UNDERSTANDING OUR SALVATION 2

                                          UNDERSTANDING OUR SALVATION - 2

SYMBOL OF BAPTISM 

            Romans 6:3,4  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were

                baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death that just

                as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in

                newness of life.

                Colossians 2:12 Buried with Him in baptism in which you also were raised with Him through

                faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead.

POINT OF SALVATION

                1 Peter 3:21         There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism not the removal of the

                filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of

                Jesus Christ.

We have a good conscience because we have completed our obedience for salvation and

are ready to walk our new life with Christ.

After they had been baptized:

            Acts 2:47  47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their

                number day by day those who were being saved.

We don’t “join” a church.  The Lord adds us to His church.

Angels in heaven rejoice over one soul.

            Luke 15:10 "In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one

                sinner who repents."

Your conversion accomplished several things:

• Forgiveness of sins

                  Acts 2:38  Peter said to them, " Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus

                        Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

• Indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit  (above Scripture)

• Entered into the death of Christ

                                Rom 6:3   Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus

                                have been baptized into His death?

• Became clothed with Christ

                  Gal 3:27  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with                                         Christ.

• Sins washed away

                  Acts 22:16  Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,

                        calling on His name.

• Saved!

                  Mark 16:16  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has

                  disbelieved shall be condemned

                                1 Peter 3:21  Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you —  not the removal of dirt

                                from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of

                                Jesus Christ,

• Born again

                  John 3:3,5  Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is

                        born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.  5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to

                        you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

• Into one body, the church

                        1 Cor 12:13   For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or.

                        Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit

                        Col 1:18  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn

                        from the dead, so that He Himself will have first place in everything.

• Received that which Christ provided on the cross—the shed blood.

                  Matt 26:28  for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for

                        forgiveness of sins

• Dead to sin and ready to walk in a new life

                  Rom 6:4  Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that    .                                as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk

                  in newness of life

                        2 Cor 5:17  Therefore if anyone is in Christ ,he is  a new creature; the old things passed

                        away; behold, new things have come.

The old ways that we leave behind may be traditions of the family, habits, attitudes that are not according to the teaching of the Scriptures.  We grow in Christ and have the help of the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can shake off this old life.  We now want to follow Christ and our goal in the end is heaven.

                        Matt 16:26  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his

                                soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Following are examples of conversions in the N.T. (All contain baptism.)

                Acts 2:38,41  Day of Pentecost  (1^st gospel sermon)

                Peter said to them, " Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus

            Christ. for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,

                41  So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about.

                three thousand souls

                Acts 8:12-13  Samaritans and Simon

                12 But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the      name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. 13 Even Simon himself                 believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and           great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

                Acts 8:37-38  Eunuch

                37[ And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I   believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both       went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.

                Acts 9:18  Saul/Paul

                 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;

                Acts 10:48  1^st Gentile conversion – Cornelius and household

                And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on     for a few days

                Acts 16:15  Lydia and household

                 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me               to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.

                Acts 16:33  Philippian Jailor and household

                And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was   baptized, he and all his household. 

                Acts 18:8  Crispus, household, many Corinthians

                8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of   the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

The purpose of stressing baptism (immersion) is not that it is more important.  Many stop conversion before getting to baptism.  It is commanded.  We have seen the commands and the principal.  Above are many examples.

UNDERSTANDING OUR SALVATION 1

UNDERSTANDING OUR SALVATION

All of us sin.  We need God.  We need Christ to go between our sinful self and our Maker, God.

            Romans.3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

                Gal.3:22  But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ

              might be given to those who believe.   

SIN?  Not just murder, stealing, etc.  We have wrong attitudes and do things with which God is not pleased.  Even our selfishness and pride is sin.  We sin with our tongues.  We all have sinned.  Christ Jesus was the only one without sin and He is the only One that can cleanse us from that sin.

            1 John 1:7,8  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another

             And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  8. If we say that we have no sin, we

             deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The lack of truth is sin!

WHAT DOES SIN DO?

            Isaiah 59:2  But your sins have separated you from your God, And your sins have hidden His face

              from  you so that He will not hea..

                Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our

                Lord.

We must pay for our sin unless we accept Christ paying for it with His death on the cross.

We could never pay for our sins ourselves.

FAITH

            Gal.3:22  But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus

                Christ might be given to those who believe.

Faith is not just mental consent.  Many would say, “I believe”, but do nothing to show it;

however, belief is where we must begin.

            Heb.11:6  But without faith, it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe

                that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

            John 3:16  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes

                in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Peter recognized the Truth that we must believe.

            Matthew 16:16  Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Just believing is not enough.  We have to act upon that faith which includes obedience.

OBEY

            John 3:36  He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not

                see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.  (NASB)

                John 14:23  Jesus replied, If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love

                Him and we will come to him and make our home with him. (NIV)

                James 2:19   You believe that God is one.  You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

The demons may be believers but certainly are not ready to become Christians.

REPENT

Repentance is to feel remorse or regret for sins and then turn and change the mind, actions, and attitudes in keeping with God’s Word.  It is difficult to admit we are wrong.  It takes humility.  We set aside self and let the Lord live in us.  We let go of our old life and turn to follow Christ in a new life. 

            Acts 3:19  Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of

                refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

                2 Corinthians 7:10  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be

                regretted’ but the sorrow of the world produces death.

                Acts 2:38   Then Peter said to them, “Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of

                Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

These were the instructions given to the very 1^st converts to Christianity.

Sometimes people hold on to the fact that they are fairly “good” and don’t do anything “bad”.  We still have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  We all need the saving power of Jesus before God, our final judge.  Jesus is like our lawyer before God.  He has paid the debt of our sin for us.

            Romans 10:2  For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their

                own righteousness have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

                Hebrews 9:28  So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a

                second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

CONFESS

We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God as Peter confessed in Matthew 16:16.  We

cannot be ashamed. 

            Matthew 10:32  Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My

                Father who is in heaven.

                Romans 10:10  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession

                Is made unto salvation.

           

A promise of salvation is promised with faith, with repentance, and with confession.  The Bible does not ever say ONLY with any one of them.  We need all three.  We can never take one verse and make a doctrine from it.

BAPTISM

Baptism seems to be a subject of contention and yet it is the one element of salvation that all examples contain.  We learn by COMMAND, PRINCIPLE, and EXAMPLE.  The following will give all three.

Baptism is the final step of becoming a Christian.  Jesus could have chosen whatever He desired.  He chose baptism.

• It takes humility for someone else to dip you.
• It takes desire of obedience to succumb to such an act.
• It has to be done for the right reason and with the right attitude (not just get wet)
• Most important—it is a symbol.

                  Jesus’ death – We die to sin and self.

                  Jesus’ burial—Our old life and will is buried under.

                  Jesus arose—We come up out the water to live a new life in Christ.

The Greek word for baptism is baptizo which means immerse.  Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness.

            Matthew 3:15  But Jesus answering said to him, “permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting

                for us to fulfill all righteousness.”  Then he permitted Him.

God acknowledged  Jesus as His son and showed His pleasure in Him as He was baptized.

            Matthew 3:16,17  After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold ,

                the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him.

                And behold a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I

                am well-pleased.”

Jesus commanded His disciples:

            Matthew 28:19  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name

                of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

                Mark 16:16  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be

                condemned.  (A person would not be baptized if he didn’t believe.)

The first gospel sermon included these things and 3000 men did just that.

            Acts 2:38  Then Peter said to them, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of

                Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

JESUS

JESUS

Jesus is the name above all names.  Emmanuel (God with us), Christ (Messiah), Messiah (anointed), Master (ruler), Lord (supreme), Shepherd, Physician, Potter, Truth, Light, Servant, Counselor, Prince of Peace. 

The world has never been the same since Jesus came to earth.  Even the numbering of our years are so calculated by when Jesus was born.  B.C. (before Christ), A.D. (in the year of our Lord).  History tells us that Jesus did live and die.  We can follow His life historically by many sources including the Word of God.  Why do we want to believe in Him and what will we do about it?

Jesus was the Son of God.  Even God Himself testifies to this fact when Jesus was baptized.

Matt 3:17   And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Jesus was also the Son of Man. 

            Matt 16:13,16  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking      His disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are            the Christ, the Son of the living God."

How could this be? 

            Matt 1:20-21   But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a        dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because            what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to           give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

This was a miracle.  Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was therefore the Son of God and yet He was born as a baby human being, the Son of Man.  The above verse even gives His purpose.  This wasn’t just so He could be a unique and flashy God/Man but He would be the only one that could bring salvation to the world.  God had so much love for us that He was willing to let His only Son come to earth as a man for this purpose.

            John 3:16   "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever           believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

A person may think, “But I am a good person.  I try to do what is right.”.  That is good  Do you ever say something you wish you had not said?  Maybe at times you loose your temper.  A neighbor might need help which you could give them and you refuse or just don’t want to leave your comfort zone.  Do you harbor any bitterness or lack of forgiveness in your heart?  As we think on and on, we are not perfect.  Jesus was.

            Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We don’t compare ourselves to other people.  We compare ourselves to the Lord.  Therein, we fall very, very short.

            1 John 1:8-10  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we           confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10         If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

It is a serious mistake to think we have no sin.

No good could have been accomplished to save the world if you or I had been crucified on that cross.  Only a perfect man could be that sacrifice—that was Jesus.

            Heb 10:12  12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

Many testified that Jesus had no sin.

Pilate at His trial.

            John 18:38  "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said,      "I find no basis for a charge against him.

Judas who betrayed Him.

            Matt 27:4  "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."

The apostle John, who wrote 5 books of the New Testament.

            1 John 3:5  But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is   no sin

Jesus was willing to die a terrible death that He might take upon Himself the sins of those who accept His gift of salvation.  Think of the shame of being hung naked on the cross in front of throngs of people as well as being crucified as a criminal after He was beaten almost to death.  When we accept Him as our Savior, we take on His righteousness as He takes on our sin.  What a concept!  What a trade!

            2 Cor 5:21  21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become    the righteousness of God.

            Heb 5:9   and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey      him

Isn’t it fair that Jesus would expect something from us for all He did for us?  We show our thankfulness and love for Him by the way we come to Him in obedience.

Jesus didn’t come in riches and honor.  He was born into a poor family in a town that was not popular—maybe the “other side of the tracks”.  He worked in the carpenter shop with His earthly father.  He grew up and had the same hurts and feelings that we experience.

He was tempted as we are tempted. 

            Heb 2:18  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted , he is able to help those who are    being tempted .

            Heb 4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,   but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.

Jesus is able to look into our hearts and minds and understand our needs with the love, understanding and compassion that He has for us.  He showed this as He went about healing and restoring many during his ministry.  His first miracle saved embarrassment of a wedding party.  He felt that with them.  Jesus felt the pain of loosing a son as he healed the son of the Roman centurion.  Jesus knew the sorrow that came from loosing a family member as he brought to life Peter’s mother-in-law.  He had compassion on the blind and diseased.  The lepers had no hope of hugging their children and wife once again and yet Jesus healed them so they could.  He wept in sorrow at the death of his friend, Lazarus, and felt the grief of Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus.

Jesus had to withstand those who would speak against Him and wait to try to trap Him.  His own apostles ran away from Him as He was being taken by Roman soldiers.  One of His closest apostles and friend denied that he even knew Jesus.  He was betrayed by one of His own.  Through all of these experiences, Jesus can understand and love us.

Jesus suffered many trials and persecutions just so you and I could have salvation.  We can be thankful, believe, and then accept His gracious offer of salvation. OR we can go on in our own way and deny Him by doing nothing.  It is our choice.  The choice we make is eternal.  We must choose carefully.

Giving Our Lives to the Lord

GIVING OUR LIVES TO THE LORD

Frequently, we need to consider these thoughts, whether we have become a Christian or not.  Most important—have we committed our lives to the Lord?  Then, if so, have we remained committed to the Lord?

Too often an individual wants to be baptized because they have heard that baptism is connected to salvation.  Not so fast!  Baptism is not an insurance policy.  We go through that procedure and we are saved.  It is a very big part because it is obedience; however, it is not just getting wet.  1 Pet.3:21  

Something must happen in our heart.  We must realize that we are a sinner.  We all are! Rom.3:23; 1 Jhn.1:8    It is just that some have been saved through the blood of Jesus.  Heb.9:22   What happened when Eve committed the first sin?  Adam followed and they were separated from God with whom they had walked.  God and sin cannot reside together.  Isa.59:2

Our hearts must be full of sorrow and repentance which means we are ready to turn our lives around to serve God rather than self and the world.  Our whole self—heart, soul, strength, mind—must be filled with a love for God.  Lk.10:27   Our love is proved by the way we obey God’s commands.  1 Jhn.5:3; Jhn.14:15   God’s love was proved by sending His only Son to die on the cross and take our place.  Jhn.3:16,36 (some versions use the word, “obey”, in verse 36).  It is like our doctor.  We may believe what he tells us but if we do not DO what he tells us to do, we will not get better.

Understanding that we must obey the method of salvation as found in Scripture, we want to look at the kind of life we are to live after we become a Christian to see if we are truly willing to follow through with that.  It is not enough to call out to the Lord.  People in Jesus’ day were doing this and Jesus had a reply.  Matt.7:21; Lk.6:46  We must learn of God’s will and be willing to follow it.

Where is our heart?  If we don’t realize, God knows.  Luke 16:15; Heb.4:12.13  Our heart will follow what we treasure.  Like a man who own a lot of stocks—he will follow the stock market up and down.  A farmer will follow the market in livestock and grain.  What is our treasure?  Lk.8:14   Jesus lists three things that we could treasure.  These could block the Word of God working in our life.  They are life’s worries.  (We should put them in the hand of God.  Phil.4:6)  Another is riches.  1 Tim.6:10   The third is pleasures.  Our culture is surrounded with entertainment.  All is not bad but the tendency is to let this desire control our time, money, and interest. 

It is so important for us to be like our neighbors and those we admire.  Maybe our admiration is misplaced.  We must not conform to the ways or looks of the world.  Rom.12:2   If we are ready to become a Christian, we will be giving our lives to the Lord.  This will make us new in Christ.  We will take on the righteousness of Christ as He took on our sins.  2 Cor.5:21   It would be like our being sent to prison, but, instead, Jesus would go for us.  He took on Himself all the sins of the world.

As we become new in Christ, what needs to change?  Do we have habits to eliminate from our lives?  What is a detriment to our growth in Christ?  Do our friends cause us to be more godly or do they drag us away from the Lord.  1 Cor.15:33   This is a proven fact.  Our law holds us responsible with whom we associate.  Many an innocent person has been incarcerated because of a crime of someone they were with but they did not know the crime was even committed.  Our friends are very important.  2 Cor.6:14,15   A lot can be said of a person by the company he keeps.  We do not want to be an enemy of God.  Jam.4;4   Our friends may not understand, but are we trying to please them or God?  They can’t take us to heaven.  1 Pet.4:4   Would our friends and pleasures of the world be worth selling our soul?  Matt.16:26   Jesus wants us to follow Him.  We take up our cross (our life with whatever comes in following Him) and follow Jesus.  Matt.16:24,25

As a Christian we will have to avoid evil—even anything that has that appearance of evil.  1 Thess.5:22   Satan wants to distract anyone who might think of becoming a follower of Christ.  1 Pet.5:8  

We have plenty of lists of sins to avoid.  Gal.5:19-21; Rom.1:29-31   It is important to note that these sins against God are unrighteous acts in rebellion against God BUT not only those that take part in these sins but also those that take pleasure in others that are involved.  Rom.1:32   This involves our entertainment.  Are we entertained by sin?  This will greatly affect us.

We also have plenty of lists that describe a Christian.  These are the qualities that we want to put in our lives and grow in them.  Gal.5:22,23; Col.3:12,13  Our thoughts control our life.  In all we do and what entertains us, we should filter with Phil.4:8

Are we thinking, “I can never live up to this”.  None of us can alone.  We achieve and grow only with the help of the Holy Spirit which is a gift given to us when we are baptized into Christ.  Acts 2:38   The Holy Spirit is our Helper.  Eph.3:20   We need the fellowship of other Christians.  Heb.10:24,25   We have a new goal as a Christian—heaven.  Col.3:2,3