SALVATION BIBLE BASICS—Lesson 4

REVIEW FROM PREVIOUS LESSONS

During this study we have been looking at things the way God sees them. In 1 Samuel 16:7 the Bible says, “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart”. Many people are preparing for eternity by basically ignoring it, thinking that somehow, when they die and stand before God, they will be able to talk their way into Heaven. But the Bible says we will be judged according to the truth of the Word of God. In preparation for that judgment, God has already given us the Old Testament law to show us what God values as righteousness, holiness, and godliness. He has given us 613 laws in all, but there are ten of them which most people are familiar with, which in essence sum up the Old Testament law. We know them as the Ten Commandments.

As we looked at the Ten Commandments, we concluded that there is no way that an honest man, understanding what God says, can say, “I'm not guilty”. Every one of us is guilty of breaking God’s law. We are guilty of having told a lie many times in our lives, having stolen something at sometime or another in our lives, blasphemed God over and over again in our lives. The Bible tells us that when we stand before God, if we have offended in one point of the law, just one sin in all our lives, as far as God is concerned, we are guilty of breaking it all.

Then we saw how the Bible says God sees two different kinds of men. The first group is those who have no relationship with Him, violators of His law, who have never found forgiveness from God. The second group is those who have a relationship with God, those who have violated His law also, but have been forgiven by God. Those with a relationship do not get a relationship by what they do. It is not according to our works of righteousness, or good deeds we do, because God says those are nothing more than filthy rags in His sight. Our only hope is the mercy of God. 

In the last lesson we talked about what God has done to provide for a change of location: from no relationship to a relationship with God. God has provided for that change to take place by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He died as our Substitute. He died in our place. He took our punishment that we might be forgiven by God. He paid for the sins of the whole world when He died on the cross.

But even though it is true that Jesus died for all, all do not have a relationship with God. The Bible makes that abundantly clear. In this fourth and final lesson, we want to look at what we must do to make the work of Christ personal. We will see how a person takes what Jesus Christ has done on the cross and receives it as his own, thereby receiving pardon and forgiveness of sin from God.

TWO INGREDIENTS OF SALVATION

“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, an and the kingdom of God is at hand: ______________ ye, and ________________  the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15).

Remember we said the word Gospel means good news, and refers to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. He died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, just as the Bible prophesied. He was buried and He rose again from the dead on the third day, according to the Scripture, just like it was prophesied.

In other words, Jesus didn’t just show up in a vacuum. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ was all according to a plan that God had revealed starting in Genesis chapter three. God had revealed how He  would come, where He would  come,  how  He   would   live,  how  He   would  be betrayed, how He would die  and how He would rise from  the dead. When Jesus came there was no mistaking exactly Who He was. Jesus is not just another prophet. He is not just another religious teacher. He is God in the flesh.

We see here in Mark 1 that Jesus came preaching the Gospel, the good news. How does a man receive the Lord Jesus? How does a man get right with God? How does a man prepare for eternity? The answer is found here in the words of the Lord Jesus when He said, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel”.

In case  you think that  Jesus  preached something different than  the  others  in the  Bible, look   in  Acts  20:20-21. The Apostle Paul tells us the same thing. “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have  shewed you, and have taught  you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith  toward our Lord Jesus Christ”.

How does a man become right with God? We know he cannot make himself right on his own. It is not by his own works, but it is by what Jesus Christ has done. But remember we said that even though Jesus Christ has died for all, all will not be in Heaven, because many have never obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us that the way to become right with God is through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the same thing that Jesus said. Repent and believe the Gospel. Let's look a little closer at those two ingredients of salvation.

1. REPENTANCE

First we are going to look at a description of repentance as it is found in the Bible. I could give you my definition and you could give me yours. It really makes little difference what you and I think. But it does matter how God looks at this matter, and He has recorded it for us over and over again in the Bible. We are going to just look  at a few  of  the passages that deal with it.

Job 42:6—First, repentance causes a person to abhor themselves. In Job 42:6, Job says, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes”. Job had been going through a tremendous trial in his life, and he was coming up with all of his own answers as to why things were so bad in his life. Job was thinking that God wasn’t treating him fairly. He couldn’t understand why God was letting all the bad things happen to him. Suddenly God showed up and started asking Job some very simple questions about life. Job realized he was in the presence of a holy God and he didn’t have the answers for the simple things of life, let alone his own complicated life. In response, Job fell down in front of God and repented in dust and ashes.

When a person repents, they realize that they are not right before a holy God and they hate, they abhor what they are. I don’t like what I am. In the past I would hide it and try to play like  it really wasn’t  there, that  it really wasn’t me. But now that I see  myself in the  light of  God’s  Word, I see how God looks at me  and I can’t  stand what I see. When I see God’s pure holiness and my wretched sinfulness I hate what I am. I can’t stand to stay this way any longer. I abhor myself. That is what Job says.

2 Corinthians 7:9-10—Second, repentance brings a deep sorrow for sin. A deep sorrow is a sorrow that reaches into the very heart of the individual who realizes they are not right with God. In  Second  Corinthians  7:9-10,  the  Bible says,  “Now I  rejoice, not that  ye were made sorry, but that  ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a ________________ manner, that ye might receive damage by  us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh ______________”.

The church in Corinth had some members living in sin, and the other members of the church were trying to cover it up rather than deal with the sin. Paul wrote a very strict letter to them and told them what they were doing was wrong and a sin against God. As the people read the letter they realized they were wrong, and they began to sorrow over their sin, and made things right. Paul now is writing another letter to them telling them how happy he is that they had a godly   sorrow instead of a worldly sorrow.

What is the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow? The worldly sorrow is a sorrow that people repent of. Repentance basically is a change of mind, a change of direction.

Worldly sorrow comes when a person realizes what they are doing isn’t right. Maybe they have been caught and know they are in trouble, so they say they are sorry, and they are willing to turn around from it. They seem genuine and do turn from it for a little while. But tomorrow or next week or somewhere further down the road they decide that maybe it wasn’t so bad after all and they just made a rash decision. Consequently, they turn and run right back to it again. That is worldly sorrow.

Worldly sorrow is when a person runs down an aisle and says, “I want to be saved and I want to be a Christian”. They go along fine for awhile, then  one morning  they wake up and say,  “You  know,  I  don’t  think I want to go back to  that church.  They make me feel bad down there. They expect me to live the Bible, and I don’t really know if I want to be like that. I don’t know if I am going to like being a Christian”. That is a worldly sorrow. It is a sorrow that leads a person to say, “I'll be a Christian one day”, and tomorrow they are willing to turn their back on Christ. That is not godly   sorrow. That is not Bible repentance at all.

Bible repentance is a godly sorrow. A godly sorrow is a sorrow that leads a person to a point where they realize, “I have sinned against God, and I’m sorry for my sin”. They are not just sorry because they have been caught. They are not just wanting to join in with the crowd.

Godly sorrow comes when a person is honestly sorry before God   for the sin that he has committed against God. Godly sorrow causes a person to make a turnaround in his life. Godly sorrow for sin causes them to desire to walk for Christ the   rest   of    their    life,   no   matter   what   the   outside circumstances become. They know they belong to Christ, and they must please Him. It is a sorrow that they do not turn away from.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10—Thirdly, repentance causes a person to turn from idols.  In 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 we read, “For they  themselves  show of us what  manner  of entering in we had unto you, and how ye _______________ to God from __________ to serve the living and true God, And to wait for his Son from heaven,  whom he raised  from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come”. Godly repentance is something that causes a person to turn from their idols.

Most people in Australia think they don’t have any idols in their house. Oh, but you probably do. You have things in your house that you love more than you love the Lord Jesus. Maybe it is a television set. Maybe it is skis, or a fishing rod, or the people in the house you love more than Christ. Maybe it is the car you park in your garage. Maybe it is your job, your occupation. These are all things you can love more than Christ, and they become an idol in your life.

You would never give certain things up, because you love those things more than you love Christ. Remember in the first commandment God said, “…have no other gods before me”. When you love something more than God,that is idolatry. It is idol worship.

When a man has true repentance, he is willing to turn from those things that he once loved, willing to turn away from them and turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ. A person who has godly repentance is willing to give anything up that comes between him and his Savior.  Nothing is too costly for my Savior. That is the attitude in repentance.

Matthew 3:8—Fourthly, when true repentance is in a person’s life, it causes a difference in a person’s life. Let’s look at Matthew 3:8. John the Baptist was preaching and some people came to him and wanted to be baptized. John the Baptist refused to baptize them, telling them instead, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance”.  Now what are these fruits meet for repentance? He  is talking about an  outward  act,  an outward  picture,  an outward change  that  evidences itself  in that  person’s  life  so people know they have truly repented. Others can see the difference.

Therefore, when true repentance takes place in a person’s life you will see the difference in the way he lives. There will be a difference in the way he talks. There will be a difference in the way he acts. There will be a difference in the attitude of his heart. His life will be different. There will be an evident change. If a man has not changed, he has not repented. If a man has not turned from idols, he has not repented. If there is no sorrow for sin, there is no repentance. Nothing can be plainer from the Word of God.

Luke 19:1-10—Fifth, repentance evidences itself when a person wants to make things right. In Luke 19:1-10 we read the story of the man by the name of Zacchaeus who repented.  What evidence does he give to God? He told Him, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken any thing from any man by   false accusation, I ____________ him fourfold” (Luke 19:8).

Zacchaeus  not  only  said,  “I  am  sorry”   to  those  he  had wronged, but he paid them back four times more than he had stolen from  them. Imagine that for a moment.  Maybe one of our problems in Australia is that the brand of Christianity we have is too easy. We think, “I'll just say I’m sorry, and it will be okay”. But when people get saved they want to make things right. They have a longing in their hearts to make amends for their past wrongs.

2 Timothy 2:25-26—Sixth, repentance causes a person to acknowledge the truth. In Second Timothy 2:25-26, the Bible says, “In meekness instructing those that  oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will”.

One of the marks of a man or woman without the Savior is that they are self-willed. They have their own mind, their own ideas, and their own views that they believe. But when a person gets saved they don’t trust their own views anymore. I have opinions, but I can’t trust my opinions, unless they are founded on the Word of God.

I don’t  run to the Word of God  to try to prove my  point or to cover my  tracks or to try and get what I want out of God. I go to the Word of God to find out what God wants, and what God says.  Then I change my opinions and ideas to fit with the Word of God. Repentance causes a person to acknowledge the truth. It causes a person to admit their own bankruptcy, their lack of spiritual understanding, and to acknowledge the truth of the Word of God. When repentance takes place, mark it down, a person will always bow before God and say, “Whatever you say is right, and whatever I feel that is contrary to what You say, is absolutely wrong”. When someone wants to argue with God, mark it down, they do not know God. Repentance causes people to acknowledge the truth.

How does a person get right with God? He must first come to the place where he acknowledges the truth of God’s Word. He must realize his sinfulness, as God sees it, and realize that Hell is what he deserves because he has wronged God.

The religious world of today laughs at that truth. But without an acknowledging of the truth there is no repentance, and without repentance, there is no relationship with God. You may argue with me, but one day you will stand before God and your mouth will be stopped. God does not judge according to the outward appearance but according to truth and according to the heart. He knows you inside out.

True repentance then will include these six things. First, we saw in the book of Job that repentance is a deep sorrow for sin. Not just one of these, “Well you know, I really shouldn’t have done that”, but “I have sinned against God. This is serious business”.

Second, in 1 Corinthians we saw that repentance is a sorrow that a person doesn’t get sorry they were sorry. They don't say, “I sure made a fool of myself crying like that”. No. I can’t be sorry enough for the sin that I have committed against God Almighty. Repentance is a sorrow that you aren’t sorry for.

Third, repentance causes a person to turn from idols, which includes anything they love more than God.

Fourth, when repentance is in a person’s life, it will make a difference in his life. An evident change will take place.

Fifth, repentance evidences itself by a person wanting to make things right.

Then sixth, repentance causes a person to acknowledge the truth. These things are all included in true repentance.

2. FAITH

The second ingredient that Jesus spoke about was faith. Repentance and faith work hand in hand, but you are in no position to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus as your Savior until you first have come to a place of repentance.

We are going to look   at James 2:14-24 and see what God says about faith.  In this passage we see three kinds of faith. Only one is real.

Dead Faith—In James 2:14, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith  save  him?” Notice the question that James asks here. If a person says they believe in Jesus but there has been no change in his life and he is not doing anything that would prove he is a Christian, can his faith save him?

This person has no works that accompany his belief. He doesn’t live for God. He isn’t interested in attending church. He isn’t interested in reading the Word of God. He   isn’t interested in following the Lord. When confronted with truth, he doesn’t change his path. He just goes on the way he is, yet he says he believes. Can his faith save him?  That is the question that is asked.

James  2:15-16, “If a  brother  or  sister  be naked,  and destitute  of daily food,  And one  of you  say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it_____________?”

James answers by giving an illustration. Suppose your next- door neighbors come knocking on your door wanting help. They are in complete rags. They have absolutely nothing. They are emaciated because they haven’t eaten in a long time. They come to tell you that the heat has been turned off, they don’t have any clothes or food left, the whole family is starving to death, and they need your help. You look at them, smile real big and say, “God bless you. I’ll pray for you”, and you close the door. Is that man any warmer now? Is his belly any fuller? Is his family any better off? No, it didn’t do him any good. The point that James is trying to make is that if a man says, “I believe in Jesus”, but his life isn’t any different, does he truly have faith? Can his kind of faith save him?

James 2:17, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is ________, being alone”. If a man says, “I believe”,  but he doesn’t  show any works, his life  hasn’t  changed, he is still the same old mean, ornery, deceitful  person, just  as much as a liar as he ever was, he has a dead faith. Faith, being alone is dead. It produces nothing.

James 2:18, “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my   faith by   my works”. Do you want someone to be convinced that you believe in Jesus Christ? Then you need to show works that prove your faith is genuine.

I have absolutely no reason, no confidence at all to trust that someone knows Christ whose life does not change. I have every reason to doubt that his faith is genuine, just like John did when he refused to baptize the Pharisees and told them to bring forth fruits meet for repentance. He wanted to see a changed life before he would be willing to baptize them.

Devilish Faith—James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble”. The next kind of faith is devilish faith. We have seen dead faith, which is seen in a person that says he believes but his life isn’t any different.

A lot of folks have that kind of faith. The next kind of faith is demonic faith, devilish faith. This is the kind of faith the devils have.  The devils know that Jesus is God. They don’t doubt that. They know it beyond any doubt. The devils look at Jesus and they tremble, knowing that one day they will bow before His throne and be judged and cast into the lake of fire for all of eternity.

Some people know the Bible is true.  They don’t just kind of believe it. They know it. When they sit and hear the Word of God   preached, they tremble. They know one  day  they will stand before  God, and they are not ready. One day they will have to give an answer for the deeds done in their body, and they are not ready. What will they answer? What will they do? They know these things are true, and it bothers them. But they walk away and don’t do anything about it. They walk away, turn their back and say, “I don't know if I want to go back there for awhile. I have to get away from that for a while. It unnerves me a little bit to be around that kind of preaching and teaching. I know I’m going to face God one day. I just don’t like thinking about it”.

It is kind of like a lot of people when they think about death. They don’t like a cemetery salesman calling them at home. They don’t want to talk to him. It is not so much that they aren’t interested in talking to a salesman, but they don’t want to think about the uncomfortable subject of death that is ultimately going to overtake them.  They know it is going to happen. They just don’t want to even think about or acknowledge it.

James 2:20, “But wilt thou know, o vain man, that faith without works is________ ?” doesn’t matter whether you have a dead faith or a demonic faith.  Neither one is of any value to you. Faith that doesn’t change your life is of no value at all.

Dynamic Faith—The third kind of faith is dynamic faith. It is illustrated in the life of Abraham in James 2:21-24, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only”. Let me quickly run through this and try to explain what James is talking about here.

In Genesis chapter twelve, we see Abraham being called by God to leave his country to go to a land that God will show him. God also promised that his descendants would be more than the sands of the sea. Abraham obeyed God. 

Several years later in Genesis chapter fifteen, God spoke to Abraham again. God had promised to give him children, and he had none yet at this point. But again God promised Abraham that he was going to have many descendants, and ultimately the Savior, the One who would die for the sins of the world would come from his lineage. Through the Messiah, Abraham would become a blessing to all families of the earth. This incident in chapter 15 takes place some thirteen years after chapter twelve.

The Bible says in Genesis 15:6, “And be believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for______________”. That word “counted” is a bookkeeping term.  It means the same as the word “imputed” which we read in James, and that word “accounted” that we read in the book of Romans. A bookkeeper has a ledger sheet that shows how much money is owed. These amounts are on the debit side, the minus side. When money is received, then this amount is put on the credit side, and added in to balance out the minus amount.

Spiritually, we are on the minus side. When we go to God He imputes His righteousness to us, it is in essence like adding a positive figure to balance the books, so we don’t owe anymore. When Abraham believed God, when he put his faith in God’s promise, it was at that moment that Abraham was counted righteous by God.

How did Abraham get to be counted righteous with God? How was he made right with God? How were his sins forgiven? How did he get a relationship with God in chapter fifteen? He very simply believed God. He didn’t get circumcised to be right with God. He didn’t get baptized to get right with God. He didn’t turn over a new leaf to make himself right. Abraham believed God. He was so impacted by the truth of what God said that for the rest of his days he was a changed man.

In Genesis 22, 41 years after Abraham was counted right with God, God told Abraham to take Isaac to Mount Moriah and offer him there for a sacrifice. We looked at this story in the last lesson, and we know that God didn’t really want him to kill Isaac, but God was testing Abraham’s faith to see if he loved God. Abraham obeyed just what God told him to do. He was even willing to take his only son and put a knife through his bosom because God had told him to. Why? He trusted God and believed what God said. God had told him to sacrifice his son and he was willing to obey. When God saw that Abraham was willing to obey, he stopped him from killing Isaac. Obviously it was not God’s will for Isaac to die, but God was testing Abraham.

Here is the point I want to “drive home”. To believe God means to put our faith and trust in what God has said. It means to depend on what God said instead of what we can see. It means we depend on what God said instead of what we can do. It means to depend on what God said instead of what we can understand or reason out on our own.

God said the only way of salvation is by what Jesus Christ has done on the cross of Calvary. That is the only way to have your sins paid for. Some people can’t accept that because it just doesn’t seem logical to them. But when you really believe God, a change takes place in your life, from that day forward. Forty-one years after Abraham believed God, his life showed that he was still believing God. If you really believe something, you act upon it.

I was taught something as a young child. I have believed it all my life and I act upon it daily. It is the law of gravity. I believe that what goes up has to come down, and what steps off tall buildings falls to the ground. I believe it without a doubt.  I expect the law of gravity to act, so everyday of my life, I still live as if that law of gravity is in effect. When I get ready to step off a platform, I don’t force my foot down. I know the law of gravity says my weight will help me go down very quickly. So I don’t just kind of plop myself. I let myself down gently, so that each foot goes where it belongs.  The law of gravity takes me down. All I have to do is make sure it is guided in the right direction.

What does that have to do with faith? When you have faith that Jesus Christ died  for you  on  the  cross  of  Calvary,  it becomes something that  will  order your life  for the  rest  of your days. You will act on that truth. You will count on the truth of the fact that He died as your substitute. Therefore you live in such a way that every decision from here on out is going to be made with that fact in mind. Your attitude is, “Lord, You died for me. You bought me with a price. I belong to You. What do You want me to do?”

Every decision of life now comes under the scrutiny of the God who loved you enough to die for your sins. He becomes the owner of your life. He becomes the boss. He becomes the One who orders your steps, the One who calls the shots to determine which direction to go. He tells you what is right and what is wrong. He becomes the Lord of your life. That is what happens when you believe.

A person may say, “I believe in Jesus”, but their life will tell you they have a dead faith, a devilish faith, or a dynamic faith. A person who has dead faith or devilish faith will live a selfish life. They will want their own way. They will make their own choices based on their desires. They will do their own thing and not be worried about what God says.

There will be no change in their life. Their life will prove that they have no real faith. They say they believe in Jesus but you can tell they don’t because it hasn’t made a difference in their life. If a person has real faith, or dynamic faith, it will make a difference in their life. You will be able to see their faith by the life that they live.

Romans 4:1-5—“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by   works, be hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now   to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh  not, but  believeth on him  that  justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for_______________”.

These verses plainly teach us that we are saved by faith, not by our works. If we  earned our way to Heaven by  getting baptized, joining the church, giving our  money,  praying prayers, being a good person,  etc.,  then  when we got to Heaven,  we  would have the  right  to walk around boasting about what we had done. But God says that is not how we get into Heaven, because we cannot in any way save ourselves. All the good works we do don’t get us any closer to Heaven. Therefore, we have nothing to glory in.

How do we get salvation?  First, there must be repentance. Remember that repentance comes when a man realizes he is sinful before God, that he has wronged God. He is deeply sorry for his sin, he hates his sin as it is and wants to be different. Yet he realizes he cannot change himself because reformation will not work. He desires to be different and wants to be made different and made right with God.

When a man recognizes all that, then his only hope is to rest on what Jesus Christ has promised by dying on the cross of Calvary. If he believes, if he has faith in the Word of God, faith that God has done what He said He would do, he will be saved.

A person who is truly saved is overwhelmed with gratitude to God for rescuing him.  He knows he didn’t deserve to be rescued and is grateful to God for saving him. That gratitude changes his life and carries out for the rest of his days. That is why we see Abraham in Genesis 22 willing to obey God and offer Isaac forty-one years after believing God in Genesis 15. His   gratefulness   to   God shows in his obedience, his willingness to do whatever God asked him to do.

WHERE DOES FAITH COME FROM?

Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by ______________, and hearing by  the of God”. God’s  way of you and me  coming by  faith  to Jesus  Christ, having our sins forgiven, moving from  no relationship to a relationship with God, is by first hearing what God  has to say.

Remember God does not look on the outward appearance but on the heart. We need to know what God says because we are so filled up with what we think. We already know what everyone else thinks. Besides it isn’t going to matter on Judgment Day what you or I think. We can all vote if we wish but it won’t amount to anything, because ultimately it is what does God say that is going to matter. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word. If God says it is true, then it is true.

Imagine someone born and raised in outer space, where there is no law of gravity. All of a sudden in mid-life, they decide to enter for the first time the atmosphere of Earth. Others try to explain to them the law of gravity and how it works, but they don’t believe it because they have never seen anything like that in all their life. They refuse to believe it and declare publicly that they will not operate that way when they get to Earth. But when they get inside the earth’s atmosphere and under the control of the law of gravity, will it make any difference what they believe or what they say? No. As soon as they enter earth’s atmosphere, they are going to be convinced. Immediately they are going to be pinned to their chair. Immediately, when they step out of the space capsule and try to float down 30 feet to the ground, they are going to hit the ground hard and realize it is true. All of a sudden they realize, “What I thought was reality before isn’t reality at all”.

One day you are going to stand before God Almighty. You think You have God and eternity and how to get to heaven all figured out. But God says, “Faith cometh by bearing, and hearing by the word of God”. We must follow God’s way. God has given us the laws of eternity in the Word of God. We can either believe God’s law and be prepared for eternity, or we can be ushered into eternity unprepared and suffer the consequences.

FAITH IS BELIEVING

John 3:16, “For  God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that  whosoever____________  in him should not perish,  but have  everlasting life”. How does a person get everlasting life?  It is by believing, by faith. We find this truth all through the Word of God. It is by faith, it is by believing, that a person is delivered from perishing, from eternal Hell, and translated to a relationship with God which   gives him everlasting life. That is God’s way of salvation.

But you can’t be convinced that you need to believe God until you are first convinced that your way of looking at things has been wrong all along. Most people see themselves as pretty good people. They are doing the best they can, and they think that when they get to heaven they will be able to work out a deal with God. But the Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth ___________ unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of______________”. That way which seemeth right unto a man is trying to get to Heaven by good works, by doing the best you can, and thinking God will overlook your sin. But the end of that way is death, eternity in Hell. You can’t be saved until you first admit that your way is wrong. You must admit you are a sinner and in need of a Savior. A lot of folks try to skip repentance.  But you can’t skip it and get genuine faith. It is impossible.

FAITH BRINGS JUSTIFICATION

Romans 3:21-28 “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and  the  prophets; Even the righteousness  of God which is by  faith of Jesus Christ  unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned,  and  come short  of  the  glory  of  God.  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his _____________, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in  Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of ____________. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by _____________ without the deeds of the law”.

If a person truly believes, what difference is that going to make in their life? These verses tell us it will make every difference in the world. Here is how God has set it all up. God has shown us what real righteousness is in the person of Jesus Christ. God says there is only one way of salvation, and it is through Jesus Christ.

Everyone who comes to Christ is saved the same way, and that is by believing. It doesn’t matter if you are a pastor of a church or if you are the worst sinner in town. It doesn’t matter if you are a good moral person or if you are a heathen in a foreign country. Every person has sinned against God. Every person is going to stand before Him.

The way God justifies us, makes us right, is by redemption. The word redemption means “to be bought back”. The redemption that is in Christ refers to the fact that Christ paid for our sins.  Therefore God is able to buy us back, to redeem us from sin.

When we by faith accept the payment of Jesus Christ as the payment for our sins, God says that we are justified. God is right in doing this, because God demands that sin must be paid for. Either you will pay for your sin by dying and going to Hell for all eternity, or you will believe on Jesus Christ whom God has set forth to be the One to pay for your sins. You will trust in Him, and rest on what He has done. You will count on His work being sufficient to make you right with God.

What did Jesus do to make you right with God? He died on the cross of Calvary to pay for your sins.  He died on the cross of Calvary to take your place. Sin had to be paid for. God demands a payment. God doesn’t just snap His fingers and say, “I think I’ll  be  sweet, kind and merciful  and let all your sins be  forgiven”. No. Sin had to be  paid for, and the only way it can be paid for is either you die and go to Hell for  all eternity, or you accept the  payment that  Jesus  Christ has made on the cross of Calvary.

But remember that even though Jesus died for all men, it does not mean that all men are saved. God will not make that payment good on your account until you are ready to admit that you need someone to pay your debt for you. You must admit that your sin is what caused Jesus Christ to have to hang on that cross.

John 3:36

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and be that believeth not the Son shall _____________ ; but the _______________ of God abideth on him”. We are going to look at the first part of this verse. It can be broken into two sections. There is God’s part and man’s part. We are going to look at each of these parts.

1. GOD'S PART

God’s part is found in the words, “hath everlasting life”. God’s part has to do with giving eternal life, everlasting life. The word hath means to possess right now. If you have something, it is in your present possession. If I believe on Jesus Christ I have, right now, everlasting life. That doesn’t mean that one day I will get everlasting life. It doesn’t mean  I have to wait until  I  die   to  finally figure  out if  I  have it. It doesn’t mean I have to wait until I die for God to finally give it to me. It means everlasting life is my present possession, right now.

Life—Life is not just existence, but it is a relationship. It is a reason for living. It fills life up. It is not, “Okay, I’m here. I’m taking up space. I’m using up food and air, polluting the planet all on my own”. Life gives a person a reason for living. It is a life to its fullest. It is a man fulfilling the reason he was made.

Don’t you sense that you were made, born for a reason? There has to be  more to life than just eating food, sleeping, going to work and eating more food  and going back to sleep. There has to be more to it than all this. That is what the Bible is all about. Jesus Christ came so that we can have eternal life, right now.

Everlasting—But this eternal life is also permanent. How long is everlasting? It is forever, eternal, never ending. It is not going to stop a thousand years from now, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand years from now. It is never going to stop.  It is not like the “permanent” that ladies get at the beauty shop. Three months or six months later, she is back at the same shop again for another permanent. You would think sooner or later someone would sue the beautician for false advertising. Call them what they are, temporaries, not permanent. God isn’t into false advertising, though.  When God gives life, it is everlasting. It is permanent. It never ends.

Some teach that after God gives you eternal life you can sin and lose it. Not any sin is a mortal sin. But be careful, there is a sin that leads to death (1 John 5:16-17). You do not sin if you walk in the light (1 John 1:7). And if you do fall into sin you still have hope if you confess your sin and are cleansed (1 John 1:9). God is the only One who can give salvation, and God is that only One that can take it away. And there is a sin that is mortal as 1 John 5:16-17 clearly states. So after receiving the gift of eternal life strive to always walk in the light.  

People read what God said and decide it doesn’t make any sense to them, so they invent their own teachings which are not found in the Word of God. They think it makes no sense that God would give eternal life when we still have the ability to sin after we are saved. They say that an eternal life that can be lost is not “eternal” at all. They say conditional security makes no sense to them. Well, it may not make sense to you, but that is how God operates. God does things according to His Own counsel, and God tells us in His Word exactly what He is going to do (1 John 5:16-17). The gift of eternal life does not stop being eternal if its possessor neglects it and lose it. 

2. OUR PART

We have seen what God’s part is in salvation. But what is our part? It is found in the words, “He that believeth on the Son” (John 3:36). Let look at this for a moment.

He—Who is he referring to? It is a universal term. It means any man, any woman, anyone that believes. He doesn’t say what color your skin has to be. He doesn’t say what religious denomination you have to be. He doesn’t say where you have to live, or where you have to be.

That believeth—The word believe is a word which means to commit, to trust, to have faith. It speaking of a person who understands  they are lost and deserve to go to Hell, who doesn’t like the way they are and wants to be different. This person also understands that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sin. They understand that the only thing God will accept as payment for their sins is the death of Christ. They know that accepting Jesus is their only hope of making Heaven. God has invited all who will believe to trust in His Son. He offers eternal life to all who will come to Him, and He says He will in no wise cast out any who will come to Him.

When a man believes he is saying, “Once and for all, I turn my back on my sin. I turn from my idols. I turn away from all my wrong ways. I turn  to the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the rest of  my  days I will  order my  life  based on the fact  that  I know Jesus Christ is the only way my  sins can be  made right with God. Jesus Christ died for me in my place”.

This is a belief that comes from real faith, and for the rest of his days that is how he lives. What a different person he becomes! Once he was motivated by greed, by selfishness, by what he wanted in life. But now he is motivated by wanting to please the Lord. He wants to serve Him and love Him the rest of his days. The cost for serving Christ is nothing in comparison to what Christ has done for him.

On the Son—This is the key to it all. Your belief must be on the Son, on Jesus Christ. In order to be saved you must know who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.  If you do   not understand who He is and what He has done, there will be no salvation for you.  If you don’t understand He   died on the cross and He is God’s payment, there is no hope. That is where you must start.

TIMELINE

Imagine a timeline. This line is representation of your life. There was a day when you were born. There was a day when most of you graduated from high school. There was a day when you went to university or TAFE, or you began your first job. There was a day when some of you got married. Eventually, there will be a day when you will die. We will put it far enough out to plan on life being long for you. But no one really knows, do they?

Somewhere on the line of life, there must be a time and a place when you were born again. There must be a time and a place when you understood you were not right with God, you realized that Christ died for you and He was your only hope, therefore you repented of your sins and believed on Christ. You asked God to save you based on what Christ had done for you. That day came for me in 1989, at a midday Sunday service, at age 24. The Lord Jesus came into my heart and into my life. I acknowledged I was a sinner. My life has been altered visibly ever since.

Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt _________________  in thine heart that God  hath  raised  him from the  dead,  thou shalt be __________” . Here is God’s means of taking what Christ has done on the cross and making it yours. You must with your mouth call on Him as Lord. It is not just enough to say you believe in Jesus. We are talking about believing in the sense that your life course is altered. We are talking about a change of life that happens.

You must see yourself as a sinner. You must repent and be willing to turn from all sin, both sins on the inside and sins on the outside. You  must  then  turn  to the Lord Jesus Christ and in a moment of time, as you put your faith in Him  alone, the  Bible  says  you  are  translated from the  kingdom  of darkness into the kingdom of  light. You are moved from the side of not having a relationship with God to the side of having a relationship with God.

It is a momentary thing. It is like a crisis situation that happens at a point of time in your life, and it is something that you will never ever forget. It doesn’t happen over a long period of time. You don’t grow into salvation. There is a point in time when Jesus Christ comes into your heart and life. You cannot meet the God of the universe, and walk away not knowing you met Him.

Has God ever saved you? Has He ever rescued you? When did it happen? Draw your own timeline. Do you remember the experience? You may not remember the date, but you ought to remember the experience, where you were and what happened. If you do have a time and an experience, then ask yourself what happened? Was there genuine repentance? Was there a change? Was there genuine faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you and take you to Heaven?

If it is a true salvation experience, those ingredients will be there. If I called on you right now, could you explain it? If there has never been a time like this in your life, then I invite you right now to come to the Savior, turn your back on your sin and your selfishness, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your only hope of Heaven. I invite you to come to Him.

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