“Are you saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ?“
[17 minute read]
This is the most important eternal life-changing question and answer of your life.
It’s a simple “yes or no” question and “maybe” is not an option. You are either “saved” and you know that you know that you know you are saved OR you are “not saved” and still “lost,” without faith in Christ… condemned and without hope.
Jesus answered Nicodemus, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—regenerated, spiritually transformed, a spiritual rebirth, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 AMP)
To be “saved,” you must be born again!
It is important for you to understand that because of the curse and consequences of sin we are all born “not saved,” “lost,” without faith in Christ… condemned and without hope; spiritually “dead” in our sins. Our only hope (your only hope) is to first, get into God’s Word and hear the gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ and as the Holy Spirit draws you to Himself and convicts you of your sin, accept God’s grace through repentance and faith in Christ and let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do. He transforms you through a spiritual rebirth, where you are born again (born for a second time) as a “new creation in Christ.” It is the only way to change your eternal destiny.
He justifies you, the ungodly, because of your faith in Christ which is counted toward righteousness and
Conversion – the human side of the salvation experience- repentance and faith. The divine side is regeneration.
Simply put, to justify is to declare righteous. Justification is an act of God whereby He pronounces a sinner to be righteous because of that sinner’s faith in Christ. According to one theologian, “the root idea in justification is the declaration of God, the righteous judge, that the man who believes in Christ, sinful though he may be, is righteous—is viewed as being righteous, because in Christ he has come into a righteous relationship with God” (Ladd, G. E., A Theology of the New Testament, Eerdmans, 1974, p. 437).
Your earthly and eternal lives will be forever changed only when you are “born again.”
Repentance – Faith – Justification – Regeneration
It is sin that separates us from God.
When Adam, the first man of creation, disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, he brought sin and death into God’s perfect world and passed on the curse of his sin nature to all of mankind. Therefore, we are all sinners, with no exceptions, separated from God and fall short every day of His perfect standard of righteousness… His glory.
In the Bible, sin is defined as breaking God’s law, an act of disobedience or rebellion against Him. It is also described as “missing the mark” of God’s holy standard of righteousness, His absolute and perfect measure of moral and ethical behavior which reflects His own nature and character. At its core, sin reveals that humanity considers sin more desirable than God. In the midst of sin, our selfish desires take precedence over His goodness. In our feeble minds, sin becomes our top priority no matter what God thinks about it.
But simply put, sin means doing anything that does not please God… not saying and doing things you should say and do, but instead, saying and doing the things you should not say and do; un-Godly things, sinful things things that are evil in His sight. Our actions, what we think, say and do, either please God or they don’t; they are either Christ-like or they’re not and these should be the only standards for our Christian behavior.
Our sin provokes God’s wrath, a powerful and just anger, and because it is God who makes the rules and set the standards in the world He created, the penalty for sin, God’s rightful judgment, is physical and spiritual death, separation from God and eternal punishment… a fiery torment, without ceasing, forever and ever. It is permanent and irreversible.
And because you willfully choose to sin even when you know it does not please God, then you must understand his wrath.
God knew that Adam would sin and He knew that we would also sin, but His perfect plan included redemption that was already in place even before time began.
God’s rightful judgment requires that all sinners must die to pay the penalty for their sins unless someone else dies to pay the penalty for them. But His justice required that the substitute for man be a human who had committed no sin, because if the substitute had sinned, his death would only pay the penalty for his own sins.
There was not one perfect, sinless human who could be that substitute, but…
The Good News of Jesus Christ is this….
God loves you so much, that while almost 2000 years before you were even born and yet already cursed with sin and condemned to the eternal punishment for sin, God Himself through His son Jesus Christ, became that sinless human substitute and died on a cross to pay the penalty for your sins and the sins of all mankind. There is no other “god” who loved sinful man so much that He would suffer and die for him.
Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, God incarnate, which means God in human form, the Word of God in the flesh, both God and man… truly God and truly human, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin named Mary and the only human being who ever lived a sinless, righteous life, making Him the only “human” who could pay the penalty for sin, because He never sinned.
Jesus suffered and died to pay the penalty for your sins so you wouldn’t have to.
And when God raised Jesus from the dead, everyone had righteousness set to their account, which would make them right and acceptable to God and grant them eternal life. There is no other “god” who was ever raised from the dead to give you eternal life.
Only God Himself could do this and He did it for just one reason…
LOVE!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that “whosoever” believes in Him should not perish (die) but have everlasting (eternal) life.” (John 3:16 NKJV; emphasis added)
“But God demonstrates (and proves) His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NKJV; emphasis added)
God loves you and He wants you to love Him back, but He won’t mandate it, because that wouldn’t be “true” love. Your love for Him has to be your choice. He proved His love for you on the cross.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in the history of the world. If the resurrection really happened (which it did), then it proves that Christianity is true and everything else is not.
There is simply no solution to the human problem of sin and its eternal punishment except by the grace of the one true and only living, Creator God and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Only one God’s divine plan of redemption includes restoring His perfect world for eternity.
In fact, the entire universe exists only for the exercise of salvation for those who accept Christ and condemnation for those who don’t.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (from Acts 14:6)
And that name is…
JESUS!
Nobody is born a Christian. There are not millions of ways to get saved. Works won’t do it. Your family and friends cannot save you and you cannot save them and you certainly cannot save yourself. You must be “born again.” Salvation is applied by the Holy Spirit, God’s agent of salvation, and it comes ONLY by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus made it perfectly clear when He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
When He said “I am the way”… He was saying He is the ONE way, the ONLY way to salvation. Without Him you remain “lost” and condemned.
When He said “I am the Truth”… He was saying He is the divine incarnate Word of God, the deity of God in human form, truly God and truly man, the source of all Truth which is absolute and indisputable.
And when He said “I am the life”… He was saying that because of His death and resurrection, you are no longer “dead” in your sins and have been granted eternal life. Jesus gave His life so you could live. Because He lives, your earthly and eternal lives are forever changed the moment you accept His grace. Jesus said, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows“]… abundant life in Christ, both here and for eternity. (John 10:10 AMP, emphasis added)
And this is the Gospel Truth, the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it is the truth that will set you free. Nothing else will.
What is your response to the love of Jesus Christ for what He did for you?
You must hear the “Truth” of the gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ and let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do.
All “you” can do to be saved is to accept God’s grace, repent and place your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit does the rest.
The Holy Spirit is fully God in the same way that the Father and the Son are fully God. He is God’s agent of salvation.
Repentance and faith are the necessary responses to the gospel message. They work hand-in-hand. You cannot have saving faith without genuine repentance or genuine repentance without saving faith. They are inseparable, yet distinct acts. Both are gifts of God’s grace and neither are possible without the work of the Holy Spirit.
Repentance means changing your mind about being a sinner through Godly sorrow and intentionally turning away from your sin and toward a righteous relationship with the one true, living God by His grace and through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the repudiation (rejection) of not only the act of sin, but also the repudiation of “your” self for allowing sin and evil to separate you from God. You need to learn to hate sin as much as God does.
Faith is turning to, trusting in, and relying on Christ because of who He is and what He has done for you through His death and resurrection.
“So faith comes from hearing the Good News (the gospel). And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.” (Romans 10:17 ERV; emphasis added).
Saving faith requires a knowledge of what God has said through His Word. It is by hearing the Good News that the Holy Spirit begins to do His work in you. It is the Holy Spirit who grants you the gift of faith enabling you to believe in Jesus Christ.
As you hear the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit submits “sufficient light” to draw you to Himself, unblinds your eyes, “tugs on” and softens your hardened heart, opens your mind and “convicts you about the guilt of sin, the punishment for it, your need for a Savior and about righteousness and judgment.” He allows you to see that you are “spiritually” dead in your sins, separated from God and condemned to the eternal punishment you will receive without a Savior. The Holy Spirit releases you from the bondage of your sin and enables you to come to Christ through genuine repentance and saving faith.
By accepting God’s free gift of grace, you are justified, declared righteous by God and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, where you are transformed through a spiritual rebirth, born again, as a new creation in Christ and filled with His Spirit, making you complete and whole with Jesus for the first time and for all time.
Justification is your position in Christ, your legal standing with God; not guilty, free, no longer an enemy, declared righteous… right and whole with God on the basis of your faith in Jesus Christ and His righteousness.
Regeneration
xxxxxYour old sinful self is gone, “behold everything is new.” Your new self is no longer you, but Christ who lives in you.
When you are born again, you are completely changed by the Holy Spirit from the inside-out for all to see. You cannot remain the same.
And yes, you are still in this world, but you are not of this world.
How do you know that you know that you know that you are saved?
You have been transformed by the Holy Spirit through a spiritual, born again as a new creation in Christ and no longer identify by who you are and what you have done, but by whose you are in Jesus and what you are doing through Him.
Because you have been changed, not by yourself, but by the Holy Spirit, from the inside-out for all to see, with a new heart, a new way of thinking, a new way of acting and reacting, with new attitudes imbedded in you heart which shape and define the content of your new Christ-like character which reveals your a new identity in Christ, where you are no longer “identify” by “who” you are, but by “whose” you are in Him.
All of
Let others see Christ in you in everything you say and everything you do and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you to explain what has happened to you, your new attitude and how you have changed and the hope and joy you have, but answer them with gentleness and respect, just as Christ would do. (adapted from 1 Peter 3:15)
Salvation is the beginning of the new life for the “born again” Christian. The first phase of sanctification happens at the moment of salvation, when a believer is spiritually set apart for a special use by God. It is seen as an immediate and definitive act. To be sanctified (the process of being made holy) means that God loves you too much to let you stay the same.
The second phase is sanctification follows and is the “rest of your life-long process” of growing as a Christian by obedience to God through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the process of changing, growing and becoming more Christ-like every day as evidence and assurance of your faith until God calls you home.
Bring your salvation into full effect by actively pursuing Christlikeness and spiritual maturity. Use serious caution and self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ. (adapted from Philippians 2:12–13 AMP)
You work out what He works in you. Faith in Christ produces good, righteous works. Works are the actions… what you say and how you say it and what you do and how you do it, as you live out how He’s made you new and alive in Christ. You have completely changed for all to see! The standard of your behavior, what you say and do, is: “it is either Christ-like or it’s not and it pleases God or it doesn’t.”
“God’s divine power has given us everything we need for a Godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by your evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2 NIV)
The Fruit of the Spirit exemplifies the character of Christ you live by each day: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Scripture also teaches that there are the “Seven Qualities” (fruit) we are instructed to add to our faith after we become a Christian, a born-again believer in Jesus Christ: (adapted from 2 Peter 1:5-7 ERV with notes added)
If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit (thoughts, attitudes and actions) that should come from your knowledge of your Lord Jesus Christ and your faith in Him.
“Because of all your blessings,” be diligent” and make every effort to add these things to your life:
–To your faith (turning to, trusting in, and relying on Christ because of who He is and what He has done for you through His death and resurrection) add goodness (virtue, moral excellence, the nature of God);
-To your goodness add knowledge (insight & understanding, by reading God’s Word every day, without exception; wisdom is the timely application of knowledge, discerning how to act and react in all situations.);
-To your knowledge add self-control (discipline, doing things the way the are supposed to be done; doing all the right things the right way; restraint, saying and doing what you should say and do and not saying and doing what you should not say and do);
-To your self-control add patience (a good attitude when waiting; steadfast and calm despite opposition, difficulty, adversity or inconvenience);
-To your patience add godliness (simply put, it’s living a fruitful and obedient Christian life, devotion to God; a relationship to Him that drives a different behavior from the inside-out, Christ-like character reflected in your thoughts, attitudes & actions… how you think, what you say and how you say it and what you do), all which should be Christ-like and pleasing to God;
-To your godliness add kindness (friendly and forgiving; brotherly affection toward whoever crosses your path, especially your brothers and sisters in Christ).
-And to this kindness add [Christian] love (Love is a virtue grounded in the nature of God; characterized by deep affection and adoration. It means serving God and others by unselfishly seeking what is best for them and to do things for their benefit.”
Commit this to memory: To your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add godliness; to your godliness add kindness and to this kindness add love.
“God called you and chose you to be His. Do your best to live in a way that shows you really are God’s called and chosen people. If you do all this, you will never fall.” (2 Peter 1:10)
And you can simply say that you have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ!
All the important roles you play in life are changed as is the quality of life you live each day.
And the standards by which you live are reflected in everything you think, say and do: “Are they Christ-like or is it not?” and “do they please God or do they not?” And if your thoughts, attitudes and actions are not Christ-like and don’t please God and you do think it, say it and do it anyway, then you must understand His wrath.
You cannot be saved, you cannot accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and make Him the Master of your life and still be the same person you have always been and keep doing all the things you have always done. You have been transformed by God Himself through His Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit reveals the truth to your spirit that you are indeed “saved” and a child of God.
It is the most important decision you will ever make and I pray that you have already done so or will do so now. Pray right now for God to forgive you of your sins, to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to the deliver you from the darkness of this sinful world.
xxxxxxx
Who wants to be that person? Well, you are (all non-believers are), unless and until and only if you repent and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and make Him the Master of your life.
There are eternal consequences already in place for not doing so and eternity is a long, long time to be wrong.
XXXOur goal is to simply tell the “Truth” of the Good News of Jesus Christ and let the Holy Spirit do what only He can do.
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XXX“For there is no other name (Jesus Christ) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Act 4:12 NKJV; emphasis added)
XXXIt’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and it is the truth that will set you free from the penalty of sin and grant you eternal life.
Salvation is the purpose of your life, the only thing you absolutely must do in your short time on the earth.
I Am Saved!
I have accepted God’s grace through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and and have been born again as a new creation in Christ. My identity is no longer who I am, but whose I am in Him.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.
The standard for my behavior is….
Work to be more Christ-like in everything I think, in everything I say and everything I do.
Lord Jesus, let you will be done in my life. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else.
What does it mean to be “saved?” What is salvation?
Salvation means you are set free from the penalty of God’s wrath and His rightful judgment (the eternal punishment for sin) only because of what Christ did for you through his substitutional death and resurrection.
You are set free from the penalty of sin by the grace of the one true and only living, Creator God, where He gives you what you need (a Savior) and not what you deserve (death and eternal punishment), through genuine repentance and saving faith granted to you by the Holy Spirit, a complete belief, complete confidence and trust is who Jesus is and what He has done for you through His substitutional death on a cross and His resurrection from the dead in a victory of death granting you eternal life.
It is sin that separates us from God.
By His grace, God’s unmerited favor, He gives you what you need (a Savior) and not what you deserve (death and eternal punishment).
Righteousness is imputed, or credited, to all, but only “believers,” those who repent of their sins and place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, can receive it.
Grace is when God give you what you need (a Savior) and not what you deserve (death and eternal punishment.
Saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ!
All man can do is repent and place faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God created us to have a loving relationship with Him and Christ died to restore it.
Satan, a fallen angel named Lucifer is the enemy of God.
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