Salvation

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be, Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away.” Psalms 39:4 (NLT)

“I am here on earth for just a little while.” Psalms 119:19(TEV)

Life on earth is not eternal, the moment we is born into the world, our days on earth have also begun to cease. As we grow, we find life to be a routine and how much of our time is spent to a variety of meaningful and meaningless activities and yet at the end of the day we realize that we grow older. We hear about people dying. Sometimes, after a hard days work, we ask ourselves where is life going, what is there after death, do we just fall asleep, is there a reality about heaven and hell, what about God, is He for real? There is no safest reference on earth that will give us idea about life after death other than the Bible. This is one big issue that shouldn’t be left on chances. 

Forfeiting one’s soul

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeit his soul” Matthew 16:26(NIV)

Physical death is the inability of our body to survive, spiritual death is the loss of a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, eternal death is the damnation of ones soul to hell. Many are spiritually dead and sad to say there were those who lost their souls to hell because they have failed to realize that there is life after death. The meaning of life is more than just work and being merry about what the world offers, one lives a meaningful life if he realizes that he needs the accept the love of God to escape eternal death.

Assurance of Salvation after Death

“Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:3)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him” Romans 5:8,9

Our history revealed that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross. It was this event that signifies his great love for you and me. It was in his death that we receive the means to salvation of our soul. His will is for us to have a new meaning of life, beyond work, beyond what we feel and see. It is for us to see His love and purposes in our lives. His death on the cross meant for us freedom and deep sense of happiness and assurance that we are saved. 

His life is the value of your soul!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

The Bible speaks about freedom from eternal judgment to those who receive his only Son. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

1 John 5:11-12 And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

This passage tells us that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son, Jesus Christ. In other words, the way to possess eternal life is to possess God’s Son. The question is, how can a person have the Son of God?

Man’s Problem -Separation From God

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear. 

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

According to Romans 5:8, God demonstrated His love for us through the death of His Son. Why did Christ have to die for us? Because Scripture declares all men to be sinful. To “sin” means to miss the mark. The Bible declares “all have sinned and fall short of the glory (the perfect holiness) of God” (Rom. 3:23). In other words, our sin separates us from God who is perfect holiness (righteousness and justice) and God must therefore judge sinful man. 

Habakkuk 1:13a Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, And Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor. 

The Futility of Our Works

Scripture also teaches that no amount of human goodness, human works, human morality, or religious activity can gain acceptance with God or get anyone into heaven. The moral man, the religious man, and the immoral and non-religious are all in the same boat. They all fall short of God’s perfect righteousness. After discussing the immoral man, the moral man, and the religious man in Romans 1:18-3:8, the Apostle Paul declares that both Jews and Greeks are under sin, that “there is none righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:9-10). Added to this are the declarations of the following verses of Scripture:

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 

Titus 3:5-7 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

Romans 4:1-5 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2  For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness 

No amount of human goodness is as good as God. God is perfect righteousness. Because of this, Habakkuk 1:13 tells us God cannot have fellowship with anyone who does not have perfect righteousness. In order to be accepted by God, we must be as good as God is. Before God, we all stand naked, helpless, and hopeless in ourselves. No amount of good living will get us to heaven or give us eternal life. What then is the solution?

God’s Solution 

God is not only perfect holiness (whose holy character we can never attain to on our own or by our works of righteousness) but He is also perfect love and full of grace and mercy. Because of His love and grace, He has not left us without hope and a solution.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

This is the good news of the Bible, the message of the gospel. It’s the message of the gift of God’s own Son who became man (the God-man), lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sin, and was raised from the grave proving both the fact He is God’s Son and the value of His death for us as our substitute. 

Romans 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 

Romans 4:25 He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. 

2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 

How Do We Receive God’s Son?

Because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross, the Bible states “He that has the Son has life.” We can receive the Son, Jesus Christ, as our Savior by personal faith, by trusting in the person of Christ and His death for our sins.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, {even} to those who believe in His name.

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

This means we must each come to God the same way: (1) as a sinner who recognizes his sinfulness, (2) realizes no human works can result in salvation, and (3) relies totally on Christ alone by faith alone for our salvation.

If you would like to receive and trust Christ as your personal Savior, you may want to express your faith in Christ by a simple prayer acknowledging your sinfulness, accepting His forgiveness and putting your faith in Christ for your salvation.

If you have just trusted in Christ, you need to learn about your new life and how to walk with the Lord. May we suggest you start by studying through the ABCs for Christian Growth. This series will take you step-by-step through some basic truths of God’s Word and will help you build a solid foundation for your faith in Christ. 

Call to Receive Jesus Christ as Personal 

“Jesus, I accept I am a sinner and have failed to see the true meaning of life, I sincerely ask for forgiveness. I have understood your words in John 3:16, today I acknowledge that Jesus died for my sins and believe that he came into the world to save me. In my heart, I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, Amen”

CONGRATULATIONS!

The prayer of acceptance is a beginning of a new life in Christ. I remember when I prayed those words, the succeeding days of my life was never the same. I begun to hear the singing of birds and appreciate the beauty of new morning. It was also the sweetest sleep I ever had from the time I could recall. The next days of your new life in Jesus Christ are one of the best times in this world, it is also crucial since as newly born converts we must drink from his Words. This is the basic food of our souls.

Symbols of Salvation

The three-point baptisms are related to the three-point pattern for salvation as follows:

Repent (Baptism into Christ’s Body)

“WE were all baptized into one Body by one Spirit. We all share together in that same spirit” 1 Corinthians 12:13

When we repent and turn to Christ as our Savior, we are raised up from our condition of spiritual death and receive his transforming life. By His Spirit, we are baptized(placed) into His Body. Therefore we become members of the Body of Christ, Who is Our Head. The Holy Spirit is the BAPTIZER, the Body of Christ is what we are placed into.

Be Baptized (Water Baptism)

“Therefore, go and teach all peoples everywhere. And baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19

Jesus ordered His disciples to baptize new believers in water. The disciple is the BAPTIZER, the water is the MEDIUM that we are placed into.

Receive(Spirit Baptism)

“ I (John) have baptized you in water , but He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit” Mark 1:8

This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the BAPTIZER. The Holy Spirit is the MEDIUM that we are placed into.