Salvation

Jesus is the Word, God the Creator, and the Son of God, John 1:1.

 

Jesus came to teach us His perfect ways, Micah 4:2, that He is the author of the perfect faith we must have, the faith the Father wants. We believe in obedience to Him unto salvation, Hebrews 5:9.

 

Salvation is not a one step, one stop process. Salvation is something that is a multi-component process. The first step is to believe in Jesus, John 3:16 as well as believe in the Gospel. Believing in Jesus to be saved is the very initial part, as well as accepting Him, John 3:16, John 17:20. But obedience must follow after that initial belief immediately followed by true repentance, Luke 13:3, Mark 1:15. Those who do not believe will be damned, John 3:36. Even the devil and demons believe in Jesus as well, James 2:19. Thus, a true believing in Jesus is something continuous, as it is written with the Greek word in John 3:16 for believing. Jesus is the Word made flesh, John 1:14. Jesus is the Word of God, John 1:1. Jesus is also the Creator of all things, John 1:3. So if one believes in the Word, that means what the Word says, one will obey. If one disobeys what the Word says, how can there be any true belief there? The belief therefore is in vain. If one truly believes in Jesus, the Word, one will live out what the Word teaches. 

 

The Gospel is more than Jesus dying on the cross and rising. This is only a part of the full Gospel message. The Gospel is the wisdom of God for us to learn and abide in. Jesus came to teach us this wisdom personally, Micah 4:2. There is no sin in His wisdom. So if we choose to follow Him, we choose to adopt His wisdom as well as live by it, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24-25. Jesus commands His Apostles to go and teach everything He commands, Matthew 28:20. Jesus did not tell them to go and teach what Peter or any other apostle commands. He strictly has the perfect wisdom of God to the fullest, again, which is why He never sinned. 

 

If we continue in sin there remains no more atonement for us on the cross, Hebrews 10:26. We all need an atonement for our sins, as repentance is not enough. Even in the Old Testament God required an animal sacrifice to offer for the atonement of the sinner. Now, Christ is our perfect and final atonement, where the blood of animal sacrifices could not make us perfect, Hebrews 10:1. Jesus bore our iniquities per Isaiah 53. He died for our sins. His perfect, finished work is the propitiation for our sins, the opening of the heart of mercy from God the Father now on us. For as the Son obeyed the Father perfectly, the Father accepts the Son's request to have mercy on us. And by His sacrifice, the perfect Justice of the Father is satisfied through the suffering of the Son. Thus, through Christ, God the Father can forgive sins, forgive our debt completely, while keeping His perfection, His justice. Since the wages of sin is death, and there must be a death, Christ suffered that death to substitute our death that we deserve through sin. But in exchange we must now live for Christ and allow Him to work in our hearts and sanctify us continually as we walk after the Spirit, no longer the flesh Gal 5:16. 

 

For knowing the Bible is not enough, we must also put the Gospel into practice in order to enter the kingdom, Matthew 7:21. If we truly love God, we will keep His commandments, John 14:15. Paul reiterates that we must repent and do the works worthy of repentance Acts 26:20. This repentance is for everyone and was first preached by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:8. So both the Apostles in the New Testament and John the Baptist preaching to the people of Israel under the law still are required to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. Jesus defines repentance as turning from sin as well as a change of mind, both, not one nor the other. Jesus says Nineveh would have repented at the preaching of Jonah. Then looking to Jonah 3:10, we see how Ninevah repented. They did not simply have a change of mind only, but they also had a change of works as it says they turned from their wicked ways. 

 

We believe in being saved by grace which is through faith, and that faith without works is dead faith, James 2:14-26. Jesus is the author of our faith, Hebrews 5:9, and His faith was filled with works that pleased the Father, not men, not flesh. Jesus had the perfect faith that always pleased the Father, John 8:29, Revelation 14:12. Grace, with respect unto salvation, is the opportunity to repent. Without true repentance, no grace will save anyone. Ephesians 2:8-9 by Apostle Paul says "we are saved by grace through faith, and this is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." Nearly always when Paul mentions works in the New Testament he is referring to the works of the law as well as Jewish traditions not found in the 613 Mosaic laws but were considered in that culture and society as law. For instance, the priests questioned why Jesus and His followers did not wash their hands before eating. This was not in the 613 Mosaic laws but was a tradition the priests added into their culture/religion. Thus, Paul is referring to dead works or works of the flesh in Ephesians 2:8-9. Obeying Jesus is not part of the Old Testament law. Jesus gave new commands such as "Love one another as I have loved you, this is a new command I give you." There are many detailed teachings from Jesus we must abide by if we truly are in Him, which Paul confirms in 1 Timothy 6:3. We must abide in the teachings of Jesus as He, Paul, and the other Apostles taught. This is the will of the Father, Matthew 17:5. 

 

In the Old Testament they were under the law. They were dead on the spot or had to pay a pentalty for their sins on the spot. Now we are under grace. This means we have the precious opportunity to repent, but if we do not do our part and do such or overcoming our sins, we will taste the second death then, Rev 2:11. The blood of Jesus, through His death, burial, and resurrection, is what we need. Because the Son obeyed the Father perfectly, His blood was shed for the remission of sins. And because of His perfect obedience to the Father, the Father accepts the Son's request to have mercy on us. That's why Jesus is the only mediator between God and man, 1 Timothy 2:5. So now the Father wants us to obey His Son, Matthew 17:5, Hebrews 5:9. This forgiveness for our past and present sins is made available freely, for salvation is a free gift that cannot be earned Ephesians 2:8-9. This means there is nothing one must do in order to be forgiven by the Father. Christ paid the price for us in order to receive that forgiveness. But moving forward, we must maintain that by obeying our new Master, Christ, no longer sin. For we cannot serve two masters, Matthew 6:24. Christ was prophecied in the Old Testament as the "Redeemer." To redeem us through His precious blood, means He purchased us out of spiritual slavery that is sin and death, for the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. He then is our new Master whom we must abide in, no longer willful sin. 

 

Jesus gave us many new commands as part of the New Covenant which was sealed with His precious blood. Only those that choose Him freely and follow the Word are His true sheep, and remain His true sheep through holiness 2 Peter 1:10. God has free will. God can do whatever He wants, and His ability to do so gives Him total Sovereignty. So by obeying Jesus' commands until the end we prove to endure the faith until the end, which then gives us right to become legal citizens of the New Jerusalem, Rev 22:14. Without obedience, we cannot become legal citizens in His kingdom, Rev 22:15. 

 

You need the Holy Spirit. We are in the last days and God promised in the last days He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh followed by the prophetic flowing, Acts 2:18. We need the Holy Spirit to overcome the enemy, as we cannot do it alone. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Helper, thus we need His help. We cannot love the Lord and please His perfect will without His help. We also need power to overcome the enemy, Acts 1:8. There are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 12:8-11, and these gifts are the power the Church needs to overcome. These gifts have not ceased because there is nowhere in the Scripture that says the baptism of the Holy Spirit ceased. Instead, Peter says the gift of the Spirit is for everyone to this day, Acts 2:39. To reject the Holy Spirit's works is to prove not to be a true sheep of Jesus, John 10:25-26. We have authority from Jesus that we must use to step on evil, Luke 10:19. When we prove our love to Jesus through obedience, He promises to give us the Spirit, John 14:23, Acts 5:32. Jesus says we must ask for the Holy Spirit. So once someone gives their life in total surrender to Christ through true belief, they begin a process of repentance. Immediately one must seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus says one must keep asking for the Holy Spirit, "How much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him," Luke 11:13. 

 

So as a true believer, we must be holy. Holiness means overcoming sins and sticking in obedience. Obeying Jesus brings us to the life God wants to see us live. Obedience is the key to remain in good standing, otherwise salvation can be lost as seen in the last parable in Matthew chapter 18, Luke 9:62, Rev 3:16, Rev 3:5, Rev 2:7, Rev 2:11, and there are many more verses proving this. 

 

As a new follower of Jesus we are commanded to be a witness of Him to all the nations, Mark 16:15. We must work for Him otherwise we prove not to be a real follower, John 15:2. If we do not win souls for Him we prove our hearts were never after following Him truly and thus, He will deny us on Judgment Day, Matthew 7:21. Our faith saves us and faith goes hand in hand with obedience. That's why Jesus says, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things I tell you," Luke 6:46. Luke 6:47-49 then gives a parable of faith, represented by the house. One builds their house, aka their faith, on a solid foundation by doing what Jesus says, Luke 6:47. The ones who say they believe in Jesus while continuing in willful sin, disobedience to the Lord, are like those who have a false faith built on sand, Luke 6:49. If we do not do what He says we prove to build our faith on faulty foundation and will end up falling, like a foolish virgin, Matthew 25:1-13. 

 

You have free will and must cut your hand off if you want to go to heaven, Jesus says. This means striving to cut the sin out of our lives, together with the help of the Holy Spirit, whom through God all things are possible, Mark 9:23. He says not to go and sin less, but to "go and sin no more," John 8:11, John 5:14. It is not that we are saved and then we will naturally cut our hands off as a byproduct of that salvation, but rather that we cut our hands off with our own free will in order to not perish, Luke 13:5. As you seek God more now through relationship as a son/daughter, you will want to read and study His Wisdom, the Word. This wisdom will change you, wash you or as the Bible teaches, sanctify you. His wisdom is perfect and must become the government of our minds. His wisdom was the perfect government of Jesus' mind. That's why Christ never sinned. He had the doctrine of the Father constantly governing His mind perfectly. As we walk with Christ, we will have this wisdom growing in our minds, helping us to change more and more, which is the process of becoming born again, John 3:3. For without such, nobody can see the kingdom of God. 

 

Jesus promises to come again. He is the first and the last, Rev 1:17, just as God the Father is also the first and the last, Isaiah 44:6. Jesus is God and part of the Godhead, even though they are three separate persons, John 14:23. The Holy Spirit is God, Acts 5:3-4. Jesus has total authority to dictate us as He rose from the dead to prove His teachings are true while fulfilling all 300 prophecies of the Old Testament as the Messiah. He is the only Savior of man kind. 

 

So now, it is time for you to meet your Savior, the One True Jesus. The grace of the Lord is on you! God gives us grace for what reason? Does He give it without a reason? Without a purpose? No! He has everything planned, including salvation, and because of His perfect wisdom, He gives a purpose for everything. So there is a purpose, a reason, why He gives us grace to be saved. The reason is to stay in sin or to repent? Did Jesus come to the earth and say, "Everyone, you can sin now! I died for you so everything is okay?" God forbid we stay in sin that grace may abound, Romans 6:1. By praying this prayer, you tell God you want to be humble right now and communicate with Him. Jesus wants you to accept Him through your word verbally, John 17:20. It is in His will. Will you start obeying Jesus today by doing His will and pray this? But first, count the cost. Your life will not get prosperous suddenly. You will now have to carry your cross, Matthew 10:38, which is a hard path to walk if you want to go to heaven, Matthew 7:13-14. But if you want eternal life, found only through Jesus, pray this, start reading your Bible, and cut the sins out of your life: 

 

"Lord Jesus, forgive me of all my sins. I believe you are the only, Begotten Son of God, that you are the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. I believe you are the Messiah prophecied in the Old Testament, that you are the Word made flesh, the Bread of Life that came down from heaven. I am a sinner and repent for all the wrongs I have done. Thank you for dying for me on the cross. Thank you for your mercy and kindness. I want to follow you from now on and accept you as my Lord, my Savior. Please help me to overcome my sins. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit. Baptize me in the Holy Spirit that I may glorify you and be a witness for you, Lord. Guide me, teach me. For you are above all men, the best Teacher. I want to serve you now. Thank you for your grace. Amen." 

 

If you prayed this we want to hear from you! Email us etwcministry@outlook.com