What Is Salvation?
The Need For Salvation
There is one very critical issue that needs to be settled before you can ever begin to deepen your relationship and fellowship with God. Do you have a reconciled personal relationship with God? What are the requirements and details of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
It is often said about the various religions of the world that there are "many ways to God" or "the various religions all lead to the same God." Is this true? What does God’s Word the Bible have to say about Salvation & Gospel of Jesus Christ? Is Jesus one of many ways to God, or is he The Way to salvation and a reconciled relationship with God?
True Salvation And the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Step 1: God loves you and wants you to have a personal relationship with Him, and to experience peace and life. Abundant and eternal life
"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." – Romans 5:1 (peace with God means to have a restored or reconciled relationship with Him)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." – John 3:16
"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." – John 10:10
God offers peace with Him, a restored relationship with Him, and eternal life in heaven as a gift. Many people think they need to earn these things from God by being religious, or being a good moral person, or by doing more good than bad in their life.
Romans 6:23 – "… the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Even though God offers these wonderful things as a gift, and He wants everyone to have them (1 Timothy 2:4), sadly most people today do not have these things and they are far from God. Why?
Step 2: The Problem – Our Sin & Separation From God
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." – Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death (eternal separation from God), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." – Romans 6:23
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." – Isaiah 59:2
Our sins cause us to have a broken relationship with God, and to be far and separated from Him. Many people try to fix this problem themselves in various ways.
Our Attempts To Reach God
People have tried in many ways to bridge this gap and separation between themselves and God. Good works, religion, philosophy, morality,… None of these work.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." – Proverbs 14:12 (death in this verse means to die and forever be separated from God and His love, and to forever be under punishment for your sins)
Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one may come to the Father except through me." – John 14:6
Because God loves us and He knows we cannot fix this problem of sin & separation from God ourselves, He sent the solution.
Step 3: God’s Solution To Our Problem
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." – I Timothy 2:5
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." – I Peter 3:18
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Jesus is God’s answer and solution to our problem of sin, eternal separation from God, and eternal punishment for our sins.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." – John 3:16
God solved our problem of sin & separation from Him by sending His Son Jesus. In order to receive these wonderful gifts from God, the Bible is clear about what we need to do in response to God’s solution.
Step 4: Our Response: Repent from sin, Trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and Receive Him by Faith and Commit Your Life to Him
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." – Revelation 3:20
"That if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." – Romans 10:9
"Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" – Mark 1:14-15
"Yet to all who did receive him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." – John 1:12
You Need to Make Jesus Your LORD and Savior
Nearly everyone wants Jesus to be their friend. Nearly everyone wants Jesus to be their Savior and save them from their sins and the eternal punishment of hell. But many people do not really want Jesus to be their Lord. The Lord of their life. Which means to give up control and the rights to their life to Jesus.
It may mean you need to give up your dreams and goals and plans, and accept Jesus’ will and plans instead. It may cost you a lot. Their is a cost to follow Jesus as Lord & Savior and be His disciple (a disciple is a learner & follower of Jesus).
You need to commit your life to Jesus, and commit to follow Him as your Lord and Savior. If you have never trusted and received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but you are ready to do so, then you can do it right now.
Repent, Believe With All Your Heart, Receive Jesus As Lord & Savior
1. Admit your need ("I am a sinner and I need a savior") 2. Be willing to turn from your sins (repent -Mark 1:14-15). 3. Believe with all of your heart that Jesus loves you and died for your sins and paid the price for them. Believe also that Jesus rose again from the grave after 3 days, and later ascended back to heaven. (Mark 1:14-15 & John 1:12) 4. Through prayer, invite and by faith receive Jesus Christ to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior, and commit to follow Him (John 1:12)
Talk to God If You Are Ready to Repent, Believe Jesus, and Commit Your Life to Him
"Dear Lord, Thank you for loving me very much, and for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Lord, I have sins in my life. Please forgive me for all of my sins. And dear Lord Jesus, please come into my life, and be my Lord and Savior. I commit my life to you, to follow You and Your ways. And I repent and turn away from my sins, and I turn back to you. Please give me peace with God and eternal life in heaven. Please teach me your ways, and help me grow closer to you. In Jesus name. Amen."
You Can Know For Certain That You Are Saved
If you have done these things in your prayer to God – you truly repented of your sins, put all of your faith and hope in Jesus Christ, and received Him as your Lord & Savior and committed your life to Him and meant it with all your heart – then you for sure have a reconciled relationship with God, peace with God and eternal life, and new life in Jesus.
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." – Romans 10:13
"Those who have the Son (Jesus) have life. Those who do not have the Son do not have life. These things have I written, that you may know you have eternal life." – I John 5:12-13
For more information about how to have a restored relationship with God and close fellowship with Him, please visit Pursuing Intimacy With God