Believe and be saved!

The message of salvation is a simple command from God the Father: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It was simply designed so the most simple and humble of minds could understand. And most important it is a message for all men and women from all continents, nations, cultures and economic backgrounds.

The question that arises, of course is, "Who needs to be saved from eternal damnation?" Answer: All men. Since the fall of Adam, all men are born with a sin nature and therefore are sinners. Simply put, all men are born imperfect and spiritually dead. This may seem unfair, but wait. God is never unfair or without compassion. So what is God up to? Simply this. Salvation is NOT to be by works, but by faith.

Faith is the only way unto salvation. It is the beauty of God's design. It is fair, just, and compassionate. On the other hand, salvation by works would require perfection. Bottom line-we would be required to live a life without sin either by thought, word, or deed. That my friend, would be unfair and uncompassionate. For it would be impossible and was proved so by Adam, the first man.

Think back. Adam and Eve were created perfect and lived in a perfect environment called the Garden of Eden. They lacked nothing towards their benefit. Yet, they sinned. They had everything, but wanted more: the fruit of the tree of good and evil. They desired to be like God which resulted in separation from Him and became less of the man and woman God created them to be.

Yet, God loved Adam and Eve. He would provide atonement for their sin. A sacrifice would be required. A lamb or a sheep most probably was God's choice. And with its skin, God covered their nakedness. Their nakedness represented their cognizance of their sin-disobedience to God. They accepted the garments and were restored to fellowship.

Here we see God reaching out in love to His disobedient children. This is the story of salvation. Man sins. God forgives-but at a cost to Him. It is our first glimpse into John 3:16.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

We see Christ's role as the slain lamb from the beginning of creation. And salvation is no different today as it was then for Adam and Eve. By believing upon and accepting Christ as our savior, we take upon ourselves His garment of righteousness. Hence, the meaning of being covered in His blood.

We must be clear in one fact. It is never what we do, but what we believe, to merit salvation. If you must do a work to gain salvation, believe in Him whom God has sent, Jn. 6:28-29

Let us be eternally grateful salvation is by faith, not works. Let us humbly accept the fact that, yes, we are born sinners. And from birth, we reside in the Sphere of Evil. Here, we are less than perfect, spiritually dead, forever imprisoned in the dungeon of the Sphere of Evil. And from our best efforts, we cannot in any way make up for our imperfections. But there is hope. Our hope is in Christ Jesus. He alone is perfect. He, like Adam, was born that way. But unlike Adam, Christ remained perfectly obedient to God even unto death.

His perfection of soul qualified Him to be our sacrificial lamb. He came into the world for this purpose. He would die for our sins- sins past, present, and future. And from that moment, sin would never be an issue barring us from heaven. There is no sin or sins regardless of quantity, degree, or type, that is beyond forgiveness. Only one sin cannot be forgiven. It is the sin of disbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, Jn. 16:9. God cannot forgive one who rejects the means He has chosen to forgive.

Let there be no doubt. Jesus said,

I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except by Me. Jn. 14:6

If we fail to accept Christ as savior, we refuse the way of salvation, we reject God's Word as to what is true, and we deny ourselves eternal life. If however, we believe He died for our sins, we make a bold statement. And that statement is this: We put no confidence in the flesh to merit heaven. Our righteousness is at best filthy rags. We lean entirely upon Christ Jesus. He is our hope of eternal life.

Such a statement has powerful consequences. It results in a spiritual rebirth, born of water and the Spirit. This is referred to by Christ as being born again. At such a moment, we are transferred from the Kingdom of Satan into the Kingdom of God, Col. 1:13. God's way to salvation is just that simple. Believe and be saved!

Copyright ©1996 Robert W. Case Jr.