Romans 1:16 For I am not Ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation onto everyone that believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S TRUE GOSPEL IS THE ONLY PATH OF SALVATION, THE ONLY WAY
• What is the true Gospel?
• How do I get to heaven?
• How do I know?
TO ETERNAL LIFE. JOHN 14:6
Everybody wants to go to heaven some day but most people don't know how. Many people know it has something to do with Jesus dying on the cross but they don't know why He did that, or how all that is connected. There is no shortage of confusion on how one really gets into heaven.
Religion doesn't work, because, while many religions may accomplish good things in this life, none of them can help us when it comes to eternal life.
In reality, all human religions are simply a variety of man's ideas and efforts to somehow make God accept us enough to let us into heaven. Fact is, nobody could ever achieve that - it is utterly impossible for any human being to ever measure up to God's Perfect Standard.
None of man's religious or noble efforts are acceptable to God, even though they are widely accepted around the world as good, or sufficient. People busy themselves with religious activities, burden themselves down with countless rules, regulations, rituals, chants, ceremonies, memberships, etc., some devote great amounts of time and money to their religion, some go to great lengths to win God's approval, or at least get His attention, even bringing pain and suffering upon themselves to accomplish what they think will appease God.
Many people are not interested in religious involvement, maybe they've never been much for going to church, or maybe they've been burned by a bad experience, or disillusioned by bad actors in the church. Maybe they are confused about the whole thing, or just don't have time. But still, who doesn't want to go to heaven? Maybe you think you don't stand a chance. If that's you, keep reading because if you are alive enough to read this, you have every chance!
That's because it's not about church attendance -- or any religious activity for that matter. None of that has anything to do with getting to heaven. The only way to heaven is through the true Gospel of God.
Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6
What does that mean?
That answer will come later, but first it's important to know what it doesn't mean.
No world religion can accomplish what God demands. Why not? Many religions accomplish wonderful and needful humanitarian things. Many people are morally good. Many live exemplary lives. Many are heroes. Many do great noble deeds and even go down in history as wonderful people!
While all of that may be good, historical, or memorable here on earth, none of it measures up to what God demands to enter heaven.
That's because God demands perfection! Heaven is a perfect place. There is absolutely no sin in heaven. That means anybody that goes there cannot ever be guilty of any sin! If a person walked into heaven a sinner, they would immediately tarnish the whole place! That's obviously not possible.
Now that presents a huge problem. We all know that NOBODY's perfect! That puts all of mankind at an impasse. It is an impossible task to go through life completely sinless.
Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, "good deeds" do not counterbalance, or offset sins. Someone who lives their entire life as a model citizen except for the one time they committed murder will be judged by that murder, not the good they might have done in their life. They must pay for that one crime. To any just judge, it doesn't matter that the person lived a "good life" the rest of the time.
God is the Perfect and Ultimate Judge of all mankind. In His Supreme Court His Law is Perfect and His Justice is Perfect!
Psalm 19:7 "The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."
Psalm 89:14 "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Loving kindness and truth go before You."
Psalm 111:7 "The works of His hands are truth and justice; All His precepts are sure."
Isaiah 61:8 "For I, the LORD, love justice..."
Since God is Perfectly Righteous and Just, and His Law is Perfect, than obviously the ONLY thing He can accept in His Perfect High Court is absolute perfection!
--- And we cannot attain that because by nature we are imperfect people.
• We make mistakes sometimes
• We make wrong decisions sometimes
• We mess up sometimes
• We do bad stuff sometimes
We simply are not perfect people. We are sinful people. Maybe not according to our standards, but according to God's standards, we are guilty sinners. And God Judges by His Perfect Standard, not our imperfect one.
Romans 3:10-12
10 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
" for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 says.
The big question is, will God overlook my imperfections and let me into heaven? Will He weigh out the good against the bad? Absolutely not! Our Perfect Creator God could not and would not, nor will He ever overlook any sin -- for any reason. He's too Perfectly Righteous and Holy to ever violate His Own Perfect Justice System.
So what can we do?
A very rich, highly regarded and accomplished young ruler asked Jesus that question one time .....
Luke 18:18 "A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered, telling the man to keep fill the commandments - in other words "be perfect"
The man was convinced that he had kept them all, that he was as near perfect as anyone could ever be. Jesus quickly pointed out that "near perfection" isn't enough, and, in fact, the man had not kept fill the commandments. He proved it to him by instructing him to go and sell off his many possessions and give them to the poor. That act would demonstrate a love for God and fellow man. The rich ruler was unwilling to do that, thus proving that he could not keep what God says are the two most important commandments of all -
1. love God with everything you got
2. love your neighbor the same way you love yourself
Who does that all the time every day? Nobody! Again, the point is - if we are not perfectly righteous, than we are sinful. Perfection is the only acceptable means in God's perfect Court.
Jesus explained it this way in Matthew 5 when He was preaching the "sermon on the mount" as some call it:
21 "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
31 "It was said, 'WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE'; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' 44 But to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...
...and on it goes. Nobody's life is perfect --- over and over is the simple truth that nobody is perfect because life isn't perfect and therefore we can't ever measure up to GOD's Perfect Holy Standard. We are all helpless sinners.
HOW THEN CAN ANYBODY EVER GO TO HEAVEN?
We can absolutely see that getting into heaven is not by our own righteousness since we are hopelessly flawed as imperfect human beings. That's why the Bible says this: Titus 3: 4-5 "But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy... "
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
OUR MERCIFUL GOD PROVIDED A WAY!
God is The Supreme Final Judge Who will not overlook sin. He will Judge sinners. He is not a mean Judge, He is a Righteous Judge. He is a Merciful Judge. He provided a way of escape! Escape from what? Everlasting death in a very real hell, a place of "outer darkness" Scripture says, a place of horrific torment!
Matthew 13:42 " ...and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
You see, it's more than just getting into heaven --- it's staying out of hell! There are only two eternal destinations -- Heaven and hell. When someone dies, they will go to one of the two. There are no other alternatives that exist. Sinners do not get into heaven, they go to hell!
Preachers today largely avoid the topic of hell because it is not popular, and preachers want to be popular, and have a big following, or have a big popular church in their community. As a result, most people never get the full picture of what happens to people who die unsaved. Hell is just as real a place as heaven. The Bible speaks of it many times.
So it's not just about getting turned away at heaven's gate because we are a sinner. There is a penalty in God's Supreme Court for ever having committed any sin. It is the death penalty!
God says this:
Hebrews 9:27 " ...inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment..."
Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Understand that God keeps meticulous records - He keeps the Books. In what He calls "the Book of Life" are the names and daily journal records of the lives of every person who has lived, or will ever live on this earth. Nothing gets by Him. He knows of every sin "without investigating", Job 11:11 says.
Revelation 20:12 "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds."
In God's Book of Life is your name, and a detailed record of your life - every second of every day from the time you were conceived in your mother's womb (Psalm 139) until the day you die!
What that means is every person who dies
• without being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ
• without salvation from God
• without being rescued by God
• without being forgiven by God
• without a restored relationship with God
Is a condemned sinner that God cannot have anything to do with except to Judge them. Therefore, God marks out their names (with a permanent marker, in essence) so that their name is no longer seen, known, or relevant ever again. Only the record of their unforgiven sinful life remains.
That is exactly why Jesus said that on the final day of God's Judgement there will be many, many people who think they know God, and that God will recognize them along with their good works - but they will be surprised to learn that their name has been "blotted out" --- meaning God no longer recognizes them or acknowledges them --- He will only see the flawed record of their life and He will judge them for that then send them away from Him into everlasting death and punishment.
Matthew 7:23 "...And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS."
Revelation 20:15 "...And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Psalm 9:5 "You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever."
Psalm 69:28 "May they be blotted out of the book of life And may they not be recorded with the righteous."
Judgment at the Throne of God (as recorded in Revelation 20)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and ct1 books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
What an extremely frightening truth to someone who is unsettled about their salvation --- someone who is unsure if heaven is where they will go one day!
THERE IS HOPE!
There is another Book that God tells us about - it's call the "Lamb's Book of Life", or "the Book of Life of The Lamb". The Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1 ). In the Lamb's Book of life are all the names of every saved person. They are named in His Book because all saved people belong to Him and will live forever with Him. There are no records of sinful life, just names. Saved people are forgiven by God so all records of sin have been erased.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Every saved person will live forever in the glorious safety and security of a perfect heaven! These are the ones who are the believers in the world.
John 3:15 "...whoever believes will in Him have eternal life."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
Romans 10:11 "For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
God promises eternal life to all who completely believe on Him - to believe in His Gospel! That takes faith. While the Gospel is an easy story to understand, it can be difficult to accept as true because it is a seemingly strange story. Why would God do this for us? Obedience to the Gospel is to completely believe it by faith, throwing absolutely all your trust in God and His way of salvation, not your own way, or religion's way, or any other of man's ways or ideas. You must believe, acknowledge, and confess with everything that is in you, heart, soul, mind, and strength that through
JESUS CHRIST is the only Way to heaven. That's what obeying the Gospel means.
Isaiah 48:17 “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.”
John 14: 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Acts 16:30-31 "... and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved... "
SO HOW DOES THAT WORK EXACTLY?
WHY IS SALVATION ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST?
Remember what the Bible tells us about God vs. sin. In His perfect Holiness, He cannot overlook it, He can only Judge it, therefore, any person who stands before God guilty of any sin must be Judged by that sin, for that sin --- and we have many sins in life. That leaves us hopelessly condemned and completely helpless before God without excuse. Romans 1:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools... "
The only possible just and righteous thing that God The Judge can do is deal with our guilty souls according to His Perfect Law which calls for the sentence already established in His Law from eternity past - sin is punishable by death --- the death penalty - forever death - eternal death by torment in hell - no forgiveness ever.
UNLESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . Someone pays that penalty for us -- in our place -- a substitute!
Is that possible? If so, Who could that possibly be?
• It would have to take Someone who is perfectly sinless or else they would have to pay for their own sins. They couldn't pay for anybody else's sin.
• It would have to be a human being to be a proper substitute for another human being
• It would have to be Someone powerful enough to not only withstand the whole of God's wrath upon sin, but also Someone who, after paying the death penalty, could live again by rising up from the dead
So the Substitute had to be a man. It had to be a perfectly sinless man. It also had to be a Person who is more Powerful than death itself! Only God is that Powerful, so the Substitute had to be God.
Who could that be then? Only God is perfectly sinless by His Own Will. And only God, who is the Designer, Creator, and Source of all life has Power over death.
So the Substitute would have to be a Man Who is also GOD --- and that is exactly who JESUS CHRIST was! Jesus Christ was the Perfect GOD-Man, being both Son of Man and the Son of God!
He alone is the ONLY One who could be our Substitute. And He was! The LORD JESUS CHRIST paid the death penalty on our behalf, so that God could Justly declare us sinless in His Supreme Court upon our complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ --- in His death on the cross, in His actual burial in the earth for three days, and His Resurrection from that grave --- all of which He experienced by the Power of God, by His Power because He is God! (John 1)
A son is the essence of his father. Jesus Christ is God the Son, and is the very Essence of God the Father. That's why Jesus Himself said in John 10:30 "I and the Father are one."
And in John 14:9 " . . . the one who has seen Me has seen the Father. "
1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and in eternal life."
Romans 5 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" ....... " For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him [Jesus Christ]. For if while we were enemies [sinners] we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation [a restored relationship]." ....... "as sin reigned in death, so also g race would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Lots of people know that Jesus died on the Cross, but they don't know why. They don't understand the real reason that happened --- and if that was you --- now you know!
Jesus had to die in order to completely satisfy God's Perfect Justice System. God does not overlook sin! Sin had to be paid for by death according to God's Perfect Law
Hebrews 9:22 "And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
That terminology "shedding of blood", stated in that Scripture verse is in the absolute sense in the Greek language. It literally means "to bleed out", to be "shed of all your blood". When that happens, a person dies. No one can survive without any blood. That wording is a graphic description of our Lord's death. Scripture tells us that the life is in the blood ---
Leviticus 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood. .."
So Jesus gave His Life up for us, having bled out on the cross, dying to pay for our sins, on our behalf. We are the guilty ones, not Jesus. We are the sinners, not Jesus. Yet He paid the penalty. He got what we deserved. He had to if God was ever going to Justly save any of us. Somebody had to pay.
Only Jesus could --- and so He did --- willingly!
Hebrews 12:2 "Looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despite the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
He bled all the way out, giving up His Human Life as a Man so that we might find the forgiveness of God in His High Court.
HOW CAN WE FIND FORGIVEN ESS?
Only through Jesus Christ! Nothing else can atone for our sin in a way that satisfies God. "Atone" means "complete satisfaction ".
His shed blood (His death) atones for (completely satisfies) the guilt, the charge, the indictment, and the sentencing of our sin in God's Court because it completely satisfies God's Perfect Justice. It keeps God's Law in-tact. Satisfactory sentencing, and the execution of that sentence was met when Jesus, who was the Perfect Substitute, died by execution in our place (Romans 5).
It means there is no more case to try. No Righteous Judge would punish the same crime twice. There is one satisfactory payment to be made and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself paid that payment on the cross. So God, being The Perfect Righteous Judge that He is, can Justly render a "NOT GUILTY" verdict because our sinful case has already been charged, tried, and sentence completely paid by Jesus Christ our Substitute --- so the only Just thing to do is "CASE DISMISSED" ! ! !
That atonement applies to you the moment you put your complete trust in Jesus Christ by faith for your personal salvation completely believing in His Gospel, His work of the cross, His death as satisfactory payment for your sin, His three day burial, and His Resurrection from death, therefore proving He has the Power, the Grace, the willingness, and the Ability to save you from certain eternal death and give you eternal life.
His Personal Atonement comes to you when, in your heart of hearts you believe on Him , bow to Him in recognition that He is The LORD, abandon yourself and your ways, submit to follow His Way (repentance) and in that hopeless, helpless, wrenching moment cry out to Him for Him to forgive you and save you.
Acts 2 : 21 "AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON TH E NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
Romans 10:13 for " EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
That means to call out to Him from all your heart - that means with all your inner being, completely believing by faith in His Gospel and nothing else
• Not yourself
• Not your religion
• Not your good deeds
• Not your negotiation skills
• Not your church membership
• Not the preacher, the spiritual medium, counselor, priest, or pope
• Not what others are telling you - no one can know your heart except God
• Not some imaginary "heavenly scales"
Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone, believing and trusting in Him, with a repentant spirit toward Him, submitting to trust and follow Him, His Way. Genuine salvation is nothing more and nothing less. There is nothing you can do, or not do, within yourself, apart from faith in Christ alone that will get you into heaven. Religions, church attendance, memberships to religious organizations may help you cope with yourself for a while but so can alcohol. They may make you feel good for a while but so can drugs. They may give you a sense of belonging or fulfillment for a while but so can immorality. They may appeal to your emotions but so can a ball game - or a good movie. It doesn't last.
Only complete faith in Jesus Christ that comes from a repentant, submissive, humble, committed heart brings salvation. This Truth , this hope of the Gospel was given to the Jews first. Most of them didn't believe it. Some did. But even to this day, sadly, Jewish people largely depend on the religion of Judaism --- not the Lord Jesus Christ. They do believe in the true God, the God of the Bible, our Creator God. But that's not enough. It's not about what you know, it's about what you do with what you know. Sadly, many miss the boat because they do not recognize Jesus Christ as Lord , the Son of God who came to this earth to pay for our sins by dying on a cross, accomplishing what no religion can ever do -- satisfying God's payment for sin demand in His Court of Law. Failure to put your complete faith in Jesus Christ, Who He is , and the saving work He did start to finish is eternally fatal. Consider what the apostle Paul, (who was himself a Jew), said about unbelieving people who are dependent on religion to get them to heaven:
Romans 10 "Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing a bout God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
The Gospel is the story of the Cross. It is everything we just explained . It is God's wonderful plan of salvation to all who believe on Him. It is what Jesus accomplished that we never could . He paid our sin debt on the cross so we could live forever! And He rose up from the g rave, overpowering and overcoming death so that He could do the same for us! Because He lives forever He is Powerful to give us eternal life as well! Only God could ever do that because only God knows what it takes to completely satisfy His Own Perfect Justice! We could never know that nor could we ever achieve it!
The word "Gospel" means "Good News"! God's True Gospel is the story of God providing a way for people to be saved and live with Him in heaven forever! Revelation 3:5 "He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."
Revelation 21:27 ". . . and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."
Romans 5:10 " For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."
Romans 5:9 "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him."
John 20:31 "...but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."
Colossians 1 :20 ". . . and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."
I WANT TO BE SAVED - DO I PRAY?
Romans 10 continues on to say . . . .
" . . .the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law [man made rules and religions] shall live by that righteousness [impossible to do perfectly]. But the righteousness based on faith [faith in God's true Gospel] speaks as follows:"
". . .that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
"calling on the Name of the Lord " is not just a prayer!
This is a point of confusion for millions of people, especially among the American pop culture of the church today. Mega churches are extremely popular and have sprung up all over America in recent years. People enjoy the social aspect of being part of a big happening place. Many of these churches have impressive entertainment venues, concerts , activities, special interest groups, and self help programs.
While all those are not wrong in themselves, simply teaching people the Bible has gone out the window. And that is wrong. People need to hear the Gospel. People need to hear what God has to say to us in His Holy Word.
With the invitation to "come as you are", swarms of lost people flock to these types of "churches" to experience an emotionally charged, electric atmosphere. Dynamic music concerts with special effects, and an entertaining "sermon" from a guy in a t-shirt and faded jeans may deliver what crowds of lost people want --- it may make them feel good about themselves, but it does nothing for their souls, which, if they are not truly saved, are in serious trouble.
A lost person who "comes as they are" to a place like that and all they get is a concert, and a feelgood sermon, they will also leave "as they are" --- lost. Other churches, if they do attempt to give the "gospel" think they have to make it appealing so people are attracted to it. This is a particularly dangerous situation. The result has been sort of a repackaged gospel that seems quick, convenient, easy, and noncommittal --- something all Americans want. We want everything fast and easy. We never want to be inconvenienced and we don't want to have to commit to anything.
So to keep people coming to church, giving their money, and stay interested, a terrible false gospel is being taught. All you have to do is repeat the "sinner's prayer" --- which , by the way, is nowhere in the Bible. If all a person had to do is repeat some words to be saved, then those words would most assuredly be in the Bible because God wants all people to be saved!
2 Peter 3:9 [The Lord] ". . . is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."
The reason Scripture says the Lord "is patient toward you . . . " is because sometimes it takes years for someone to come to the end of themselves, hear the true Gospel, have the faith to believe it wholeheartedly so that all of their trust is in Christ, have a repentant spirit, and be willing to submit to Him as Lord.
All of that is wrapped up together in the heart of a person who has been humbled by the fact that they are hopelessly lost, headed for hell, and helpless to save themselves. Repentance is a subject you almost never hear anymore. It has been erased almost entirely from most "gospel" messages. Most people don't even know what it really means! Yet a person cannot be saved unless they come to God with a repentant heart!
No person can be truly saved without:
• the required repentance toward God
• the humble submissive confession that Jesus is the Lord God who is to be followed
• the commitment of your life to Him by faith
Any so-called "gospel" that eliminates those factors is a false gospel.
Matthew 3:2 "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 11:20 "Then He [Jesus] began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent."
Mark 1:15 "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Luke 13:3 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Romans 10:9 that if you confess with you r mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
False gospel spins are wildly today. It is a monumental problem in our society because untold millions of people are fooled into thinking that they are saved because they followed a narrative that gives a few easy "1-2-3-repeat after me" steps and that is supposed to "lock you in" to a heavenly home while you go about living any way you want to with no thoughts or commitments whatsoever toward God.
Nothing can be further than the Truth! Being taught or coerced into believing or acknowledging a few facts about Jesus and then repeating a quick little canned "sinner's prayer" and that's all that is necessary --- done --- over---you're in...is a dangerous deception and is not at all what salvation is.
Salvation is giving your life over to Jesus Christ by faith with complete trust that He alone is both willing and able to save you to the uttermost --- that means always and forever!
Hebrews 7 : 25 "Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
Repentance is simply a heart attitude. Attitudes are our responses to various viewpoints and perspectives, what we believe about something. What we believe about something, our viewpoint, our perspective on something can draw various responses, especially if it directly affects us, good or bad. Before someone pulls out in front of you, you had no particular beliefs, perspectives, viewpoints about that driver, you probably know nothing about them. But now you do because they got in your way, and maybe nearly caused an accident. Suddenly you have a bad view of them, your perspective is that you believe they are an idiot, and so you respond accordingly.
• Well, that is an attitude. Attitudes can be good or bad, they can be right or wrong
Someone that you've never seen before pays you a compliment, you now perhaps have a good view of them, you believe they are a nice person even though you know nothing else about them.
• That is a perspective, which could result in a good attitude toward them
Your boss at work, which you don't like suddenly promotes you and gives you a raise. Your bad viewpoint may change to a favorable one, resulting in a change in attitude --- a change in your belief about that person.
• In your heart your attitude changes toward them and so now you respond to them differently
Perspectives are what you think about someone or something. They are mental thoughts. Perspectives that affect you can go from the mind to the heart and become attitudes. Attitudes determine how you respond to what you perceive, and what you believe.
A child hanging from a piece of playground equipment may be only a few inches off the ground but since they can't see the ground they perceive that they are going to fall a long ways and be hurt. You however, can see they won't fall so you try to convince them to let go and they will be fine. But they won't let go because they are believing what their mental perception is. It has become an attitude of great fear because they believe with all their heart they are going to be hurt.
They also have an attitude of anger toward you because in their mind they think you are trying to make them get hurt. Finally they decide to trust you, and putting all their faith in you, they let go. The minute they realize they are fine, their little attitude changes
Repentance is a heart attitude that changes from "I got this" to "I need to trust Christ". It is a self abandonment when someone realizes that they are lost and their way isn't working. Repentance toward God is that you no longer trust yourself, you want to trust the Lord Jesus Christ, whatever that takes you want Him to save you. You no longer want your sinful way, you want God's righteous way --- you want to follow Him more than you want to follow yourself, your religion, or the world. It is an attitude that says it is now a greater priority to give your life to following Christ, completely believing on Him, His Way. Before your self serving ways and you sinful lifestyle was the greatest priority, but now being saved, giving your life over to Jesus Christ with full confidence that He can and will save you is the greater priority
That's repentance. That's a repentant spirit. It is an attitude of the heart that determines what your response is going to be.
• You have heard the True Gospel of God
• You realize that you are not without sin and that squarely gets you a guilty verdict in God's Perfect Supreme Court where only perfection is accepted. No deals, no plea bargains.
• You have come to realize that you can't get yourself out of that condemned position
• You have come to realize that no religion, no preacher, priest, or pope can save you. No religious activities, good deeds, church memberships, etc. can help you
• You believe that Jesus Christ perfectly met the necessary death penalty demand in God's Court for your sin, on your behalf, as your Substitute, by dying in your place.
• You believe that He completed the death sentence for you, so that there is no more case to try, therefore God can Justly save you and give you eternal life, not on account of what you did or didn't do, but on account of what His Son Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross.
• You understand God's Word when He tells you that if you believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is Himself Creator God, the Lord of all, and that He did not stay in the grave but rose up again, overpowering death, and that He lives today to give you eternal life
• Upon those realizations and beliefs your views and perspectives about yourself have changed --- you realize you are not in control of your own destiny
• Your views and perspectives of Who Jesus Christ is have changed --- that He is not a "dude" or "bud" who accepts you any way you are, or a personal assistant you can make demands on, rather He is the Almighty Holy God of the Universe and deserves all reverence and worship
• You want to humbly bow before Him and ask Him to have mercy on you, save you, and forgive you
• You can't understand all the how's and why's but you are willing to believe completely by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel
If that's you, then you have a repentant heart because your views and perspectives about yourself and your Lord are right, and since your eternal destiny directly affects you, the wrong attitudes you may have had about yourself, your religion, and toward the Lord Jesus Christ has changes Then your response should be to simply call out to Him to save you and forgive you, that you want to give your life to Him, whatever that may become in the future, that you want a home in heaven with Him, that you can't stand the thought of being lost and headed for hell anymore.
My friend, if you call out to Him in that kind of spirit, with that kind of attitude, from deep within your heart, your soul, your inner being, God can and will hear you, and He will save you as He promised to do all, who by faith, in repentance, believe on Him! That's what believing with all your heart means!
Ephesians 1:13 "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise . . . "
Job 22:21 "Be reconciled with Him, and be at peace"
NOTE:
If you read through all this you know that much was said . Not everything was said that could be said but enough to be sufficient for now.
Just know that you don't have to be a Bible scholar to be saved. The Gospel is simple enough that anyone who wants to, can understand all that needs to be understood. You don't have to understand all the aspects of God's salvation plan before you can be saved. Don't get bogged down with technical details. You know the Gospel --- you read what it is in these pages.
What you need is for your heart to be in the right place when you call out to Him. There is no room at the cross for a prideful , arrogant, entitled heart. God owes us nothing. Bow to Him as the humble, submissive, broken , repentant sinner that you are, and beg His forgiveness, ask Him to Graciously save you , not doubting, but with full belief and confidence that He will --- that's saving faith!
One of the greatest examples of this in Scripture is the thief who Jesus saved while being crucified right next to Jesus. There were three crucifixions that day, all at the same time. There were two thieves and Jesus. Jesus was on the middle cross. The thief to His left mocked Him and said "if you are the Christ then get us down from here". "If you are . . . " he said . Obviously he did not believe that Jesus was the Christ because when you truly believe with all you heart, there are no "ifs".
However, the thief to His right d id believe that Jesus was exactly who He says He is --- He is The Lord! That thief said to Jesus, "Lord, please remember me when you go to Your Kingdom". And the Gracious and Merciful Words of our Lord said to that thief "today you will be with Me in Paradise."
That thief was no Bible scholar. He wasn't a disciple. He wasn't religious. He was a thief who was being executed for crimes he committed. But in his dying moments he realized that Jesus was paying the death penalty for crimes He didn't commit. He was not guilty but was paying the price anyway. He believed who Jesus is because He called Him Lord . And he believed in the forgiveness of God because he asked Jesus to save him. He obviously believed Jesus could and would. And Jesus did save him. He is in heaven today with our Lord --- the other guy is in hell.
What a great illustration that proves God can , and will save anyone who willingly comes to Him by faith in repentance fully believing in Him from their heart of hearts.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life."
ROCK SPRINGS BAPTIST C HURCH
www.rsbchurch.com