The Plan of Salvation
I. Salvation Needed
1. The fact of sin:
Romans 3:10 says
, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one."(Jesus was the only Righteous one to walk the face of the Earth.)
Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
1 John 3:4 says, "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness."
Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?"
Isaiah 53:6 says, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."
1 John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."
Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, "Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins."
These verses assure us we are all sinners, every single one of us. We must all understand this or else we would never recognize the need for salvation. Much like when we are sick, we must first admit we are sick before we ever even consider going to a doctor. Such is the case with our soul, and we all need God: the soul doctor.
2. The consequences of sin:
Isaiah 59:2 says,
"But your inequities have made a separation between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from you so that He does not hear."Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
In the first verse the fact is established that there is a separation (barrier, wall) between God and us. The barrier itself is sin. Just as a river separates two pieces of land, so is the case with God and us and the river of sin between us.
In the second verse the wages (what we are paid) of sin is explained. When we work at our jobs, we earn pay (wages) for our work. Our sins have earned us wages, and the payment for our sins is death. Beyond the physical death is that of spiritual death which means eternal separation from God. Every sinner deserves spiritual death.
II. Salvation Provided
1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God:
Mathew 3:17 says,
"…This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased."John 3:16 says, "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."
2. He lived a perfect life:
II Corinthians 5:21 says,
" He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."3.He died for our sins:
Romans 5:8 says,
" But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."Jesus Christ died for all of our sin: past, present, and future. When the blood of Jesus was shed for the sins of the World, it provided a bridge over the river of sin that separates us from God. We can know everything mentioned above and still die and miss heaven. The Bible teaches us that we must receive Christ so that his blood, which he shed on the cross at Calvary, covers the river of our sin that separates us from God.
III. Salvation Accepted
1. We must have repentance:
Acts 2:38 says,
"Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.""Acts 20:20-21 says, "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house. Testifying both to the Jews and to the Greeks (all others), repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
Mark 1: 15 says, "Jesus said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.""
Luke 13:2-3 says, "And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.""
Repentance means a change of our minds and hearts that lead to a change of action. Before we are saved, we run towards sin but after we are saved, we run away from sin. This means a change of lifestyle. The desire of the hearts of repentant men (and women) is to be what God wants of us.
2. We must have faith:
Romans 10:8-10 says,
"But what does it say? THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching. That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."Now (after the sacrifice of Jesus' blood) through faith we can have someone (Jesus) who will take away the sins of the past and give us the power to live like God desires us to live. And to have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is to say that we believe that Jesus will do what he said he would do. Faith is trusting and believing in God alone for salvation. Faith has done many things throughout the history of man and is illustrated in a powerful way in
Hebrews 11.3. We must submit to the Lord of our lives, Jesus Christ:
The word Lord means boss or master. When we accept Christ, we are saying that He will be the Boss of our lives. We must be willing to do whatever Jesus might ask us to do.