What Shall We Do?

Since you are reading this book, it likely means you have just made the most important decision of your life;

you have just asked Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life. The first thing I would like to say is welcome to

the family. For the last two thousand years or so, many people all over the world have been making this

decision, just like you have today, and you all have one thing in common. You have questions.

You may be asking several right now. One may be, “What did I just do?” or maybe, “What does this mean?”

Really, it all comes down to one important question that is asked every time the gospel is preached and

accepted. It is the same question that was asked on the very first day that the Church sprang into existence.

In the book of Acts, it says, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the

other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37 New International Version).

Peter simply replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness

of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38 NIV).

Well, that seems easy enough, right? The author of Acts goes on to say, “With many other words, he warned

them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ Those who accepted his

message were baptized” (Acts 2:40 NIV).

This verse is important because there is no simple answer to the question “what shall we do?” In the book of

Acts, the writer basically says, I want to encourage you today by saying it’s OK if you don’t have all the answers.

It’s OK if you have questions. It’s OK if you have doubts. It’s OK if you don’t really know what to do. After this,

the people who accepted the message of the gospel walked a long road of discipleship. For the rest of their

lives, they diligently learned what it meant to make the same decision you made today. No one figures it out

instantly. Paul writes a letter to the Philippian Church and says, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have

always obeyed—not only in my presence but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your

salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 NIV).

The truth is that this moment now is the beginning of a lifelong journey that you will have with Jesus and those

around you as you work out your salvation. If you read the rest of the book of Acts, you will see all the amazing

things all the believers did—how they raised the dead, healed the sick, evangelized the world, fed the hungry,

clothed the needy, and rescued sinners from the clutches of hell. However, there is no list of rules or dos and

don’ts. There is no checklist that we can follow to make sure we get it all right. The only thing we really have is

the model of those who came before us and the life of Jesus as He essentially said, “I am the way—basically,

follow me, and do what I do.” This is the true nature of growth and discipleship.

As you go through this book, I want to take you through some essential fundamentals in the Bible about who

Jesus is, who we are, and what this thing is that we call church. Before you close the book and stop reading in

fear of boredom, I promise this will not be a deep theological book not for the faint of heart. These will be

simple, real, everyday truths that will help you understand what it means to be a Christian.