Salvation

The word "salvation" implies deliverance. Deliverance from some sort of peril. Bible salvation is deliverance from something to something. You may not be aware that you need to be saved from anything.

We want you to be saved.

Saved? From what? We want you to be saved from sin’s penalty, which is eternity in the lake of fire.

Saved is a simple word. It means simply to rescue from a peril or danger. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). The last book of the Bible says, "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). That means forever in the lake of fire. Now that’s a peril! If you are in that condition, you really do need to be saved, and the sooner the better. If you physically die without being saved, your spirit will spend eternity in the lake of fire. At the moment of death, there will be no hope for you…ever, but you can be saved, right now! We want that, but most of all God wants you to be saved.

You will not be saved as long as you have the idea that somehow you can save yourself. "Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:9) and is appropriated (personalized) "by grace…through faith…not of works..." (Ephesians 2:8-9). Your own efforts to save you will fail…every time. Participation and membership in a church is good. Who can be against morality? Baptism is a fine act. Everybody ought to be good. As fine as these and other sincere things are, they have never resulted in the saving of even one person. One of the biggest and most successful curses of Satan upon humanity has been his lie that somehow human goodness plays a part in salvation.

Titus 3:5-7 says, "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 Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

If you trust in your own goodness or in some good thing you can do to be saved, you will die lost and condemned before God and spend eternity in the lake of fire. Only God in the person of Jesus Christ can save you. The Bible says, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Yet, He can and will save every person who comes to Him in faith. His own words are "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). God says in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Yes friend, God will save you, regardless of your sinful estate and He will do it upon the strength of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for your sins according to the scripture, He was buried and He rose again in three days. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) That work is called the gospel of Christ. Upon the strength of that great work of Christ the Savior, God can and will save you. Listen to how clearly the Bible says so.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). Upon the strength of the finished redemptive work of Christ, God can save you from sin’s penalty. He will forgive you and give you eternal life.

So, how do you make Christ’s work your own? It’s a matter of faith, trust, belief in Him.

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).

Faith (belief) is the key. Until you believe on Christ as your personal Savior, you will be lost and destined for eternal damnation…regardless of whatever else you do. You can pray, be baptized, go to church, clean up your life and be a model of good behavior; but until you believe on Christ as your own personal Savior, you will not be saved. It is not praying a prayer or doing a good deed that results in salvation; it is faith in the heart that does it "for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10). As you can see, it is only after you have believed in your heart that you can honestly confess with your mouth that you are truly saved.

Belief! So simple, yet so baffling to so many! It’s a matter of getting to the end of yourself and in your heart turning to Jesus Christ who shed His blood for you personally in the gospel work. The Bible calls it "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). When that simple, yet profound transaction occurs in your heart, you will be saved. As Paul told the lost man in Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Jesus said it this way in John 5:24, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

Right where you are, won’t you trust Christ? He will save you from sin’s penalty.