You have to use Choose>Choose individual verses>Create a verse set>Selection set>Create selection set button. Making a passage set will not count toward the badge. And as Jappel said, you also have to make it public by checking the box.
If you are interested in researching the creation theories and want a fair and balanced approach to each viewpoint, I would recommend the following book:
Four Views on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design (Counterpoints: Bible and Theology).
Molin, I want to clarify a couple of things so what I said is not misinterpreted. From what I can see from the Bible there are two parts to salvation: making him your Savior and making him your Lord. Some scholars call it the "getting in" of the kingdom and the "staying in" of the kingdom.
The "getting in" part is easy. God is not looking for a specific set of words in a specific order to qualify for his salvation. He looks at the heart as you say whatever words you use to repent. If your heart was sincere when you said that prayer, then saying the prayer was more than sufficient to get you into his kingdom. Only God can judge your salvation, but I suspect that angels were rejoicing in heaven when you said that prayer! At some point, it would be to your benefit to get baptized if you haven't already. There is something special about announcing to the world that the allegiance of your heart has changed to Jesus. But that act does not buy your salvation in any way.
The hard part of salvation is the "staying in" part that continues on for the rest of your life. This is where you read the Bible and apply the principles and commands you see in his Word into your life. This is sometimes called sanctification. This is a lifetime process that will have many ups and downs as the Holy Spirit works with you to change your heart into the image of Jesus. Some days you will question your salvation as you go through this, and that is perfectly normal.
The "staying in" part of salvation I described is likewise not required to earn your continued salvation. Salvation was fully paid for you on the cross. It is a free gift that cannot be earned in any way. For this reason, the "staying in" part of salvation is a reflection of whether you truly meant the prayer you made when you first received his salvation. This may be confusing; let me try to simplify it.
Jesus liked to use agricultural metaphors to describe hard biblical truths, and if you'll forgive me, I will do the same. Take, for instance, an apple tree. If you want to grow an apple tree, you have to take several distinct steps if you want to eventually produce another apple. First, you have to locate an apple seed. Second, you have to put it in the ground. Third, you have to tend that ground, watering, fertilizing, and protecting the seed from weeds and pests that want to destroy it. Finally, after doing this for a long period of time, eventually you'll get a healthy, successful apple tree.
Salvation is like the growing of that apple tree. First, you have Jesus' death on the cross, which gives you the apple seed necessary to grow another tree. Second, you have the prayer of salvation, which is you taking Jesus' seed and planting it into the dirt of your heart. Third, you have the sanctification process (e.g., reading the Bible, praying, fasting, preaching, feeding the poor, etc.) where you tend the dirt of your heart to make sure the seed of salvation can grow into a tree that produces fruit for God (see the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:18 and the discussion of fruit in John 15). Fourth, after a lifetime of doing this, you will hear "well done good and faithful servant" on the Day of Judgment where Jesus confirms his salvation tree is healthy and producing fruit in your life for the kingdom of God.
Salvation is easy. Everyone can put the seed of salvation into the dirt. I am sure there are millions of potential apple trees planted every year across the world that do not in fact produce another apple tree. The hard part is the lifetime of time, effort, and sacrifice needed to produce the tree of salvation in your life. Most people are not willing to do these things because it is too hard for them. Perhaps they would rather have a cost-free salvation where they live their lives like they always did. Or perhaps they are too busy chasing after the cares of the world to pick up their cross daily for Jesus. Regardless of how it happened, they have let their tree die, and along with it their true acceptance of salvation. They don't lose their salvation, mind you; they were never truly saved to begin.
Many believers fall into this category. They live a life that is for all intents and purposes indistinguishable from those living in the world. Their seed of salvation is wilted and dying, and if they do not repent, many them will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when Jesus says, "I do not know you." The good news is that as long as you are still breathing, you are able to tend your tree. You can rip those weeds right out and kill the pests as well. The seed of salvation experiences rapid regrowth when the heart's ground is made right again.
Molin, I'm proud of you for taking the seed of salvation and planting it into your heart. It also brings joy to me that you are reading the Bible, which will show you how to grow your tree and produce fruit. Keep doing that, and you can't help but hear your name read off of the Lamb's Book of Life on the last day.
That's awesome, Jappel. I pray that the Holy Spirit go before you to prepare the hearts of those who need to hear. I pray that God send his angels to guard over you while you are there. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide your tongue as you preach. Finally, I pray that God would use something on this trip to be an anchor for your faith going forward.
Molin, to see what salvation means for us as Gentiles, you need to look to Paul's interpretation of Christ's work on the cross. There are some great sets on the Roman's Road on this website which would be a good place to start. I have also created a set that I feel is a pretty comprehensive treatment on the matter (https://learnscripture.net/verse-set/the-simple-gospel/) that might be of use to you as well.
As for believing, there is a simple answer. All belief is a choice based upon something. You believe the sun will come up tomorrow because of the laws of nature. You believe that the bank will give you your home when you pay it off because of the laws of the United States. In the same way, you believe you are saved by reading the laws of Christ found in the Bible and following them.
When I read those scriptures (and the rest of the OT/NT) I see that salvation from our perspective is a mixture of the following:
1. Confessing of your past sins to Jesus (the ones you can remember anyway; God is not performing an audit). 2. Acknowledging God's Lordship over your life internally (believing). 3. Acknowledging God's Lordship over your life externally (baptism). 4. Repenting, or turning away, from your past sinful lifestyle (this is different from person to person; the Holy Spirit will reveal it to you). 5. Allowing God to show you how to walk in love and produce fruit for him over a lifetime (sanctification and obedience).
None of this saves you. Christ's blood on the cross and resurrection from the dead saves you. The rest is just what's involved with "producing fruits worthy of repentance." God knows everything you would do before you were born and he sent his Son Jesus to pay your debt before you knew you had it. None of these acts pay the debt; they acknowledge Jesus had the right to pay them. In other words, these acts listed above are mostly for your benefit. But when you do them, they are a sign of faith that you are drawing near to God. And God responds to that every time.
Since literal wars have been fought over the question of baptism, I think I'll stay out of this subject ha! I did not mean to bring it up before, but sadly, there is no edit button on this website.
We'll see Jappel. A lot can happen in a year. I told myself that I was going to quit at two years three months ago. Indeed, I've been under more attacks from the eternally defeated one these last two years than I have at any other point in my life. I must be moving in the right direction. I guess that's why I don't quit.
Thanks Jappel and PeterP! I'm also thankful to Luke Plant for this website and for all it has done for me over the last two years. I can't wait to hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant" to you for this full-time "side project"!
Thanks Jappel and PeterP! I'm also thankful to Luke Plant for this website and for all it has done for me over the last two years. I can't wait to hear Jesus say, "Well done, good and faithful servant" to you for this full-time "side project"!
Oh wow! Well done on keeping going for so long. It’s really tough to get so far without missing a day. Praying you are truly blessed by your time spent in God’s word. 👏👏
We'll see Jappel. A lot can happen in a year. I told myself that I was going to quit at two years three months ago. Indeed, I've been under more attacks from the eternally defeated one these last two years than I have at any other point in my life. I must be moving in the right direction. I guess that's why I don't quit.
Just as long as you keep your focus on the right thing, I am sorry, the right Person, there shouldn't be anything wrong with what you are doing. I will be praying that you can get through the trials and temptations that come your way.
I think I'm right there with you, Julie. I haven't quit yet but I've been close these last few months. Indeed, there are days where the only thing keeping me going is the daily streak here. That makes me sad, but I'm just being real. It is good to hear your perspective of having taken a break and realizing you began to slip because of it. Thanks for being courageous enough to share that! That has always been my fear. This may be an imperfect tool and I may often have imperfect motives, but I can say that I have spent more time in God's Word consistently on this website than I have at any other time in my life.
I often think the Eternally Defeated One uses scriptures related to internal motivation to stop us from doing a good thing for God, and our guilt plays right into that strategy. Indeed, I think that worrying about internal motives is a much bigger deal to us than it is to God. You'll notice that when the Word speaks about motivations it is almost always related to personal hypocrisy or a focus on "what I deserve." God comes against that strongly because given time it will produce a harvest of death. But If we are being obedient with the wrong motives we are still being obedient, which is much more important to God.
Think about salvation: most of us come to God out of fear of eternal damnation at the beginning. It is only later, after what is often years of service to him, that we truly understand the beauty of God's grace. Yet despite this, you never hear God say "Repent!, but make sure you have the right reasons for doing it." Imperfect obedience is the only kind of obedience God has to work with, and imperfect beings are the only kind of people being saved. But imperfect obedience is still the planting of a seed. It is the little internal death that leads to the future fruit of properly motivated service to his kingdom given enough time.
So don't be so hard on yourself, Julie. God is rejoicing right now that you are actively seeking him. And we rejoice with him!