Salvation

This is a question which people have asked for thousands of years. For example, King David wrote, “O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.” (Psalm 144.3-4 NIV)

When we consider our own evil and foolishness it is astounding that our holy and righteous God cares about us. Though God’s nature is beyond our comprehension, there are at least two reasons why He cares for us.

1) God is our Creator. Since God made us in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27) it follows that that He is concerned about whether we choose to live holy lives. When we choose to do what is right, it pleases Him. “His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” (Psalm 147:10-11 NIV)

2) The Scripture quoted above points out a second reason God cares for mankind: It is because of His unfailing love. His love is so great that He wants the best for us, even when we do what is wrong. That is why He urges sinners to repent of their wrongdoing and accept forgiveness. His love is why He sent Christ into the world to redeem it.

The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, in order for God to forgive us, death must occur. God will accept a substitution for our soul, but it must be of equal value. This is why animal sacrifices are not sufficient to redeem us. Similarly, no guilty soul can pay the penalty to redeem another guilty soul. Jesus Christ is the only person who lived a totally sinless and pure life. It is this which qualified Him to give His life in place of ours. Since we are incapable of saving ourselves, God provided Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for us. In speaking of Christ, Scripture says, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25-26 NIV)

God now gives us a choice. Either we can die without Christ or die with Christ. If we choose to die without Christ we will be separated from God forever in hell (the basic meaning of the word ‘death’ is separation). If we die with Christ we will live forever in fellowship with God. The Apostle Paul explains it this way, “…don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:3-8 NIV)

There are two answers to this question:

1) The first reason we can know whether we are saved is that God does not lie. He always keeps His promises. If we have done what He has told us to do in order to receive salvation, then we can be sure that we are saved. We do not need to worry that God will change His mind or refuse to honor what He promised He will do. To learn what God tells us to do to receive salvation please refer to our booklet, “The Process of Salvation.”

2) The second way we can know that we are saved is that God gives us His Holy Spirit to live within us. The Apostle Paul writes, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV) In another place he writes, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:16 NIV) The Apostle John adds, “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” (1 John 3:24 NIV)

To put it another way, if we are saved then the fruit of Spirit will be evident in our lives. If the attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23) are evident in our lives and are increasing, then we can be sure that God’s Spirit is within us. If God’s Spirit lives in us then we know that we are saved.

Yes. The Apostle Paul writes, “God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” (Romans 2:6-8 NIV) The problem is that there is no one aside from Jesus Christ who has always done what is good. As Paul goes on to say, “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 NIV) Since we are sinners, we are subject to God’s wrath. If we do not accept salvation through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we will perish.

Yes. Jesus’ message of salvation is universal for all people, for all time. While referring to His own sacrificial death to pay for the sins of mankind, Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32) The Apostle John was granted a vision of heaven. In it he saw a great crowd gathered around God’s throne singing a song in Jesus’ honor. Some of the words are: “…you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation, and made us kings and priests to our God…” (Revelation 5:9-10) From this we see that Jesus brought salvation for everyone. Jesus died to bring salvation to each and every person no matter how they are counted or cataloged. No matter who you are, Jesus offers you the opportunity to restore your relationship with God.

Sin is anything which is contrary to God’s will. This includes thoughts, desires and intent as well as actions. Sin can include doing what is against God’s will or, conversely, not doing what is His will. Where God has not expressed His will, He does not count violations of it as sin.

The penalty of sin is separation from God. In the Bible this is referred to as spiritual death. This is distinct from physical death which is a direct result of the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve. God will reverse the effects of Adam’s sin by resurrecting all those who have died physically. But unless our sin is ‘made up’ or atoned for, we will be separated from God for eternity.

Two of the consequences of sin are:
1) Debt. We owe God the service which we failed to provide Him. Just as someone with money can pay the debts or bills of someone who is unable to pay, a sinless person can pay the spiritual debts of sinners. Jesus Christ paid the debt of all mankind by His death on the cross.
2) Guilt. By breaking God’s laws we become criminals. No one can pay for the crime of another. Each person is personally responsible to pay the penalty for his own crime. In His mercy, God has given us a way to pay for our crime by dying to self in repentance and dying with Christ in Christian baptism.

For a more complete explanation please see the article, “The Process of Salvation.”

For a more complete answer please read the article, “The Process of Salvation.” In short, in order to be reconciled to God a person must:

Hear the gospel and believe in Christ. (See John 14:6, Romans 10:13-14.)

Die to self by repenting of sin. (See Luke 9:23, Luke 13:1-5.)

Acknowledge who Christ is in confession. (To confess Christ means to say the same thing about Him as God does.) (See Romans 10:9-10.)

Die with Christ in baptism in order to be raised up into a new life. (See 2 Timothy 2:11, Acts 2:38 and Romans 6:5-8.)

Live the rest of his life under Christ’s authority. (See 2 Peter 1:3-11.)

In theory, yes. In practice, no. If someone were able to keep God’s laws and standards perfectly, he would not be guilty of sin and would not need salvation. In practice, only Jesus never sinned. Everyone else has. Once we have sinned, doing good can never erase it because we are supposed to do good all the time. We can never do more good than we are supposed to do to make up for the wrongs we have done. We cannot do more good than God expects of us.

The Bible says that God does not take pleasure in anyone’s destruction (Ezekiel 18:32). He loves everyone. Not only does God want everyone to repent of his sin, He has provided a way of salvation. If anyone goes to hell it is because he has not accepted the salvation which God offered him. God will not force anyone to accept salvation or to live a righteous life. If someone chooses to be separated from God in this life and refuses to be reconciled to Him, God will honor his choice (even though it is against God’s desire) by allowing that separation to last forever.

Yes. Jesus spoke about heaven and hell in the same passage (Matthew 25:31-46) and used the same language to describe both. Therefore hell will last as long as heaven. Jesus said that both are ‘everlasting’ or eternal.