24/06/2024
This lesson was made possible by observation and experience, and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together to help those Christians whose desire is to seek the truth of the Bible.
When this study is complete, believers will know what God’s word teaches with regard to salvation. The majority of so-called Christians today claim to be saved. But did not search the scriptures on how they got saved, they took it from traditions handed down over the years, say it what you will my friend, and you can put all religions together because they are all the same.
1. We will start over here by reading the book of Hebrews 2:3 which reads:
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
The Bible says “SO GREAT SALVATION” so great as God is Great; to be right as God is right; to be true as God is true, to be pure as God is pure; to be holy as God is holy. But why have a lot of people have not yet been saved? Simply because they were just blinded by the god of this world.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. It says right there “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” the foolish heart of men was darkened Romans 1:21. Throughout the course of this study we are going to mention the gospel which makes our salvation so great, but we must sit down at take notice that not all gospel in the bible is the same; if you fail to rightly divide the word of truth (2Tim.2:15) you will not be able to recognize what gospel are you believing or even preaching, failure to believe it will send you to God’s vessel of judgment. We will mention that later on. For you to understand this lesson you must believe the Bible to be God’s Perfect word, what I am saying is The King James Bible please abandon all modern versions for it will not lead you to the right salvation instead it will bring you to confusion.
2. Let me contrast for you Biblical salvation with every religion on the face of the earth. You can put all of them together, they all have the same common goal.
I grew up in a Baptist church and my thinking was that I was fully convinced that I was saved by being in the right church because they taught us that Jesus Christ was baptized by a Baptist, well, what a poor kind of belief! Several years passed I entered into a Bible college and studied there for four years but the mindset was still the same in that being in the right church makes a person secure enough to go to heaven. Every time we witness a person we do not have that full confidence because all we want is to bring them to a Baptist church and tell them that we are the only biblical church. The same position held by the majority of religions today.
Alright, here are some information that have i gathered over the years. But this is not to attack anyone but I want to help you understand the great salvation God has given. However, there are some wrong orientations held by some innocent Christians who have been deceived so many years.
Number one: The ABCs of Salvation in which A stands for Accept, B- stands for Believe, and C- stands for Confess. I thought for many years that only Baptist people were holding this method but little did I know it was the same method used by so-called Christians and later on Catholics were using the same procedure.
Now, Let me make a clear path and study it piece by piece.
1. ACCEPT- Nowhere in the Bible that sinners in this age commanded to accept Christ for them to be saved. Nothing. However, most are using John 1:12 to prove a point but we will examine the scriptures whether those things were so. John 1:12 “ But as many( remnant Jews) as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Remember there were two kinds of people mentioned in that verse, the first group is the Jews, look at verse 11, He came unto his own,( Israel) and his own received him not. The other group is the Gentiles “ even to them that Believe on his name” in the book of Acts.
The popular belief “ I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour” is not what the Bible says he is not to be your Saviour He has already been our Saviour two thousand years ago.1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those that believe.
Another thing is “ Lord, come into my heart and save my soul” Salvation is instantaneous the moment you believe and trust the gospel according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By the which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 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. which is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) that it is sufficient, something happened to you.
First, you did not request the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart, it is after you believed then instantaneously the Holy Spirit sealed you. Ephesians 1:13 “ 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,. Given us the assurance that Salvation is a free gift from God, that man cannot obtain by his own way.
You became the habitation of God through the Spirit. (Eph.2:22) God sent the Spirit of his Son into your heart. Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba , Father. You did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ, he is the one who accepted you, Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. You did not receive him, he received you , Romans 15:7 “…as Christ received us to the glory of God.
2. BELIEVE – Everybody believes in Christ, but not all of them have put their trust in the finished work of Christ at Calvary. They might have heard it but never trusted it.
“BY FAITH, “FAITH OF”, “FAITH IN”
A. BY FAITH – if we look at the Old Testament salvation, it is always associated with works because their own faith saved them( Hab.2:4) for instance, How did Noah get saved? Of course, by the Ark. How did he know that? Because he was the preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) he was not preaching the gospel of Christ for it was not known to him.
Abraham was saved by obeying God by offering his son Isaac,
( Hebrews 11: 17) it was just counted for his righteousness(Rom.4:3) Moses was saved by the righteousness which is of the law, by keeping them.
( Matthew 19:16-22)
It was very hard to be saved during the Old Testament time, but God in His mercy knew that man’s faith could not make it possible for him to have eternal life which men sought a long time ago (Rom.2:7)
C. “FAITH OF” –When The real “ Faith” came we were no longer under the law (Gal.2:25) this “FAITH” is the FAITH of the Lord Jesus Christ that was promised (Gal.2:22).Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. We have the righteousness of God not by our own faith but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
( Rom.3:22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference. If you still believe that you are saved through your faith you better think it again!
“ FAITH IN”-
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.(Gal.3:26) that means you have to put your trust in Christ for in him there is Redemption, Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Forgiveness
Col.1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
We became his children
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.(Gal.3:26)
So we see it very clearly that our Faith saved and made us righteous in the eyes of a Holy God it is the “Faith of the Lord Jesus Christ” that made salvation free. (Rom.3:24) ours is just to believe in the Finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary that it is sufficient.
FASCINATING TRUTH
This is the truth that every person on the face of the Earth should know. It is evident, that very few people even those who called themselves Christian hardly accepted the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ took our sinful nature on your behalf. The only key to understanding this truth is to believe the Bible to be the perfect word of God and it is without error. Now, Let us examine the scriptures.
First, We need to remember that in the Old Testament blood has always been the requirement for a man to come to God, for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22) . As a Holy God he looked upon the sins of men and was not satisfied with their sacrifice for “neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having eternal redemption for us.(Hebrews 9:14) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sins, (Hebrews 10:4).
The greatest sacrifice must be required to satisfy the wrath of God,
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. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10,11).
The Lord Jesus Christ suffered the Agony and pain of death, He paid it in Full. You don’t have to Pay for it, you don’t need to be a good person, you don’t need to endure because Jesus had endured it, and you don’t need religion for it cannot pay your ransom.
The last cry of the Lord Jesus Christ was “ It is finished” meaning the provision for salvation has already been done. You just need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. There is a song that says “
And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Saviour’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain
For me , who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
10
3. CONFESS - most religions nowadays think that confession is the same thing as repentance.
The traditional Prayer goes like this” Lord, I am a sinner I repent of my sins please forgive me, come into my heart, and save my soul. That is what they called traditional confession, But when did the provision for forgiveness happen? Is it the time that you prayed that way or it’s when the Lord Jesus Christ died and shed his blood to redeem us? Let us read, Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: it is very clear that redemption has already been available since Jesus Died. Man’s way is not always fit to the standard of God’s righteousness, God is holy enough to look into sin that is why his wrath is given to mankind since the fall of Adam and the only thing that would satisfy His wrath is for himself to provide a perfect sacrifice that would take away sin. The greatest sacrifice which the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. So in plainer words, Repentance to salvation is not merely by asking for forgiveness, it is a change of mind “to the acknowledging of the truth” Thus, you have to change your mind that your good works, religion, baptism, obedience, keeping the commandments, church membership, etc. does nothing to your salvation.
Forgiveness happens when you BELIEVE the sufficiency of Christ's Death, Burial, and Resurrection. That is to have faith in his BLOOD,
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.(Rom.3:24-25) So, we understand that confession is not repentance though we cannot deny the fact that we still commit sins(plural) which is the fruit of sin(original sin from Adam) repentance is still needed not for salvation but for daily living and our Christian walk to please our holy God,
Repentance is not a confession of sins, but abhorring that which is evil ( self-righteousness)
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
While many have claimed that they are saved still there is a question for some folks on what is really the assurance of being saved and going to heaven when they die. You need to recognize that there deceptive tactics in religion which I am going to mention
1. Being confident, is most practice among religions they think that confidence makes them assure to go to heaven, we must not forget that most of the cults are confident enough to believe that they are the true church but refuse to accept that Jesus Christ is God. Some even believed that by helping others, going to church regularly is enough for them to enter heaven.
2. Sincerity, you might be sincere but sincerely wrong. Being sincere does not make you assured enough to be saved why? Because there are a lot of people who are more serious and sincere than you are but are they really saved? There are more sincerity in a charismatic group, Baptist, and born-again groups but we must not take away the fact that sincerity does not save a person.
One morning I got an opportunity to talk to a very sincere catholic folks, we started the conversation about God when I started to ask them, are you saved? they without a doubt answered me OF COURSE YES. My follow-up question was “ How did you know you are saved? Because we are sincere Catholics and we believe in Jesus. I said do you believe the bible? They said No! How in the world you are sincere and you believe Jesus but you don’t believe the bible? There are so many people who are like that, my friend you cannot tell me that you believe in Jesus but you don’t believe the Bible.
3. Getting Right with God, in our native language “ mag-balikloob sa Dios” my friend you cannot get right with God if you are not saved for the wrath of God is in you,(see John 3:36) imagine, you are going to church, you are active in such ministries, you are witnessing, singing in the church, attending bible studies, but if you are still lost and not yet saved every day of your life God is angry with you, every time you wake up in the morning you have with you the wrath of God. The only thing that will remove the wrath of God in you is you Believe on the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. For God was satisfied on what His Son hath done. (see Isa.53:11)
THE SECURITY OF SALVATION
According to the Bible, our salvation is sure and steadfast
Hebrews 6:19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.
The moment a person starts to abandon his personal faith and begin to trust and Believe the finished work of Christ, instantaneously the Holy Spirit seals him (see Eph.1:13) for the purpose of security and protection. Precisely, that depends on what the person believes or what is the object of his belief. For example, many people know Jesus but as a black Nazarene, some knew him as a healer, some would think He would give them richer, some believed He is not God, and some cults believe he is the brother of Lucifer. What they have missed is Believing the Death, Burial, and Resurrection to be sufficient for their salvation.
When a person believes the gospel (meaning of the gospel, see 1 Cor.15:1-4) God has given him Eternal Life,
1Jn 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.
You will know personally that you are saved, the first witness is YOU.
1Jn 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
Your second witness is the HOLY SPIRIT, Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
So there is no way to doubt your salvation, when your pastor or preacher tells you that if you have doubt sometimes he would say that is normal, you better think it right because the real saved person has no way to doubt his salvation because you know what you have Believed.
2 Tim 1:12 …for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. And the Bible says …” that ye may know,(it does not say, that ye may feel, or doubt) that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.(1 John 5:13)
So, if you are going to ask me, Brother Arnel, how did you know you have Eternal Life? I said, I KNOW! You say why? Because the scripture said it, God promised it and He cannot lie,
Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; all religions and churches are liars, only GOD CANNOT LIE! So why trust your own way of salvation? The unpardonable sin is the sin of unbelief. ( check these verses, John 3:18, John 3:36, 2 Thess. 2:8, 2 Thess.2:10-12)
So the equation here is,
MAN +good works + religion +baptism + sincerity+ prayer+ balikloob+ feelings= Doubts
MAN + Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ + Nothing= Eternal Life
Do not change the Bible if you Change it, you change your destination.
WHEN IN DOUBT
One day a young man came to his Pastor and told him that he doubted his salvation many times. Now, guess What the preacher was telling him? You know brother, it is a normal thing because it happens sometimes. And this man went home believing that doubting is normal. What is really the answer when a person doubts his salvation? First, doubt is in the mind. The Bible says, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:8
Now Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
First, a person who does not know what he is believing will cause him to doubt.
Secondly, when his way of salvation is just hearing from anybody’s testimony which I call Parroting.
Thirdly, when his salvation is not according to the scriptures.
Lastly, When you are not satisfied with God’s way and you trust your own works. The Bible has a lot of truths for us to never doubt our salvation but you have to remind yourself about the gospel that you have heard from the first day until now. ( Phil.1:5)
Paul said…if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you unless ye have believed in vain. ( 1 Cor.15:2)
The functions of the brain will always connect to something that you hear, meaning you have to go back to the day you said you have believed maybe you are believing something that is sinking sand and is vain. Because a person can believe in a vain salvation. My friend, You can know your salvation.
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. I John 5:13
Anyone who tells you that doubting is normal is just making an alibi because he cannot even find a solution to the problem because even he is trying to erase it in his mind so he can give you an answer. The truth is if you doubt, then you are not yet saved!
