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| ACHIEVING ETERNAL SALVATION Question: How can I get salvation? What do I have to do in order to get eternal life? Answer: Do you know that only one single thing determines whether you are going to be saved and have eternal life? Also do you realize that being saved does not depend upon you doing good works and good deeds. Nor is being saved determined by how much you give at church or if you give anything at church. Salvation doesn't even depend on you going to church. Although these are important, they have absolutely nothing to do with you being saved. Salvation, the very act of being saved, of having eternal life, of living in paradise for all of eternity, is determined by one thing and one thing only, and incredibly enough it is rather easy to obtain salvation. So how can I be saved? You say it is so easy to become saved then tell me how to get saved. The answer lies in John 3:3. "In answer Jesus said to him, most truly I say to you, unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." In order to get salvation you must in your own heart truly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and as God he stepped out of heaven and took the form of man and came to earth to die on the cross at Calvary, and that the blood that he shed on the cross allowed you to have your sins forgiven, You must repent your sins and you must also ask God to forgive you of those sins. If you can do those few simple things, and at the same time accept the death of Jesus Christ as full payment for all of your sins, both past, present, and in the future, then you will be born again, and from that moment on you will have eternal salvation. But first, what does being "born again" really mean? Many people think that being born again is "Body to Spirit". That you turn your earthly and fleshy body over to God. That's not what "born again" means. What born again means is that your spirit, or your soul, the very essence of your being, is given over completely to our loving Father. You give and dedicate your soul to God. It is your spirit joining his spirit. Once your soul is devoted to The Father then your thoughts, your actions, your words, your deeds, your entire body will follow your spirit and thus they too will also become dedicated to God the Father. It is at this time that your life begins to become Godly in nature and a whole new meaning and purpose and understanding is given to God. It is here that the born again believer begins the journey on his life long path to feed his soul with "spiritual nourishment" so that he can grow in spiritual maturity and in the correct knowledge of God. So basically the act of being born again which leads directly to salvation can be broken down into three separate steps. A definite and distinct feeling of need in your heart for God. An awareness of your sinfulness. The understanding that Jesus suffered and died for you. Definition of Salvation Most people think that salvation itself is the time when you are simply living in paradise and you are in the presence of God. However the actual definition of salvation is one of being rescued. Rescued from a number of different things. 1--Salvation is being rescued from sin. 2--Rescued from guilt. 3--Rescued from the punishment of God. 4--It is the rescue from the wrath of God. 5--And most important, it is being rescued from eternal death. THE VERY ACT OF SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable free gift." (2 Corinthians 9:15) Salvation is the greatest gift that mankind could possibly get. Without this gift of salvation there could be no eternal life. No chance of being with all loving God through out eternity, no chance of partaking in all the great and glorious things that he has planned for us. If you should die without salvation then you will never know the wonder and the mystery that is found in 1 Corinthians 2:9 where it says, "The eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, nor has there even been conceived in the mind of man the things that God has prepared for those that love him." Think of this gift of salvation like a gift certificate. A friend goes to the store and buys a gift certificate. He then gives you the gift certificate and you go back to that store and you receive the merchandise, and it doesn't cost you anything. To you the merchandise is completely free. This doesn't mean that the merchandise was originally free because someone had to pay for it. Your friend paid for it. You received the merchandise for free when you turned in the gift certificate. Salvation is the same way. It is also a gift, but a very great price was paid for this gift. The price paid for your gift of salvation was God himeself coming down to this very earth, and in the form of Jesus Christ, suffered and died on the cross. The shedding of his innocent blood was the "gift certificate" that allowed you to get the gift of salvation for free. Just think of it. God himself left heaven and came down here to go through and experience terrible pain and suffering for you. And now all you have to do to get that free gift of salvation is to simply hold out your hand and tell God that you want it, and instantly you become a child of God and are immediately born into the Kingdom of God. There are a great many other things that God causes to happen to you at the very moment that you become saved. Some of them are: 1--You become redeemed. The penalty for your sins is paid. 2--You are forgiven for every sin that you have committed or will commit. 3--You have become acceptable to God. You have just become a child of God and you are now his, and there is no person who has ever lived that he loves more than you. He will never stop loving you. 4--You are justified. You are declared not guilty. You are now a child of God and therefore you are as pure as new fallen snow. 5--You are reconciled with God. You are brought to a right relationship with God; a oneness with God. 6--You are glorified in the eyes of God. He looks upon you as magnificent and delightful. 7--You are sanctified. You are cleansed from sin and set apart for God. 8--You become righteous. You now have Jesus Christ living on the inside of you and you have become honorable in the eyes of God. 9--You are now a saint. You now have become a person who has been saved by the grace of God, by God, and for God. 10--You now have complete and unhindered access to God and he is just waiting for your requests for blessings, forgiveness, and help. 11--You are baptized by the Holy Spirit and sealed as a child of God. 12--The great teacher and educator, The Holy Spirit, enters your heart and mind. However this does not mean that once you become saved that you will not sin anymore. No, it doesn't mean that, but it does mean that when you do sin you won't be able to enjoy it. God makes salvation completely available through Jesus Christ - and not only to specific individuals, but to all who will receive and believe in Jesus Christ as savior. Jesus made this very clear when he said, "Whoever believes in me would not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) The word "whoever" includes everybody. No person is excluded from the opportunity to believe and receive everlasting life. Then why don't we become perfect people instantly upon accepting Jesus Christ? Because we haven't matured spiritually and we don't have the capacity to accept and handle the fullness of his perfection. Consider a new born baby. The baby has the full capacity to become a unique and very special adult. All of the genetic code necessary for the baby to grow and develop was given to the baby before its birth. There is no more genetic code that the baby is going to receive or develop as he or she grows. Rather, the child is going to grow according to the existing DNA and RNA already in place in each cell of the baby's body. This newborn baby has the potential to be able to walk, talk, make decisions, solve problems, hold a pencil, read a book, give a speech, decipher fractions, drive a car, and display thousands of other skills. But the newborn baby doesn't manifest all of these skills immediately upon birth. Some intellectual skills are developed to coincide with physical maturity. Other skills are built upon one another like building blocks. Many skills require the copying of behavior that the child sees and experiences on a daily basis. And many of these skills must be practiced over and over before sufficient mastery is obtained. The same is true for us spiritually. God gives all of us the Holy Spirit at the time we are saved and we receive Jesus Christ as our savior. We will still need to grow up spiritually however, before we can manifest certain traits and spiritual qualities and begin to use the spiritual gifts and fruits given to us so that we can become spiritually mature individuals. The grace of God at work in our lives unfolds to us as we mature spiritually and are able to experience it. All of God's gifts are deposited into our spiritual account, and as we grow in Christ, we have the ability to access these riches. John 5:24----Most truly I say to you, he that hears my word and believes him that sent me has everlasting life, and he does not come into judgment but has passed over from death to life. 1 John 5:11-12----And this is the witness given, that God gave us everlasting life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has everlasting life. He that does not have the Son of God does not have everlasting life. John 20:31----But these have been written down that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that because of believing, you may have eternal life by means of his name. Ephesians 2:8-9----By this undeserved kindness, indeed, you have been saved through faith, and this not owing to you, it is God's gift. No, it is not owing to works, in order that no man should have ground for boasting. John 3:16----For God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. John 3:7----You people to be saved must be born again. Titus 3:5----Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he has saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. John 10:9----I am the door. Whoever enters through me, will be saved. Ezekiel 33:14-16----And when I say to the wicked one, you will positively die, and he actually turns back from his sin and carries on justice and righteousness, then he will positively keep living. He will not die. None of his sins will be remembered against him. When Jesus said that unless a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God, he was talking about a relationship. Entering into the Kingdom of God is entering into a relationship with God, and the way to enter the Kingdom of God is to accept Jesus Christ as your savior, agreeing that his substitutionary death on calvary's cross paid your sin debt in full, and asking God for the forgiveness of your sins. When you do, then you are born into a new beginning. Once you become saved you instantly become a renewed soul, acting on new principles, by new rules, with new ends and goals, and in new company. The believer is created anew. His heart is not merely set right, but instead a new heart is given him, and where the heart is changed, the life and the actions will be changed. When we become saved our thought patterns are different, the focus of our attention is different, our conversation is different, our attitude and our outlook is different. We begin to acquire new hopes and new dreams. The center of our life is no longer what pleases me, it is now what pleases him. We are changed. The greatest desire of our life is now to do his will. The saved one is now the workmanship of God, created in and through Christ Jesus. He is immediately changed in his character and conduct. Unlike the hardened sinner who continues to stand by and justify his sinful actions, the born again soul is greatly affected by sin and indeed now hates sin. He now rejects the things that are bad, wrong, and sinful. This man who formerly saw no beauty in God, had no respect or love for him, and who rarely even thought of him, now loves him above all things. When you believe in Jesus Christ, God considers all barriers between you and him to be completely removed. Many people question whether they can ever be accepted by God. They say, "I've committed to many sins", or "I've committed a sin that is just to big to be forgiven", or "I've sinned against God after God forgave me so how could he forgive me again"? The cross that Jesus died on is God's assurance that you can never sin too many times or commit a sin that is to big or to terrible. You simply can not "out sin" God's desire and ability to forgive you. It's interesting but do you realize that when you ask God to forgive you of your sins there is tremendous joy in heaven. Luke 15:7 tells us, "I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents of his sins than over ninety-nine righteous ones who have no need of repentance." If you should ever think that your sins are to many or to terrible, please remember the following three questions to ask yourself concerning God's forgiveness. 1) When you came to God and were born again, did He not know every sin that you had committed up until that point? 2) And did God not know every sin that you would commit in the future? 3) And therefore did not God save you knowing every single sin that you would ever commit until the very end of your life? Your acceptance of God and his commandments is all that is required for you to be in a right relationship with God. There are no works that you must accomplish before he extends his promises of soul satisfying, life giving forgiveness. Your relationship with God is not based upon your good deeds. It is not based upon your offerings at your church or your doing a series of charitable acts of kindness or your belonging to a particular denomination. It is not based upon anything that you produce, achieve, or earn. Rather your relationship with God is based upon belief. Your believing that Jesus Christ is God's Son, who came to the earth in human flesh, to die on the cross, and in so doing has forgiven the sins of each and every one of us. His death on the cross has given all of us the opportunity to gain eternal life. So many people live under a terrible cloud of "I hope I've done enough to please God", or they hope they've read enough of the Bible and they hope that God will forgive them. They constantly hope that they will be considered worthy of heaven. That type of hope isn't true hope. True hope lies in saying thank you God for saving me. Thank you for loving me and for sending your Son Jesus Christ to die for me. Thank you for forgiving my sins and for sending The Holy Spirit to help me, guide me, and comfort me. Your behavior and the state of your soul are two distinct and different things in God's eyes. Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and have accepted God's love and forgiveness, you are his eternally. There is nothing that can separate you from him. Romans 8:38-39 says, "Neither death nor life, nor angels nor governments, nor things now here nor things to come, nor powers nor height nor depth, nor any other creation will be able to separate you from God's love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The mistakes you make and the sins you commit after you have accepted Jesus Christ do not separate you from God. He will convict you of these sins so you can confess them, be forgiven, repent of them and make changes in your future behavior for your sake and for your good. But these sins do not separate you from God. All through the Bible he refers to himself as, "The Lord Your God." Every human being is special and unique. If God loses me I cannot be replaced. God cares for me, he is interested in me and he loves me, and I am the only one of me that he has. My love and praise ascend to him through the uniqueness of my personality, marked with my specialness. On top of that no one can love, worship, and praise him exactly like me. YOU CAN'T LOSE YOUR SALVATION OR HAVE IT TAKEN AWAY, BUT....... When you were saved you turned to God. Turning to God means the you have committed your life to trusting and obeying God. In John 1:6-7 it says, "If we claim to have fellowship with Him, yet we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, purifies us from all sin." According to this text, "If we walk in the darkness, then we do not live by the truth." And therefore our heart is laid before us like an open book. If our heart is not repentant when we sin, if our attitude is one of disobedience to the Laws and Commandments of God, if we turn away from God, if we live a life of sin, if we decide the effort to lead a Godly life is not worth it, if the actions of our lives indicate that we no longer desire to be one of God's children, then we don't lose our salvation, and salvation isn't taken from us, but we through our own free will, take our salvation and give it back to God. We tell God we don't want it. We give it up! If you could not give up your salvation voluntarily, then once you become saved you could then go ahead and do whatever you wish. You could steal, murder, cheat, lie, never pray, reject the scriptures, lead others astray, blaspheme God from morning to night -do anything that is sinful, rebellious, and against the laws of God. In other words you can not walk in the darkness unrepentant and still hold onto your salvation. You are the one who decides whether to walk in the light or the darkness, God gave you the free will to make your own choices. If you decide to walk in the darkness then your salvation will not be taken away from you, nor will you lose your salvation. No, what you will do is give up your salvation, You will be telling God that your salvation "is not worth the effort it takes to walk in the light". That you do not wish to have his gift of eternal salvation. Your own free will determines whether you are going to keep your salvation or give it up. God allows your eternal future to be in your own hands. It's interesting but do you realize that once you are saved you don't have to keep asking God's forgiveness over and over for all the sins that you have committed in the past, regardless of how horrible they were. If you did ask for his continuous forgiveness do you know what God would probably say? I think he would say, what sins? Jeremiah 31:34----"For I shall forgive their error, and their sin I shall remember no more." Hebrews 10:17----"Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Micah 7:19----"And I will throw into the depths of the sea all your sins." (These sins will not be cast near the shore where they might resurface again, but rather into the depths of the sea, so they will never rise again). When our Christ forgives, he also forgets. The Holy Spirit---Proving the existence of The Holy Spirit
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