by Leonard V Johnson
Do you know just what salvation is? Do you know how to get salvation? When do you receive salvation?
Greetings Everyone! Our dear Brethren, Co-Workers, and Friends in Jackson, Mississippi, Philadelphia, PA., in Burgas, Bulgaria, Hanoi, Vietnam, and Nairobi, Kenya. Thank you so much! In this second part of What Do You Mean… SALVATION? I’d like to begin where we left off ──
Yes, indeed, the wages of sin is ETERNAL DEATH! But we have the glorious hope, the glorious GIFT of the Eternal our God ── ETERNAL LIFE!
And eternal life can only be had from the LORD God (the Elohim, the family of God – which at this present time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ). So, as stated previously, we must seek GOD. But we find a tremendous and impenetrable barrier ── our sins. And I don’t know about you, but I find sin exactly the way the Apostle Paul describes it ──
“But if I am doing what I do not desire to do, I agree with the Law that it is good. 17) So then, I am no longer working it out myself; rather, it is sin that is dwelling within me; 18) Because I fully understand that there is not dwelling within me──that is, within my fleshly being──any good. For the desire to do good is present within me; but how to work out that which is good, I do not find. 19) For the good that I desire to do, I am not doing; but the evil that I do not desire to do, this I am doing.” – Romans 7:16-19, NET.
There are certain sins we tend to commit over and over again, and each time we IMMEDIATELY go to the LORD God in heartfelt repentance ── “the desire to do good is present within me; but how to work out that which is good, I do not find.”
Isaiah 55:6-8, which we covered in the first part, says that IF we would seek the Eternal God, we as sinners must forsake OUR WAY, and turn to the LORD God’s Way. The LAW OF GOD IS GOD’S WAY! And sin, the transgression of God’s Law ── which is rebellion and disobedience ── is our way.
So, we forsake our own way ── we forsake the breaking of the TEN COMMANDMENTS, summed up in TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS ── “’ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ … And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:36-40. At least we try with the help of our Helper! – the Holy Spirit.
The Keeping of God’s Law Alone Won’t Justify!
Well… of course, we cannot keep a spiritual Law perfect with a carnal mind ──
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6) For to be carnally minded is death [speaking here again of eternal death], but to be spiritually minded is life [eternal life] and peace. 7) BECAUSE the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the Law of God, nor indeed can be.” – Romans 8:5-7.
Now, even if we could keep God’s Law perfect ── never breaking His holy and righteous Law ── our obedience is only what is required of us. It does not make up for our past sins. The death penalty still hangs over our heads. NO FLESH SHALL BE JUSTIFIED OF OUR PAST SINS! A person who was sentenced and then found guilty of committing a heinous crime last month is not magically exonerated from his future execution because he suddenly began obeying all the laws of the land. All the good works in the world ── all the Law-keeping ── cannot justify you of your past sins.
Alright ── where does this leave us? We are now trying our best to obey the LORD God ── to keep the Ten Commandments, the LAW OF GOD. Is this necessary? ABSOLUTELY! ──
“What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? CERTAINLY NOT! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the Law. …” – Romans 6:1-2.
“’ If you love Me, keep My commandments.’” – John 14:15.
But does it justify us?
No!
We, at this stage, are still CUT OFF FROM GOD! Our works ── the keeping of God’s Law, while certainly REQUIRED, still have not justified our past sins ── and will not reconcile us to GOD. And we MUST SEEK GOD and have ACCESS TO GOD to obtain His glorious GIFT of eternal life!
So, even after we forsake our sin ── and we TURN TO GOD’S WAY, as the LORD God commands of us ── the KEEPING OF HIS ETERNAL AND RELEVANT LAW ── that eternal death penalty still hangs over our heads! This is what God’s living word teaches! It’s ETERNAL DEATH ── not ETERNAL PUNISHMENT! GOD’S LIVING WORD TEACHES ETERNAL DEATH! But God’s GIFT is ETERNAL LIFE!
God’s living word teaches that our ultimate punishment will be the second death ── death for all eternity. Now, there is a first physical death ── that is a law (the laws of thermodynamics are fundamental principles that describe how energy, heat, work, and entropy behave in a physical system) ──
“And IT IS APPOINTED for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” – Hebrews 9:27.
There was physical death before Adam & Eve were ever created.
And how are all people ── past, present, and future ── judged? “For as in Adam all die, even so IN CHRIST all shall be made alive.” – 1 Corinthians 15:22 ── all people who have died or will die – our first death, “But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” – vs. 23. How? By the RESURRECTIONS! (Be sure to read and study our online booklet “The Two Resurrections”).
“’ Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29) and come forth ── those who have done good, to the resurrection of life [the first resurrection], and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of [judgment] [the second resurrection, often called the ‘great white throne judgment’].’” – John 5:28-29.
So, there is going to be a resurrection of the just and the unjust ── they that have done good (who are being judged now, cf. 1 Peter 4:17), and they that have done evil (to a resurrection of judgment)! And if they that have done evil, once resurrected and once called by Father God and begin learning His truth, DO NOT REPENT OF THEIR EVIL, THEIR SINS “’ shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is THE SECOND DEATH.’” – Revelation 21:8, see also Revelation 20:11-15.
How To Gain Contact with the LORD God
There is the Way ── and I want to emphasize the word “the” because many people, like Oprah Winfrey, who peddle and promote that there are ‘many ways.’ As I’ve mentioned several times now ── Oprah Winfrey has unapologetically declared her belief in pantheism: “Well, I am a Christian who believes that there are certainly many more paths to God other than Christianity. … I don't believe that it’s the only way, with six billion people here on the planet.” So, there is the Way that you may gain contact with the LORD God who has ETERNAL LIFE to impart.
“’ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes [on] Him should not perish but have EVERLASTING LIFE.’” – John 3:16.
God the Father GIFTS eternal life ONLY THROUGH HIS SON ── JESUS the CHRIST!
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8) But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us. 9) Much more then, HAVING NOW BEEN JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, we shall be saved from wrath THROUGH HIM. 10) For if when 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 5:6-10.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, never incurred the eternal death penalty. He NEVER SINNED AGAINST THE LAW OF GOD. He has said, “ … ‘I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.’” – John 15:10. And He set us an example that we should do as He did.
When our Lord Jesus voluntarily PAID for our eternal death penalty that was hanging over our heads ── He didn’t pay for it for any sins of His own, for there was none ── He sacrificed His life for ours, YOURS AND MINE! He paid the death penalty for us!
The life that He gave was that of THE CREATOR (John 1:3) of us all! Father God created all things through HIM! All things ── including all mankind! Therefore, the life He sacrificed on the cross was greater than the sum-total of all human lives! HIS SACRIFICE PAID THE DEATH PENALTY FOR US!
So, again, let’s notice Romans 5:8-10, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while WE WERE STILL SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US. 9) Much more then, HAVING NOW BEEN JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, …”
‘NOW BEEN JUSTIFIED …’ How? Is it by our works ── the obedience of God’s Law which is required? No. It’s ‘BY HIS BLOOD’! If God the Father has called you, and you have properly repented, been properly baptized, having hands laid upon you, having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and have indeed accepted our Lord Jesus Christ as not only the ONLY SAVIOR OF ALL MANKIND, but as YOUR personal Savior ── YOU ARE ALREADY NOW JUSTIFIED!
AH! Right here, we certainly need to understand what the LORD God means by “justification.” What does JUSTIFIED refer to? It’s the Greek word dikaioō, which means “vindicate, declare righteous, to put someone in a proper relationship with another, freed.” (Strong’s #1344). It does not mean “saved.” It does not mean the gift of life. It means the gift of vindication, of acquittal of our past sins – our guilt. IT MEANS THE PENALTY OF OUR PAST SINS HAS BEEN PAID IN FULL BY OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, FOR US!
The penalty stands paid! We are no longer UNDER the Law (Be sure to read and study our article, “’ Under Law’ or ‘Under Grace’?”). The Law no longer has a claim over our lives! We are now under GRACE ── undeserved PARDON. We have been PARDONED from having to pay the death penalty.
IN OTHER WORDS ── “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51) ── the BARRIER between you and God the Father has now been removed! You are now, BY OUR LORD JESUS’ SACRIFICE, granted contact with God the Father ── reconciled to Him!
What Must We Do to Receive Eternal Life?
Sadly, and I have witnessed this ── many religious people, even many ministers, will flat-out tell you, “It is impossible to keep the Ten Commandments!” Are they telling you the truth? What does God’s living word say?
Notice! “Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” – Luke 18:18. Our Lord Jesus’ answer, “’ If you want to enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.’” – Matthew 19:17.
Why, if it is impossible, does the Lord Jesus command us, ‘If you love Me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS’? Those who claim that they “know the Lord” will often use sentimental religious phraseology like, “O’ how good it is to know the Lord!” ── yet they teach against the keeping of the Commandments.
“He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” – 1 John 2:4.
And yet it is true, we of and by ourselves, cannot keep God’s holy and righteous spiritual Law perfect! And the Lord GOD does not contradict Himself. We can keep the letter of the Law, but we cannot keep the spiritual Law perfect. Let me explain.
So, returning again ── we have now been blessed and granted contact with Father God ── in other words, ‘the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.’ Yet, we are mortal, and we possess only a temporary physical existence (cf. Hebrews 9:27). The LORD God alone has eternal life. And LIFE can only come from LIFE. Our Lord Jesus Christ’s death paid the penalty of our past guilt ── our past sins. It reconciled us to Father God ── granting us direct access to Father God without the need of a priest. But it did not grant us eternal life ── it did not yet save us!
What now?
Our Savior, High Priest, and Advocate, Jesus Christ, has told us that it was necessary that He return to the Father’s throne in the upper heavenly realms (John 16:7) in order for the Helper (which is God’s Spirit) to be sent to earth. So, after our Lord Jesus’ glorious resurrection, His ascension back to the throne of God the Father who rules the entire universe, then, some TEN DAYS LATER, when the annual Feast of Pentecost had fully come, the Spirit of God descended from heaven and entered the very minds of all who had properly repented, properly been baptized and had hands laid upon them ── of their past sins against the LORD God and their Way. They were reconciled to Father God ── and had been blessed and gained access ── by faith in Christ Jesus’ shed blood for the remission of past sins (Acts 2:1-4).
His first disciples received the glorious Spirit of God through the work of the resurrected, glorified, LIVING JESUS CHRIST! Now, in truth, the Spirit of our Father is also the Spirit of our Savior (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:17). Thus, it was truly the living Jesus Christ, Himself, entering into them ── our Lord Jesus Christ in Spirit!
~ be sure to watch and study our sermon “The Nature of the Holy Spirit: Being or Force?” ~
Now, if God’s Holy Spirit actually dwells within you, then as God the Father raised His Son from the dead, He shall also “give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit [that] dwells in you” – Romans 8:11. “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if INDEED the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if ANYONE does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” – verse 9. If His Spirit does not dwell within you, then you are NOT A CHRISTIAN ── no matter how many religious-sounding phrases you might use, or how many worldly churches you may attend!
The LORD God’s Spirit is LIFE! It imparts HIS LIFE to you!
In Conclusion
So, first and foremost, there are TWO THINGS YOU must do.
On that very day of the Feast of Pentecost (31 AD), after our heavenly Elder Brother, Messiah, Advocate, and great High Priest ascended to the upper heavenly realms, there were many who had joined the mob previously that were shouting out “CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!” during His mock trial before the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate. Now, they were stricken with fright and astonishment when they heard with their own ears the Apostle Peter, who knew not their language ── speaking their language in his inspired sermon.
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, WHAT SHALL WE DO?” – Acts 2:37.
“ … ‘REPENT, and let every one of you BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST [this time, instead of John the Baptist’s baptismal ministry] for the remission of sins; and you SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.’” – Acts 2:38.
So, TWO THINGS FIRST ──
- REPENT ── to go unto the LORD God in full submission and heartfelt repentance of disobedience of our past sins, our rebellion against the LORD God. Turning completely unto GOD’S WAY ── which includes the LAW of GOD! The repenting of your sins, the transgression of the LAW of GOD.
- BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST ── a great example is the Ethiopian eunuch. Evangelist Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ ‘How can I,’ came the answer, ‘unless someone guides me?’
‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation, His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.’The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Of whom does the prophet say this, was it himself or someone else?’ Then Philip, beginning at this very passage, taught JESUS to him!The eunuch, convicted in heart, asked Philip, ‘See here is water. What keeps me from being baptized?’Philip answered, ‘IF YOU BELIEVE WITH ALL YOUR HEART, YOU MAY.’‘I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD.’
Repentance is toward the LORD God, for the Law comes from the LORD God, but FAITH is toward our Lord JESUS CHRIST (Acts 20:21). Our faith in Christ’s ATONEMENT for our sins is commanded to be expressed by BEING BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. (Be sure to watch and study our sermon, “Proper Baptism”).
3. AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
This is a gift from God Almighty. It is a “down payment,” conditionally, of eternal life.
So, if YOU are faithful and continue to obey and follow GOD’S WAY ── the Way that the Holy Spirit leads and guides ── then YOU are already a begotten CHILD OF GOD! “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” – Romans 8:14. □
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