feeling-based faith described as a dangerous and unstable authority for life? [35:31] How does placing Scripture as the final authority provide a different foundation?
The story of Herbert Connolly, who forgot to vote for himself, was used as an illustration. [52:46] How does this story parallel the spiritual danger of knowing about Jesus but never personally surrendering to Him?
The message emphasized that salvation addresses the "root cause" and not just the "symptoms" of our human condition. [45:20] What are the symptoms people often try to treat, and what is the root cause that only Christ can solve?

Application questions

The meaning of life is found not in achievements or pleasure but in knowing God and enjoying Him forever. [45:40] Where have you been looking for meaning and purpose recently? How does this truth challenge or redirect that search?
Forgiveness in Christ is not mere pardon but effects an inward cleansing that changes desires. [42:14] Is there a specific area of your life where you’ve settled for managing the symptoms of sin instead of trusting Christ for a root transformation of your desires?
Baptism is a public declaration that the tomb is empty and the throne is occupied. [51:01] If you have not been baptized as a believer, what is holding you back from taking this step of obedience? If you have, how can your baptism story continue to inspire others in your life?
Surrender is a one-step decision of unconditional, nothing-held-back trust in Christ. [59:20] What does a posture of active surrender look like for you in your current season of life—at home, work, or in your private thoughts?
The invitation to respond was accompanied by the promise, "Real friends bring friends to Jesus." [01:02:51] Who in your circle of relationships is asking the big questions about evil, meaning, and death? How can you be a "friend who goes with them" as they explore the answers found in Christ?
The call to salvation is urgent because life is short and we never know which of us will be the first to die. [48:47] How does this sobering reality affect the urgency with which you view your own faith and your concern for the faith of those you love?

Sermon Clips

Some some of you are here and the way you live your life is you're trying to find anything you can to relieve you of the symptoms of your pain. That's the reason addiction. That's the reason the wild relationships. That's the reason the perilous pursuits. You're going, I just gotta fill my life up with this or with this or with this. And Paul says, if you're in Christ, you're a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. You realize the meaning of life. If I could borrow from the Westminster confession, it is to know God and enjoy him forever. [00:45:31] (34 seconds) #PurposeInChrist

Understand what he's saying? If I'm gonna live, if I'm living my life, I've found the meaning of life, it is for Christ. I'm gonna get excited about Jesus. I'm gonna be passionate about Jesus. But don't worry about if something happens to me. Do you do you understand for some of you in this room, if you don't have that relationship with Christ, this is the best it will ever be. But for those of us who know Jesus, this is the worst it will ever be. To live is Christ, but to die is gain. [00:47:38] (28 seconds) #LiveForChrist

The reason why I do that is because I know some of you are sitting there going, okay, what's next? I don't feel any different. The roof didn't open up. Angels aren't doing cartwheels right in front of me. Did it take? This is gonna help you. If it's something I can touch, I can feel, I can do, that's not saving faith. Saving faith is not putting faith and trust in what I have done. Saving faith is putting my faith and trust in what Jesus has done. He's the author and finisher of my salvation. Therefore, it really matters what Jesus says. Doesn't matter what Scott Dawson says. [00:58:03] (41 seconds) #TrustJesusAlone

I had a sermon I had a sermon entitled 10 surefire ways to raise godly kids. I had no business preaching that message. I was single at the time preaching that message. After I got married, I still preach it, but I changed the message to three suggestions that may or may not work. You know what I'm saying? I it's why it because we have a sin nature. We're sinners before a holy God. And if you're sitting here this morning going, why is there so much evil in this world? It's because we live in a fallen creation. [00:40:34] (31 seconds) #FallenCreation

It's not that God's not loving. It's not that God's not forgiving. In fact, understand this. That's the reason Jesus came. When I could not come to him, he came to us. And for thirty three years, he walked among us and he never once said pay me. He never even said thank me. His message was follow me. Why? Because he knew his message. He went to the cross and he died on the cross for your sin and for my sin and was buried. And on the third day, resurrected, ascended to the father. One day, he's promised to come back and take us home to heaven. [00:41:06] (30 seconds) #ResurrectionHope

Reason why I do it is two reasons. One, there's some of you here this morning, you think you're the only one that's messed up. You think you're the only one that's kinda faltered or failed and you think that, man, the whole world is crashing down. Want you to know we've all failed. We've all done something wrong. The second reason why I do it is because some of us are in this room going, well, I'm bad, but I'm not as bad as the rest of you. Okay? So I do it for both reasons to understand we've all sinned. [00:38:16] (27 seconds) #WeAllSin

I've placed myself under the authority of God's word. I understand you may not come from this background, but I believe this book contains all the answers to every one of life's questions. In fact, some of you may be here this morning, you go, well, I'll let my feelings determine my actions. Well, that's wrong that that that's dangerous because let me explain it to you. How many of you have ever felt good? Let me see your hands. How many of you have ever felt bad? Let me see your hands. How many of you ever felt good and bad in the same day? Let me see your hands. [00:35:31] (34 seconds) #ScriptureOverFeelings

I mean, I this past year, death was around constantly. It was my nephew, 22 years of age, three weeks before graduating University of Tennessee in Knoxville, going to Taco Bell late at night, never saw the car. My best friend, 58 years of age, this past July with ALS, I thought we were coming through that and then just this past week as I was preparing to come to you, a guy like my second dad battled cancer. So I understand life life is short. In fact, you know what? Paul kind of puts it in a synopsis form. [00:46:42] (47 seconds) #LifeIsShort

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One Step to Jesus: New Life, Forgiveness, Baptism

Devotional

Day 1: The Problem of Evil in a Fallen World

Day 2: God’s Holiness and Our Need for Cleansing

Day 3: Finding True Meaning and Purpose in Christ

Day 4: The Assurance of Eternal Life with Christ

Day 5: The Urgent Call to Surrender and Confess

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

One Step to Jesus: New Life, Forgiveness, Baptism

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