How Can I Be Saved?
Joe
Andrasik
Believe Jesus Christ is the
Son of GOD.
How
can I be saved? This is a very heart compelling question for any person. When
someone first
begins to believe in Jesus Christ, this question becomes of great
importance. The believer realizes
he is guilty of sending the Son of GOD to die
on a cross because of his sins. "The
fear of the LORD
is the beginning of wisdom: Proverbs 9:10. If belief is
only the beginning of wisdom, how does
someone find the rest of the answer? GOD
has always provided the answer through His Word.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6. Every person who desires to please GOD must
believe that Jesus Christ is His Son and
that GOD sacrificed Him to pay for our
sins. Jesus further tells us that His way is not always easy to
find. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that
find it. Matthew
7:14. If the way is so difficult, how does one find it? Again GOD has provided the
answer through His
Son. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should
not abide in darkness. And if any man
hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came
not to judge the
world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words,
hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge
him in the last day.
John 12:46-48.
The Blood of Jesus Christ
Saves Us.
In
Romans 5:8-9 the Bible explains. But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved
from wrath through him. If we are saved by the "blood" of Jesus,
how does GOD choose
to apply Jesus' precious life giving blood? Our merciful GOD must have loved us very much
to
send His only Son to live as a man in the world; Then He was crucified on a
cross as the only
acceptable sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
We Must Repent of Our Sins.
Even
though Jesus died for our sins, GOD was only providing all of us another chance
to be
saved. GOD expects us to repent of our sins. This means for us to change
our minds about
sinning in the future. We, as sinners, must recognize the
horrible cost of our sins. Jesus tells
us in Luke 13:2-3. And Jesus answering
said unto them, Suppose ye that these
Galilaeans
were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such
things? I tell you, Nay: but,
except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
We Must Confess Jesus
Before Men.
Our
Lord expects us to confess Him to others. And as they went on their way, they
came unto
a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
And Philip
said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and
said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still:
and they went down both into the water, both Philip and
the eunuch; and he baptized him.
Acts 8:36-38
Be "Born Again"
Through Baptism.
Is
it possible to be born again? This was Nicodemus' question to Jesus. 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. 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? 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. John 3:3-5.
How
is someone born again? On the day of Pentecost following Jesus' return to
Heaven,
Peter told many Jews who had been present at the death of Christ and
had voiced their
approval of His execution on the cross, that they had
crucified the Son of GOD. The peoples'
response was immediate. Now when they heard this, they were pricked
in their heart, and said
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said
unto them, Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:37-38.
What
does baptism for the remission of sins mean? The word baptize is from an
ancient
Greek word which means to be immersed or be covered with water. It has
been modified
by many religious groups to mean something else in today's
dictionaries. Some people
believe a sprinkling or pouring on of water "is
good enough." GOD's Word is very clear
about how baptism should be done. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway
out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he
saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Matthew 3:16 . Jesus example is very clear.
Paul
said baptism has a special purpose as he explained to the Ephesians
5:25-26.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word. Since the church
is made up of all Christians, Paul
explains the important purpose of water baptism in
cleansing Christians of sin.By
faith we believe if we follow GOD's Word He will be faithful to
His Word.
Finally
in Paul's letter to Titus he further explains when a Christian is born again
through
faith in His Word, GOD renews our lives by giving us the Holy Spirit
through the "power"
of his Word. Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which
he shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified
by his grace, we
should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:5-7.
Finally
when Jesus was resurrected following His death on the cross He gave
instructions
to His disciples to go into the entire world to teach the Gospel
and to baptize those who
believe. Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever
I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world.
Amen. Matthew 28:19-20.
Obeying
GOD places us into a fully committed relationship for the rest of our life with
the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by taking their name. This is very much like a
marriage. Saul
met Jesus face to face on the road to Damascus. Saul was blinded and for three days
fasted
because he was convicted of his sins. Acts 9:8-9. And Saul arose from the earth; and when
his eyes were opened, he saw no
man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into
Damascus. And he was three days without
sight, and neither did eat nor drink. Even after
a personal meeting with
Jesus, and repenting of his sins, Saul still needed to be baptized
to take away
his sins. And he said, The God of our
fathers hath chosen thee, that thou
shouldest know his will, and see that Just
One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
For thou shalt be his witness
unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why
tarriest thou?
arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the
Lord. Acts 22:14-16. When was Saul saved?
GOD will not live with someone who is still in sin.
If
Jesus died for our sins then we certainly owe Him much. In truth we owe Him the
rest of
our lives. I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God. Romans 12:1-2.
When
we do sin again, we have a merciful GOD who is willing to forgive us if we
confess
we are sinners and continue to repent of our sins. In the Apostle
John's first letter, he
reassures Christians of GOD's mercy as long as we focus
on Christ and His Word.
But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have
no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:7-9.
Greet one another with a
holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
Romans
16:16
