About Salvation
Why do I need to be saved?
God leaves no doubt about our condition. We set our standards of right and wrong by society's values. God's standard for us is his own holiness. How do we measure up? "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). It's only fair that God demands holiness; that's how he first created mankind. We have rebelled against Him as a race and as individuals. Our pathway away from God has brought it's consequences.
What are the consequences of my sins?
The Bible compares sin to a cruel slave master. There is no mercy in suffering, no freedom from bondage, no lasting joy, no hope for the future. But most frightening is the final consequence of sin. The Bible warns that without God's salvation, death is the doorway to eternal punishment. " For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
How can I be saved?
REPENT: It has been said and is worth repeating, in order to get a man saved you must first get him lost. A person must realize their sinful state and the condition in which they find themselves as hopeless. That person must then acknowledge their sinful state and agree with God that they are lost and in need of saving.
BELIEVE: A person must believe by faith that Jesus is the Son of God, God in the flesh and has come to earth for the purpose of dying for their sins. In His dying on the cross He paid the penalty that you owed. Christ has taken the wrath of God toward sin in your place and only through Jesus can we find right standing with God.
After salvation, do I still pay for my sins?
" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit" (Romans 8:1). All trespasses (or sins) have already been forgiven us. Before God saved you he knew every sin you had ever committed but he also knew every sin you would ever commit. He gave you eternal life with that knowledge and forgave you of all your sins at that moment. Though we are saved eternally by our position in Christ, we have a walking relationship with God in this life that is based on obedience and submission to His will. Even though we can never cease being saved, we can cease to be in a good present relationship with God. We must strive to direct our lives back to obedience and submission to Him.
Can good deeds and being faithful to God bring me salvation?
" 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" (Ephesians 2:8-9). To believe that we could be allowed into Heaven by our good deeds only, would be to imply that we could get there on our own strength without the need of Jesus Christ as our savior. The Bible tells us that we need to repent (turn away from all forms of evil) first, then bring forth fruits (deeds) worthy of repentance. In other words, become born again first, then live our lives for Jesus with good works to testify of our salvation and the great change that he has made in our lives.
Can I lose my salvation?
" I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28). It is God's provision of love that saves and keeps us. Concerning this love, Paul wrote, " For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to seperate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). This passage tells us of a love that secures. "Nothing" Paul wrote, can "seperate us from the love of God...." God's love is proven through Christ's death on the cross to provide for the salvation of mankind. It is the inseparable love of God that saves and that secures.