Salvation

There are physical laws (principles) that govern the world we live in and the universe around us. These laws were put in place by the Creator for our well-being. He has also put into place spiritual laws which govern our relationship with Him. Understanding and cooperating with these laws will help us to come into a right relationship with the God who is our Creator.

LAW 1: God Loves you and desires to have a relationship with you.

"You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." Revelations 4:11

God created us with the purpose of having fellowship with us. As He walked with Adam in the garden, so He longs to walk and have fellowship with us today.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Revelations 3:20

Even though God desires us to have a close relationship with Him, yet, most people don't walk in the reality of that close relationship. The reason for this is......

LAW 2: Man is Sinful, and therefore Separated from his Creator.

"...but your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." Isaiah 59:2

God desires to have fellowship with us, but there is an obstacle that separates us from God. It hinders our ability to truly draw near Him. The obstacle is SIN.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

Our sin creates an uncrossable gulf that separates us from our Heavenly Father. Our sin not only separates us from experiencing God's love and plan for our lives, but there is also eternal consequence....

LAW 3: The Wages of Sin is DEATH.

"For the wages of sin is DEATH...." Romans 6:23

Not only does our sin hinder our relationship with God, but it eventually leads to our destruction. Physical death in this life, and eternal separation from God in eternity.

"...the soul who sins shall die." Ezekial 18:4

Since it's not God's desire for anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), He prepared a way for us to experience atonement for our sins. Through God's plan of redemption, the price for our sin is paid for, and we can be restored to a loving relationship with Him. This is made possible because......

LAW 4: The BLOOD Makes Atonement for us.

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the alter to make atonement for your soul; for it is the blood that make atonement for the soul." Leviticus 17:11

After Adam and Eve sinned, they covered themselves with fig leaves. Any attempt to "cover our guilt" with man-made attempts are not acceptable to God. Man's efforts alone can never bring the favor of God. God killed some animals and gave Adam and Eve the skins for a covering. He was establishing a spiritual law that is still a reality today...

"......and without the shedding of blood there is no remission (of sin)." Hebrews 9:22

God was establishing the biblical pattern for animal sacrifices to point toward to the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ. Jesus became the perfect "Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world!" (John 1:29)

LAW 5: JESUS CHRIST Became the Perfect Sacrifice for our Sins.

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8

The truth behind the ordeal of the crucifixion is that Jesus made that sacrifice for us motivated not by our pleas for help, not by our worthiness of such a sacrifice, and not because He owed us anything, but simply because of His amazing grace! He LOVED us, and so He died FOR us! Death was OUR penalty, our punishment, our "paycheck". We earned the wages of sin, but Jesus TOOK our place, and in doing so, became the PERFECT substitutionary sacrifice for our atonement.

"...but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."
Hebrews 9:26

It was you and I who were lost in sin and separated from fellowship with God. But God, in His grace, provided a way of atonement through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. Without His sacrifice, we could not hope to truly know God in a personal, loving way. The message that Jesus died to atone for our sins and reconcile us to God is called the Gospel, which means, "Good News." Because of the "Good News" we can be saved. In fact....

LAW 6: The GOSPEL of JESUS CHRIST is the only way we can be SAVED.

Jesus said to them. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5

It cannot be stated more simply than the above verses. There is just NO other way to deal with the reality of sin in our lives. We NEED atonement. Jesus ALONE can provide that atonement.

So important was the Gospel message that Jesus commanded His disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)

The Apostle Paul affirmed that the Gospel "...is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes..."
(Romans 1:16) Given its supreme importance, it is vital that we define the "Gospel" of Jesus Christ with nothing less than Biblical terms.

Turning to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, the Apostle Paul spells it out for us....

" Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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.."

According to the above passage, the Gospel, or "Good News," is that Jesus died, was buried and rose again the third day. Why is this good news? Because through the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we can have the wedge of sin removed from our lives, and be restored to fellowship with God! When Jesus died, He was paying the price and penalty for our sins. When He rose again, it was proof positive that the judgment of sin had been satisfied, and that the victory over sin and death had been secured.

Although Jesus died for the whole world, sadly the whole world will NOT be saved. Likewise, most people today do NOT have a close relationship with God, in spite of what Jesus has done for them. Why is that? It is because...

Law 7: The Gospel must be APPLIED to our lives.

"...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8

The Gospel is not simply a message to be believed, but it is a message to be obeyed. We must identify with the Gospel, making the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus personal to us. In other words, we must apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our lives. Jesus said this of how the Gospel would be preached:

"..Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of the Father upon you: but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:46-49

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples received the promise of the Father in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter stood up and preached the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord (Acts 2:22-36).

Upon hearing the Gospel, the people were, "cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37

They had beleived the Gospel message, and wanted to know how to apply it to their lives. Peter answered and said: " Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:38-39

As you can see by comparing the highlighted (in red) portions of the above texts, Peter's message was faithful to Jesus' command, and reveals to us how to apply the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to our lives. For this very reason Acts 2:38 is considered by many to be the Original New Testament Response to the Gospel. Just as Jesus died, we must die (repentance). Jesus was buried, and we too must be buried (baptism). And just as Jesus rose from the grave, we too must rise again (Spirit empowered). Acts 2:38 shows us how. The chart below illustrates how we identify with each aspect of the Gospel.....

From the above chart we can easily see how the Gospel is applied to our Lives. We make Jesus' death personal to us through our own repentance.

We identify with the burial of our Lord by being baptized in His name. And we experience the resurrection of Jesus in our lives by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Have YOU applied the Gospel of Jesus Christ to YOUR life? Why Wait? Apply the Gospel Today!

STEP 1: Have FAITH in JESUS CHRIST as your Savior and REPENT.

* Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that He is Lord and that He died for your sins).

* Recognize that you are a sinner and that you need a Savior as in Acts 2:37.

* Determine (with His help) to turn from your sin, and give your life completely to Him.

To experience Step 1 pray this prayer with a sincere heart:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I know that I am a sinner and that I need Your forgiveness. Jesus, I believe that You died for my sins and now I want to turn from them. I accept your forgiveness and invite You to come into my life as my Lord and Savior. I will live for You the rest of my life.

I pray this in Jesus Name. AMEN

(Congratulations....if you prayed that prayer. You have begun.....)

STEP 2: Be BAPTIZED by immersion in the Name of JESUS CHRIST.

* Be buried with Him by total immersion in water.

* Obtain remission of sins in baptism through obedience and faith in His name.

* For more info on this use the Water Baptism button on homepage.

STEP 3: RECEIVE the gift of the HOLY Spirit with the initial evidence of Speaking in Tongues.

* Meet the conditions of repentance, faith, and obedience.

* Believe God has promised it and that you can receive it as in Acts 2:4, 39

* For more info on this use the Holy Spirit button on the homeage.

Adapted from "The 7 Spiritual Laws" Written by Mark Kennicott 2000