Salvation Now or never
Truly, salvation is the grandest
theme of the gospel story, and without any doubt the most
important message ever delivered to mankind. Salvation is
a present possibility, for besides all the other
scriptures quoted, we also learn in I Cor 1:21 that Paul
told the Corinthians that it had..."pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe." Some would have us think that in some way
or other salvation can be obtained in some future age but
that is a deception; for the scriptures
declares......behold now is the accepted time; behold now
is the day of salvation."(2 Cor 6:2) This present day
(or dispensation) is the only accepted time to repent and
receive Bible salvation. The term "saved" is
considered an old-fashioned or undignified to some, but 1
Cor 1:18 says: For the preaching of the cross is to them
that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is
the power of God.
Salvation is the most important
subject in the world. It should concern every one of us,
for without genuine salvation our souls will be lost in a
never ending eternity. Since it is offered to us
conditionally, how important it is that we understand
these conditions in order that we may approach God in an
acceptable manner and receive this greatest of all
gifts.....Bible salvation. Salvation, being saved, born
again, converted, etc. are terms that will explained more
fully, but for now we will say they are synonymous, all
referring to the same thing.
RECOGNIZING
OUR CONDITION
The first step or condition to
obtain is a spiritual awakening to the true condition of
our soul. We are living in a time where sin does not
appear so bad and righteousness does not appear so good,
or maybe a better description of our times is to say that
most people do not see the situation in the true light.
Righteousness is looked on by many to be a plane so high
that only angels could obtain, and sin is thought of to be
only those gross acts of immorality, murder, theft, etc.
NO MIDDLE
GROUND
Because of the way Christianity
has been portrayed on the whole, many think they are on
some kind of middle ground--not religious enough to be
righteous, but not sinful enough to deserve eternal
punishment. The Bible however, makes it very plain that we
are either serving God or the devil.
SIN THE
DIVIDING LINE
1 John 3:10 says--In this the
children of God are manifest and the children of the
devil; whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God. In
the eight and ninth verses above this we learn that: He
that committeth sin is of the devil......And whoever is
born of God doth not commit sin...So whether one is a deep
sinner or a fairly good moral person, as Jesus says in Jn
8:34...Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Then Paul declares in Rom 6:20--For when ye were servants
of sin, ye were made free from righteousness. Again we
say, sin separates us from God (Isa 59:2) and this
separation is called death. The wrath of God abideth on
those in this condition or sinful states. (see Jn 8:36).
Sin does not always need to be done in deed. Unlawful
desires of the heart are likewise sinful. Jesus says in
Matt 5:28....whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart
BIBLE
DEFINITION OF SIN
Probably the most concise Bible
definition for sin is found in 1Jn 3:4 and James 4:17.
John says.....for sin is the transgression of the law.
James says,...Therefore to him that knoweth to do good,
and doeth it not, to him it is sin. From these scriptures
we learn that sin is either the direct transgression of
the law (meaning God's divine law) or else the willful
failure to conform to its requirements. In other words,
sin is doing things you know are definitely wrong or
refusing to do things you know definitely you should do.
Sin is disobedience, it is rebellion against God and is
exceedingly abhorrent to him. It is wanting to do things
our "way" rather than doing completely what we
know God wants us to do. Some would try to give God's a
portion of their affection rather than loving Him with
their whole heart, soul, and mind as Jesus commanded in
the first and greatest commandment recorded in Matt 22:37.
Sinful man wants to substitute God's claim over his life
for oaths of his own choosing. Sin could be likened to an
act of treason. A man may be a conscientious worker, a
good provider and kind to his wife and family; even give
of his money to the needy. But if this man betrays his
country, all his good works will not save him from
punishment. A citizen has no right to disobey the laws of
his country, but on the other hand, just keeping the laws
alone does not make an alien into a citizen.
WHAT WON'T
SAVE US
While good works are the duty of
the child of God, good works alone do not make a child of
God out of a sinner. (see Eph 2:8-9) Neither does going
through rituals or so-called Christian rites save us.
Shaking a preacher's hand, joining a church, or being
baptized does not produce our salvation. Water baptism
testifies we have been saved, but our salvation is not
depending on the will and acts of others, but it is an
individual matter. (see John 1:12-13)So then we see we are
not saved by works or rituals. We also see we must be
awakenened to our true lost and sinful condition.
GODLY SORROW
REQUIRED
We then must have godly sorrow
for the sins we have committed, not the kind of sorrow
that comes from getting caught, but an internal
realization of the soul's guilt in the sight of God. Godly
sorrow is a deep sense of regret of the sins committed
against a just God. That type of sorrow worketh
repentance.
WE MUST REPENT
Repentance and faith combined
form the cornerstone for Bible conditions to Bible
salvation. Jesus said....the kingdom of God is at hand:
repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). Peter
preaches repentance in Acts 3:19--Repent ye therefore, and
be converted, that your sins maybe blotted out.....Jesus
also says in Luke 13:3,5..except ye repent, ye shall all
likewise perish.
FORSAKE SIN
Repentance includes a sense of
grief over sin and a turning away from it. The most
prominent idea of repentance is that of forsaking sin.
Isaiah 55:7 tells us: Let the wicked forsake his way, and
the unrighteous his thoughts, and let him return unto the
Lord....for he will abundantly pardon.
JUST ACCEPTING
CHRIST A DECEPTION
We hear a lot about getting saved
or being born again by "just believing" or
"accepting Christ" but for the most part this is
just a big deception that is sweeping our land today.
Granted, accepting Christ is one of the conditions and so
is believing but believing and accepting without genuine
repentance, which includes absolute forsaking of all known
paths of sin, will not produce salvation. James 2:19 tells
us even....the devils also believe and tremble.
Intellectual faith or believing is necessary to a certain
extent, but not sufficient for salvation. Romans 10:9-10
shows us that believing must come from the heart. This
kind of believing would mean to put our faith and trust in
Christ and would be an unreserved surrender of our will to
Him. On the positive side, this would be a willingness to
do whatever is pleasing to God. Negatively, it includes a
giving up of all rebellion against the will of God and
rejecting whatever is found to be contrary to his will.
This attitude would have to continue throughout our
Christian life. Heb 5:9 tells us Christ...is the author of
eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him. Some would
like to be delivered from their sinful habits, but do not
want to completely surrender to Him and His will.
TOTAL
SURRENDER OF OUR WAY
Again we would stress the
necessity of not only forsaking all sinful acts, but also
of wanting our own way. To pray for forgiveness without
coming to the point of being willing to turn from
"our way" as well as every sin, will go unheard.
The word says in Psa 66:18--If i regard iniquity in my
heart, the Lord will not hear me. Then in Psa 51:17--The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a
contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise.
CONFESSION
NECESSARY
Confession of our sins is also a
requirement. One reason this is necessary, is that
sometimes sinful men will set their own standard as to
what is sin, in an attempt to justify themselves. Anything
that is a known open violation of God's Word dare not be
excused as a fault or human shortcoming, but must be
confessed as sin. Basically, confession is an
acknowledgment of one's sinful condition, rather than a
list of all sins committed.
FORGIVENESS
AND RESTITUTION
Confession to man, where and if
confession is due, would also be a requirement. The
forgiving of others, perhaps those who wronged us, is also
necessary and is taught in Matt 6:14-15. Restitution,
where possible, is also required. (see Ezek 33:15) There
may not be opportunity for all restitution and confession
to man at the time of conversion, but there must be a
willingness to make such confession and restitution to the
best of one's ability as opportunity is afforded.
PRAY WITH
FAITH
With the meeting of the above
Bible conditions, the way is now opened for the seeker to
find access to God to receive Bible salvation. Rom 10:13
says--For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Loed
shall be saved. Our prayer for salvation must be also
accompanied by definite faith. Acts 20:21 tells
us--repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ.
A WARNING
We would add here as a warning
that some have tried to believe or have faith without
really repenting. This does not produce forgiveness but
will only lead one into being deceived. However, it is not
hard to believe God will forgive us if we have fully
complied with the Bible conditions of true repentance. Oh
how we wish we could get across the importance of the
seeker being "super-honest" with God, paying the
full price so as to obtain the real experience! It surely
is worth it; for there is joy in having our sins forgiven
and our guilt removed. Plus God becomes real to us and His
presence assures us of His friendship and favor. So we
urge every seeker to humble themselves and become as a
child like Jesus taught, so that they can receive the
blessings of salvation now and in the life to come. In
addition they avoid the awful consequences of eternity in
the lake of fire.
SUMMARY OF
CONDITIONS
Perhaps to sum all the conditions
to receive Bible salvation we could quote Jeremiah
29:13--And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall
search for me with all your heart.
