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INTRODUCTION
The
fact that you are reading this article means you have probably
reached the first step in answering this question—you
are aware that you (like all of us) need saving. In our post-modern
society where everything is relative and “I’m
Okay, You’re Okay,” too many people either don’t
care or may think just being a good person is enough.
The
reality is that we’re not okay and no one can be good
enough. The psalmist recognized that: “All have turned
aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one
who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:3) So did the
Apostle Paul: “for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) In a corrupt world,
we may look okay by comparison, but such a relativist approach
ignores how far we are removed from a perfect God.
It
is only through the grace of God that we can be saved. Salvation
is a gift of God. At the same time, it is impossible to ignore
the fact that we human beings have a role in accepting this
free gift. Paul put it this way in his letter to the Christians
in the city of Philippi: “So then, my beloved, just
as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but
now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with
fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both
to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Salvation
is not a specific event; it is a process, a path that leads
to eternal life. That path will not be precisely the same
for each of us, but the Bible teaches the critical parts of
it.
Here
is what the Word of God tells us about the path of life:
1. Recognize that we sin and need saving
2. Believe that Jesus Christ is capable of saving us (faith)
3. Seek forgiveness for our sin (repentance)
4. Turn to Jesus for help (confession)
5. Die to our sinful nature and be born again (baptism)
6. Associate with other Christians (church)
7. Continue to grow more in the likeness of Jesus (maturity)
8. Reflect Jesus in our lives and make other disciples (fruitfulness)
This
is not a list to be ticked off, and some make say, "Well,
what if I don't ________ (fill in the blank)? I am still saved?"
I don't know the answer to that, but it's the wrong question.
As you look at that list, are there any you can think of a
reason not to want? If you read this entire article, I hope
your conclusion will be "I want them all!"
One
of the problems the modern world has is with the concept of
sin itself. Our society seems to have lost its capacity for
shame and come to believe that just about anything is okay
as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else (or even sometime
when it does, if the circumstances demand). Despite all the
good that some people may seek to do, it doesn’t take
much looking around at our world to recognize the real nature
of humanity. But sin isn’t just doing something wrong—sin
is anything that separates us from God. Because God is holy
and totally perfect, being a human being makes it impossible
for us to avoid sin. We cannot lead sinless lives—God
knows that, and that’s why he gave us a way out of our
own predicament. Having sent Jesus to the cross as a sacrifice,
God made it possible to be saved despite our on-going sins.
Ultimately, the only sin that can block our relationship with
God is the rejection of Christ Jesus.
The
path to salvation is fully documented in the Bible and will
be explained in this article. A popular notion within the
Christian community is that you can simply “pray Jesus
into your heart,” but while that may be an admirable
attempt, there is absolutely no scriptural basis for such
a prescription, and it may be dangerously misleading. As a
Christian, there can be only one source of information about
salvation—the inerrant Word of God (the Bible). Anything
else is just the opinion of men—the kind of tradition
that Jesus condemned when he said, “You
have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the
traditions of men.” (Mark 7:8)
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