SALVATION I

For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:8-10

Salvation….. When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he brought about the sentence of physical death upon mankind [see The Nature of Man].  And through the propagation of the human race, the trait of discernment of good and evil which Adam attained by eating the forbidden fruit has been transmitted to all people, the inevitable conclusion being that all (eventually) stand condemned before a Holy and Righteous God [John 3:18] Salvation is wrought by Hearing, Believing, and Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Sole Provider of Eternal Life in Heaven. Consider the following:

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:8-10,17

A mirror-image of salvation faith is salvation repentance on the part of the lost sinner. Unless a lost sinner understands his or her lost condition, they have no need of salvation, for they would understandably say, “saved from what”? The dwelling-place of lost souls in the place called Hell is described by the Lord Jesus in Luke 16:19-31. Surely no rational person would ever consider Hell to be a desirable place to spend eternity. Therefore, repentance requires a person to seriously consider his or her desperate plight, and diligently seek to avoid ever going to such a place (please read Hebrews 11:6).

Every person possesses a measure of faith, for God states that to be so in the scriptures. So then it is up to the lost sinner to exercise that faith, seek God, and be saved. But God will not do the choosing – that is left up to the individual, who must choose righteousness by accepting Jesus as Savior, or rejecting Jesus by simply ignoring His plea. Thus, souls wind up in Hell by their own choosing.

Jesus told Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, he had to be “born again” (John 3:3-5). Jesus further told Nicodemus that if one did not believe in Him (Jesus), that he was condemned already (John 3:18). Topics on this site that specifically address salvation are SALVATION II, TICKET TO HEAVEN, SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD,  and THE LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE.     

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