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| Salvation What does it mean? And why do I need it? You say, I am a good person, why do I need a savior. If God is good, and just, and loving, he would never send me to hell. I am not bad, I think I'm better than most of the people I know. I give to charity, I help others, I certainly haven't murdered anybody. I don't have anything to worry about. Or maybe you don't think that you can do anything but hope for the best. Maybe you have been told that there is no way to know whether you will go to heaven or hell. What if you are wrong about all these things? What if you could KNOW for certain where you will spend eternity? First, let's deal with the issue of why a good, just, and loving God would ever send a "good" person to hell. In order to understand this, you must first understand the nature of God. God's standards are not the same as our standards. He does not compare one person to another. He compares us to His perfect standard. God is perfect. His standard is perfect. Perfect righteousness. Perfect love. Perfect justice. Perfect holiness. God cannot, because of His nature, abide anything that is not perfect, as He is perfect. When God created mankind, Adam and Eve, they were without sin. They lived in a perfect world, where God walked and talked with them. However, when they sinned, their sin affected not only themselves, but all of their offspring, including you and me, we have all inherited their sin nature. It also corrupted all of creation and brought death, disease, deterioration, suffering, wickedness and evil into the world. If you don't believe that all human beings have a sin nature, consider this: Has anyone ever had to teach a child to lie? No, they know how to lie all by themselves. God gave His law (10 commandments) to Moses to give to the Israelites. One of those 10 commandments is: Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour (lying). And another is: Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (i.e., using the Lord's name as a curse word). How about: Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Can anyone honestly say they have never lied or told an untruth about someone else? Have you ever been envious of something someone else had that you didn't have? See how easy it is to fall short of God's perfect standard. There is not one single human being who has ever been able to keep God's law perfectly. This is why Romans 3:23 says: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Now, God was under no obligation to do anything to save depraved man. He could have just turned His back on the whole creation. But He didn't. He devised a plan to provide a way back to Him. The penalty of sin is death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death... However, here is the good news. The above verse does not end there, the whole verse says: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Since God cannot lie and cannot change his nature, and he said that the penalty for sin was death, that penalty had to be paid. So, if all human beings have sinned, then all human beings have to pay that penalty. However, God could accept the sacrifice of one perfect human being to pay the penalty for all. But, since there was no perfect human being, God Himself took on the form of a human being in the person of Jesus Christ. He became a human being, born of a woman, yet without sin and therefore able to pay the penalty, appease God's wrath and purchase salvation for all who believe in Him. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. So, if Christ died for me, is there anything that I must do? Yes, you must believe, repent of your sins, ask Christ to forgive your sins, open your heart to him to come in and give you new life. Here are the verses that relate to this: Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. That is what it means to be born again. You become a new creature. You are changed, made alive spiritually. Born again spiritually. Although we are still in the flesh, we are no longer slaves to the flesh, but live by the spirit. The flesh will still struggle against the spirit, we are not yet perfect in the flesh, but someday we will be. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. God was under no obligation to save us. What Christ did for us is almost unimaginable. Read what Isaiah said about him several hundred years before Christ came: Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Jesus said: John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Is it unfair that God provides only one way to heaven? NO. Because He did not have to provide any way at all. It is awfully presumptuous of men to tell God He is unfair. Is it such a hard thing to accept the free gift God is giving you? Does it make sense to go to hell, just because you think you know better what is fair than God does? 1 John 5:13 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, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Many call it "accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior" but I don't think I like that phrase. I would rather say, fall on your face and grovel at His feet. Thank Him from the bottom of your heart for what He has done for you, a sinner who deserves nothing from a just and perfect God but his condemnation. He suffered for us, He died for us, He purchased our salvation, He redeemed us, He rose again from the dead, defeating death, and providing eternal life for us. You can be saved today, right now. Get on your knees, tell God that you know you are a sinner in need of a savior. Tell Him that you are sorry for the sins you have committed against God and that you repent of those sins and turn away from them. Tell Jesus you believe he died for your sins and rose again to give you eternal life. Thank Him and ask Him to come into your heart and life and tell Him that you will live for Him from now on. That is really all there is to it, so long as you sincerely mean it. God knows your heart. He will know if you are sincere. And you will know that you are changed. Now find a good bible believing church and start to grow and learn and get to know the LORD better. And, as the first step in obedience to the LORD, get yourself baptised as a public profession of your faith. Enjoy your new life, the blessings you will begin to see, the faithfulness of God, the joy of knowing He is always there to talk to, ask for help, depend upon, lean on. (But beware, Satan will attack you and try to turn you away again. That is why it is important to have other Christians for support and to read the bible and study the word and to keep in prayer.) 1 John 5:13 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, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Psalms 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. |
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