Posts Tagged ‘salvation’
Why A Savior?
Even if you are not a Christian, I’m sure you are familiar with the Christmas story.
The Gospel of Luke has the best account of the birth of Jesus, and in the part which describes the encounter that some shepherds had with an angel we read, in part, the following:
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior…..”
Wait a minute. A Savior? Why do we need a Savior? I mean we’re all good, right? So, why do we need a Savior and from what do we need to be saved?
Good questions, all…
In Proverbs 6 beginning at verse 16 we read:
These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
For a moment, think of these seven things. Have you ever done any of them? Odds are you have had at one time or another had a proud look about you, lied about something, devised a way to get back a someone, either hit someone or at least thought about hitting someone, told something about another person that wasn’t true, and even spread gossip to get someone in trouble.
Do you realize that just by doing any one of these has caused you to be separated from God. We all know about the Ten Commandments and we always say, “Well, I’ve tried my best to do them, and God knows I’m not perfect, but I am basically good.”
However, when you look, again, at those seven actions I’ve mentioned, just one of them will keep you out of Heaven. In 1 Corinthians 6:9 we read:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?”
Are you “unrighteous?” If you have done just one bad thing, even a simple little white lie, you are an unrighteous person. As it stands now, you are in danger of spending eternity in Hell, not Heaven.
You will have to pay the penalty for having done anything bad. You see God will not allow anyone who is unrighteous into Heaven. That would be like pouring a sewer system into pure drinking water. It has to be purified first, just like you. The problem is, spending eternity in Hell will not purify you.
However, God has provided a way for the unrighteous person to gain forgiveness for the wrongs they have committed and to be granted admittance into Heaven. He has provided a “Savior”.
This is what we read about in the Christmas story in Luke. God has provided a Savior and His name is Jesus, and to all who believe in Him, and who submit to Him as Lord, the bad things they have done will be forgiven and the righteousness of Jesus will be placed upon that person. Because of the righteousness of Jesus they will be granted admittance into Heaven.
The thing is, you must admit that you have done wrong. You must be willing to say that you know you cannot enter into Heaven because of anything you have done. You must realize that you can only be forgiven if someone pays the penalty that you deserve to pay, because of what you have done, and the only Person who can stand in your place, to be found guilty on your behalf, is Jesus. Only because of what Jesus has done in His obedience to the Father, in His dying for sins, and in His resurrection can you have any hope of salvation.
You see, from what you need to be saved, is from yourself, because you are an unrighteous person, and that unrighteousness has caused you to be condemned to spend eternity in Hell paying for the bad things you have done.
That is why you need a Savior and that Savior is Jesus.
Call upon God now. Confess that you have done wrong and submit to Jesus as Lord of your life and, if you can do that, Jesus will be your Savior. So that when you read, “For there is born to you this day….. a Savior…..”, you can join all of the others down through the ages who can say:
“It was for me that a Savior was provided, to save me from myself, and His name is Jesus.”
When this happens the Christmas story takes on a whole new meaning. We can see why a Savior was needed and for whom He came to save; to save us from ourselves.
You see, we cannot save ourselves. We cannot be good enough to earn admittance into Heaven. We cannot do anything to be forgiven for any of the bad things we have done. We need a champion, one who will stand in for us, we need a Savior. Only Jesus can be that Savior. If you deny Him you deny yourself the only chance there is to spend eternity in Heaven.
Can you admit your wrongs? Will you submit to Jesus as your Lord, to take over control of your life? Will you bow before Him as the only Savior who can provide you forgiveness for your sins?
If you can say yes to all of these, then this Christmas will be the most wonderful Christmas you will have ever had. You will receive the best and most precious gift ever, the gift of being given a Savior to save you from yourself. His name is Jesus.
May this be a most wonderful time for you, and I pray that you will have a more meaningful, peaceful and life changing time of the year so that it will truly be, for you, a very Merry Christmas…
Salvation And Obedience
Is Obedience Necessary For Salvation
For they who are being saved from paying the penalty for their sins, salvation comes only by the grace of God. We cannot earn salvation, we cannot be good enough to be deserving of forgiveness for our sins, and we cannot do anything to please God so that He will look upon us with the favor of giving us eternal life.
In Ephesians 2:8, 9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
This verse is very clear that there is “nothing” we can do to be saved. Salvation comes only by the grace of God.
So, what do we do with verses like Hebrews 5: 9
“And having been perfected, He (Jesus) became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”
This verse seems to say that only those who obey Jesus will be saved. Then when you add to this what we read in John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
As well as John 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
These all indicate that only they who obey the commands of Jesus will be saved. Well, that is exactly what they are saying, but not in the way that you might think.
You see, being obedient to Jesus does not mean that you will be saved. No, what these verses indicate is that having been saved by Jesus means that you will come to have a great desire to be obedient to Him. In this desire to obedience shows that Jesus has become the author of your eternal salvation.
If we cannot be saved by obedience, and salvation only comes by way of grace then, obedience to Jesus is “evidence” of having already been saved. If you are saved by grace, from having to pay the penalty of your sins, you will come to have a desire to be obedient to the commands of Jesus.
As you grow in your walk with Jesus you will find yourself wanting more and more to be obedient to what Jesus wants you to do. You will have victories and you will have defeats. Having been saved, we still live in a body that is tainted with sin. We war and fight against it as it still has the same old lusts and desires that it had before being born again.
In my own case, on a daily basis I face desires and temptations that I had when I was not a Christian but, having been saved by the grace of God, I find that I now want to be obedient to what Jesus has for me. I constantly fight against the things that I no longer want to do yet, in moments of weakness I find that I have given in and have done or thought those things that I do not want to do.
At these times I come to God in shame and sorrow for having done so, and to ask Him to receive me back in to His arms to comfort me for my having lost a battle; for the sin that I have done. I have already been forgiven for my dis-obedience, but in confessing my sin, and acknowledging that I have given in to something that was wrong, I admit that I cannot be obedient on my own and I need to look more to Jesus for the strength to do so.
You see, when I look to myself for the strength to fight the good fight I will always fail. It is only when I cry out to the Father for strength to turn away from what is pulling at me will I ever have any chance of success in my being obedient to the will of Jesus.
Having been born again, we now have a new life within us and it is that life that will spend eternity with Christ in Heaven. That new life is what wants to be obedient to Jesus and it will be that life that will fight against the flesh for domination of our body.
In our Christian walk we will find ourselves wanting to do more for Him than for ourselves, and as we do so we will see that our obedience becomes easier than when we first began. Know this, obedience is evidence of our having been born again by the grace of God and of the new life that now lives within us.
If you say that you are a Christian, but there is no evidence of obedience in your Christian walk, especially if there is no desire of obedience, then there is a good expectation that you have not been born again in the first place. You may still be dead (spiritually) in you sins.
You will do well to make sure that you are saved. If you just “accepted” Jesus as a “personal” Savior but did not submit and bow the knee to Jesus as Lord, that is a good indication that you may not have been saved at all. Just because you “accepted” Jesus as a “personal” Savior does not mean that you are saved.
We are commanded to confess with our mouth that Jesus is “Lord”, and we are commanded to call upon the name of the “Lord”, and the only way we can call Jesus “Lord” is to put Him first and to acknowledge Jesus as the one who will control our life as we live in this world and in the world to come. We must bow before Him as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords and to dedicate our lives to serving Him no matter what the end result will be.
Have you done that? Have you declared Jesus to be Lord of your life? if not, why not do so now. For Jesus will not be a Savior to anyone who will not bow the knee to Him as Lord.
As Jesus said in Luke 14:33
“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Do this now, forsake all that you have, which is to forsake yourself, your wants, needs and desires, and to submit to Jesus as Lord of your life, and declare that from now on you want only to please Him.
If you can do that, you truly are a disciple of Christ because you have been born again into the family of God. You will know without a doubt that Jesus is the Author of your eternal salvation and your obedience will be the evidence that He has done so specifically for you.
Obedience is the evidence that salvation has been effectively applied to the one for whom Christ died. I pray that Jesus will reveal this to you now…
How To Have Peace In Your Life
You Can Have Peace In A Busy World
Would that not be nice? I mean, with all that is going on in the world and in your personal life, to have such peace so that you could be content in any situation would be such a wonderful state in which to be.
Most people never have such peace, in fact, most people are just the opposite. They worry so much that it affects their health, their work and their family. They never learn the secret of having peace.
I’ll give you a hint:
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8
Yes, true peace can only be found in God.
The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29:11
You want peace, then you must first make peace with God, and the only way that can happen is by way of Jesus. Wait, don’t turn away. This is your moment in time to learn what it means, not only to have peace, everlasting peace, but also to learn how to be forgiven for all the wrong you have done.
Here are some things about which you should think:
I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things. Isaiah 45:7
Yes, God makes peace, but he also withholds it:
“ There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22
They who do wrong and rebel against God will have constant worry and never be able to have true peace in their life:
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “ There is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20, 21
If you choose to stay apart from God you will have chosen to remain in those fits of worry, frustration and anguish. Why do so when there is a way out of this?
Jesus, while here on the earth, said the following:
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
When you come to Jesus, to renounce your sinfulness and to bow your soul, your self-will, to Jesus as Lord not only will you receive forgiveness of sins, but you will also make peace with God.
Having received forgiveness for your sins, having submitted to Jesus as Lord and believing that He has been raised from the dead, you will stand “justified” before God, and with that justification you will have made the afore-mentioned peace with God:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
You want peace in your life? You can have it. Then, as Paul the Apostle said:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
You can have peace, but it can only be found in Jesus. When you come to Jesus, and make peace through Him with God, you will have such peace as you have never known.
Won’t you do that now? Just come to Jesus and confess your sinfulness to Him. Cry out to Jesus for forgiveness and bow before Him, submit to His Lordship, and you will find out what it is like to have rest for your soul. You can then lean how to have true peace in a busy world.
Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven?
How Good Is Good Enough?
Like most people, I always felt that I was basically a good person. Yeah, I know, I’m not perfect, but I just knew that when I died and stood before God that He would weigh my good points and then weigh my bad points and the good would outweigh the bad, and for that reason He would let me into Heaven.
Then it just came to me one day, what if I had too many bad points, you know how all of those little things can add up. So, I got to asking myself “how good is good enough”? I did some research from the Bible and boy was I surprised at what I found.
How about you, are you good enough to go to Heaven? Maybe you are like me and you are not. If it turns out that you are not, What then? Well, you should know this, straight from the Bible it is written.
From Isaiah 13:
Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
Are you good enough?
Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Are you sure?
Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
But won’t Jesus come with love to gather everyone together to be His own?
From 2 Thessalonians 1:
since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe…
So, how good are you?
Consider these verses:
- Psalm 14:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. - Psalm 14:3
They have all turned aside,They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Psalm 53:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good. - Psalm 53:3
Every one of them has turned aside;They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Romans 3:12
They have all turned aside;They have together become unprofitable;There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Now, consider these words by Jesus:
- Matthew 19:17
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Mark 10:18
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Luke 18:19
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
After reading all of these passages that are written in the Word of God, do you still think that you are good, let alone being good enough?
If you answered “NO” then you have answered correctly. If you, then, are not good, would that not mean that you are not, and cannot, be good enough to go to Heaven. Think about that for a moment. If you are not good, how can you be good enough to go to Heaven? You can’t. That being the case, then how does one get to Heaven? Simple, read this and then do the same:
Romans 10: 9
If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved.
Can you do that? Will you do that? There is no other way. You cannot rely on your goodness, as you have seen, and you cannot do anything to be found worthy of being allowed into God’s Heaven. Your only alternative is Hell, and it is not a place where you want to be.
As we read in Titus 3: 5
“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
Salvation can only be obtained by repenting of your sins, that is by confessing to God that you are a sinful person, and by submission to Jesus as being Lord of your life, that you will follow Him and do His will as He gives direction, will you be saved. There is no other name, given among men, by which we can be saved.
Unless God forgives you of your sins and makes you alive in your spirit, that of being “born again”, to be a new creature in Christ and to be a child of God, you will not be allowed in Heaven and you will only find yourself spending eternity in Hell. There really is no other way.
Is that what you want? Will you now bow your knee to Jesus as Lord and call out to God for forgiveness of your sins and so receive God’s blessing of forgiveness and of a new life in Christ. By doing so God will give you a key to Heaven based on what Jesus has done and not on your goodness.
For you have no goodness in and of yourself, as we have seen, and your only hope is to be accepted on the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead. Only then will you be able to spend eternity in Heaven.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2: 8-9
Hiding Under A Basket
On Being The Light Of The World
In Matthew 5: 14-16 it is written, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Although this is primarily for the one who calls Himself a Pastor, this is also for anyone who calls themself a Christian.
As a Pastor, you are the light of your church. You bring the message of God, the way of Salvation through Jesus and you shepherd the flock that you have. However, is that light being hidden in the basket of your Church?
You stand behind the pulpit and week after week you bring, hopefully, the deep things of God. You bring the Word that opens hearts and causes people to see their sinfulness, to repent and to have a burning desire to come to Christ for forgiveness. You teach the things that are needed in order for your flock to grow as Christians, whether they are new, or the faithful and steadfast, Christians that look to you for direction in the Word.
Outside of the Church… what ARE you doing? Do you speak out in defense of your faith? Do you stand up at community meetings and remind people what the Word says about actions that could and will be taken in your town, neighborhood or street? Do you write Letters to the Editor about topics of interest in which the Church should be providing direction and guidance?
I would venture to say that you stay hidden behind those closed doors, hiding your light under the basket that is your Church. Why, what is it of which you are afraid? Most likely you worry that you don’t want to upset the apple-cart. You don’t want to offend anyone or you might lose parishioners and by doing so loose Church income. You might even be afraid of what others might say about you and you would feel an embarrassment when outsiders look at you in a funny way. So, you preach fuzzy feel good sermons designed to keep your flock happy. How horrible it would be if you were to make anyone squirm in their seats.
I sure am glad that Jesus didn’t feel that way.
You are the light. Each member of the flock in your Church is a light and by staying hidden under your Church basket you are also teaching your flock to do the same. They become Sunday morning Christians and the rest of the week live like the world. Is that what you want?
It is easy to become bold behind those Church doors, but it is something else to do the same outside of your building. When was the last time you stood up in defense of something that is un-biblical and openly said “It Is Written” and then explain what it is that the Word of God says?
It would seem that you are more afraid of being laughed at for your faith, for what it is that you believe, for in Whom you believe than you are in being the light that Lord has caused you to be and to stand up and be bold in the proclamation of what it is that God says.
In Matthew 10: 32, 33 it is written, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
By staying quiet, by staying behind those closed doors and only speaking when you can hide behind your pulpit you are actually hiding your light under a basket, and by doing so you are denying Christ before men; they who are not in your flock who need to hear from you what is written in the Word.
Jesus is the Light of the world, but you the Pastor, and you the flock, are the torch bearers carrying that Light into the world. Bring the Light out from under your basket. Step out where the Light is needed and let it shine in a world that is dark and lost.
You have a choice. You can stay hidden under your basket and keep on denying Christ before men or, you can come out from under that basket and confess Christ before the world. You can throw off the shackles of being hidden under your Church basket and speak out on what is written in the Word and have Jesus confess you before the Father which is in Heaven.
Obey the command of Jesus and do as He says… “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Pastor, Christian, come out from under the basket. The world needs to see the Light of Christ and only you can do that. Only you have the Light of the world. Don’t keep it hidden under your Church basket. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine…
Two Years and Growing
What A Trip
Two years ago, today, I began this journal. It has been quite a trip, and what has been written has helped others to gain a better understanding of basic Christian theology. Moreover, the research before doing any writing has also caused this journalist to grow and gain a better, more solid understanding of biblical knowledge.
Every topic that I have written about can be backed up by scripture. That is the reason for this journal. I have written nothing that I did not first check out and backup by scripture. If the Bible did not support what I was saying then I did not use it. It had to be biblical or it was not written at all.
To much teaching that is being given out these days is not scriptural. Oh, sure, you can pick out any biblical verse and make it support almost anything that you want from salvation by works, women pastors to gay marriage. However, when you take “all” of the verses that pertain to a specific subject that is when you get at the true meaning, yeah the deep things of God.
So, in July we will begin year three with a post about “hiding a lamp under a basket”. May God bless the coming entries and may they be used for the glory, praise and honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… 🙂
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Who Are They…
In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” This sounds really good and most people will read into this that this is talking about making peace in the world; peace between people, counties and nations. Is this really what Jesus is talking about?
Now we all know that it is a good thing to be peacemakers, and the more peace that is created the more we can all live in quiet, peaceful and safe surroundings. Wouldn’t that be nice? However, would everyone who would be involved in making peace be called “sons of God”?
There in lies the key. It would be hard to say that anyone who makes peace, between individuals or nations, would be called a son of God. So, who are the “peacemakers” that Jesus is talking about?
Well, interestingly enough we can find the answer in Scripture itself.
First, in Luke 20:35 – 36 we read, “But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”
Second, in Romans 8:14 we read, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Third, in Galatians 3:26 we read, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
So, it would be fair and right to say the “sons of God“, mentioned in these verses, are those who have been Born Again by the Spirit of God. IOW’s, they are Christians.
If, then, that is the case, what is the “peace” that is Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5:9?
Again, we can find the answer in Scriptures.
We need look no further than Romans 5:1 – 3 where we read, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
It is easy to see that the “peace” that Jesus is talking about is making “peace” with God. For of what lasting peace is there, with individuals or nations, without having “peace” with God? The answer is none.
Only they who are “sons of God” have been given the command and the ability to go out and show and tell others how to have “peace” with God. The children of God are the true “Peacemakers” because they are the ones who have the message of true and everlasting peace.
The children of God are the only ones who can be truly blessed by God because they are the true “Peacemakers” bringing the message of “peace” to the world, and because of that they are called “sons of God”.
How about you… are you one of those who are called “sons of God”?
The Work Of Christ On The Cross & The Resurrection
Was He Successful?
Before you answer make sure you have all the information that you need to make an informed decision. The reason I make that recommendation is that much of what the average Christian sitting in the Pew believes is only what they have been told, and they know very little of what the Bible actually says. You may be one of them.
Here’s a test. In Matthew 1:21 we read, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The key words in this verse is “His people”. Who you believe these people are will determine whether your answer is correct. Now, either Jesus was successful and effective in His work, the reason for which He came, or He was a big failure; in which case He was not who He said He was. If He is a failure then He is a fraud and the biggest purveyor of lies that ever lived.
Let’s look at another verse. In 1st Corinthians 1:18 we read, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The message here is about those who are saved by the power of God because of the work that was done on the cross. Specifically, it talks about those who “are being saved”. In other words, the work that Jesus did upon the cross was only for those who will be saved.
Here’s another example. In Colossians 2:14 we read, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
In this verse the key word is “us”. In short, sins were nailed to the cross. Redemption was made for those that, here, are called “us”. Now who are the “us”? In Colossians 1:2 we see this, “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:”
The “us” of Colossians 2:14 are the “saints and faithful brethren” of Colossians 1:2. Again, we see specific people were mentioned, those who had been saved, and only they had their sins nailed to the cross and it was for them that redemption was made.
If we are to believe the Bible then we must believe that the work of Christ on the cross was for a specific people and in this He was successful. Now, what about the resurrection?
In Colossians 2:11 – 13 we read, “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,”.
In addition, in Romans 4:23 – 25 we read, “Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses (cross), and was raised because of our justification. (resurrection)”.
Again, in these verses we see that specific people are in mind in the work that Christ did on the cross and in His resurrection. In fact, God makes it clear that they who are being saved were in a condition of being “dead in your trespasses” and that it was because of what Christ did you were made alive, having forgiven you all your trespasses”.
In other words, before you were born again, if you are a Christian, God had already forgiven you of your sins because of what Christ did for you. In addition, you are also included in the resurrection assuring you of everlasting life, again because of what Jesus did for you in His being raised from the dead.
Before we finish let’s look at just three more verses. They are all found in the Gospel of John and they are all in chapter six. The first verse we will look at is found in verse 44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” A similar statement is found in verse 65, “And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
I bet you thought that anyone could choose to come to Jesus anytime they wanted too, didn’t you? Well, here Jesus tells not just once, but twice, that “NO ONE” can come unless the Father draws him. Now let’s look at the last of these three verses.
Again, staying in John 6 but this time in verse 37 we read, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”
Did you notice what it said? It said that “ALL” that Father gives Me will come to Jesus.
Now I am sure you have never been taught nor even told that these verses exists and that they were said by Jesus. In these three verses Jesus is telling us that unless you are drawn by the Father to come to Him you will never, of your own free-will, ever choose to come to Him, but if you are drawn by the Father, then you will have been given the ability to come to Jesus and you will come to Him of your own free-will.
When you take these three verses that were said by Jesus, and combine them with the other verses that we have looked at, we can only come to one conclusion. We have to believe that Jesus was successful in His work upon the cross and in the resurrection, and that both were done for specific people.
The people of Matthew 1:21 for which He came to save are those whom He chooses to save and to assure them of life eternal with His resurrection from the dead. In one last verse, John 5:21 we read, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.”
Yes, Christ was successful in His work upon the cross and in His resurrection from the dead. Every person for whom Christ died upon the cross, to give them forgiveness of sins in His redemptive work, and to provide everlasting life through His resurrection from the dead, will be saved and will be given life eternal.
This brings us back to Matthew 1:21, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
After looking at the verses that we have, now who do you think are the “people” who Jesus came to save from their sins? Knowing that not everyone will be saved and only those for whom He came to save will be saved, you will have to conclude that these people are those for whom Christ died upon the cross and to apply to the same life everlasting with His resurrection from the dead.
His people – His sheep – the Elect of God.
Anything else will make Jesus into a failure and a liar. I don’t think you want to be the one to accuse of Him of that. Do You?
Making Sure You Are A Christian
How Can You Tell?
So, you say you are a Christian. How do you know? You accepted Jesus as your Savior, you say. That doesn’t prove you are a Christian. There are many people who say they have done that but just because you have made some kind of a decision is not proof that you have really been born again. In 2nd Peter 1:10 we read,
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure.”
This is a stern warning to take a look at your life, believing that you are a Christian, and make sure, very sure, that you have been called of God and that He has brought you into His family.
Once a person becomes a Christian a life change begins to take place. With some it will be slow and gradual, and with others there will be a quick and a dramatic change in the way that they live. We just need to look at the verses right before the one we quoted above to see what should be seen in your life.
2nd Peter 1:5 – 8, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Do you see any of these signs in your life? If not, then there is every reason to question whether or not you have been born again. No one, who become a Christian, stays the same as they were before regeneration (being born again). A new person begins to appear and that new person now wants to be obedient to the Lord. You see, Jesus will not be a Savior to anyone who will not bow the knee to Him as Lord.
You will never become perfect in this life, as there will always be a battle between your old self and the new person that has been made alive in you, in your spirit. There should be a change in your language, in how you look at others and how you now see God.
You do not do this on your own. For one thing you can’t. You need the work of God in your life in order for this change to take place. In Philippians 2: 12 – 16 we read the following.
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”
Once you become born again, God does not leave you on your own. In these verses we see that God is very much active in your growth as a Christian. He is constantly working in your life to make the changes that He wants to see in you. God will cause all kinds of events in your life, both good and bad, in order to cleanse you of your sinful ways and to remove from you that which has become common place in you that is not pleasing to Him. That is why, no matter what happens, you should become obedient to what God is doing so that you will shine as lights in a perverse and sinful world.
As lights you will be different from others. You will not talk like them, you find that you no longer have the same desires and interests that you had before, especially if they were the kind that is not pleasing to God. You should see that some of the things that used to be important in your life is no longer your driving desire. You should be seeing that you want, more and more, to be obedient to the Lord and to do what He wants and not what you want.
In short, you no longer belong to yourself and to Satan. You now belong to God and He will work in you both to will and to do what He wants. If that is not evident in your life, if there is no difference in how you are, how you live after having become a Christian, maybe you haven’t been born again after all.
Just because you make a decision or “accept” Jesus as your personal Savior does not guarantee that you are a Christian. Only if you have been called and made alive in the spirit by God, which does have the evidence of Repentance of your sins towards God and of having Faith in Jesus for unselfishly paying the penalty for your sins, and in your submission to Him as Lord, will there be any work or transformation of your life with God directing the change.
People who say they are a Christian, but there is no proof of that in their life, most likely have been deceived and are not Christians at all; and they are heading for Hell.
How about you? Have you made your call and election sure? If not, maybe now would be the time to do so. Why would you wait until you die before you find out? By then it will be too late.
Salvation Through Faith
But Who’s Faith Is It?
For one to become a Christian they need to be “Born Again” by the Grace of God through Faith. The question is, by who’s faith is it that we are saved?
In Ephesians 2:8, 9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
So, if the faith through which we are saved is a gift then that faith must come from somewhere else. We know that God gives us this faith because of Eph. 2:8&9 and, in addition, in Romans 12:3 we read, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Does God give us this faith just out of thin air or does this faith come from the action of someone else? The best translation of the Bible that answers this question comes from the 1622 Geneva Bible; the Bible that the Pilgrims first brought to America. Newer translations changes the wording to something else and in doing so nullifies part of the work of Christ in our salvation.
In the Geneva Bible in Galations 2:16 we read, “Know that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ, even we, I say, have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of the Law, because that by the works of the Law, no flesh shall be justified.” Newer, so called better, translations use the word “in” instead of “OF“.
In other words, it is not by faith in Christ that we are saved by by the faith OF Christ that we are saved. If we are saved by faith in Christ then it is our faith that is being used for our salvation, but we have no righteousness of our own, we are dead in our sins and there is no good in us from which to generate this faith. That is why faith must be given to us as a gift for our use in being saved.
In that case, that faith through which we are saved must come from the righteousness of someone else and the only one who can provide that faith is Jesus Himself. In fulfilling the Law, through His obedience to the Father, the faith by which He does all this is then imputed to us, that is it is given to us as a gift, so that we are then saved by the faith OF Christ that he made perfect for us.
For by grace have you been saved through the faith OF Jesus, not of our works, so that we cannot boast that we were able to come up with our own faith in order to be saved. We cannot contribute in any way to our salvation, no works are involved not even our own faith, everything is done by Jesus for us.
The Father defines our salvation, the Son completes the work of our salvation and the Holy Spirit applies that finished work. Salvation, from start to finish, is all done by the Soverign God who works all things according to His will.
Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, but the faith that saves is the faith OF Jesus. We are not saved by faith in Christ, we are saved by the faith OF Christ. Only He can provide that faith for us because only Jesus has completed the work of being faithful, and obedient, for us.
Salvation does come through faith, but it is through the faith OF Jesus that we are saved and not our own. This is the faith that is given to us, and it is by this faith, the faith OF Jesus, through which we receive salvation.
So then, the answer to the question, “by who’s faith is it that we are saved?” the answer is simple. It is by the faith OF Jesus that we are saved.
Riff's Christian Journal 