Salvation

Acts 16:30- And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” NKJV

Throughout the centuries, the Church has worked diligently to get people saved, for we understand the great blessing it is to have a relationship with the Father. However, there are still so many who are lost and on their way to a Christ-less eternity, and I’m trusting that since you are reading this page, you want to understand what salvation is all about.

Paul wrote in the New Testament that those of us who are not saved have no hope and are without God:

That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Ephesians 2:12 NKJV

That means that no matter what your life looks like now, if you have not decided to trust Jesus for your salvation, then you have no access to God, no hope, and no access to His promises.

Why must you trust Jesus for salvation? Peter shared this with us:

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12 NKJV

If you read the verses above this verse, you will see that Peter is referring to Jesus! In the council room of heaven, before God ever created man, He knew that man would sin and be separated from Him. So He developed a plan, choosing that Jesus would mediate between Him and man.

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all…

1 Timothy 2: 5-6 NKJV

Jesus paid the debt of sin that we could not pay, so that we could be restored to the relationship that Adam and God had before sin entered the world. In order to experience that, you must be born again. Eternal life, or being born again, is a gift that God extends to us all! We cannot do a single thing to earn it, but it is something that we have to accept:

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 NKJV

God predetermined, before Adam sinned, that He would make a way for every individual to be redeemed. The only qualification is that you must believe on Jesus and receive the gift of salvation for yourself. No one else can do it for you, and having family members who are saved, growing up in church, or just wishing it was so, won’t make it happen. You have to freely receive the gift that is freely offered to you, by faith!

At this point, you may be feeling totally unworthy of this gift! You are right! But we were all unworthy of this gift, yet while we were still in our sin, Christ died for us!

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us

Romans 5:6-8 NKJV

Isn’t that just amazing! No matter how many times I think of this great salvation I have in Jesus, it amazes me that He gave up everything to redeem me from the bondage of sin! I didn’t deserve it, and yet I get to rejoice in it for all eternity, because it is mine. You don’t deserve it, but if you want it, it’s simple to receive!

You can’t just say, “ok, that sounds good, I believe!” No! You have to receive God’s gift to make it your own. Paul told us an easy way to receive it:

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:9, 10 NKJV

This is where people get a little confused. When they hear or read this passage of verses, they think that they believe and are saved. But what you believe impacts your actions. For example, if I believe it will rain tomorrow when I leave for church, I ensure I have an umbrella when I walk out the door. If I don’t believe it, I won’t get an umbrella. Does that change if it rains or not? Nope! It only determines my preparedness for the rain!

That’s how salvation works! Your faith or lack of faith doesn’t change the plan that God has put in place for us to obtain eternal life; it only determines your preparedness for eternity!

Having stated all of that, obtaining salvation is as simple as the ABCs:

A = Admit that you are in need of the salvation that is provided only through Jesus

B = Believe that He is the Son of the Living God, who came to the Earth in the flesh, died on the cross, rose on the third day, and is now sitting at the right hand of God. Believe that He can and will save you if you ask!

C = Confess that only what He did at Calvary can cleanse you of your sins and provide you access to the Father and eternal life. Confess that this is what has been missing in your life and now that you understand it, you don’t won’t to continue life without Him!

If these things are done in faith because you truly believe these things in your heart, then you are saved!

Does that make sense to you? Is this something that you need to take care of today? Allow me to pray with you. Then in the comment section, just let me know that you are now in the family of God so I can rejoice with you and continue to pray for you! Wonderful Jesus!