As a young girl I never knew what Salvation was all about, yes I knew who Jesus was, that He died on a cross, and that He saved me, but I never understood what all that meant. I even got saved when I was thirteen, but I always thought that in order to go to heaven I had to be really good and the slightest thing I did wrong would mean that I would not get to go. That is unless I went before a priest, confessed my sins to him, then walked down an aisle to drink the blood and eat the flesh of Christ in order to cleanse me of my filth. So, I spent the next 20 years rebelling against my religion and did not do much for God. However, I found my place and also found out one very important truth, I never knew what the meaning of Salvation was until someone took the time to show it to me straight from the Bible.
I began thinking about all the people out there who may have similar stories, then the Holy Spirit moved me to create this page so others can enjoy peace of mind knowing the truth about salvation, how you get it, how you keep it, and how important it is to let others know how to get saved. All information here is proven in Scripture and can be found in the King James Bible.
What is Salvation?
I am going to be completely honest here and say that Salvation means that a sinner is saved from spending an eternity in hell. Believe it or not, hell is a real place and no matter how many people
or revised versions of the Bible try to hide that fact no one can escape the truth that hell is just as real as heaven. The fact is that we are all sinners and the penalty for sin is a second death, however we can escape that death by receiving God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23.
Many people make the mistake of thinking that once they die, they die, but this is incorrect. While the physical body (the flesh) might return to the earth it was created from, the spirit is still alive and joins God in heaven. However, if one is not saved he/she endures a second death, the death of the spirit and sadly it is cast into the lake of fire. "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." - Revelation 20:14,15.
To explain the torment one faces in hell, Jesus spoke a parable (short story to teach a lesson) to His disciples of a rich man's agony after he died. "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And
he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus,
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for
I am tormented in this flame. But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy
good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted,
and thou art tormented. And
beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so
that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they
pass to us, that would come from thence." - Luke 16:20-26. What this means is a soul that is not saved endures just as much, if not more, pain spiritually as it would in the flesh and once an unsaved soul dies it goes to hell. Amazingly, we will be able to look down or up at those who are not with is, but once we get where we are going there is no turning back, no one in heaven can get to hell and no one in hell can get to heaven.
However, there is a way to avoid the torment that one would face and that is by accepting Jesus Christ into your life. "And this is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that
hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life. 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 5:11-13. What this means is that all who believe that Jesus is the Son of God have eternal life. Jesus is the only way to salvation. He led a perfect and sinless life. He died for our
sins. He was resurrected and those who truly and fully believe in Jesus
are forgiven of their sins and given the gift of eternal life with God.
No other sacrifice is necessary, or acceptable to God, in order to receive Salvation. Jesus is the Lamb of God, without spot or blemish, who has taken away the sins of the world through His own Blood shed for us. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." - Romans 5:8,9.
There is no other way to heaven, no matter how long and hard one prays, no matter how good a person tries to be, no matter how many things one does for the church or others, the only way to heaven is through Jesus. "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." - I Timothy 2:3-6.
How Do I Accept Jesus Into My Life?
You accept Jesus into your life by confessing with your mouth that you believe in Him. You believe that He is the only begotten Son of God, who died and shed His blood for your sins and resurrected three days later. You also believe that you are forgiven of your sins and that He has given you the gift of eternal life with God. "That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." - Romans 10:9,10. This confession must come from the heart, simply saying that you believe in Him will not get you saved. Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." - Matthew 7:21-23
Salvation is personal and no one can make that decision for you nor make the decision to stand as a substitute in your place. The only way to be cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you have not been saved and would like to be taken to the plan of salvation (step by step guide), please Click Here.
How Do I Keep My Salvation?
This question is one that many people have, especially if a particular religion does not promote daily Bible reading. If we do not read the Bible and study the Scriptures than we will never know the truth. I admit that this was the reason I spent 25 years questioning my salvation, if I had faithfully read the Bible I would have learned these truths long ago. The truth is that you do not have to do anything to keep your salvation.How You Are Able to Keep Your Salvation:
1.Salvation is A Gift.
Salvation is a gift from God, it does not have to be repaid, it's free and forever. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." -Romans 5:8,9
2. Salvation is Eternal Life.
Salvation is eternal, no person or sin can take that away from you. Even if you all you ever do is accept Jesus and never speak to Him again you can not lose your salvation. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23.
3. Salvation is Given by Grace, Not Works.
Let's face it, just because we are saved that does not mean that we will never sin again, we are going to make mistakes and we are never going to do enough to repay God for saving us. That is why we do not have to repay Him, Jesus paid the price for us and has saved us, not by works, but by faith. "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." - Ephesians 2:8,9.
4. Salvation is Given by God's Mercy
We are saved eternally through God's mercy." 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; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:5-7
The Great Commission
The Great Commission is a command from Jesus and he expects all His disciples (those saved) to follow it. "And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I
am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." - Matthew 28:19-20. There are 3 Commands:
1. Get Saved. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations". This means that we are to go into all nations and teach the Gospel. This is known as soul winning.
Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." - Mark 16:15,16
2. Get Baptized. "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." This means that once one gets saved he/she is to be baptized. Jesus said, "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." - Acts 1:5.
3. Teach Them. "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you". This means that once one gets baptized we are to teach them to teach the Gospel to others. Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." - Matthew 24:14
Christ ended the Great Commission by saying we should do these things, "even unto the end of the world." This shows that the Great Commission is to be taught to all until the end of this age.
One thing that you may want to be aware of, not everyone that you present the Gospel to will accept Jesus, but do not let that discourage you. You must not let those who refuse to be saved discourage you from seeking those who want to be saved. There are many searching for the truth and you may be only one to help them.
© 2009 I'm Following Jesus |
