SALVATION

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“Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are ALL one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:25-29

Jesus loved you so much he died in your place for your sins. It is very important to remind ourselves of how much he suffered and that this sacrifice was not for himself but for us. First, imagine the fear Jesus felt as his “human” mind anticipated the “human” suffering he was about to endure. How hard it must have been to know that not only was he going to suffer excruciating pain and die a sinless man, but he would be betrayed and his message rejected. 

After the last supper, Jesus and the disciples walked to a garden called Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus had most of the disciples sit down and then walked farther in with Peter, James, and John. He asked them to watch while He prayed and said to them, 'Pray that you do not come into temptation.' He returned three times to find them sleeping. 

Jesus was in indescribable mental agony where his sweat became like drops of blood. The weight of what is about to happen is beyond human understanding. And so, in a very human but fervent prayer, Jesus tells God what He "desires," which is that these events would not have to happen. 

In the same moment, Jesus also explicitly commits to obeying the will of God the Father. Obviously, no one would "want" to suffer torture and death, but Christ is loyal to God's plan above all else.

Jesus’ prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane described in the Bible:

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and told His disciples, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' He said to them, 'Pray that you do not come into temptation.' And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee (James and John) with Him and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, 'My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.' He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.' And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, your will be done.' And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.” Matthew 26

There were various methods of executing crucifixion. This is how they describe the process that our Lord and Savior endured for all mankind. 

“Usually, the condemned man, after being whipped, or “scourged,” dragged the crossbeam of his cross to the place of punishment, where the upright shaft was already fixed in the ground. Stripped of his clothing either then or earlier at his scourging, he was bound fast with outstretched arms to the crossbeam or nailed firmly to it through the wrists. The crossbeam was then raised high against the upright shaft and made fast to it about 9 to 12 feet (approximately 3 meters) from the ground. Next, the feet were tightly bound or nailed to the upright shaft. A ledge inserted about halfway up the upright shaft gave some support to the body; evidence for a similar ledge for the feet is rare and late. Over the criminal’s head was placed a notice stating his name and his crime. Death ultimately occurred through a combination of constrained blood circulation, organ failure, and asphyxiation as the body strained under its own weight. It could be hastened by shattering the legs (crurifragium) with an iron club, which prevented them from supporting the body’s weight and made inhalation more difficult, accelerating both asphyxiation and shock.”

Jesus’ judgement and persecution described in the Bible:

“They kept on crying out, saying, 'Crucify, crucify Him!' And they stripped Him and put a red cloak on Him. They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: "Hail, King of the Jews!" They blindfolded Him and repeatedly asked Him, saying, 'Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?' And they spit on Him and took the reed and beat Him on the head. And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him and led Him away to crucify Him. They gave Him wine mixed with bile to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.” Matthew 27

It is said that Jesus was so disfigured that it was impossible to recognize him as a man or a woman. They tore his beard out and flogged him so hard that it literally tore the skin off his body revealing his ribs and spine. As the cross was dropped into the hole, his shoulders were dislocated making it difficult to support his body and impossible to breathe.

“Just as there were many who were appalled at him —his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness” Isaiah 52:14

Jesus’ crucifixion described in the Bible:

“And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, they parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there; And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave Him a drink. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.” Matthew 27

More than this physical suffering was the silence from His Father during the last three hours as he took on all the sin of mankind. 

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'ELI, ELI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?' that is, 'MY God, MY God, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?' Matthew 27:46

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” Matthew 7:13-14

Everyone is either saved or lost. You are either walking the narrow way that leads to heaven, or the broad way that leads to hell. You either know Jesus or will encounter the Antichrist during the tribulation. Have you become a compromising Christian whom Revelation describes as neither cold nor hot?

Have you bought into woke Christianity that has a form of godliness but denies the power of Christ to free you from sin? Do you say you believe in Jesus, yet live a life of sin? Have you chosen the world over God? Do you prefer fleeting pleasures of sin over the eternal pleasure of heaven? As of now, it is not too late to choose Jesus. But one day soon, it will be too late.

There are those who recognize that church attendance isn't a requirement for salvation and many of those, for whatever reason, don't believe that reading the Bible is necessary either. By saying 'I believe, surely I will be saved' alone isn't good enough, there is more to it than just saying I believe… even Satan believes, and we know his future.

Does this promise of God automatically apply to everyone who ticks the box Christian (at census time)? Of course not! As Christians we know that Gods promises will only apply to genuine believers who have FAITH in Jesus, REPENT of their sin and endeavor to OBEY God’s word. The only way to be saved is to believe that Jesus died for your sin. 

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

We have all sinned against God and deserve His punishment. But when Jesus died on the cross, he took – all Gods punishment for sin upon himself, so that you can be spared. Although the judgment of this Mosaic law known by Christians as the Ten Commandments ended, it doesn’t mean that God doesn’t expect us to still follow those laws. It just means that the punishment of breaking those laws has been replaced by grace. 

“Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”” John 20:29

We all commit sin in some form every day - not that we want to, which is why we are told to repent and confess our sins daily. Everyone who is an unbeliever, even those deep in sin can be turned around, if they allow God to work. His promises are beyond measure. Once you've stamped on defiance or rebelliousness, and thrown unbelief away, you now realize that living for Jesus is far better than anything you could ever imagine. Because of the promises He has made - you will begin to benefit. 

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off. And they also if they abide, not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again.” Romans 11:23-24

If you give your heart fully to the one who loves you the most, you will find it soon becomes THE most important thing to you and it isn't difficult, man makes things difficult.  By making a conscious effort to change this condition, and it doesn't take much to do it, it's not inconvenient, we only must try, and it starts simply by loving Him, the one who gave His all for you and me. And once you've begun this journey, your daily life will benefit and be that much better.

Faith is an internal thing in your heart and mind - the more you feed and care for it by reading and continuing in faith, the more it will increase. And that is the crux of the matter, faith will not increase by being lukewarm. Faith starts off small, but it will grow if you feed it. And being a spiritual thing, faith must be fed to grow and as a simple analogy – a seedling will quickly die without sufficient watering, which is the same as faith will fade and die without reading scripture.

THIS IS A CHANGE THAT HAPPENS WITHIN YOU, not as an outward show by attending churches. It's first by making a conscious decision to follow and give your heart in love, to Jesus, the one who made salvation possible for you. After that, a gradual change will occur within you, which eventually is noticeable by others. 

Not only that, but you too will also notice, after proving your faith, there is something within that wasn't there before - the influence of the spirit, and that's a beautiful thing. If you just CONTINUE in faith, REPENT of your sins, READ your Bible and PRAY daily - that is giving your all. Jesus is just waiting for you to come to Him - that then becomes forward progress.

There are 'possessors' of God and there are 'professors' of God. In other words, there are those that have the spirit of God and those that simply say that they know God. The distinction will be found out on that day. 

"Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:34-36

Now the Bible says that if you BELIEVE Jesus died for your sins and you LOVE Jesus for saving you – you will repent of your sins and turn away from what is wrong. Then, God will pardon you and He will never leave you or forsake you. He will take you to heaven. BUT if you are not a Christian OR you’re just a lukewarm Christian (who goes through the motions at Christmas and Easter) Gods promises do not apply to you. To such people God can and will issue a divorce certificate.

There are four phases of spiritual growth:

1. Forward Progress: To know him and have a relationship with Him, it is important to reach out in prayer daily and read his word as much as you can. 

The avenue for communication is prayer, and you can do that at any time. Prayer isn’t just necessary when you need something, but it is a time to give thanks for what he has given you. The more you pray and try to have forward progress, the sooner the Spirit will come to you. 

2 Standing still: Infrequent reading and not praying as much as you should, means the Spirit's visits will become less. You are still saved but you're at risk of losing your grip on Jesus' hand. Standing still is almost as dangerous as sliding backwards, which is a transition stage before sliding backwards - you could go either way. 

Without forward progress you can become careless of God's gift. And this point must include the very real danger of being lukewarm, a condition that so many now find themselves in and is detestable to Jesus. 

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,' and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” Revelation 3:15-17

Being lukewarm, you could find yourself knocking and the door will remain shut to you. And if you know lukewarmness is the condition you're in, you should also be able to understand what Jesus thinks about you. 

To win His approval you need to change that. Lukewarm faith is faith that doesn't affect the way you live - it describes someone who hasn't openly denied Jesus but isn't openly living for Him either.

3. Sliding backwards: You rarely read or pray, and the Spirit is trying to win you back to Jesus. And in this condition, you probably won't hear/recognize the Spirit's tender plea. 

By rarely reading, trying to absorb as much knowledge through a 'crash course' in Bible reading either just before or after Tribulation begins will only leave you spiritually unprepared to face it. The problem here for most is they are ignorant of Tribulation being as close as it is, and this will catch so many unaware. 

If you haven't turned away from Jesus by rejecting Him completely, you are still saved but there is a very real danger of falling away and perhaps taking the mark in the intense persecution of Tribulation. 

4. Apostasy: Simply means turning away from God and Jesus and if you fall to your own apostasy by no longer believing and continuing, that is, by not returning before your death, you are by your own actions forfeiting your salvation.

Unbelief: This, God considers far worse than the others - they can be fixed without too much trouble. You can stamp on them whenever they arise because they're part of our human nature. 

Unbelief is a different problem; it goes deeper than just on the surface. Just as belief is in your heart and mind, so is unbelief and it's much harder to deal with and just as salvation is a gift, the decision to believe or disbelieve is also a free choice. 

God won't force anyone to believe, it's your choice and unless you deal with it, it continues unabated, and so many haven't really got a legitimate reason for unbelief, or Atheism. Most have the wrong view of what faith really is, which is, BELIEVING in something that isn't easily proven.  

If you are ready to choose eternal life with Jesus, truly repent of your sins and accept him as your savior, take this moment by getting on your knees in reverence and accept salvation by repeating the Prayer of Salvation.