Salvation

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"

-Matthew 16:26-

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, said it best. There is nothing more important than the salvation of your soul!

One of the greatest pleasures in life comes from a comfort of knowing what will happen to us when we die. When we face the inevitable fact that our bodies will go back to the dust of the earth, we begin to search for truth.

There are many different beliefs about what happens when we die. Some believe that we are reincarnated and come back as another life. Others believe there is no life beyond death. While still others believe there is an eternal reward in heaven or an eternal punishment in hell. How can we know what is really true?

There can only be one truth. Of all of the beliefs regarding life after death, there is only one set of historical documents that actually gives evidence to us what happens when we die.

Over a period of 1500 years, over 40 different men, who spoke three different languages, wrote down their eye witness accounts of amazing things in their lives. They wrote about God and how He created all things. They wrote about the miracles that they witnessed and how God took care of those who obeyed His commands. They documented thousands of historical facts that have been proven to be accurate by modern day archeologists. They wrote hundreds of prophesies for the future about someone who would come and offer salvation (eternal life) to all men and women of every nation.

According to these writings, those prophesies began to come true with amazing accuracy when Jesus was born in a small town near Jerusalem. Over 300 different prophesies came true when He taught twelve men about God's will for mankind and when He was hung on a cross. He performed some of the most incredible miracles to prove to thousands of eye witnesses that He was sent by God in order to offer all people salvation.

The most amazing miracle happened three days after His death... As predicted by men from hundreds of years earlier, He was raised from the dead. He visited with hundreds, if not thousands of people after His death and continued teaching them about His kingdom that was to be established. This is why the writers of these accounts were willing to die to share what they knew with others.

All of these events were recorded with the most precise accuracy, so that men and women hundreds

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

2 Timothy 3:16-17

of years, even thousands of years later would be able to know the truth about life after death and they would understand what to do in order to receive eternal salvation.

This conglomeration of historical documents is known as the Bible. No other religious book contains anything close to this amount of evidence. Upon reading and closely studying the Bible, all men of all nations can know that God exists and He wants all people to be saved.

The following section contains some of the things that Jesus and His followers taught regarding salvation.

God's Plan of Salvation

If you want to be prepared for life after death, it is necessary to follow the teachings of Jesus. Jesus taught that only those who obey His commands will be able to enter His kingdom and receive salvation.

The following paragraphs clearly show exactly what you must do in order to be saved. Be sure to click on the links to each of the Bible passages. We encourage you to read the Scriptures. Please don't just take our word for it. Use God's word to prove it to yourself.

Hear the good news about Jesus

The first step in your walk toward salvation is curiosity. You must go out of your way to seek the truth. You make an effort to either read the Bible or listen to someone teach the Bible. Jesus specifically told His followers (the disciples) to make more disciples by teaching what He had taught... "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations... teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…’" You become a Christian by hearing about and doing what Jesus commanded.

The Apostle Paul said the following. "...faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." If you are never curious about life after death... If you never take the time to look for the truth... If you never make an effort to read or hear the words of Jesus... you cannot receive salvation.

If you want salvation, you must hear the good news about Jesus.

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God

Once you have heard the good news, you need to go a step further and be able to prove to yourself that the teachings of Jesus are true.

The apostle Paul was very impressed with the people of Berea. They had made an effort to confirm the message which he preached. He wanted them to verify his teachings. This is what was written about Paul, "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so."

If we want the truth, we can do as the Bereans did. We can go to the Scriptures and confirm the truth for ourselves. Our faith in Jesus is the key to our salvation and it can help us get though some of the worst possible circumstances of life. Take a moment to read Hebrews 11:32-12:2. Take particular notice of that last verse... your focus on Christ is the key!

At one point in Jesus' life, He was demonstrating that He was the Son of God and that He was sent by God to save the world. He said, "...unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

Forty days after Jesus was raised from the dead, He ascended by a cloud back into heaven, and He gave some final words to the Apostles. He told them, "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved..."

If you want salvation, you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Confess the name of Jesus Christ

Once you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, it is very important that you confess His name and share what you have learned about Him.

Jesus very specifically said, "...everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven." Jesus will stand up for us on the Day of Judgment and He will plead our case because He sincerely wants us to gain entrance to the eternal reward.

We have an excellent example of an Ethiopian eunuch who made the good confession. A Christian named Phillip taught him about Jesus as they rode along in a chariot. Phillip started with a passage about Jesus that the Ethiopian man had been reading from in the Old Testament Scripture of Isaiah 53:7-8. Once he had heard the word and believed what Phillip taught him (using the Scripture), the following happened. "As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

If you believe with all your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, you need to do the same thing that the Ethiopian man did.

If you want salvation, you must confess the name of Jesus Christ.

Repent of your sins and obey Jesus

Confessing the name of Jesus Christ also means a committment to following His commandments. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

When you repent of your sins, you are making the decision to turn away from all unrighteous actions (deeds of the flesh) and you are choosing to do what God wants you to do. In doing so, God will consider you to be one of His children and an heir to His kingdom.

For this reason, Luke recorded for us what the Apostle Paul said, "…God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world…" In that very same passage, Paul said they should do so because Jesus proved who He was by being raised from the dead.

Jesus Himself expressed the importance of repentance when He said, "...unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

If you want salvation, you must repent of your sins in obedience to Jesus.

Be baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins

Right after Jesus had ascended back to heaven, we find that Peter preached one of the most powerful sermons that was ever preached. He demonstrated without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the Son of God. He used a lot of Old Testament Scripture to prove that He was sent by God just as all of the prophesies had said.

When the people heard what Peter said and they thought about how Jesus had been hung on the cross... and they thought about how He had been beaten and about how He was rejected by the people... and the fact that when He died the sky went dark, and the curtain in the temple tore from top to bottom... They thought about the fact that He was raised from the dead and His body would not undergo decay... They had been witnesses that all of these things had happened. And when they thought about these things and compared them to Scripture, it all began to make sense. These events had all been predicted!

When Peter taught this sermon the response of the people was, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter did NOT tell them to confess Jesus and to let Jesus into their hearts. He did NOT tell them to repeat a prayer after him and to allow Jesus to be Lord and Savior of their lives. Peter told them what was necessary. He said, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Repentance and baptism were the first responses once someone believed. As Peter said, it is for the "forgiveness of your sins..." Ananias specifically commanded for Paul to be baptized as soon as he had taught him the truth about Jesus. This was also the first response by the Philippian jailer. And as we have seen, it was the first response by the Ethiopian man.

Even Jesus said, "He who has believed AND has been baptized shall be saved..." If that is not clear enough, Peter said, "...baptism now saves you..." Baptism alone certainly does NOT save a person, however it DOES save a person just as much as faith alone does. It saves a person just as much as confession alone or repentence alone. As we have seen from God's word, ALL of these things are necessary parts of God's plan for salvation.

There is so much more that could be said about baptism... it is for the forgiveness of sins... it is to wash away sins... it is to forgive us of all our transgressions... it is by immersion as a reenactment of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ... it is how we enter into Christ and become heirs of what God promised... It allows one to have a good conscience...

If you want salvation, you must be buried in the water of baptism for the forgiveness of your sins.

Remain faithful to God until death

Finally, when you have taken the above actions, you can rise up as a Christian to walk in newness of life. You can live a life according to His commandments and remain obedient and faithful to Him. In the very last book of the Bible, Jesus again made it clear one final thing that one must do to receive the reward of eternal life. He said, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."

May God richly bless you as you pursue the truth about God's will. We pray that you have chosen to obey Him and that you will remain faithful to Him until death. If you have never been immersed in the water of baptism, we encourage you not to put it off for another day.

If you are uncertain of your salvation, always remember the words of Jesus. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Do something about the salvation of your soul today!

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