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Thanking God for so great salvation

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Rick

Hebrews 2:3
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard [him];”

Where would we be if “so great” salvation had not been spoken by the Lord and then confirmed again and again by those who heard that truth? Where would we be if God had not taken it upon Himself to be the Initiator of the plan and purpose of His “so great” salvation? Where would we be if the Lord Jesus Christ had not taken it upon Himself to become one of us and live among us being tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin? Where would we be if the Lord Jesus Christ had not been willing to go to the cross and there bare our sins in His own body and be made sin for us? Where would we be if the Lord Jesus Christ had not been willing to be forsaken under the wrath of God and go to Hell for us? Where would we be if the Lord Jesus Christ did not have the power to rise from the dead and live again? Where would we be if that “so great” salvation had not been made available by grace through faith? Where would we be if we had to earn that “so great” salvation by our good works?

Romans 4:4 “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

We would be tormented and tortured in the lake of fire for all of eternity.

Revelation 14:10 “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Revelation 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Revelation 20:14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Revelation 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Thank God for “so great salvation” that is absolutely free through repentance and faith!

Acts 20:21 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Posted in SALVATION | Tagged SALVATION, thankfulness | Comments Off

The Doctrine of Sin

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Rick

The first time the word sin is found in the Bible is very educational and informing.

Genesis 4:7
“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

Cain knew what to do but he refused to do right.

James 4:17
“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.”

The second time the word sin shows up in the Bible it is also very informative.

Genesis 18:20
“And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;”

What was the sin of Sodom?

Ezekiel 16:49
“Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Ezekiel 16:50
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw [good].”

The sin of Sodom was pride, fulness of bread, abundance of idleness, haughty, and abomination, which was sex perversion, hatred for the truth and no fear of God.

The progression of sin is not doing what you know is right to outright rebellion to God.

A person who refuses to do right in a little thing is headed down the road to outright rebellion to God.

All of us know of someone who just went off the deep end and committed sin that surprised us.

No one ever does the “Big Sin” without many little ones to pave the road for the “Biggie.”

Probably all of us have said, “I never would have believed that he would have done something like that.”

He wouldn’t have if he had taken care of the little sins along the way.

Song of Solomon 2:15
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines [have] tender grapes.”

All sin is in the heart.

Any sin in the heart wants to make its way to the mind and begin the process of thinking about it.

Any sin that is thought about will eventually be acted upon (committed).

No one ever commits the horrible shocking sin until first of all they have committed many little sins and allowed their mind to contemplate the sin that costs greatly.

And then one day they commit the sin that will cost them their testimony, or their family, or their church, or their health or their finances.

The little sins that lead a believer in the wrong direction are not reading the Bible daily, not praying daily, and not being conscience of the importance of being God conscience throughout the day.

A believer should spend more time reading the Bible than they do most everything else.

A believer should develop the habit of talking to God about everything throughout the day.

A believer who has God on his mind is a believer who has the fear of God in his thought life.

If you are conscience of the presence of God it will keep you from a lot of sin.

No one ever arrives at a place where they have conquered sin.

1st Corinthians 10:12
“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

1st Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].”

Obviously we will sin every day so we should develop the habit of confessing and forsaking sin when it occurs.

1st John 1:8
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1st John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1st John 1:10
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

One of the reasons we need to talk about sin is to remind us that we are no better than anyone else.
No matter how repulsive and repugnant the sin let us not be lifted up in self righteousness.

Anyone who consistently reads the word of God will have constant reminders of their own shortcomings.

The history of America is the story of a country that has quit reading the Bible.

America used to be a country that read the Bible.

A nation that quits reading the Bible will be destroyed morally, mentally, and economically.

The first step toward disaster for anyone is failure to read the Bible whether they have never read it or they stop reading it.

People have said to me, “I just do not get anything out of the Bible when I read it!”

That is impossible!

It may be that you did not feel like you got anything but it is impossible to read the eternal words of the eternal God and not get something from that.

All people who consistently read the Bible are made aware of the fact that they have a constant work of God going on in them that keeps them on tract.

Philippians 1:6
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:”

All sin gets its beginning in the heart because our heart is wicked.
Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

We are commanded to keep the heart and it doesn’t take long to realize that not only is that a big job it is a huge responsibility.

Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.”

In the Bible we learn these truths.

The “issues of life” are from the heart.

Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.”

The things which defile a man come from the heart.

Mark 7:21
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

Mark 7:22
Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Mark 7:23
All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

A man must believe in his heart to be saved.

Romans 10:9
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

A man must obey from the heart the doctrines of the Christian life.

Romans 6:17
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”

A man is basically what he “thinketh in his heart.”

Proverbs 23:7
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.”

Let us take a closer look at the “issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.”

Life; as you view it and as you live it is formed in the heart.

Everything in life that you are confronted with is a product that comes from the hearts of other individuals.

Thus, the real issues of daily living are the sum total product of that which comes from the hearts of men.

Before the flood God made this statement.

Genesis 6:5
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.”

It is interesting to note that you cannot hide anything from God.

Notice that the verse says “GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth…”

Yes God saw the wickedness that was being committed but God also saw what was in the heart of those people.

Luke 6:8
“But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.”

John 2:24
“But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men],

John 2:25
And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”

Perhaps if we were reading our Bible daily and read passages of scripture such as those, it would run interference for us in our thought life.

I believe we would be more cautious of what we are thinking if we were conscious of the fact that God knows our thoughts.

The primary keeper of the heart is the word of God.

Let us read the three verses that come before Proverbs 4:23.

Proverbs 4:20
“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Proverbs 4:21
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

Proverbs 4:22
For they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”

Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.”

Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 3:6
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:7
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Proverbs 3:8
It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”

Proverbs 4:22
For they [are] life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”
If the heart is not kept in check by reading the Bible then the mind will begin to think on a specific sin.

As you dwell on that sin you are drawing closer to committing that sin.

No person who ever commits a destructive sin does it while faithfully reading the Bible.

The ignorant statements made by people today are made by people who are not reading the Bible.

The Bible says much about how to think and how to live.

If I am thinking right most of the time and I am doing right most of the time I believe I am protected from the sin that would destroy me.

Familiar verses that we should memorize and meditate on often:

Psalms 119:9
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed [thereto] according to thy word.

Psalms 119:10
With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

Psalms 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Job 23:12
“Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary [food].”

Jeremiah 15:16
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”

Romans 7:25
“I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Romans 8:5
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”

Hebrews 9:14
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.”

Hebrews 5:14
“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
The way to stay right with God is to develop the habit of reading the word of God and never allow yourself to slack off, take a break, or slow down.

Posted in SALVATION | Tagged destruction, sin, sinner sins | Comments Off

The resurrection…past or future

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Rick

TEXT: 2nd Timothy 2:16-19; 2nd Peter 3:3-8

2nd Timothy 2:16
“But shun profane [and] vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

2nd Timothy 2:17
And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;

2nd Timothy 2:18
Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

2nd Peter 3:3
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

Scoffers: One who scoffs; one that mocks, derides or reproaches in the language of contempt; a scorner.

Scorner: A scoffer; a derider; in Scripture, one who scoffs at religion, its ordinances and teachers, and who makes a mock of sin and the judgments and threatenings of God against sinners.

2nd Peter 3:4
And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation.

2nd Peter 3:5
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

2nd Peter 3:6
Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

2nd Peter 3:7
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

2nd Peter 3:8
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Some say that the resurrection is past already and some mock and scoff at the teaching that Jesus Christ will come again.

As is true with anything about God the only source of authority that we have is the word of God.

• What saith the scriptures?

The scriptures teach that the Lord Jesus Christ will return for the purpose of judgment.

2nd Timothy 4:1
“I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;”

Shall judge teaches us that this event is yet in the future.

The “quick” are the saved.

Ephesians 2:1
“And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

Ephesians 2:5
“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Ephesians 2:6
And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:”

“The dead” are the lost.

Those that are dead are spiritually dead and those that have been quickened are spiritually alive.

The dead will be judged when Christ returns and then cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 20:15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The two resurrections of the quick and the dead are separated by 1,000 years.

Revelation 20:4
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Revelation 20:5
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection.

Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

• What is The first Resurrection?

John 11:25
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

John 11:26
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

In these two verses we are taught that the first resurrection has two parts to it: the dead will live, and the living will not die.

This great truth about the resurrection is clearly given in two different passages of scripture.

1st Corinthians 15:51
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

A mystery in the scripture is a mystery.

MYSTERY: That which is beyond human comprehension until explained. In this sense, mystery often conveys the idea of something awfully sublime or important; something that excites wonder.

What is this mystery? “…We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,”

John 11:11
“These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

John 11:12
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

John 11:13
Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

John 11:14
Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”
Sleep for the believer is another word for dead physically.

1st Corinthians 15:52
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1st Corinthians 15:53
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality.

1st Corinthians 15:54
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1st Corinthians 15:55
O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory?

1st Corinthians 15:56
The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law.

1st Corinthians 15:57
But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You can only have victory over death through the Lord Jesus Christ.

1st Thessalonians 4:13
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

We are told not to be ignorant of what takes place when a saved loved one dies physically.

We are to believe what the Bible says and that truth is that they do not die they just change locations.

I know that we normally teach that Enoch is a type of the believer caught up at the rapture but his translation is also a good description of what happens to a believer who dies.

Genesis 5:24
“And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him.” (Hebrews 9:27)

Hebrews 11:5
“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

TRANSLATED, pp. Conveyed from one place to another; removed to heaven without dying;

John 11:25
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Believers do not die; their body dies but they just change locations.

2nd Corinthians 5:8
“We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

1st Thessalonians 4:14
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

We who are saved believe that Jesus died and rose again.

Romans 10:9
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

“…even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

The believer who has died physically and is absent from the body and present with the Lord will still be present with the Lord when the Lord steps out into the air to call us up to be with Him.

1st Thessalonians 4:15
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

The word of the Lord teaches us that we which are alive and remain on this earth when the Lord comes shall not prevent them which are asleep.

The believer who has died physically has gone up to be with the Lord.

That is, he is present with the Lord in the person of his soul.

The Lord has promised us that we will get a new body when He returns.

Philippians 3:20
“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Philippians 3:21
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

We which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep means that the bodies of those who are already present with the Lord is going to be made knew at the same time we go up to be with the Lord.

1st Corinthians 15:53
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye those who have gone on before us and we ourselves will receive our glorified body that the Lord promised to give us.

Are you ready?

1st Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

1st Thessalonians 4:17
Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1st Thessalonians 4:18
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

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Thoughts for the week

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Rick

• Salvation is FREE

As I contemplated the truth of salvation this past week I was given over to this thought.

2nd Corinthians 4:18
“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.”

This verse tells us why it is so difficult to study salvation or for that matter anything that pertains to God.

We are 2/ 3rd s spiritual (spirit and soul) and 1/3rd physical (body) yet we live in the physical and experience it every day. Therefore we are far more familiar with the physical.

We get all of our information about the spiritual (the unseen) from the word of God and it is all accepted on the basis of faith.

It is not difficult to understand why so many people do not spend any time learning about the spiritual because it is unseen.

It is equally understanding why so many people are prone to be persuaded by the miraculous because it some how creates a closeness and understanding and sight of things that are not seen.

Consider this truth and you realize that when you witness to an individual you are taking words from a book that is seen and telling them things that they cannot see and expecting them to believe it.

That is why salvation is a work of God and understanding has no bearing on it at all.

No one can understand what sin is. It cannot be seen. What you see are the visible occurrences of something provoked by an unseen force.

It is equally true that one cannot understand the Lord Jesus Christ going to the cross and becoming sin for us. One cannot understand that Christ died, was buried, and then after three days and three nights He got up from the dead and He lives.

Through the scriptures God makes it known unto us that we are sinners in need of a Saviour and then gives us faith to call out to one we cannot see for salvation.

Visible change can be seen in a believer but the indwelling Holy Ghost cannot be seen.

The work of God takes place on the inside of a believer through the word of God and the Spirit who is God indwelling the believer.

Everything about God and His work is spiritual and the spiritual is eternal while the physical is visible…it is temporal.

Posted in SALVATION | Tagged Bible, Christianity, eternal, Heaven, Hell, lost, religion, SALVATION, temporal | Comments Off

Salvation is FREE Lesson 2A

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Rick

• The doctrine of salvation

When I use the word doctrine I am not just talking about “teaching” as a definition for that word. Doctrine is teaching that every verse of the Holy Scriptures is true and applicable to a specific group of people (Jew, Gentile, or the Church of God) at a specific period of time for a specific purpose.

1st Corinthians 10:32
“Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:”

2nd Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

There are divisions in the word of God.

2nd Timothy 3:16
“All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

The first reason listed for scripture given by inspiration is “profitable for doctrine.”

When you study the scriptures it is important that you look first of all for doctrine and it goes without saying reproof and correction are going to come from the Holy Spirit as you study.

The first thing to look for when studying the scriptures is who the verse is aimed at (the Jew, the Gentile, or the Church of God).

You need doctrine and reproof and correction and then how to get through the day will come.

We have lost our faith in the power of the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The word of God is spiritual and does a spiritual work.

The work of salvation is a spiritual work done with the word of God by the Holy Spirit.

John 6:63
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.”

The matter of salvation is simple yet complex.

2nd Corinthians 11:3
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Someone may ask you “How can I get saved?” or what do I need to do to get saved?”

If someone ask you about salvation it is important that you understand that conviction of sin comes first because a person must become a sinner before they need a Saviour.

We must give them scripture to show them that they are a sinner.

Yes people know that they are sinners but I am not looking for what the sinner knows I am looking for the work of the Holy Spirit to take place.

This is a problem with children raised in church.

They know all the right answers but we must patiently wait for the work of God in conviction and drawing to take place.

It takes the word of God and the Holy Spirit who is God to do the work of God in the matter of salvation.

Give them scripture on sin and drill it home that they are lost, without hope, and they are going to go to Hell if they continue without Christ as their Saviour.

We live in a generation that wants everything the easy way and we deal with the eternal matter of salvation in that same way.

We do not want to hurt the sinner’s feelings, and we are scared to death of offending someone so we just lightly brush over the truth about sin.

Tell them that they are lost sinners.

The Bible says:

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Lost people have a heart problem with God and they are under the wrath of God.

John 3:36
“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.”

Lost people have a heart problem with God and they are condemned already

John 3:18
“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.”

You are freed from the condemnation of an eternal lake of fire when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Until the day that you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you should know that you are under the wrath of God and you are already condemned and if you die condemned you will go to Hell.

Luke 16:22
“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
If you die condemned your soul will immediately be conscious in the torments of Hell and your eternal suffering has begun.

John 3:36
“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.”

A lost person is dead in trespasses and sins and they are void of eternal life.

The Bible says that eternal life is in Jesus Christ.

John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

1st John 5:11
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1st John 5:12
He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1st John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

If you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour you have eternal life if you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour you do not have eternal life…You are still dead in your trespasses and sins.

I did not say that you will not live forever…I said you do not have eternal life…That is you do not have the eternal One indwelling you.

Colossians 1:27
“To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

John 3:15
“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The quantity of you life after salvation is “everlasting” the quality of your life is “eternal”…Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

“The truth” is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the word of God.

John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

John 17:17
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
The Son of God is truth and His word “the word of God” is truth.

They are equal.

The word of God in English is still the word of God and that is something that most people have a hard time believing.

For some reason we just do not want to believe that the word of God is on an equal plain with the Son of God.

If you correct the word of God you have made a correction in the Son of God.

All of your information about the Son of God comes from the word of God.

Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

That verse cannot be just aimed at what people teach about the Son of God because what people teach about the Son of God has to come from some source.

The source for attack on the Son of God is the word of God.

Not many want to believe this truth but the source for apostasy in the day in which we live is what people have done with the word of God.

Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
It is ungodliness and unrighteousness to hold the truth (Jesus Christ or His word) in unrighteousness.

If you do not reverence the Lord Jesus Christ and His word that is unrighteousness and it will be met head on with the wrath of God.

Romans 1:19
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.

Every person is born with the knowledge of God and any person who does not acknowledge that truth has chosen to disregard truth that they were born with.

There is no such thing as an atheist.

That is something that comes from education and a love for sin.

People love their sin and their independence to live in sin and therefore they reject God and adopt evolution.

Evolution is an immoral belief that man is his own god.

We started in a puddle and have advanced to what you see today.

If what we have in the world today is progress then we can conclude that progress is also immoral.

There is an individual who heard recently say “send me to Washington and I will fix what is broken.”

I do not know who made that statement but I would say that they do not have a clue what the problem is.

The problem is not abortion, immorality, healthcare, environment, or any other similar thing.

Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Romans 1:19
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.”

They have held the truth in unrighteousness and God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven.

They began with the knowledge of the Godhead and His power and they rejected that truth because they loved their sin and thus America is being destroyed.

Proverbs 14:34
“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin [is] a reproach to any people.”

An individual must accept the fact that he is a sinner before he can get saved and it is the responsibility of the soul winner to give him that information.

Last week I gave you Psalms 126:5-6 and I meant to give you Proverbs 11:30.

Proverbs 11:30
“The fruit of the righteous [is] a tree of life; and he that winneth souls [is] wise.”

This is the verse from which we get the terminology “soul winner.”
And in Daniel chapter 12 we see that a wise soul winner will turn many to righteousness.

Daniel 12:3
“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

I think that is why I quoted the wrong verse.

Psalms 126:5
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Psalms 126:6
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].”

Could it be that we are not soul winners because there is no weeping?

Could it be that we have lost our burden to win the lost?

Could it be that we have gotten so comfortable and complacent that we no longer see people as lost and on their way to a burning Hell?

Jude 1:22
“And of some have compassion, making a difference:”

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Salvation is FREE Part 2

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Rick

Romans 1:21
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

When they knew God is a reference to the knowledge of God that was given to them at birth.

As they grew older they chose to not give God the glory that He deserves and they were not thankful for the truth of God so they became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened.

God makes Himself known and you have a choice to acknowledge Him or to reject Him.

Acknowledgement of God must be based on truth…the word of God.

If you make a choice to not acknowledge God and you want something else God will not only allow you to have it He will give it to you.

God’s Holy Scriptures are written in such a way that wrong interpretation is very easy and God will give you what you want.

Romans 1:28
“And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

If you reject the knowledge that God gave you of Himself you begin a journey in the wrong direction.

You have begun a long trip down a road of hurt and misery and you are the one that chose that route.

God will allow you to do things that you never dreamed you would do.

Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go and cost you more than you wanted to pay and keep you longer than you wanted to stay.

When you choose to reject God you are given over to do things which are not convenient.

It is amazing to me how are society is bent on having everything convenient yet they chose a life of sin which is not convenient.

It is not convenient to do drugs and immoral things every day and night.

It is hard to live a life of sin.

In verse 29-32 we read a list of those things which are not convenient.

Romans 1:29
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Romans 1:30
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Romans 1:31
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

And all the time the sinner is doing these wicked things he has knowledge and understanding that God is not going to let him get away with it.

Every person is conscious of this fact even though very few people could show you the verse.

Exodus 34:14
“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:”

God made you and God wants you to worship Him.

God is jealous and He will not let you get away with worshipping anything or anyone else.

Romans 1:32
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

The most wicked person on this planet knows that they will face the judgment of God but they continue in their sin and they continue with pleasure.

Hebrews 9:27
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

Every person who has ever lived or will ever live knows that they will face God and be judged.
The only way to make it through that judgment is to know Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.

If you face God at the judgment without Christ at your side you will be judged and then you will be cast into the lake of fire and you will be tormented and tortured forever.

Revelation 20:11
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”

There will not be any place to hide on that day.

Revelation 20:12
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

The dead are those who never repented and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Saviour.

The small and great will stand before God.

The money, prestige, or position you had on this earth will not mean anything when you stand before Almighty God.

If you were poor God is not going to feel sorry for you.

You will be judged by the standard that has already been put into writing.

Revelation 20:13
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

At this time those who have been in Hell will be brought out for the judgment.

All the dead (the unsaved) will stand before God and their judgment will be on the basis of their works.

Not a judgment just of what we consider to be evil works but on the basis of their works.

The wicked will find that they have no hope for all of eternity.

The religious who have tried to live a life that would earn them favor with God will find that they did not do enough and their works fall short of earning favor with God.

Revelation 20:14
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

Revelation 20:15
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The dead without Christ as their Saviour will be cast into the lake of fire and for all of eternity they will be punished.

Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

This is where all lost people will spend eternity because they chose to reject God and His offer of free salvation.

If you reject eternal life you will get eternal death.

Why is it that lost people will not turn from their wickedness and receive Christ to be their Saviour?

John 3:19
“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Men do not turn to Christ because they love their sin.

John 3:20
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

The love that they have for their sin is hatred for God.

A lost man has a carnal mind and a carnal mind cannot think spiritually and a carnal mind is an enemy of God.

Romans 8:7
“Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

The Bible says:

Mark 7:21
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

Mark 7:22
Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Mark 7:23
All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

Read Romans chapter one carefully and hang on every word.

The list of despicable and desperate sins found in Mark 7:21-23 are sins that you could end up doing if you reject the knowledge of God.

Ecclesiastes 7:20
“For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

It is important that all men be told that they are sinners and given scripture that makes this known to them.

First is the knowledge of sin so that one can see their need for a Saviour.

Salvation is simple but we must not overlook the need for repentance unto salvation.
• Knowledge of sin

• Repentance

Mark 1:15
“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Repentance is a change of mind.

A lost person has not believed the gospel.

They hear of their wickedness and sinfulness and they are conscious of their need for a Saviour.

They hear about the Lord Jesus Christ…the Gospel…the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and they know that they need a Saviour.

They repent…they change their mind…they turn from unbelief in the gospel to belief in the gospel.

Repentance is not a work of man it is a work of God.

Acts 11:18
“When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

God grants repentance to an individual who hears the gospel and realizes his need of a Saviour and desires to be saved.

The Lord Jesus Christ came to turn the head…to change the mind…to bring repentance to the sinner through truth.

Mark 2:17
“When Jesus heard [it], he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

It is the sinner that needs to repent.

Acts 20:21
“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Repentance is directed to God.

It is the sinner saying thank you for the knowledge of your existence and the knowledge of what you did for me through your Son.

I cannot make it on my own.

I am lost without hope and I need a Saviour.

Faith is toward the Lord Jesus Christ because He paid your debt.

2nd Corinthians 7:10
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

Godly sorrow comes when a sinner is made know of His sinfulness and realizes that His sin is against God.

A sinner also knows that there is nothing he can do to save himself and he needs God.

This godly sorrow works repentance and a sinner turns to God and believes the gospel.
Thus we conclude…

• Knowledge of sin

• Repentance

• Salvation

A person who has a thorough knowledge of his sinfulness and honestly repents will not have as much trouble with eternal security as one who does not begin with this knowledge.

• Salvation is free.

Romans 5:1
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

You are not a peace with God until you have been justified by faith.

You have not been justified by faith until you have repented and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith for salvation.

Romans 5:2
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Faith is the only avenue of access to grace.

Romans 5:3
And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

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Salvation is FREE Part 1

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Rick

I am going to take you to the Bible to look at many verses for this subject but I want to begin with this thought.

If salvation is free why do people try to earn it.

And what could a man do that would earn him favor with God.

The bible says:

• God is holy

Psalms 99:5
“Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; [for] he [is] holy.”

Psalms 99:9
“Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God [is] holy.”

• God is righteous

Daniel 9:14
“Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God [is] righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.”

• God is light

1st John 1:5
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

• No man can see God and live

Exodus 33:20
“And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”

• God is a consuming fire

Deuteronomy 4:24
“For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God.”

Hebrews 12:29
“For our God [is] a consuming fire.”

• God’s appearance is frightening

Exodus 20:18
“And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw [it], they removed, and stood afar off.

Exodus 20:19
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

• Man is a sinner

Ecclesiastes 7:20
“For [there is] not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

• Man is in his sins

John 8:21
“Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.”

Now you tell me what could a man do that would cause God to accept him.

Man can do nothing to earn God’s grace or favor.

If you cannot get righteous and get rid of your sins you will never stand in the presence of God.

That is why a person who is trying to earn their salvation by works can never have assurance that they are saved.

One of the most controversial doctrines among religions is the doctrine of salvation.

1st Corinthians 10:32
“Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:”

2nd Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

There are divisions in the word of God.

There are 7-9 dispensations depending on how you divide the time periods in the Holy Scriptures.

I find that it is more useful in my study to keep in mind that every verse of the Holy Scriptures are written to one of the three groups of people in the Bible (the Jew, the Gentile, or the Church of God).

2nd Timothy 3:16
“All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
The first reason listed for scripture given by inspiration is “profitable for doctrine.”

When you study the scriptures it is important that you look first of all for doctrine and it goes without saying reproof and correction are going to come from the Holy Spirit as you study.

The first thing to look for when studying the scriptures is who the verse is aimed at (the Jew, the Gentile, or the Church of God).

“Instruction in righteousness” is where almost everyone wants to go first but it is listed last.

You need doctrine and reproof and correction and then how to get through the day will come.

It is often said of a preacher “all that man does is preach salvation.”

I have been saved for almost 35 years and I have observed that most Christians can tell you that they are saved but they cannot take you to the scriptures and show you what the Bible says.

Most Christians cannot show you in the Bible why works salvation is wrong; nor can the average Christian reason with a lost or religious person about the matter of salvation.

And it is also true that we have lost our faith in the power of the word of God.

John 6:63
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.”

It is obvious by observing most Christians that they do not believe that the word of God is necessary so they do not use it.

Ignorance of the word of God is widespread and that is why the Charismatics can so easily deceive the average person.

A Charismatic does not know that 2nd Timothy 2:15 is in the Bible and right divisions is not in their thinking.

Their method of Bible study is to pluck scripture from its context and make it teach what they believe.

The best and right method of Bible study is to acknowledge that the Bible is always right and what I believe and what I think or what I have been taught is not important.

Christians, as a general rule do not read much Bible, do not memorize much scripture, and they do not meditate on the scripture.

It is obvious because they do not use scripture in their vocabulary.

So I am going to go over what is said to be familiar territory but I do not believe that most Christians are all that familiar with and that is truth about salvation.

The matter of salvation is simple yet complex.

2nd Corinthians 11:3
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Someone may ask you “How can I get saved?,” or what do I need to do to get saved?”

We immediately want to say to them “Accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour!”

Is that really what we should do?

That is like asking someone if they are saved and they say yes and then we accept them as being saved without an inquiry into what they call salvation.

Sometimes we may be too anxious to get another notch on our gun.

You have noticed that most of the time when we return from prison we say that we had a number of professions of faith.

We do not say we had a number of people saved because we do not know if they got saved and since we are not keeping score it is not important that we had a certain number of professions.

What is important is that we know that we gave them truth from the Bible when we preached to them and thus we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will use that in their life.

If someone ask you about salvation it is important that you understand that conviction of sin comes first because a person must become a sinner before they need a Saviour.

And I do not mean ask them if they know that they are a sinner and they say yes.

We must give them scripture to show them that they are a sinner.

Most people run to the Romans road plan of salvation and give them scripture.

The idea behind the Romans Road plan of salvation was to get a profession of faith quickly.

That may be a good plan if a person is in church and they just heard a message of salvation but most people need more scripture that what is provided with the Romans Road plan of salvation.

Yes people know that they are sinners but I am not looking for what the sinner knows I am looking for the work of the Holy Spirit to take place.

It takes the word of God and the Holy Spirit who is God to do the work of God in the matter of salvation.

Give them scripture on sin and drill it home that they are lost, without hope, and they are going to go to Hell if they continue without Christ as their Saviour.

We live in a generation that wants everything the easy way and we deal with the eternal matter of salvation in that same way.

We do not want to hurt the sinner’s feelings, and we are scared to death of offending someone so we just lightly brush over the truth about sin.

Tell them that they are lost sinners.

The Bible says:

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Proverbs 28:26
“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”

The fool is not trusting God for anything.

Psalms 14:1
“The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, [there is] none that doeth good.”

Lost people have a heart problem with God and they are under the wrath of God.

Psalms 5:5
“The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”

That is an eye opening verse because most people do not think that hate is a word in God’s vocabulary.

God hates sin and that is why He punished His son in our place.

If you accept His Son your sin is paid for but if you reject the Lord Jesus Christ you will go to Hell and you will be tormented and tortured by God Himself because He hates sin.

Psalms 7:11
“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry [with the wicked] every day.”

God judges sin in the righteous and He is angry with the wicked every day.

Sin does not run a free course it will be judged.

Psalms 9:17
“The wicked shall be turned into hell, [and] all the nations that forget God.”

If you die in your sins you have died lost.

You did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Saviour and you will go to Hell to be punished.

John 3:18
“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.”

You are freed from the condemnation of an eternal lake of fire when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Until the day that you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you should know that you are already condemned and if you die condemned you will go to Hell.

Luke 16:22
“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

Luke 16:23
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

If you die condemned your soul will immediately be conscious in the torments of Hell and your eternal suffering has begun.

John 3:36
“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.”

A lost person is dead in trespasses and sins and they are void of eternal life.

The Bible says that this life is in Jesus Christ.

John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

1st John 5:11
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1st John 5:12
He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

1st John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

If you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour you have eternal life if you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour you do not have eternal life.

I did not say that you will not live forever…I said you do not have eternal life…That is you do not have the eternal One indwelling you.

Colossians 1:27
“To whom God would make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”

John 3:15
“That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

“The truth” is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the word of God.

John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

John 17:17
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Romans 1:18
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

It is ungodliness and unrighteousness to hold the truth (Jesus Christ or His word) in unrighteousness.

If you do not reverence the Lord Jesus Christ and His word that is unrighteousness and it will be met head on with the wrath of God.

Romans 1:19
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.

Every person is born with the knowledge of God and any person who does not acknowledge that has chosen to disregard truth that they were born with.

Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The Godhead is God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

He is invisible to us but this verse says the creation of the world clearly shows us the invisible One.

And we not only know by observing creation that there is a God we understand that the Godhead is the Creator and creation is a demonstration of His power.

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The Crowd Follower

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Rick

Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Matthew 7:14
Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

There is always a crowd that you can follow, and they are wrong most of the time.

Robert Fulton was laughed at because of his steam boat. The crowd was wrong.

Charles Goodyear was called crazy because he said you can make strong rubber by vulcanizing. The crowd was wrong. Today the name Goodyear means rubber.

It was a man named Westinghouse that proposed stopping trains with air and the crowd said you are nuts. Today it is common to hear air breaks on trains and many other vehicles.

The easiest thing for man to do is to follow the crowd.

To agree with the prevalent ideas of the crowd of the times and to do what everyone else is doing is the easy way.

However this is dangerous because the crowd is most always wrong.

The crowd is going the wrong way and the wrong way ends in Hell.

Proverbs 14:12
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.”

At some point in your life you must become an individual and think for yourself.

When I was a young man they would say, “When are you going to grow up?”

They were saying, “When are you going to start being a responsible man and make good choices?”

Someday you will need to think about your decisions and make choices that are right instead of just what everybody else is doing.

• The road to destruction is crowded.

Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

We have a good illustration for us in the Bible.

Numbers 21:4
“And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
Discouragement comes to an individual who has taken his eyes off the Lord…One who has forgotten what the Lord has done for them in the past.

Israel has forgotten who it is that brought them out of bondage in Egypt.

They have forgotten who it is that has taken good care of them up to this point.

It is normal for a person to get discouraged because of the way.

Life is hard and life will not always be good to you.

But lest we forget life is made up of choices and we are the ones who made the choice.

Numbers 21:5
And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for [there is] no bread, neither [is there any] water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

Speaking against God is one of the most foolish things an individual can do.

There has never been a person that has cared for you more than God.

It was God who became a man in order to be tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin and then go to the cross in our place and pay our sin debt.

Israel said, “Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”
If God wanted you dead He could have just left you in Egypt.

You might be guilty of saying, “Wherefore have ye put me in prison to rot?”

The Bible says:

Titus 2:11
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,”

1st Timothy 2:4
“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

2nd Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Luke 19:10
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:17
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

A better question would be, “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” or “What must I do to be saved?”
Numbers 21:6
And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

God is not willing that any should perish and God will go to extremes to save your soul.

This passage of scripture is not only a picture of salvation by grace through faith it is a picture of God’s desire to turn you to trust Him.

It sounds like God is mean and vicious and hurtful because He sent fiery serpents to bite and kill the people who were murmuring against Him.

First of all let me say that God has the right to do anything He wants to do and whatever He does will be right.

But if you will read this passage of scripture you will find that the end result was if you will just trust God He will take good care of you.

Here is a verse that we cannot understand:

Exodus 34:14
“For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:”

God believes that since He is the eternal, all-powerful, all-wise God that created all things then all things should do what He says.

Numbers 21:7
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

When you get a good look at yourself and you realize what you are you will say, “I have sinned.”

You are on your way to solving your problems and turning your life around when you say “I have sinned.”

All sin is against God.

Psalms 51:3
“For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin [is] ever before me.

Psalms 51:4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done [this] evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest.

Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Psalms 58:3
“The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”

The crowd you run with is not your problem.

You are your problem.

And when you take responsibility for yourself it will begin with “I have sinned.”

When you turn to God and accept the responsibility that you are the sinner then God will gladly point you to the Saviour.

The crowd is not your problem…YOU ARE YOUR PROBLEM.

Numbers 21:8
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

In every case where a sinner takes the responsibility of admitting what he is and turns to God for help he receives help.

The mercy of God will show up every time.

Notice that God provided a way for them to be healed but he did not keep them from being bitten by the fiery serpents.

Why didn’t God just take away the fiery serpents?

If God takes away the fiery serpents you no loner need God.

The Bible says:

1st Thessalonians 5:18
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

In every fiery trial give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

In prison give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

You and I need the fiery serpents to remind us that we need God.

I want you notice what the Lord Jesus said in John chapter 3 as compared to Numbers 21:8.

Numbers 21:8
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

John 3:14
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:”

Do you want to be healed of your sin problem…Look to Jesus!

The Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up that He might draw all men unto Him.

John 12:32
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.”

That verse does not say that He will save all men it says He will draw all men.

Today he is drawing you and you will have to make a decision.

You can either choose to look to Christ and be saved or you can die from the bite of the fiery serpent.

It is a choice and if you choose Christ you will no longer be running with the crowd.

Numbers 21:9
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”

You cannot save yourself from the fiery serpent you will die lost and go to Hell if you do not turn to Christ.

Romans 4:4
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Romans 4:5
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:9
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

It is dangerous to follow the crowd

Numbers 21:6
“And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.”

In this passage of scripture we are looking at physical death but the lesson of spiritual death and life through faith are also taught.

It is still dangerous today to follow the crowd.

The road to destruction is still wide and broad.

Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

TODAY THE road to destruction has been paved by the popular media.

TV dictates how we dress, what we eat, and worst of all, what we call right and what we call wrong.

The media makes the road to destruction very comfortable and smooth.

It is the easiest route to travel. However, it is going in the wrong direction.

It is leading us into immorality and Godlessness.

It is leading in the direction of an eternal Hell.

There is now a generation of Americans who could not care less about what God’s word teaches.

Because of the powerful effect of popular media it is easier today to follow the deceived crowd than ever before.

The path to destruction is so wide that the road to life has become harder to see.

Matthew 7:13
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Matthew 7:14
Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

In our modern world the constant insane noise of our culture seems to drown out the still small voice of God.

• The road to destruction is crowded.

• The road to destruction is crazy.

Crazy means insane

The crowd is always wrong

Conformity is the on-ramp

By saying crazy I mean it is not sensible it is not logical it doesn’t make sense.

Every day you can read in a newspaper or watch on TV the disastrous results of a life of sin.

In our own community we see people who have destroyed themselves through sinful behavior.

Among these you will not find one who in-tended to destroy their own life.

It has been said “SIN WILL TAKE YOU WHERE YOU DID NOT WANT TO GO, SIN WILL KEEP YOU LONGER THAN YOU WANTED TO STAY, AND SIN WILL COST YOU MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO PAY.

So how do people get into these life destroying situations?

They just follow the crowd and make the same wrong decisions as everyone else.

Are you a crowd follower?

Don’t you think it is time to turn from the crowd and get saved?

If you claim to be saved you should check what you call salvation with what the Bible teaches.

Yes, you can still make wrong choices after you are saved but is there a desire to make right choices?

If you liked iced tea the day before you got saved you will like iced tea the day after you get saved.

If you liked fornication the day before you got saved you will like fornication the day after you get saved.

The difference is you will know that fornication is wrong and you will desire to NOT do it.

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

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God’s plan of redemption

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Rick

Colossians 1:15
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”

Prophecy 700 years before His birth says His name will be Immanuel.

Reading prophecy (foreknowledge, utterance, and writing) of God’s plan indicates that God is Sovereign, Brilliant, and powerful.

God says here is what I am going to do and then He does it just to prove that He is who He says He is.

People who do not believe the Bible are illogical and ignorant.

If you just read what the Bible says and then look in history you will find that God has done exactly what He said He would do, in the way that He said He would do it and in the time frame He gave Himself to do it.

An honest skeptic would have to say, “I know that there is a God but I refuse to acknowledge Him”.

Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

God said that He was going to do something that no one had ever done and that this would be a sign to Israel.

In the N. T. we find exactly what the meaning of that name “Immanuel” is.

Matthew 1:23
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

God said, “I am going to become a man” and 700 years later He placed Himself in the womb of a virgin and became a man.

Luke 1:35
“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Understand that before God created the first man He already knew that someday He would limit Himself to being one of us.

That man, “God with us” is Jesus Christ.

I find that to be truly amazing.

You can argue the point of whether Jesus Christ was God or not but you can not argue the point of His existence.

Our calendar we use today says there was a man that so impacted history that our dating system is according to His birth.

Today it is July 18, 2010 “Anno Domino” “the year of the LORD.”

A man named Jesus Christ lived and his life is recorded in history.

He claimed to be God and all you have to do is decide whether you want to believe that or not.

God becoming a man fulfilled prophecy and accomplished the purpose for which the plan was devised.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God’s plan of redemption for mankind was that He would become a man and take upon Himself the punishment we deserve for our sin.

If you were God would you make a man or an angel or anything else knowing that they would disobey and disgrace you?

Would you create a man knowing that he would live totally contrary to your plan for him?

Would you create a man knowing that he would hit you in the face and spit on you and say all manner of evil to you?

I believe God created man because He could see the glory He would get for taking man’s place on the cross.

God knew that He was love but know one else knew it.

God must have known that what He would do for man would be the greatest demonstration of love that had ever been revealed to mankind.

God was fully aware that the vast majority of mankind would reject His love and He would then have to punish them in the lake of fire forever.

But there was something in the heart of God that desired man’s fellowship that made Him go with His plan of redemption.

Think about it!

God went to the cross as a man to take your place.

Not your wife’s place, not your husband’s place, nor anyone else…He went to the cross and became sin for you.

He poured out His wrath on Himself to show you how much He cared for you.

We think too often in general and plural terms.

We need to think more in specific and singular terms.

It was for me that He died.

It is me that is the sorry, wicked, vile, sinner in need of a Saviour.

1st Peter 3:18
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

1st Peter 2:24
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

2nd Corinthians 5:21
“For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

We believe that in eternity the word was with God and was God but in time the word became a man in the flesh.

Galatians 4:4
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Purpose:

Galatians 4:5
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

The purpose of Jesus Christ becoming a man in the flesh was our salvation…He came to redeem us.

Without God choosing to become one of us salvation would not have ever been available to us.

God became a man by placing Himself in the womb of a virgin and after the normal nine months in the womb He was born just like we were.

The Sovereign, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, invincible God took upon Himself flesh and became a man.
That is why Jesus Christ is called the firstborn of every creature.

Colossians 1:15
“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:”

Jesus Christ was the first to be born of the Holy Spirit.

That is why we are said to be “a new creature” when we get saved.

2nd Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

We are born of the Spirit at the new birth just like Jesus was born of the Spirit at His birth and we become a new creature.

John 3:8
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

When a man gets saved his spirit experiences a rebirth by the Spirit of God.

• Spiritual Death and Second Death

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they died spiritually.

Adam had been forewarned of this by the Lord and always think this way…Adam’s disobedience was not a surprise to God.

Therefore we can know that the plan of redemption was designed before Adam sinned.

There is no evidence that Eve heard God give this command and thus it is established that the man is supposed to lead His wife.

Genesis 2:16
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Adam was given full liberty to eat of every tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Adam obeyed God until His wife disobeyed.

Thus we see in the example of the very first man that responsibility is a very serious thing.

God told Adam not to eat of one tree but God had also given Adam an helpmeet that he loved dearly.

I am not going to say that a man should sin and be disobedient to God just because his wife did so but it is significant to note that Adam was willing to die for his wife.

Adam knew what God said about dying.

Adam knew that he was giving up fellowship with God when he disobeyed and ate of that tree.

It almost seems like Adam knew God well enough to believe that God was going to make some kind of a provision for their disobedience.

It is impossible for us to know how Adam was thinking because we are hindered by our sin nature.

Adam was created holy and Adam knew what it was like to walk with God and talk with God.

Adam knew God in a way that none of us could possible know him.

Adam was without a doubt confident that God had made a provision for his disobedience before he disobeyed.

You say, then why did he hide from God after he disobeyed?

That, my friend, is one of the very first fruits that you experience when you sin.

Because of God’s holiness Adam immediately knew that he was no longer worthy to stand in the presence of God.

Sin caused Adam to hide and sin caused Adam to doubt God’s love for him.

Adam experienced spiritual death in the sense of knowing that he no longer could have fellowship with God.

God told Adam that he would die “the day” he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

But we know that Adam did not die physically that very day.

Genesis 5:5
“And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.”

There are no mistakes in the word of God; therefore the Lord must have been talking about spiritual death.

This is illustrated with Adam being removed from the garden.

Death is separation. (EXAMPLE: Physical death)

Spiritual death is separation from God.

Genesis 3:24
“So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

Adam could have eaten of the tree of life but he did not.

Now God must block the way to the tree of life because it is no longer available to Adam.

It is important for all to know that there comes a day when the tree of life is no longer available.

John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

When you hear a clear presentation of the gospel and the Holy Spirit is definitely reproving you of sin, righteousness, and judgment it is time to turn in repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You have no guarantee that you will have another opportunity to be saved.

Notice that God gives the plan of salvation as we now know it in the context in type.

Genesis 3:21
“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

An innocent substitute had to die.

Its blood was shed.

1st Peter 1:18
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers;

1st Peter 1:19
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Adam and Eve were clothed with clothing of God’s choice.

2nd Corinthians 5:21
“For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Once you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Saviour you are accepted into fellowship with God.

Ephesians 1:6
“To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

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SALVATION MISUNDERSTOOD

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Rick

SALVATION MISUNDERSTOOD

• Every Believer Should Know How He Got Saved

When we speak of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, we do not mean simply believing that there is a God.

I believed that there was a God, that He had a Son named Jesus who died on the cross, was buried, and rose again before I got saved.

Just acknowledging that there is a God means nothing in the matter of salvation.

James 2:19
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

Acknowledging the facts about God does not get you saved.

Salvation involves both Biblical repentance and faith and results in a changed life.

Listen closely to these verses.

2nd Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The old things: You were condemned already, you were under the wrath of God, you were dead in trespasses and sins, you were on your way to Hell.

The new things: You are no longer condemned, you are no longer under the wrath of God, you are no longer dead in your trespasses and sins, your sins are forgiven, you are on your way to Heaven.

Since those things are true in your life there should be an obvious change in your life.

You should no longer be doing what the crowd is doing.

You should desire the things of God.

Titus 2:11
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Titus 2:12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

If what you call salvation has not given you a desire to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world and look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ you are not saved.

2nd Timothy 3:13
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

There are many who are deceived and they are all out to deceive you.
James 1:22
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

When you learn truth from the word of God you must apply it to your life or you are leaving yourself open for deception.

The Bible says;

Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

We must believe on Christ as Saviour in order to be saved:

John 3:14
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

John 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

In Acts chapter 10, we see an example of this progression from believing in God, to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.

• The Roman centurion described

Acts 10:2
“A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”

The Centurion was a respected religious man.

Acts 10:22
“And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.”

Ecclesiastes 7:20
“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

This man was just and devout, but though he prayed, gave generously to the poor, feared God, and had a good report among the whole nation, he was lost.

In Acts 10:4, the angel tells him that his prayers and alms had come up for a “memorial before God,” but this didn’t cleanse the centurion from his sins.

Acts 10:4
“And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”

Acts 10:35 says that any man who fears God and works righteousness is even “accepted” with God, but not saved.

Acts 10:35
“But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

Rather, he is accepted as ready to receive the gospel.

What happened to the Roman centurion?

God rewarded him for seeking God (Hebrews 11:6) by sending Peter to preach the gospel to him.

Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

When the centurion heard it, he believed, and then he was born of the Spirit of God.

(He received eternal life.)

No doubt he was an unusual man (better than many Christians I know), but being good, and even believing there was a God could not save him.

The Roman centurion had to believe the gospel of the grace of God.

In the first letter to the church at Corinth it is made clear that this is the way all men are saved in the Church Age.

1st Corinthians 15:1
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

1st Corinthians 15:2
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”

Saved by what? By the gospel!

Now, let’s read the rest of this passage of scripture and learn exactly what “the gospel” is.

1st Corinthians 15:3
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1st Corinthians 15:4
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

This is the gospel that must be preached and received— the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the scriptures.

Nothing about water baptism can be found anywhere near this passage.

Plainly, water baptism is not an essential part of salvation, and it is heresy to teach that it is.

The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ according to the scriptures.

A man can believe in his mind that the gospel is true, yet remain unsaved.

Salvation, in the Bible, is when one comes to God with a repentant heart, believing upon Jesus as his Saviour: crucified for his sins, buried and resurrected according to the scriptures.

Believing the gospel in one’s mind does no good; it must be coupled with recognition of personal and individual need.

You provide the sinner and God provides the Saviour.
Many believe that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world, but that is not good enough.

You must believe that He died for you as an individual.

To better understand how a man gets saved, let’s take a look at three things that lead to his conversion.

A. You Must Realize Your Condition.

B. You Must Respect God’s Provision.

C. You Must Receive God’s Appropriation.

A. You Must Realize Your Condition.

1. Before salvation you are a Christ rejecting sinner

You must see, from the Bible that you are a sinner and you must understand that without the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are without hope and on your way to Hell.

• Some good Bible verses to look at are:

Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

The Bible says that “all” have sinned— without exception!

(That is not my interpretation of the verse; it is simply what the Bible says.)

Romans 3:10
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

When the Bibles says “all” it means all and when it says “none” it means none.

Romans 5:12
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death, but it also makes it clear that the only remedy is “life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Because of Adam’s sin, everyone since then has been under the curse of death.

Each of us must also suffer physical death if the Lord tarries, but the death that “passed upon all men” is that spiritual death that has cut us off from God.

This leads to “the second death” of Revelation 20:11-15 (the wrath of God poured out upon the lost in Hell), where the lost man is cast into a Lake of Fire, and eternally separated from God.

Revelation 20:14
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 20:15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The contrast is “eternal life,” passed on to all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

When we believe, we experience the new birth by which we are quickened (made alive in Christ Jesus).

God does not give anyone eternal life because they deserve it.

No, Jesus came to save ungodly sinners — that is why one must realize he is lost before he can get saved.

Counting his own works as nothing, one must trust in Christ’s work.

The following verses make this plain.

Matthew 9:13
“But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Romans 4:4
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Romans 4:5
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

Romans 5:6
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Man is not in this lost, ungodly state because of the bad things he does.

On the contrary, he does bad things because of his lost state.

This condition is common to all men because of Adam’s sin.

In the following passage of scripture from Luke’s gospel we have an example of two unsaved men with very different backgrounds and lifestyles.

One is a self-righteous man, while the other, by his own confession, is an unsaved sinner.

Luke 18:10
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

Luke 18:11
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Luke 18:12
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”

That is the proclamation of the self-righteous man, who believes that his works would justify him before God.

Now, let us read the confession of the poor lost publican:

Luke 18:13
“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

Luke 18:14
“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

To which prayer does God give attention?—to that of the publican.

Broken in spirit because of his sins, he confessed to God that he was a lost sinner, and cried out for mercy.

Therefore, it was also he who “went away justified, rather than the other.”

There are still people like the Pharisee today, who try to justify themselves before the Lord.

They usually say things like:

“I never harmed anyone; God would not send me to hell.”

“I never killed anybody or stole anything; I love my neighbor.”

A. You Must Realize Your Condition.

1. Before salvation you are a Christ rejecting sinner

2. You are hopelessly lost and on your way to a burning Hell, under the wrath of God.

Many so-called good, clean, moral people will be in Hell because they were unwilling to come to the Lord Jesus Christ with their sin.

But, no matter how good a man thinks himself to be, he must realize he is a lost Hell-bound sinner before he can get saved.

An honest man will see from the Bible that without Christ, he has no hope.

Ephesians 2:12
“That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”

Furthermore he is a child of wrath:

Ephesians 2:1
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Ephesians 2:2
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Ephesians 2:3
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

A. You Must Realize Your Condition.

1. Before salvation you are a Christ rejecting sinner

2. You are hopelessly lost and on your way to a burning Hell, under the wrath of God.

B. You Must Respect God’s Provision.

1. You must see that God’s only provision for the cleansing of sin is the blood of His Son.

So many think they have to do something to get saved, but we can do nothing.

God is the only one who can help us: He is our only hope.

Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:9
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 6:23 shows clearly that salvation is a gift, and therefore cannot be earned by works.

Romans 5:15-18 also deals with this, comparing Christ and Adam. Using a colored marker, highlight in your Bible the word “gift” each time it occurs in these verses. (This will emphasize that salvation is indeed the free gift of God to all who believe.)

Romans 5:15
“But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

Romans 5:16
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

Romans 5:17
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Romans 5:18
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

If good works could save us, God would owe us our salvation as a debt.

It would no longer be a “free gift,” but a reward.

Grace is the free unmerited favor of God (Romans 4:4, 5).

Romans 4:4
“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

Romans 4:5
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”
According to these verses when one receives Jesus Christ by faith he has “obeyed the gospel.”

The Bible does not say that obeying the gospel means “repent, confess, believe and be baptized,” no matter what anyone says.

The Bible definition of obeying the gospel is found in Romans chapter 10.

Romans 10:16
“But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?”

We obey the gospel by believing in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As the Bible says, it is a free gift, not an earned reward.

Regarding salvation, all religions say do, while God says done.

When Jesus died on the cross, the work of salvation was completed.

From the cross the Lord Jesus uttered these words:

John 19:30
“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

God’s only plan of salvation in this Church Age is by grace alone, through faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:9
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

If man’s works contributed in any way to his salvation, God would be saving sinners to pay a debt He owed them.

But God is indebted to no one, because we are saved by the work of His Son on the cross.

Here is a simple illustration to help explain that salvation is absolutely free.

Holding a pencil or a coin (or any small item that is handy) in the palm of your hand, offer it as a free gift to the person you are dealing with.

When he accepts it, tell him that’s all he has to do to receive eternal life— just simply take the free gift.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:17
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

A. You Must Realize Your Condition.

1. Before salvation you are a Christ rejecting sinner
2. You are hopelessly lost and on your way to a burning Hell, under the wrath of God.

B. You Must Respect God’s Provision.

1. You must see that God’s only provision for the cleansing of sin is the blood of His Son.

C. You Must Receive God’s Appropriation.

1. The Holy Spirit Draws Men To Christ

We cannot lead people to Christ unless the Holy Spirit is convicting them of sin, and drawing them to Christ.

The Bible plainly says,

John 6:44
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Furthermore we read in the Gospel of John:

John 12:32
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

Those called Calvinists teach that Christ died for only a select few, not for all.

That is a lie straight out of Hell!

The Lord Jesus promised that He would “draw all men” to himself.

Again we read in the scriptures, that:
2nd Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Still, not everyone will be saved.

The Holy Spirit will convict a man of sin and give him faith to believe, but if the sinner hardens his heart toward the gospel, there is nothing more we can do with him.

We can show him the scriptures and pray for him, but we cannot give him the desire to be saved.

In the last chapter of the book of Revelation the Holy Spirit gives this invitation for all to be saved.

Revelation 22:17
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

C. You Must Receive God’s Appropriation.

1. The Holy Spirit Draws Men To Christ

2. Repentance

You may be wondering, “What about repentance— don’t I have to repent?” Yes, that is clear from the word of God.

Acts 17:30
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:”

But what is repentance?

Well, it is not merely sorrow for sin.

There are many who weep over sin, but without repentance, immediately return to their wicked ways.

The Bible tells us that Esau:

Hebrews 12:17
“For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

Remorse and tears often accompany repentance, but they are not repentance in themselves.

Charles H. Spurgeon wrote:

“A man may hate sin just as a murderer hates the gallows, but this does not prove repentance. If I hate sin because of the punishment, I have not repented of sin. I merely regret that God is just. But if I can see sin as an offence against Jesus Christ, and loathe myself because I have wounded Him, then I have true brokenness of heart.”

Doing penance is not repentance either; for that would give the sinner some works by which he might think himself to merit salvation.

In reality, this unscriptural teaching actually hinders true repentance, which is a change of mind that leads to a change of conduct.

Repentance: As touching the intellect

In Matthew 21, we read a story of a lad called to work.

Matthew 21:28
“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

Matthew 21:29
He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.”

At first the boy refused to work in the vineyard, but later he repented, changed his mind and actually went to work in the vineyard.

Repentance: As touching the emotions

While sorrow is not itself repentance, one cannot be said to have experienced true repentance with some remorse for his sin.

2nd Corinthians 7:9
“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

2nd Corinthians 7:10
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

The publican in Luke 18:13 smote upon his breast, indicating sorrow of heart and seeking of repentance.

Luke 18:13
“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

In Luke 7:38, the woman who anointed Jesus with ointment literally washed His feet with her tears.

She demonstrated her sorrow for sin and repented unto salvation.

Just how much emotion is necessary in true repentance no one can say?

But it is evident from the use of the word in the scriptures that it involves an emotional upheaval.

And even though it may not be accompanied by a flood of tears, or even a single tear, there should be a certain amount of heart movement.

About this Spurgeon says:

“A sinner has a heart as well as a head; a sinner has emotions as well as thoughts, and we must appeal to both. A sinner will never be converted until his emotions are stirred.”

When you realize that you have sinned against God and you are going to Hell it should cause some emotion.

Repentance: As touching the will

Repentance teaches that one turns from something to something.

The prodigal son of Luke 15:18 said,

Luke 15:18
“I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

Luke 15:19
And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

Luke 15:20
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”

He not only thought upon his ways, and felt sorry because of them, but he also turned his steps in the direction of home.

So in a very real sense, repentance comes through crisis, that brings the hope of a changed life ahead.

Repentance is not only the result of a heart broken for sin, but extends to the turning from sin as well.

Repentance is a twofold act of turning from sin, to God.

C. You Must Receive God’s Appropriation.

1. The Holy Spirit Draws Men To Christ

2. Repentance

a. The confessing of sin to God.

Psalms 38:18
“For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.”

Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:11
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 10:12
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Romans 10:13
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The “confession… made unto salvation” in verse 9 is our confession to God.

It is made when we “call upon the name of the Lord.”

It is the confession of our sin and our belief in the Lord Jesus as Saviour.

This naturally leads us to confess Him before men, because, as verse 11 says, “whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.”

True believers aren’t ashamed of their Lord, and He is not ashamed of them.

Not once has He ever turned away a repentant sinner coming to Him for salvation.

Hear the words of the Lord Jesus:

John 6:37
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 6:38
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

John 6:39
And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”

The publican said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” The prodigal cried, “I have sinned against heaven.”

a. The confessing of sin to God.

b. The forsaking of sin.

Isaiah 55:7
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Proverbs 28:13
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

a. The confessing of sin to God.

b. The forsaking of sin.

c. A turning unto God.

Turning from sin without turning to God is reformation without regeneration.

As is shown in the letter to the Thessalonians, the will is turned to God and idols are turned from. .

1st Thessalonians 1:9
“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;”

Joel 2:13
“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.”

Repentance is not something we can pump up within ourselves— it is granted of the Lord to all who seek Him through brokenness of spirit and godly sorrow for sin.

Psalms 34:18
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Acts 11:18
“When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

2nd Timothy 2:25
“In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”

Repentance is a prominent subject in the scriptures, being mentioned over one hundred times.

The burden of God’s heart is for all to repent.

Failure to obey results in eternal damnation

Luke 13:3
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

In actual experience, confession, repentance, and belief all take place at practically the same time.

C. You Must Receive God’s Appropriation.

1. The Holy Spirit Draws Men To Christ

2. Repentance

3. Believing God.

The foundation and assurance of our salvation lies in the word of God.

Romans 10:17
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

1st Thessalonians 2:13
“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”

“But these things are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” — John 20:31

We know that preaching from the Bible is God’s primary means of making His word known unto the lost.

1st Corinthians 1:21
“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

We must not base our salvation on an emotional experience, but on the word of God.

Some people cry when they get saved, and some shout when they get saved.

Others quietly believe the word of God and yield to His will.
However, if they have truly believed the gospel, all of them are saved, whether they cry or shout or say nothing at all.

Different people have different kinds of emotions.

We cannot see, feel, or touch Jesus.

Our salvation rests solely upon what the Bible says.

Suppose we awaken one day feeling terrible, as if the whole world were falling apart and landing on us.

Because we don’t feel well or feel like praising God, does that mean we’re no longer saved?

Not at all!

We will never have assurance of our salvation if we rely upon our feelings to prove it.

The Bible says we must have a single mind about things—the mind of Christ.

We must believe what He said, not what we think or feel.

Otherwise we will always be on the roller coaster of our emotions; first up, then down, never settled and stable.

The Bible says:

James 1:8
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Isaiah 26:3
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

We must set our hearts upon the Lord and fill our minds with the word of God.

Thereby we shall find peace, because we can trust in Him and we can believe His word.

Now, we are going to find out what the Bible says about being saved, and what it means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible verses we are going to look at actually have the word saved in them and talk about being saved.

When we trust in the word of God and do what it says, we can have all confidence that God will do what he says He will do.

John 1:12
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

To “believe on his name” (John 1:12) is to receive Christ as Saviour, and become a son of God.

In the verse following that we see the new birth spoken of.

John 1:13
“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

John 3:3
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

To be born again, we must trust Christ as our personal Saviour.

In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul tells those who have already trusted Christ.

Ephesians 1:12
“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Ephesians 1:13
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”

We must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as our Saviour.

Let me emphasize that we get saved by receiving a person.

No one gets saved by receiving a thing: we must receive a person.

We acknowledge our trust in Christ by simply asking Him to save us.

Romans 10:13
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

A. You Must Realize Your Condition.

1. Before salvation you are a Christ rejecting sinner

2. You are hopelessly lost and on your way to a burning Hell, under the wrath of God.

B. You Must Respect God’s Provision.

1. You must see that God’s only provision for the cleansing of sin is the blood of His Son.

C. You Must Receive God’s Appropriation.

1. The Holy Spirit Draws Men To Christ

C. You Must Receive God’s Appropriation.

1. The Holy Spirit Draws Men To Christ

2. Repentance

3. Believing God.

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