Forever Saved God wants us to know for sure that we have been saved and that we will never be lost again. We can know for sure! HOW WE ARE NOT SAVED! I. WE ARE NOT SAVED BY JUST KNOWING ABOUT JESUS Many people have heard the Bible story about Jesus Christ. They may have heard about Jesus from Sunday School, parents, or some other way. Thousands of people in our nation have heard about Jesus dying on the cross. However, just knowing about Christ does not mean that a person is saved. We all must not only believe that the story of Jesus in true, but we must believe on the Son of God as our own Savior. John 3:36 He that believeth _________ the ___________ hath everlasting life: and he that believeth ______ the ________ shall __________ see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. Therefore we are not saved just because we have heard about Jesus and the old rugged cross. Every person must believe on the Son of God as their own personal savior. II. WE ARE NOT SAVED BY OUR GOOD WORKS. Christians work for Jesus or serve Him BECAUSE they are saved, but not to get saved. The Bible tells us clearly that we cannot work our way to heaven. We cannot just try to do more good things than bad things and hope that we’ll get to heaven. Ephesians 2:8, 9 For by grace are ye saved through ______________; and that not of _________________: it is the _______________ of God; Not of _____________, lest any man should boast Thus, we cannot buy or work out our own salvation. God says it is not by our works. III. WE ARE NOT SAVED BY BAPTISM. Following the Lord in believer’s baptism is the first step following your salvation, never before. Baptism is a beautiful picture of what has already happened to you. It is a sign to others that you have been saved and are now a follower of Christ. Baptism always follows salvation, immediately, if possible. This order is never to be reversed. IV. WE ARE NOT SAVED BY OUR FEELINGS All people have feelings. Sometimes we are very happy, or sad, scared, mad, or very excited. Sometimes when people ask Christ to save them, they cry. Sometimes people who get saved get nervous and chillbumps all over their body. Sometimes people jump up and shout or sing. Some people show hardly any changes of emotions. You do NOT determine whether you got saved because you cried or shouted or any other feeling you may have had. Trusting Christ is not based on feelings it a personal act based upon you trusting Jesus Christ for salvation. V. WE ARE NOT SAVED BECAUSE WE WERE RAISED IN A CHRISTIAN FAMILY. God may have blessed our life by giving us Christian parents that love the Lord. That is a great blessing, but it doesn’t mean that we are saved. We can have devotions, read our Bible, go to church every service, and do many good things, but those things do NOT save. Trusting Christ as our own personal Savior is what saves us from the penalty of our sin. HOW WE ARE SAVED I. GOD HAS A SIMPLE PLAN OF SALVATION FOR EVERY PERSON ON EARTH. a. Repent Our sin must be paid for, we know that we cannot pay for our own sin, but Jesus has already paid for our sin. He died for us, in our place. Jesus paid our sin debt. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4, 3:13 When we turn to Christ, (repent of our unbelief in Christ) He saves us forever. Christ then gives us the ability to turn from sin. When we see what Christ has accomplished for us we should be sorry for sin and want to turn from our sin. Realize that turning from sin is not what saves us. Trusting Christ is what saves us. We should turn sin (repent, 1 John 1:9) after we are saved. So, when we ask Christ to save us, He forgives us of all our sin and we start with a clean slate. After salvation (but not for salvation) we should be sorry for our sin and see forgiveness of sin. b. Believe (Trust) Believe on Christ means to trust Him to do what He says. Jesus tells us that salvation is a gift (Ephesians 2:8, 9). If we will receive this gift He will be our Savior forever. We need to realize we have a sin problem which separates us for God and believe (trust) in Christ (repent of our disbelief in Christ). We are trusting the sinless life of Christ, His death, His shed blood, and resurrection as full payment for our sin and our full salvation. The Bible tells us that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and He rose again the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Jesus Christ died on the cross in our place, as our substitute. We receive Christ by believing or trusting (repentance) Him to forgive us of the penalty of our sins and be our Savior. ONCE SAVED, ARE ALWAYS SAVED? HOW CAN WE KNOW FOR SURE? We have looked at a few reasons how we are not saved. Since we are not saved by any of these ways, we surely are not kept saved by these ways. Upon what can we always base our salvation? How can we always know for sure that we were truly saved, and that we are still saved today? For the assurance that once saved we are always saved, let’s look at two key areas: I. ALWAYS BASE YOUR SALVATION ON GOD’S WORD, THE BIBLE Only the Bible tells us how to be saved. BIBLE: But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Question: What did Christ do for us? Answer: (circle the correct response. 1. Taught us how to live. 2. Left us an example. 3. Died for us. BIBLE: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, Acts 16:31 Question: What must a sinner do in order to be saved? Answer: (circle the correct response) 1. Join the Church. 2. Do the best you can do. 3. Believe on Jesus Christ. The Bible is God’s Word to us. It is the final authority to which we turn for finding out God’s way to heaven. BIBLE: Romans 10:13 For ______________________ shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be ______________________. To call upon the Lord is to ask Him to (repent or trust) save us from the penalty of our sin and allow us to go to heaven. When we call upon the Lord, We are believing or trusting Him to save us. He died for us, as our substitute. God’s way to heaven is through Christ. Unless Christ saves us, we cannot be saved. Unless we ask (invite) Him to save us, we cannot be saved. BIBLE: John 1:12 But as many as ____________________ Him (Christ), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that ________________ on his name. We receive Christ as our Savior by believing. As we ask Jesus to save us we are believing or trusting Christ to save us. When we accept what Christ accomplished for us and receive Christ, He promises to save us. This is God’s way. God’s only way. John 14:6. Here is a typical prayer that a person could pray to ask Jesus to save them. Lord Jesus, I realize that I am a sinner. I believe that you died in my place, as my substitute. Please forgive me of my sin. I now receive you as my personal Savior. I ask this in Jesus name, amen. Thus, we are to do exactly what God tells us to do. II. WHAT IF I DOUBT MY SALVATION When doubts arise as to whether we are saved or not, we must ask ourselves two questions: 1. What must I do to be saved, according to the Bible? 2. Has there been a time in my life when I did that? When doubts arise, base you past experience on God’s Word. Got tells us that “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Did you call on Him? Remember that God does the saving and God does the keeping. If there has been a time in you life when you personally asked Jesus Christ to be your savior, then what did Jesus promise to do? BIBLE: John 3:16 For God so love the world, that He gave His only begotten son that _______________ believeth(personally) in Him should not _________________, but have _______________________ life. Question: How long did God promise to save the one who believes? Answer: (circle the correct response) 1. A few years 2. Until He sins. 3. Everlasting. God says that the person (whosoever) will believe (trust) in Christ will not perish, but will have everlasting life. Take God at His word and know that you are saved!!!! Memorize two verses and use them in your daily life. John 3:16 and 1 John 5:13.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 01:01:56 +0000
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