AFTER DEATH, ETERNITY AWAITS.
ARE YOU SAVED?
Dear Loved one,
Maybe you are not sure how to be saved. Or maybe you asked God to save you but aren't really sure if He heard you. There's no reason for anxiety or fear because God is the one seeking you. The reason anyone desires to be saved is because God is calling them to obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So take hope and remember, God will never allow a searching soul to perish. He's on your side!
What is SALVATION?
First, if you are a person seeking salvation then you must define the term "Salvation." As children of God, we let God define spiritual terms for us. Let's turn to the Bible, God's written word.
1 Peter 1:9 says, "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
The salvation of your souls from what?
1 Thessalonians 5:9 answers that:
"For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,"
Wrath is defined in the dictionary as "violent anger." So in a sense, God is saving us from Himself. His own anger toward our sin. We don't dare become the object of the almighty God's wrath to come.
Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men , who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"
God hates violence, dishonesty, pride, perversity, etc.... SO MUCH that it makes Him angry enough to send sinners to hell forever.
Matthew 25:41, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Now, we know from other Bible passages that God has great patience and holds back His anger, giving sinners time to repent.
2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
But for those sinners who never repent, and then die - there's no coming back from the punishment that awaits them.
Do you admit that sometimes you do things that you know are wrong? Don't be so afraid of God's wrath that you refuse to admit you are a sinner. Look at what Jesus said about admitting your sins...
Mark 2:16-17, "And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
It's a very scary thing to see yourself as a sinner who might end up in hell forever. But you can take comfort in knowing that God desires your honest confession of who you really are. God loves to shower mercy upon the humble, contrite heart:
Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."
James 4:6, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
FAITH
By shedding His blood on the cross to pay for all our sins, God's Son Jesus Christ did ALL the work in redeeming the human race from sin and hell. Then after three days Jesus rose from the dead with power to give eternal life to all who believe these truths. Only TRUTH can save a soul!
Receiving eternal life has two parts:
1) God (who does not lie) makes a promise to you,
and
2) You choose to trust in (cling to) that promise.
Titus 1:2, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"
God's promise is to save all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. It is Christ's death where your sins are disposed of, and Christ's resurrection that proves His power to give Eternal Life to whoever comes to Him. All this is accomplished through FAITH.
Romans 3:22, "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"
Romans 9:30, "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith."
Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"
When you ask God to save you, the heavens don't open up and shine ethereal rays upon you while a choir of angels sings a harmonic song. Jesus said, "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth..." (Luke 15:7). So do we believe that heaven is rejoicing? Yes. Will we observe that rejoicing? No. Not until some future day when we die and go to heaven. For now, we must have faith that God's word is true.
The Bible says Christians are to "walk by faith, not by sight," (2 Corinthians 5:7). We don't live by experiences, we live by trusting in God's word. If you have obeyed what God said to do for salvation, then you should be confident that you are indeed a born again, saved child of God.
What did God say to do for salvation? The Bible says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may 0000000that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God," (1 John 5:13).
Knowing you have eternal life comes from believing on the name of the Son of God. What name is powerful enough to save those who call on it?
Philippians 2:10, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;"
John 20:31, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."
Romans 10:13, " For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
As Christians we don't get a visible sign from God when we are saved. We are saved by faith alone in Jesus alone.
After you put all 100% of your faith in Jesus Christ, God puts His Holy Spirit into you!
John 14:6, " And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
John 14:26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things..."
Romans 8:9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."
Sometimes when God's Holy Spirit enters a person's heart, there is an emotional response. Sometimes tears are shed, but not always. Every person is different. That's why we can only rely on this one thing: Is your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you from sin and hell?
Anytime you doubt your salvation, it's a good idea to fall back on the Word of God, which is powerful and able to make your faith stronger. A suggestion for new Christians who are unsure of their salvation is to write down the following salvation verses from the Bible. Anytime you are tempted to doubt whether or not God has saved you, read these verses and reassure yourself that there is NOTHING more that God expects you to do other than put all your faith in Jesus Christ.
Salvation Scriptures:
Genesis 15:6 "And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness." (This is the first time the word "believe" occurs in the Bible. Belief in God's word is all God expects sinners to do for salvation. It's all we can do, since we are sinners!)
John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"
John 3:15 "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
Romans 10:10 "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Calling upon God for salvation happens one time. At that moment, the Holy Spirit enters the believer and they are "Born Again" (or saved) forever. Salvation is not a gradual process, it is a relationship that begins the moment you believe God's word. After being saved, you can now begin calling upon God every day for any reason.
Almost all of these verses came from only one chapter of one book of the Bible! There are so many more scriptures that could also be listed here. But these are listed in order to boost your faith.
You can also begin reading God's word daily to boost your faith. A good place to start is the Gospel of John. The next book, Acts, will describe the beginning of Jesus Christ's church. And then the book of Romans will answer a lot of your salvation questions. The rest of the New Testament is what God wants us all to know in order to discover His will for our lives.
If you asked Jesus to save you, or if you have any questions, or if you need a Bible to read, we would love to hear from you! Fill out the form below.
-The Little Red Book Team
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