THROUGH
HIS SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH &
GLORIOUS
RESURRECTION, WE ARE SAVED & MADE
ONE WITH
CHRIST!
"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." (John 3:16) “For when we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)
"In
Whom (Christ) also we have obtained an
inheritance...In Whom ye also trusted, after
that ye heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of
your salvation: in Whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit
of promise.
"For
by grace are ye saved through faith: and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; Not of
works, lest any man should boast."
(Ephesians
2:8-9)
The
Bible says that we shall be declared righteous
in God’s sight. “...if we believe on Him
that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead: Who
was delivered for our offences (sins), and was
raised again for our justification.”
St.
Paul declared, "Even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together
with Christ, (by grace are ye saved); And hath
raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus". (Eph.
2:5-6)
“THEREFORE
IF ANY MAN (PERSON) BE IN CHRIST JESUS, HE IS A
NEW CREATION: OLD THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY;
BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW.” (2
Corinthians 5:17)
"I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the
faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave
Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
The
Bible says, "The wages of sin is death but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord". (Romans 6:23)
“Set
your affection on things above, not on things on
the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear
with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:2-4)
6.
THE
GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST HAS PURCHASED
ETERNAL
LIFE & TOTAL FREEDOM FOR US!
Jesus
Christ says, "Ye shall know the truth and
the truth shall make you free". (John 8:32)
You may ask "What is truth"? Pontius
Pilate asked our Saviour those same words during
His infamous trial.
He
was speaking to the ULTIMATE TRUTH and didn't
know it. Jesus Christ is truth personified. He
was God in the flesh! He is the Living Word of
God and the Holy Bible is the written Word of
God!
"In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The same was in
the beginning with God. All things were made by
Him; and without Him was not any thing made that
was made. In Him was life; and the life was the
light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us..." (John 1-4, 14)
In
his epistle, St. John confirms that Jesus is the
Logos, the Word of God. "That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the
Word of Life;...declare we unto you, that ye
also may have fellowship with us: and truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son
Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:1-3)
Jesus
said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the
LIFE..." (John 14:6) Not only is He the
only way to God and the Ultimate Truth but Jesus
is the life! AND SINCE HE IS LIFE, WE CAN
RECEIVE LIFE FROM HIM!
The
Bible says, "In Him (Jesus) was life; and
the life was the light of men". (John 1:4)
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent
Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death unto
life.
“Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and
now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God: and they that hear shall
live...For as the Father hath life in Himself;
so hath He given to the Son to have life in
Himself;" (John 5:24-26)
"Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me
hath everlasting life. I am that bread of
life." (John 6:47-48)
Jesus
said, "The thief cometh not, but for to
steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come
that they might have life, and that they might
have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)
7.
THE
HOLY SPIRIT GUARANTEES OUR SALVATION
By
trusting in the work of Jesus Christ on the
cross, we are born again and receive eternal
life. The Bible says, “In Whom (Jesus Christ)
also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest (GUARANTEE) of our inheritance of the
purchased possession...” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Here
is the staggering truth - the Baptism of Holy
Spirit is the guarantee that God's seal is upon
us and the Blessed Holy Spirit Himself is 'the
Guarantor' Who guarantees that we are the
Children of God. We are going to make it to
Heaven. He has already given us Eternal Life!
His
guarantee will last until we are glorified and
presented unto our Heavenly Father by Jesus
Christ Himself! "Now unto Him that is able
to keep you from falling, and to present you
faultless before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy." (Jude 24)
Jesus
declared, “My Father, Which gave them Me, is
greater than all; and no man is able to pluck
them out of My Father’s hand”. (John 10:29)
A
word of warning is necessary here: God’s
promises are conditioned upon our willingness to
obey or not obey Him. “No man can pluck us out
of God’s hand”, but a believer can
unilaterally walk away from God through
deception, pride, bitterness, hated, lust or
rebellion!
In
such case, God’s mercy would no longer be
covering that individual because He cannot force
anyone against his own will to love God!
St.
Paul again confirms the work of the Holy Spirit
in the life of believers who trust Jesus Christ
as their Saviour and Lord: “For the Son of
God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by
us… was not the yeah and nay (yes and no) but
in Him was year (yes).
“For
all the promises of God in Him are yeah (yes),
and in Him (Jesus Christ) the amen (even so be
it), unto the glory of God by us. Now He which
stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath
anointed us, in God:
“WHO
HATH SEALED US, AND GIVEN US THE EARNEST (PART
PAYMENT OR DEPOSIT) OF THE SPIRIT IN OUR
HEARTS.” (2 Corinthians 1:19-22)
Jesus
promises believers, however: “...and lo, I am
with you always, even unto the end of the world
(age)”. (Matthew 28:20) And St. Paul
confirmed His words in Hebrews 13:5: “...for
He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee”.
Jesus
used a double imperative (gr.) which makes His
promise even stronger. He actually said, “I
WILL NEVER, NO NEVER LEAVE THEE. I WILL NEVER,
NO NEVER FORSAKE THEE”.
St.
John declared, “Beloved, what manner of love
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God: therefore the world
knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth
not yet appear what we shall be: but we know
that, when He shall appear, we shall be like
Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John
3:1, 2)
In
closing this brief paper, I present these
awesome words from our Master: "Ye shall
know the truth and the truth shall make you
free. If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be FREE INDEED". (John 8:32, 36).
