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Articles

God's Plan of Salvation

God's Plan of Salvation

The greatest and most valuable possession you have is your soul; nothing is more important than its condition before God. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)

The greatest need of any man or woman is the salvation of his or her soul from sin and death. Even though the word and concept of sin has been stricken from many people’s thoughts and vocabulary, we know from the word of God that sin is both real and deadly. Sin prevents every sinner from entering the glory and presence of God (Isa. 59:2). All “fall short of the glory of God” since “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). We all need to be saved from sin.

The result of sin is eternal death, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). The seriousness of sin cannot be overstated. Those who minimize sin, rationalize sin and redefine sin out of existence do so at their own eternal peril.

Sinners do not earn (merit) the right to be saved. We are powerless to save ourselves from sin, so “Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). It is God who made us alive when we “were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1). We are saved by grace (Eph. 2:5, 8). Therefore, salvation from sin is a “gift of God”; salvation is not obtained by personal merit (Eph. 2:8-9). It is futile to think a sinner can earn the right to be saved since he or she has already sinned. No amount of good removes sin once committed. Sin must be forgiven by God and the death it causes must be replaced with eternal life (Rom. 6:23).

God forgives the sins of those who have faith in Jesus. While the New Testament describes different kinds of faith, only one kind of faith is saving faith (Jas. 2:14-26). Saving faith is more than just believing Jesus lived, died and rose again. Even demons believe to that extent (Mk. 1:24; Jas. 2:19). The kind of faith that is “accounted for righteousness” (the kind of faith that saves) is faith that causes one to obey the word of God (Rom. 4:5).

Some mistakenly think obeying God by faith is earning or working for one’s salvation, thereby nullifying God’s saving grace. This is an unscriptural view of faith that saves the soul (Heb. 10:39).

Saving faith is obedient to God. Obedient faith is the kind of faith Abraham had. We are to “walk in the steps” of the faith he had in order to be saved by grace, through faith (Rom. 4:12, 16). Here is Abraham’s faith: He did not withhold his son Isaac from God when commanded to offer him up (Gen. 22:1-2, 10-12). He trusted and obeyed God, and was greatly blessed (Heb. 11:17-19). Abraham did not earn the right to be blessed when he obeyed God (Rom. 4:1-3). Instead, he showed his faith in God through his obedience, and his obedient faith was “accounted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:4-5).

In the same way, each sinner who wants to be saved from sin and eternal death must believe and obey the commands of Jesus Christ (Heb. 5:8-9). Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (Jno. 14:15). The apostle John assures us that the love of God is keeping His commands (1 Jno. 5:3). Do you love Jesus? If so you will obey Him – and He will save you!

God’s plan of salvation includes both God’s grace and man’s faith: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). The foregoing Scriptures affirm we must obey Christ in order to be saved from our sins, and when we do so we have not earned the right to be saved. Rather, we have acted with full faith (trust, confidence, belief) in God that He will save us by His grace through our faith.

In order to be saved from your past sins, God has commanded you to believe in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “...unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins” (Jno. 8:24). By hearing His word (the gospel) one learns about who Jesus is and what He has done for us all (Rom. 10:17; Eph. 4:20-21).

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Just believing that God exists is not sufficient to save a sinner from his sins (remember the demons, Jas. 2:19). The verse says God rewards those who “diligently seek Him”. Faith compels sinners to seek God by obeying Him.

In order to be saved from your past sins, God has commanded you to confess Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The apostle Paul is clear when he says, “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:10). We must confess Jesus before men to be confessed by Jesus before His Father in heaven (Matt. 10:32). You do not earn your salvation by confessing your faith in Christ; you declare your dependency upon Him to save you. Your confession is an act of faith, for Jesus said without it you will not be saved (Matt. 10:33).

In order to be saved from your past sins, God has commanded you to repent of your sins. Not a single sinner is exempt from the command to repent. God “commands all men everywhere to repent” because He has appointed a day of judgment when we will all be judged by Jesus Christ (Acts 17:30-31). When a sinner repents it is not because he thinks he has somehow earned the right to be saved and go to heaven – far from it! It is the result of a heart that is crushed by the reality of one’s sin against God (Psa. 51:4, 17). Repentance is a decision to change one’s heart and life to no longer live in sin. It is the pleading of the earnest believer, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” (Lk. 18:13). God will save the believer who trusts Him so much that he obeys Him by changing his heart toward sin (repent).

In order to be saved from your past sins, God has commanded you to be baptized for the remission of your sins. Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk. 16:16). Without faith “you will die in your sins” (Jno. 8:24). But, to be saved you must believe and be baptized – not just believe. This is not hard to understand. Being baptized does not earn salvation and it does not diminish God’s grace. Abraham did not earn his blessing when he obeyed God. But he did show his faith in God. By his obedience his fear of God was made known (Gen. 22:12). In like manner, when a sinner is baptized in order to be saved he shows his faith in God to save him by the blood of Christ (Rom. 6:3; Acts 22:16). The blessing of God’s grace is applied when one has faith, confesses it, repents of sin and is baptized in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 8:35-39; 10:48; 22:16).

Do not be confused by those who say mandated obedience is earning salvation. It is not. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). When you obey Christ you are doing your duty as a servant, nothing more (Lk. 17:10). We urge you to fully obey Christ in faith and be saved by God’s plan of salvation. Be saved by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8). God is ready to save you; are you ready to trust and obey? Christ will save you when you obey Him (Heb. 5:9).