Posted on 12/29/2006 4:47:11 AM PST by cowboyfan88
Edited on 12/29/2006 8:32:56 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
The assurance of salvation is the most important thing in life. It should be the number one concern of every human being. Sadly, too often it is not.
The good news is, the Bible teaches that you can know for sure that you are going to heaven. I John 5:13 says: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW THAT YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE..." Notice that this verse doesn't say, "that ye may HOPE that you can GET eternal life." It says that you can know that you have it, as a present possession.
How do you get it?
Acts 16:31 says: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved..." Notice again that it doesn't say, "Believe and you will someday be saved." It rather says, "Believe...and BE saved." Of course, the word "saved" makes a lot of people nervous.
A man told me once, "We don't speak in those terms at our church." But that's a shame, because the Bible uses this word over and over again. John Newton used it hundreds of years ago when he wrote that most beloved of all Christian hymns, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that SAVED a wretch like me." You've probably even sung that song! Well, it was written by a man who was saved, and you can be saved too. Ephesians 2:8,9 says: "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” “Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Here we see that people are saved "by grace," and "through faith." By God's grace. Through your faith. Faith and believing are the same thing. If you believe something, it means you have faith in it. Notice also the contrast to "works." Works are things that we can DO.
Most people think that they can be saved by the things that they do. If they don't do bad things, if they instead do good things, they think that they will be saved. The problem with this system is that you can never be SURE that you've done enough good things, and avoided enough bad things, to be saved. That's why the people who believe this are generally not sure they are saved. But Romans 4:16 says, "Therefore it is OF FAITH, that it might be BY GRACE, to the end THE PROMISE MIGHT BE SURE..." The only way you can be sure of salvation is by faith. If you had to do as little as lift your finger to be saved, you could never be sure that you had done it right.
But by faith we can believe that the Lord Jesus Christ did it right. We can be sure that He lived a sinless life. He never did anything wrong, He did everything right. A person like that didn't deserve to die. The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But He was no sinner. Why did He have to die? Ah, He died OUR death. He died our death so that we could have His righteousness and be saved. II Corinthians 5:21 says: "For God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
Two thousand years ago, God laid all of our sins on Christ as He hung on Calvary. But that doesn't mean that everyone is saved! Two thousand years later, WHEN YOU BELIEVE that Christ paid for all of your sins, God then takes Christ's righteousness and puts it on you, completing the transaction that must be completed for the redemption of your soul.
I like to explain it this way. God says to us in the Bible that Christ paid for all of your sins. The only question is,
Do you BELIEVE God when He says that all of your sins are paid for? Do you TRUST Him when He says that?
If you do, the Bible says that you are SAVED.
If you don't, well, you just have to go on trying to pay for your sins in your own way. By being good. By not being bad. But these are things the Bible says you can't do well enough to be saved. Romans 4:5 says: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH is COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Titus 3:5 says: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."
That big word "regeneration" is just a big word that means to be "born again," as the Lord talked about in John 3. But in both of these verses, you can see that salvation is by faith alone, and has nothing to do with your conduct. Most people think that we are all born GOOD, and on our way to heaven, and that we have to do something REALLY BAD to blow it and go to hell. But the Bible teaches the opposite. The Bible teaches that we are all born bad, and have to get saved by faith to go to heaven. Sometimes when we explain this, people then ask, "Why then should I be good?"
The answer to this question is, we should be good out of gratitude for God for saving us. Earlier I quoted Ephesians 2:8,9 to show that we are saved "by grace" and "through faith." But the NEXT verse in Ephesians 2 tells us where "being good" comes in: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).
When we are saved, we are made "new creatures" in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17). But Ephesians 2:10 here says that we were "created in Christ Jesus UNTO good works." That is, we were saved by faith, but we were saved FOR A PURPOSE, for a reason. God saved us and made us new creatures in Christ so that we would THEN do good works.
Most people get the cart before the horse, as the saying goes. Most people think you do good works, then God saves you. The Bible teaches that instead we are saved by believing, then we SHOULD do good works. Right after Titus 3:5 says we are saved "not by works of righteousness," three verses later it says, "...these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful TO MAINTAIN GOOD WORKS. These things are good and profitable unto men."
Do you see it? We are not saved by good works, but after we are saved by faith, we are told we should do good works to please the One who saved us. Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Here there is a contrast drawn between "wages" and a "gift." Wages are something that we EARN. We go to work, and work all week, and the boss pays us. If we want to be polite, we can say "thank you" when he hands us the check, but we don't have to. He OWES us that money, we EARNED it.
But a gift is something altogether different. You can't earn a gift. If you did, it wouldn't be a gift. That's why the verses BEFORE Romans 4:5 says, "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." You can't earn a gift, you can only receive it. And the way you receive the gift of salvation is by faith, by believing God when He says your sins are paid for. Suppose you were a gambler, and racked up a debt of a million dollars to the Mafia. They threatened to kill you unless you paid up. A wealthy friend learns of your plight and comes to you and says, "Don't worry, I've paid your debt."
Now in this case, you must REALLY BELIEVE that your friend paid your debt. You must really TRUST your friend when he says that. That's why the other word that the Bible uses besides "believe" is "trust." Ephesians 1:12 talks about people... "...who first TRUSTED in Christ "In whom ye also TRUSTED, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise" (Ephesians 1:13).
If you DON'T trust that your friend paid your gambling debt, then you will most likely continue to make payments to your bookie or loan shark. But if you DO trust your friend when he says that your debt has been paid, then you will rest comfortably in that knowledge, knowing that you've been "saved" from an awful fate, and you will be forever grateful to the one who saved you. That's how salvation works too.
In John 5:24, the Lord said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and SHALL NOT COME INTO CONDEMNATION, but IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE." Here we see that the Bible teaches that not only are you saved if you believe on the Lord, you already possess eternal life, and it is NOT POSSIBLE for you to ever be condemned for your sins, for you are ALREADY passed "from death unto [eternal] life." Remember, Acts 16:31 says, "believe...and...be saved." It DOESN'T say, "Believe and be good." It doesn't even say, "Believe and be religious." It just says believe and be saved.
If you believe that Christ died to pay for all of your sins, and that you don't have to pay for any of them, the Bible says you are saved. In I Corinthians 15:1-4, the Apostle Paul identifies “the gospel” that he preached to the Corinthians, by which they were “saved”: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; “And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” You too can be among those who are “saved,” if you will simply put your faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 3:25).
Didn't this "Saved" thing start about the end of the 1800's?
You could if not for Grace through Christ. The Good Shepherd knows his sheep and calls then by name. The one and the only sin that can not be forgiven of man is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The ultimate and complete rejection of the call to salvation given to a person.
Life hands persons events that can make them fall events beyond what their spirit and mind can take. Does it mean they fall beyond the very salvation given them if they can not recover from it? No. But it does mean that their life on earth is not peaceful as GOD would desire. The cost for that is paid here on earth.
The saved person fallen who doesn't repent will be among the least in the Kingdom on Heaven. Unless our final words on this earth are "LORD please forgive me" we all die in our sins one are as bad as a hundred before GOD. The wages of sin is death and all will be required to pay it. Sin is just that. You are just as guilty at that point as the drunk Deacon or the thief or even the preacher who left fly a few foul words when working on the house. Even the saved shall give account for their deeds and thoughts.
This isn't an accounting to condemn you to hell but rather to determine your rewards in the Kingdom of Heaven as your sinful body and mind has passed away and is taken away separated from the new reborn person at our physical death.
These two conditions of man co-exist in each other till death do they part. No one not even the Pope will live without sin even after excepting salvation. If it were possible then salvation through Christ would not be needed. It is a preparation for a life in the Kingdom GOD has readied for us.
While we most certainly will pay for our sins on earth we will know them no more when we die and come before GOD as they will be removed from us and we will be reborn beings as GOD originally intended for us to be without sin and the curse. GOD will look upon us at that time and will not see our sins but rather His Son.
Jesus saves...at the Wal Mart in Laredo.
Nope...The church is alive and well...
I am supposed to think Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church to teach it error.
The fact that you think Jesus sent the Holy spirit upon your church is the error...
And, far from being the pillar and ground of truth, the Church Jesus esstablished is a fountain of evil and lies and heresies and we Christians who trust in Jesus' promises are really dupes who don't hear Jesus when the Church Teaches
You only hear Jesus when your church teaches what Jesus said, when He said it, where He said it and whom He said it too...
- we are Christians who are hearing Satan, not Jesus.
Why would you find this remarkable???
2Co 11:13 For such false apostles are deceitful workmen, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no wonder: for Satan himself transformeth himself into an angel of light.
Me Jesus keeps His promises. My Jesus does not abandon His Bride at the altar. My Jesus is with His Church - The Catholic Church - until the end of time. My Jesus is one who sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church to Teach it all truth -not lies.
Jesus did not send the Holy Spirit to your church...He sent the Holy Spirit to all Christians...And he sent the bible to teach us all truth...
Your church says you must attend your Catholic church for, what is it, a year, before you can become a Christian...God tells us we must become Christians before we can join His church...Quite a little difference there...You can not join God's church before you are a Christian...So you think you got the right church???
Only in the Catholic church...Around the time Catholics, as a group, started reading the scripture...
It's been in the bible since, uh, the 1st Century...
Oh, you must be a historian. I like history too. Can you give me some names of Christians who believed that Baptism was unnecessary? Can you show me their writings? All the way back to the time of Christ?
I did a little research, all I can come up with is some heretics called the Anabaptists, who may have believed such.
I don't think Jesus said that he was going to leave us a Bible. He did say He was going to leave us a Church though.
What would be the point??? You'd just continue with the typical Catholic Triangulation and avoid the subject like always...
I did a little research, all I can come up with is some heretics called the Anabaptists, who may have believed such.
You mean you did a little 'Catholic' research...And found that the Anabaptists were heretical to the Catholic church...And no doubt they figured your religion was heretical to their church...So what's new??? The question is, which group is heretical to the bible???
I don't think Jesus said that he was going to leave us a Bible.
Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psa 12:7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.
He said it...Your church has convinced you to not believe it...
He did say He was going to leave us a Church though.
And He said he would leave his written word so that the church would have something to teach...And He did...But YOUR church doesn't want you to know that...
The point is: you can't give me any names or writings by people who believe baptism is unnecessary. Because it's a false doctrine of individuals outside of Christ's teachings. People who proof-text and take Scripture out of context.
There is no historical basis for being "Saved." There is no Biblical standing for it either, without taking Scripture out of context.
Your quotes from Scripture are from the Old Testament, not from Jesus, who promised to leave us a Church, not a bible. And, they have nothing to do with a "Bible."
Show me some proof/history of your doctrine.
Luke 7 v50: 50And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Did Christ know there would be many churches to follow teaching the Gospel after his death and resurrection? I think so. And how would he feel about other churches other than the ones his chosen Disciples and Apostles established?
Mark 9 33After they arrived at Capernaum, Jesus and his disciples settled in the house where they would be staying. Jesus asked them, "What were you discussing out on the road?" 34But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. 35He sat down and called the twelve disciples over to him. Then he said, "Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." 36Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37"Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me." The Disciples Forbid Another to Use Jesus’ Name (/Luke 9:49-50) 38John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t one of our group." 39"Don’t stop him!" Jesus said. "No one who performs miracles in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. 40Anyone who is not against us is for us. 41If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I assure you, that person will be rewarded.
Churches ALL of them need to get over trying to convert other believers churches and condemning them and concentrate instead on spreading the Gospel. Salvation is simple. It is is so simple a child can understand it. Yet all of mans doctrines added to it put us back to the state we were under judgment of the law before Christ died on the cross.
Christ gave us all the way the truth and the light. He gave us the ONE who leads us into all truths "The Holy Spirit". It dwells in the hearts of man. If a man is Catholic and that is where GOD called him to be Bless him and be happy for him the same for a Baptist or a Pentecostal. We serve the same Savior. Be happy the same Christ hears and saves us all despite ourselves and all our church doctrines written of man.
Salvation | sal?v? sh ?n | noun
Theology deliverance from sin and its consequences,
believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ.
• preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss : they try to sell it to us as economic salvation.
• ( one's salvation) a source or means of being saved in this way : his only salvation was to outfly the enemy.
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French salvacion, from ecclesiastical Latin salvation- (from salvare ‘to save’ ), translating Greek s?t?ria.
Exodus 15:2
"YHvH is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father's God, and I will extol Him.Psalms 118:14
YHvH is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.Psalms 118:21
I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation.Isaiah 12:2
"Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For YHvH GOD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation."
b'shem Y'shua
There are various works of God which stand eternally.
When He gives a believer everlasting life in the spirit, even God Himself is unable to remove that life on His Soveriegnty. He is immutable.
Our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus sacrificed His spirit for us once and it was returned to the one found righteous for His faith.
We were all originally condemned, but upon that initial saving faith, were regenerated in the spirit.
The issue is eternal life. Once given, it may not be removed or else God Himself is unrighteous to the faith of the Son.
This doesn't mean a believer isn't able to sin after salvation. Post-salvation sin merely means we are not in fellowship with Him, not that the Holy Spirit ceases to indwell us. Falling away from God, after regenerated or reborn again, simply means we have turned to anything other than God after salvation.
After salvation, we have our first hope stisfied, i.e. we have eternal life. The next hope we are taught is to become doers of the Word. This we accomplish by renewing our minds daily with the mind of Christ. By returning to God, through faith in Him, we immediately confess our sins to Him through faith as royal priests. He is sure and just to forgive us those sins. We continue to abide in Him so that the enabling ministry of the Holy Spirit works in our thinking, by taking the LOGOS we read and making it supernaturally understood to our spirit, then making that spiritual knowledge known to our mind as GNOSIS, then again by the Holy SPirit, He makes that information in our mind known as an outward knowledge in our heart as EPIGNOSIS. When we apply that outward knowledge to situations we face in life we have an opportunity to become a doer of the Word, manifesting the power of the Spirit in our lives. All these things happen while we remain in fellowship with Him.
When we sin, or think about anything independent of Him, then we step out of fellowship and the Holy Spirit's ministry in our thinking is interruptted. We also scar our thinking or our souls, by thinking we can live in a counterfeit system of making order out of chaos independent of Him. Such is the worldly system which is parlayed into evil by the Adversary.
Nothing we can do will ever remove us from the love of God. Once we are in His family, we are His and none other.
The phrasing of Scripture takes man up to Christ rather than lowering Christ to man.
There is no need to state that those who don;t persevere, will have other things occur. On the contrary, neither does the Scripture state categorically that salvation is limited to those who persevere in all things at all times.
It is instruction for those who may face adversity so as not to lay aside any provision for sin.
Perseverence also extends into the working ministries of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification processes of the believer. When we fail to persevere, we interrupt His work in us.
This doesn't mean we are killed every time we sin.
Love your tag line!
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