I put these thoughts together for some friends of ours who are new in the family of God. "To write the same things to you, to me is not grievious, but for you it is safe." Phil 3:1 so I'll send them along to you too. Enjoy, and pass them along if you want. Quotes from the Bible are in purple.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAVED?
First of all, from what do we need to be saved?.
Rom 1:18 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
Mark 9:43-44 describes what hell is like.........
... into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched
And Revelation 20:10-15 tells what happens after hell.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Who deserves such a horrible fate?
Anyone who has committed a sin!
Romans 6:23 says "The wages of sin is death," even for one sin. It only took one sin for Adam to die!
Romans 3:23 says; For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Rom 3:10-12; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
...there is none that doeth good, no, not one
We are born "dead in trespasses and sins;........by nature the children of wrath". Eph 2:1-3
Trying to keep the 10 Commandments doesn’t help. Romans 3:19,20 says;
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
James 2:10-11 says; For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Remember that we are dealing with God, not our fellow man here. God’s standard is perfection.
Is there any human being who never sinned?
Only One. Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin". I Cor 15:3,4; ...how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried and that he rose again the third day..
2 Cor 5:21 says; For he (God) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
God’s standard is 100% righteousness.
Jesus, who is 100% righteous, died in our place to pay for our sin, so that we could have His 100% righteousness.
HOW?
Eph 2:8-9 says; For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Rom 3:24-25; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (all sufficient sacrifice) through faith in his blood,
If Jesus paid for all sin, is every one saved?
No, only those who choose to accept His payment for their sin.
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.
How can I know if I am saved?
Ask yourself, how do you think one can escape hell? If you think you must do anything in addition to what Christ did, then you are not trusting Christ.
But if you realize that you can do absolutely nothing to erase your sin, and you trust Christ completely to do this for you, then you can be sure He has.
Rom 4:5; But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
What about my future sins?
Col 2:13 says; And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (made alive) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; That includes future sins.
Heb 10:12 But this man (Jesus), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;........For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
When we first trust Christ with our eternal future, and give up on everything else, He does a number of things for us that are irreversible. This makes our salvation irreversible, so that we never need to worry again about going to hell. Here are a few of the things He did for us.
1. God gave us His Spirit to seal us as His own, and to teach us.
Eph 1:13-14; 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,
Eph 4:30 ....whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
1 Cor 2:12; Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
2. He delivered us from Satan and all other powers, now and in the future.
Col 1:13; Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,
Rom 8:38-39; For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. He baptized us into the body of Christ. (This is without a preacher or water.)
1 Cor 12:13; For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
4. He has already given us a position in heaven.
Eph 2:6; And (God) hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Col 1:13; and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
5. He gave us eternal life. You can’t kill eternal life, or get rid of it somehow.
Rom 6:23 ...the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Eph 2:5; God, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (given life) together with Christ,
.
6. He circumcised (cut off) our old sin nature.
Col 2:11; In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
A circumcision is certainly irreversible!
There are many more things than these 6 to be thankful for! You can make your own list as you read your Bible.
We can be so confident of our salvation because it depends on Christ, not on us. What He has started in us, He is sure to complete.
Phil 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:
2 Tim 2:13; If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Rom 8:30; ....and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
One more thing..........
Remember that we live in the age of grace, when God is not dealing with Israel and her laws, promises, and curses. Our time is revealed only in Paul’s writings, Romans to Philemon. So don’t get confused with the other message for Jewish saints who will face the battle of Armageddon.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15
Rejoice in the Lord alway...
Phil 4:4M. Dent