Dr. Richard M. Wright - Help, Im Lost!: The Wanderers Guide to Salvation

Also by Dr. Richard M. Wright

Available through WestBow Press

Stop the Churchs Revolving Door: Building Relationships With Church Members

Help, Im Lost!

The Wanderers Guide to Salvation

Dr. Richard M. Wright

Copyright 2012 Dr. Richard M. Wright

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-5723-6 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012911153

WestBow Press rev. date: 6/21/2012

Contents

Dedication

To all those wandering how to find a better life by turning to God and embarking on a wonderful salvation journey.

Help, Im lost! While in the military, I confess that I have said this during training exercises. As a seeker of a better life, I have said this in a frustrated manner.

We are wonderers in this life. We wonder how life can be better. We wonder with the question, What if? I asked this of myself as I was thinking about the salvation process.

There are many theology books available. Some explain various theological terms in vivid detail. Others share the life journeys of people. Still others examine the many ways to live a Christian life. However, I never found one that provides a step-by-step guide to Gods salvation process.

This book is the culmination of more than a two decades of experiences, research, and ruminations on the salvation process. In my first book, Stop the Churchs Revolving Doors , we discover that relationships are built within the church. Personal relationships draw most of us to church. Because of these church relationships, many embrace salvation whereby we enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This divine-human relationship is the ultimate bond that we can enter. This particular relationship is found and experienced only within the salvation process. This process encompasses the various ways in which God deepens the divine-human relationship as we respond through wisdom, knowledge, and service.

I have written this book for seekers. Seekers are people who do not have a relationship with God through Christ. These people are seeking a deeper relationship with a higher entity or a way of life that provides fulfillment.

I have written this book for church-goers. This kind of person attends church, but has not made positive steps toward a relationship with God. These people are still undecided on this relationship because of some issues that hinder them.

I pray that you will read this book if you are one of these kinds of people. This book can be read alone or as a study with a larger group of people led by an experienced Christian.

Within this book, you will find situations that are common. Each situation stirs my spirit about salvation and its effects on us. These situations show good and not-so-good ways of sharing the good news of Gods salvation. They also show ways of responding to Gods message of redemption. You may find yourself in one or more of these situations.

I confess that I was not Christian all of my life. I was not raised in a Christian home. Help, Im lost! However, now I am no longer lost! I can now say that I am one of Gods children struggling to live a life that is pleasing to God. God continues to use my past experiences to help spread the good news about salvation and its impact on all aspects of my life.

The salvation process has led me to where I am now. I am confident that it will continue to lead me down the path that God needs me to travel as a wonderer. As a wonderer, I continue to wonder what God has in store for my life. I am not sure where this path will lead, but I know that God will be with me for the entire journey.

As you read or study this book, you may have many questions. I hope that I will be able to answer some of them. I know that I will not be able to answer all of them. I learned from Dr. John Hayes, my Old Testament professor at Candler School of Theology, that it is acceptable to say that you do not know the answer to every question!

I discovered that mystery still surrounds God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We are not privy to everything about the Holy Trinity, but we endeavor to gain knowledge and wisdom as we proceed through the salvation process.

I have two goals for this book:

Help you understand why we need salvation, and

Help you better understand the salvation process.

In order to accomplish these goals, we will look at them in the order above. Firstly, we will look at why we need salvation. This will help us to examine our lives and see that we are in need. This need is driven by sin, the dark side of sin, the Mosaic law, and predestination. After this examination, we will understand that God had to provide salvation to us through Christ.

We will achieve the second goal by taking a step-by-step journey through the salvation process. This process consists of justification, sanctification, perfection, and glorification. Do not be alarmed by this language. We will look at each step in great detail. After this section is complete, you will have a better knowledge of the salvation process.

Along the way, you will encounter Reflection Moments. These moments provide opportunities to reflect on your life in relation to salvation. These moments will be meaningful if you do not bypass them and if you will be brutally honest with yourself.

By the time we arrive at the end of the book, I hope that you either already received salvation or that you are ready to do so. I am not going to push you toward salvation. I will let your reading and reflections do that. I know that all of us are Gods works in progress. Until we are called home to heaven by God, we will continue to be Gods ongoing projects.

Like my other endeavors, this book would not have been possible without a number of people supporting me. This is a long list of prayer warriors, personal friends, professional acquaintances, and many scholars. I could not name them all. If you have touched my life personally, academically, or professionally, then you have helped God lead me to the writing of this book.

This book would not have been possible without my loving wife, Ruth. She encourages me to share my faith with others. She inspires me through my highs and lows. Ruth, thank you for being my wife, my friend, and my confidant!

I continue to learn about grammar and English composition from Kathy Miller. She continues to be a dear friend who exhibits a great deal of patience with me. I keep telling her that I am a preacher not a linguist. However, she continues to be patient and never stops teaching. Kathy, thank you for not giving up on me!

Finally, I thank God for surrounding me with people who have shared the salvation process with me. Their examples continue to inspire me. Their legacy lives in me as I strive to be the Christian that God needs in our world.