The Plan Of Salvation

THE PLAN OF SALVATION BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES There are many different views among religions today concerning salvation Many people believe that they are a Christian based upon a false view of salvation Such as being a good person, coming from a good family, or a member of the church Many believe they are saved because they have been christened, dedicated, sprinkled, or baptized Regardless of what someone might believe about salvation, we must hear the truth from God's Word Salvation is only through the "Spiritual Birth," there is no other way to become a Christian Nicodemus was a religious man and sincere about God, but he was spiritually lost, Joh 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: As a religious man he acknowledged Jesus, Joh 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (To mentally acknowledge the existence of God or Jesus is not salvation) Religion is not the way of salvation, Joh 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. Only through the "Spiritual Birth" can you enter-into the presence of God for life today and for eternity Nicodemus did not understand the spiritual birth, Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Just as sure as you are born physically, you must be born spiritually, Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ("Born of water" refers to physical birth and the question of Nicodemus) Unless you are born spiritually you "cannot enter into the kingdom of God" The spiritual life is as real as the physical life, you cannot deny either, Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Jesus repeats the fact of the spiritual birth because of its truth and importance, Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The experience of spiritual birth is as real as an experience with the wind, Joh 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. You do not see the wind, but you know that the wind has come You do not see the wind, but you feel the wind and you know what the wind has done You will know when you have been "Born Again" and made alive spiritually, it is a personal experience To receive Jesus as your Savior is to be made alive spiritually, 1Jn 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. Jesus "is the Christ," He is the "Promised Messiah," or Savior, Luk 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. The Savior was named Jesus, Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Lost sinners need to learn that Jesus is the only way of salvation, Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD The Bible, God's Word, tells us the truth about sin, salvation, and a right relationship with God Because we are all sinners, we must be made right spiritually to have a right relationship with God To be saved is to have a right relationship with God today and throughout eternity Without Christ as your Savior there is no right relationship with God, Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: "As it is written" means that God has said it, this is not something that man thought of and wrote about It is what God has proclaimed in His Word, not something according to the standards that man has set Ten men would possibly give 10 different opinions concerning the subject of sin and righteousness But God's Word stands as the authority on all subjects, especially of sin and salvation We will be held accountable to what God has written and not what man has said "There is none righteous, no, not one," Righteous means: Good, right, just, upright, truthful We must be right in God's sight, we must be right according to God's standard We are "All" included in this verse, there is no exception, not one is righteous before God Unrighteous is the general state of all mankind, the whole world is in-need of righteousness In this verse it is highly emphasized that we by ourselves cannot be right with God On our own, left to ourselves, we cannot live right according to God's Word "None," not me and not you, "No not one," not one of us can stand righteous before God Never has there been a sinner who could, and never will there be a sinner who can The only way to be right with God is through His Son, "Jesus Christ" Everyone without Jesus in their life is unrighteous and unlike God, separated from God When we accept Jesus, we are made right with God When we are right with God, we can live right, without Jesus we cannot be right before God With Jesus in my life, I am right with God, all sinners must receive Jesus as their Savior FOR ALL HAVE SINNED Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Sin means to "miss the mark," the mark is God's way of life, sin misses the life that was created by God God intended for us to live eternally when He created man, man was created without sin in him Sin is the things in our life which are not like God's character, sin is that which is unlike God The Bible says, "For all have sinned," which does not mean that all have sinned to the same degree But it only takes one sin to make a sinner, just one sin in our life is why we are not like God The history of man is sin, the first man Adam sinned, "I" have sinned, and "You" have sinned But throughout history, many sinners have been saved by being born again spiritually "I" have been saved, "You" can be saved, if God saved "me," He can save "You" If God has ever saved one "Sinner," He can and will "Save any Sinner" Jesus can save us because He paid the penalty for our sin, He died on the cross for us Jesus died on the cross because we "All" have "come short of the glory of God" It only takes one sin to come short of God's Glory, we are sinners, God is Glory "Glory" is a description of God's character, describing His excellence, His perfection "Glory" refers to His Person; His splendor; His holiness; His righteousness; His power "Glory" represents His divine standard; His plan for man; His life that is to be lived in man The "Glory" of God is the life that God had for man when He created him Anything short of His Glory is sin and describes an imperfect life Man comes short of the image of God in man, without Jesus we "Come Short" Without Jesus Christ in our life, we cannot be what God wants us to be "Come short" is written in the present tense and stresses a continuous action Without Jesus life keeps on falling short, life will never measure up to what it should be Without Jesus, life will always fall behind, be lacking, be inferior, be incomplete, meaningless Without the source of life there are no resources for life, to receive Jesus is to receive life Jesus can save us because He paid the penalty for our sin, Jesus is the only one who could do that THE PENALTY OF SIN IS DEATH Rom 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: This takes us back to the beginning of creation, when the world began The beginning of the human-race was Adam Because of the sin of the man Adam, all of mankind is now alike, "For all have sinned" (Romans 3:23) Romans 5:12 tells us why Romans 3:23 is true, sin and death had its beginning in the first man Physically, man is in the likeness of Adam, also "in sin" man is like Adam Sin has passed from one generation to another, all the way to our generation Our generation will pass sin on to the next generation Sin has entered-into the world and "all have sinned" We are each one personally accountable to God for "our sins" Adam cannot stand before God in our place because of his own sin that led to our sin Only Jesus can stand before God for us, because He had no sin, He could die for our sins Death is the evidence of sin, mankind dies because of sin God told Adam that if he sinned, he would die, Gen 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. Man cannot deny the truth of death, we are reminded of the fact of death every day Death is a picture of sin--Death is a lifeless state--Sin is a lifeless state Regardless of what the world says, to sin is to die, the penalty of sin is death "So, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Each one has sinned--Death makes its way to each one--Death follows sin--The penalty for sin is death Satan told Eve that she would not die if she sinned against God, Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: There is no question about it, Satan lied, Satan still tells the same lie today Satan told Eve that she would become like God if she sinned, Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Another lie, sin separates us from God and separation from God is "death" Adam immediately died spiritually when he sinned, and eventually he died physically "Separation" is the best definition of what the Bible means by death The Bible refers to at least three types of death: Spiritual death; Physical death; Second death The word "separation" explains each of the three types of death, all death is because of sin, Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Today it is common for people to laugh and joke about sin Anything as deadly as sin is nothing to laugh or joke about All that sin will ever pay is destruction, sin always pays its servants, sin will not miss a payday We can see the payment of sin in a disturbed mind; a broken heart; a diseased body; a defeated life "Wages" identifies that which you have personally earned or deserve because of what you have done It is the pay you receive for the work you have done, the price you receive for sin is death If this verse had nothing else to say, then life would be hopeless, no hope for today or eternity If the previous verses that we have studied in Romans was the only truth presented in the Bible We would all be eternally lost if there was nothing but "none righteous" (Romans 3:10) "For all have sinned" (Romans 3:23) "Death passed upon all men" (Romans 5:12) "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) but there is more, there is a contrast in Romans 6:23 Rom 6:23B but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The "gift of God" is in-contrast to the wages of sin A gift is something that someone else has purchased and provided for you A gift is not something earned or deserved because of your own efforts If you work for it or earn it in some way, it cannot really be called a gift A true gift is unearned, the result of love, God's gift is because of God's love for the sinner God is the giver, Joh 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 GIFT IS ETERNAL LIFE There is a contrast between death and life, sinners "earn" death Because of God's love He "gives" life, "eternal life" means that it is God's own life that is given Instead of our life being separated from God forever, God wants us to have His Life forever Eternal life means both quality and quantity, eternal life begins with salvation and never ends The quality of salvation is God's Life living in us today, the quantity is life with God for ever Salvation means that we have a New Life to live, as long-as we live on this earth It is the best life that a person can live upon this earth and it goes on beyond physical death There is only one way to have this New Life, you must receive Jesus Christ The gift of eternal life is given to us only through Jesus If there was any other way that God could have given us eternal life Then Jesus would have never died on the cross for our sins Eternal Life is "Through Jesus Christ Our Lord" Gifts that are given to us are normally wrapped in colorful paper The "Gift of Life" is wrapped up in Jesus, the gift of eternal life is Jesus Himself A gift is never complete until it is in the possession of the one it was purchased for God gave us Jesus so that we can have eternal life But we must accept and receive Jesus before the gift of life is complete for us The joy of a gift comes at the time of receiving it, once it is opened and you know what it is Even the joy of purchasing a gift comes at the time when it is received Heaven rejoices when sinners receive Jesus Christ, Luk 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. WHY THE GIFT OF LIFE CAN ONLY BE RECEIVED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST? Because it was Jesus who died for our sins, Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Lost sinners are in a state of helplessness, ungodliness is helplessness, sin is weakness Without Christ in our life there is no authority over sin, the penalty of sin is death Jesus died in our place for our benefit, 1Pe 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. 1Pe 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: Jesus is the only One who can "bring us to God" At a time determined by God, Jesus died on the cross for us, Rom 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. It would be a rare case for someone to die for a respectful person or an innocent person Human love is very seldom that strong, who would die for a sinner? Jesus did, Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God proved His love for sinners; for His enemies; for the helpless and the hopeless God gave His Son to die in our place, God loved us that much, God "so loved" us (John 3:16) His Son, Jesus Christ, loved us enough to die for us, Jesus proved His love for us by dying in our place We were the sinners with the penalty of death upon us, but Jesus paid the price of our sin That is why we must personally accept Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for us HOW CAN A LOST SINNER ACCEPT JESUS AS SAVIOR? Rom 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. To "confess" is to speak the same thing or to agree with God, to agree with all that God has said To "confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus" is to agree with what the Bible says about Jesus To confess with your mouth is to openly state your belief in the person and work of Jesus To openly state that you believe that Jesus died for you because you are a sinner The mouth reveals the true character of your life, the words of our mouth come from our heart The mouth tells the truth of who you really are and what you really believe To confess is to proclaim Jesus as your Lord, when you give Him the supreme place in your life When you are ready to obey God and live for God, when you give your life to God for salvation "And shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead" The heart represents the real you, the heart of a man is the very person of that man Your heart refers to the very desires and wishes of your mind, what you really want your life to be Your heart must believe that Jesus Christ is alive today You must believe that Jesus died for your sins and that He arose from the grave and now lives And because Jesus is alive you desire to live with Him, you want Him in your life today To believe in your heart is to say, I don't want to be separated from God any longer I want God living in me, I want to give my life to Jesus, I want Jesus to give me His life I want to live for Him today and as long-as I continue to live The promise is, "Thou shalt be saved," you will no longer be separated from God now that you are saved The promise is that Jesus will be living in your life today To be saved means that you have received the gift of eternal life, Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. This verse repeats what verse nine said, it is for emphasis, assurance, and clarification The order of verse nine is reversed in verse ten Verse 9 is, confess and believe--Verse 10 is, believe and confess Paul does not say that two separate things must happen before you are saved Paul is saying that both will happen when you are saved, belief does not take place without confession Confession will only take place when there is belief Believe and confess are two ways to say the same thing The person who believes in Jesus will confess Jesus The person who has confessed Jesus is the one who believes in Jesus The person who accepts Jesus into the heart will confess Jesus with the mouth "And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" Salvation is believing unto righteousness, salvation is righteousness received Romans 3:10 teaches that without Jesus no one is righteous But when we receive Jesus, we are saved and made righteous The result of heart faith and mouth confession is the righteousness of Christ in us Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. The thought in this verse is not the idea of being ashamed of Jesus Paul says that if you trust in Jesus, you will never be disappointed with His life in you You are not going to wish later that you had never been saved Daily living the life of faith in Jesus will never lead to defeat and disappointment Rom 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. This is another great promise from God, sinners are not divided into categories according to their sin God does not forgive according to the degree of sin God does not save one person a little bit and another a whole lot, to be saved is to be saved To be forgiven of sin is to be forgiven, to be made righteous is to be made righteous Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This is the only way to be saved, this verse says exactly what Romans 10:9&10 said To call upon the name of Jesus is to believe that Jesus died for you And to believe that Jesus arose from the grave and is now alive To call upon the name of Jesus is to believe that Jesus will give you a new life You will receive your new life when you give your life to Him You must confess with your mouth that you want Jesus in your heart To be saved is to pray and confess with your mouth what you believe in your heart Salvation is your prayer accepting God's gift of eternal life in Jesus Pray and tell Jesus that you want to be saved, pray and tell Jesus that you want Him in your life The promise is that anyone who believes in Jesus and confesses Him will be saved EXAMPLE OF A PRAYER OF FAITH UNTO SALVATION Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, I know that I cannot save myself I believe that you died on the cross for me, I believe that you are alive today I ask you to forgive me of my sins, I ask you to be my Savior I give you my life, I want to receive your life It makes no difference who you are, Rom 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. The promise is, Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Jesus meant what He said He would do when you pray If you prayed according to what Jesus said, then you have been born-again spiritually, you are saved FOR FURTHER STUDY OF SALVATION GO TO https://prairiegrovebaptist.com and click on "BAPTISM" Page 7 of 7