We all have had or do have questions about salvation whether
it is for ourselves or when asked by others
.
I am sure there are many times someone has
asked you questions and you may not always know just the right answer for them.
Here is a this list of frequently asked questions
with Scripture references and I want to share them with you.
What does being saved
really mean?
We all are born into a world of sin and we as humans choose
to sin. It is our nature. Sin is what separates us from God. It makes us unsaved. “If
we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” –
1 John 1:8
“There is not a righteous man on
earth who does what is right and never sins.” – Ecc. 7:20 God is holy and He
cannot be where sin is. When we die He
wants us all to be with for eternity. To
do that we must repent of our sins and believe in His Son, Jesus.
How can I be saved?
This is the most important question of all. It will determine where someone will spend
eternity. “Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” – Acts 16:31 It doesn’t say to
be good and do good things. It says to
believe. Because of sin, we all deserve
death and not just the physical death, but eternal death.
What are the steps to
salvation?
There are no steps.
It’s not like Islam with the 5 steps to follow or like the Catholics
with the 7 sacraments. There is only one
step. It is very simple – believe in
Jesus. “Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” – Acts 16:31
What is the gospel?
It is the good news that God saves sinners. God provided a way for man’s redemption. “By this gospel you
are saved …. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was
buried, that he was raised on the third day…” – 1 Cor. 15:4
How does believing in Jesus
save me?
Isa 53:5 “He was pierced for our
transgressions, He was
crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by
His wounds we are healed.”
John 5:24 “Very truly I
tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life
and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
Romans 5:8-9
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us.9 Since we have now been
justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath
through Him!”
1 Peter 2:24 “He
Himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins
and live for righteousness; “by His wounds you have been healed.”
How does believing in Jesus
make everything ok with God and me?
John 3:16-18 “For
God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through Him. 18 Whoever
believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must
be saved.”
Romans 8:1 “Therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”
How does believing in a man
that died so long ago, save me?
Acts 2:22-24 “Jesus of Nazareth was a man
accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among
you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 This
man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you,
with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But
God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it
was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.”
Romans 6:4 “We were therefore buried with
Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from
the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Ephesians 2:1-5 “As for you, you were dead in
your transgressions and sins, 2 in
which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the
ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient. 3 All of
us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh
and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature
deserving of wrath. 4 But
because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you
have been saved.”
Don’t all religions
lead to the same place?
John 14:6 “ Jesus
answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.”
Acts 4:12 “Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to
mankind by which we must be saved.”
Only through believing in Jesus can you be saved. It was by God sending His Son to His death on
the cross. If God had another way, He would
have done it.
How good do I need to be for God to save
me?
We
are not good. Only God can be called good.
Eph 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God— not by works, so that no one
can boast.”
Isaiah 64:6 “All of
us have become like one who is unclean, and
all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”
Why do I need to repent? I’m not
that bad. Don’t all good people go to heaven?
No one
is perfect. Only Jesus is without sin.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 John 1:8-10 “If we
claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned,
we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us.”
Isa
53:6 “We
all, like sheep, have gone astray, each
of us has turned to our own way; and
the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isn’t it all about the good
work that I do?
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have
been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God— 9 not by
works, so that no one can boast.”
When I was baptized as a baby, did that
save me?
It is a personal decision everyone must
make for themselves. Being baptized or
christened as a baby is only a promise by parents to bring the child up in the
right way.
Romans 6:23 “If you confess
with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved.”
Why is it all up to
God?
God is the Creator of all.
Psalm 100:3 “Know that the Lord is God. It is
He who made us, and we are His; we are
His people, the sheep of His pasture.”
Acts 17:24-31 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord
of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And
He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He Himself
gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one
man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He
marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God
did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in Him we live
and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring. “Therefore
since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like
gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people
everywhere to repent. 31 For He has set a day when He will
judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed. He has given proof of
this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
Can I lose my salvation?
If
you truly believe, you are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Once we are sealed we are His and nothing can
change that.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “And
you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the
gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is
a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are
God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.”
Now that I believe what do
I do?
Tell
God you are sorry for your sins, repent of those sins, and accept Jesus as your
Savior believing He died on the cross for you.
Then be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus as a
public testimony of your salvation.
And
of course you want to start reading your Bible and talk with God daily.
1 John 1:9 –
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Acts 2:38-39
– “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Can it be that simple?
It’s hard to believe it’s that simple, but it is. Don’t trust your feelings. They change.
Stand on God’s promises. They
never change.
How do I know my prayer
worked?
This
is His promise and He is faithful and keeps His promises.
John 1:12-13 “Yet
to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the
right to become children of God— 13 children
born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but
born of God.”
Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth,
“Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.”
Romans 10:13 “Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
After I accept Jesus, how does God see
me?
He
sees you as righteous and all you sins are forgotten. “.. as far as the
east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
– Ps. 103:12
Col 1:21-22 “Once
you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil
behavior. 22 But
now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present
you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Romans 8:38-39 “ For I
am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Will there be a chance for
those who die to accept Jesus when they are standing before Him at His judgment
throne?
No. Once you die it is over and there are no more
chances. Jesus gives us many chances in
life, because He wants no one to perish.
It is up to each person to choose before he dies.
Hebrews 9:27 “Just as people are destined to
die once, and after that to face judgment,”
I hope this has answered some of your questions and will
help you be prepared when asked about salvation. Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you here next time. __________________________________________
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