Plan of Salvation

 

Plan of Salvation

 

What is the Plan of Salvation as laid out in the Bible? John 3:16 states – For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

Believe in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior

 

First thing we need to do is believe in Jesus Christ.

 

Repent of our sins

 

The second thing we must do is seek repentance of our sins. In Acts 2:38 – Peter states Repent and be baptized every one of you for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us in Matthew 4:17 – To repent for the kingdom in heaven is near. In Acts 26:20 – Paul states that we need to turn to God and prove our repentance by our death. In Isaiah 55:7 – it states Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil men his thoughts.

 

Contrite Heart

 

If we believe in the name Lord Jesus Christ, repent of our sins, forsake our ways in thoughts and deeds and come believe him with a contrite spirit, a broken heart, and be baptized by immersion to promise to forgive our sins we will received eternal glory with our Father in Heaven.  In Psalms 51:17 – it says the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and contrite heart. God states in Isaiah 57:15 – I live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit. Heavenly Father states that he lives in the contrite of heart. Heavenly Father also dwells with the brokenhearted. In Psalms 34:18 – he says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. In Psalms 147:3 – he states he will heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.

 

Baptism through Immersion

 

When we come to him with a contrite and broken heart, we then need to be born again . Baptism through Immersion John 3:30 – born again. In Mark 16.16 – we are called whosoever believes and is baptized will be saved. In Matthew 3:16 – John the Baptist states he will baptize us with water but Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit.

 

Receive the gift of the Holy Ghost

 

After baptism we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. Jesus had to die in order for the Comforter to come to men. However, before that in Acts 2:37-39 – it states: 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 Spirit. In John 16:7 – he states But I tell you the truth, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. The Counselor is another name for the Comforter or Holy Spirit. Jesus promised the gift of the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-17 – If you love me and keep my commandments, I will ask the father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever, the spirit of truth. Now, we have been baptized, full immersion, like rising from the dead, now we will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. In Acts it states we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit by laying on of hands. Acts 8:5-20 – key verse – saying give me the power that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

Obey the Lord’s commandments

 

We are baptized, we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, now we must strive to obey his commandment, live faithfully and do the work and will of God. We are called into obedience, he calls us to obey his commandments. In Matthew 28:20 – teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. 1 John 5:3.  This is the love of God, to obey his commands and his commands are not burdensome. In Deuteronomy 13:4 – it states it is the Lord your God you must follow and Him you must revere. Keep his commandments and obey him, serve him and hold fast to him. What are his commandments, we find them throughout the Bible and in Deuteronomy 5:7-21 – we will find the Ten Commandments.

⁷ “You shall have no other gods before me.

⁸ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁹ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ¹⁰ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

¹¹ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

¹² “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

¹⁶ “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹⁷ “You shall not murder.

¹⁸ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ “You shall not steal.

²⁰ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

²¹ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

When someone Jesus which was the greatest commandment of all, he replied. Matthew 22:38 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.

 

We can turn to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 – to understand what love is.

 

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Now we accept Jesus and believe in his name, we are promised salvation, we are told to repent of our sins and be baptized and be saved. We are told we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, to counsel and comfort us, then we have been told to obey his commandments and love God above all else and our neighbor as ourselves. He commands us to love and then instructs us on what love is.

 

Called into action

 

Next, we are called into action because it is not by faith alone that we are saved. In James we find 13:26 – As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:14 – What good is it, my brother, if a man claims to have faith but no deeds? Can such faith save him? What is faith: in Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. In Romans 1:17 – Paul states the righteous will live by faith. So now he calls us to have faith, however, by faith alone we are not saved, we must have works or deeds. Then, if we live faithfully, righteously and obey the will of our Lord by living (works and deeds) a good life we are promised eternal salvation.

 

What is salvation, what is heaven, life after death.

 

First of all, we are promised that Heavenly Father will resurrect us from the dead, there will be life after death. In John 11:25 – Jesus states I am the resurrection, he who believes in me will live, even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Here we are promised Jesus will resurrect us from the dead. After we are resurrected where do we go. In Genesis we are told God created the Heavens and the earth. Genesis 14:19 – Our Heavenly Father resides in heaven. In Matthew 6:9 – we pray Our Father who art in Heaven. Jesus then states in Matthew 18:18 – All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. He further states in 19-20 – therefore go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. There is life after death, heaven promised for those who live a righteous life.

 

But, what if we goof up, will our sins be forgiven? Where will our bodies be taken? If we deny Christ, we are promised eternal damnation. There is a hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. We are called to pick up our cross and follow him in Luke 9:23. We must deny ourselves and pick up the cross and follow Jesus.

 

If we do sin and repent of our sins, we will be forgiven.

 

First of all, if we believe in Christ, our sins will be forgiven. Acts 10:43 – All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Ask Heavenly Father to forgive your sins – Lord’s Prayer. Luke 11:2-4 – Forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Jesus said in Luke 23:34 – Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing. In Colossians 3:13 – we are called to forgive us as the Lord has forgiven us. In Colossians 3:14 – And all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. So when we do sin, he gives a way to make it back to him by providing us forgiveness.

 

What is Grace?

 

Grace in Ephesians 2:9 – For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourself, it is a gift from God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Romans 5:20 – But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of men. His death allowed us to receive his fullness of glory.