|
The word
‘gospel’ means ‘good news’. The gospel of
Jesus Christ is the good news of salvation
for a fallen world.
Jesus came into
the world with one mission, to save lost
souls. In fact, Jesus’ name means, “Yahweh
saves.” Jesus died for our sins to save us.
Jesus paid the price for our sins on
Calvary’s cross with His own blood in order
for us to be reconciled to God and have the
promise of eternal life.
John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life. For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but in
order that the world might be saved through
him."
The Apostle Paul told us what
the gospel was that Jesus told His disciples
to preach. First Corinthians 15:1-4 says,
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the
gospel I preached to you, which you
received, in which you stand, and by which
you are being saved, if you hold fast to the
word I preached to you—unless you believed
in vain. For I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received: that Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with
the Scriptures,” (cf. Luke 24:44-49)
We have to believe by faith that Jesus was
God in the flesh, and that He died for our
eternal redemption. How we respond to what
Jesus did for us reveals the true nature of
our faith. A true Christian not only
believes the truth, they act on that belief
by living their lives for Christ in a God
honoring way.
Ephesians 2:8-10 says,
“For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is
the gift of God, not a result of works, so
that no one may boast. For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.”
When
we are born again the Holy Spirit begins the
process of changing us into Christ’s
likeness. Transformation of this kind takes
time. We don’t become sinless. We all still
sin at times but once we are saved, sin
won’t have the same appeal it had before our
conversion.
Jesus told the ‘parable
of the Sower’ to prepare His disciples for
how people will respond to His message of
salvation.
Matthew 13:1-9 says,
“That same day Jesus went out of the house
and sat beside the sea. And great crowds
gathered about him, so that he got into a
boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood
on the beach. And he told them many things
in parables, saying: “A sower went out to
sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along
the path, and the birds came and devoured
them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground,
where they did not have much soil, and
immediately they sprang up, since they had
no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they
were scorched. And since they had no root,
they withered away. Other seeds fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked
them. Other seeds fell on good soil and
produced grain, some a hundredfold, some
sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him
hear.’”
In Matthew 13:18-23, Jesus’
disciples asked Him privately what the
meaning of the parable of the Sower was.
Matthew 13:18-23 says, “Hear then the
parable of the sower: When anyone hears the
word of the kingdom and does not understand
it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his heart. This is
what was sown along the path. As for what
was sown on rocky ground, this is the one
who hears the word and immediately receives
it with joy, yet he has no root in himself,
but endures for a while, and when
tribulation or persecution arises on account
of the word, immediately he falls away. As
for what was sown among thorns, this is the
one who hears the word, but the cares of the
world and the deceitfulness of riches choke
the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for
what was sown on good soil, this is the one
who hears the word and understands it. He
indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a
hundredfold, in another sixty, and in
another thirty.”
• The first type of
soil is like a person that has a hard heart
from the beginning and refuses to receive
God’s word altogether.
• The second type
of soil is like a person that is afraid and
loses their joy in Jesus over pain and
suffering.
• The third type of soil is
like a person who cares more for this world
than for the kingdom of Heaven and becomes
unfruitful.
• The fourth type of soil is
different from the other three types of
soil; it produces true faith. It represents
a person who trusts and loves God. It is the
only type of soil that bears good fruit.
Christians are not all alike though; each
person will produce the amount of fruit that
is in proportion to their faith.
The
parable of the Sower teaches that there will
be basically four different ways people
respond to the gospel: no response, an
emotional response that doesn’t last, a
worldly response, and a fruitful response.
The first three types of people represent
those who reject Jesus (Matt. 7:26-27),
and those who falsely claim to be his
disciples (Matt. 7:15-23; 10:35-39). These
people were all unfruitful. Only the last
kind of person bears good fruit because a
genuine disciple of Jesus Christ will
naturally bear good fruit (Matt. 3:8, 10; 7:16-20; 12:33; 21:18-19; 21:33-41;
Eph. 2:10).
Faithful disciples
are the ones who have willing hearts and
respond to the good news that Jesus Christ
offers us. They share three characteristics:
1) they hear God’s word willingly; 2) they
understand it and respond to it with true
commitment and faith; and 3) they have been
changed from within and produce fruit (2
Cor. 5:17). Not all believers are
equally fruitful, but all true Christians
will produce some kind of fruit and endure
until the end (Matt. 7:16; John 15:8;
Matt. 24:13).
The book of Hebrews
has a warning for anyone who claims to be a
follower of Jesus Christ and then falls away
from the true faith.
Hebrews 6:4-6
says, “It is impossible for those who have
once been enlightened, who have tasted the
heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy
Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the
word of God and the powers of the coming
age, if they fall away, to be brought back
to repentance, because to their loss they
are crucifying the Son of God all over again
and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
(NIV)
Some people believe that the
ones described in these verses are
Christians who actually lose their salvation
because they committed a sin. They have an
on again, off again view of salvation. They
believe that when you sin, you lose your
salvation and you can only be restored again
after you confess your sin to God. Other
people believe that Hebrews 6 is talking
about a person who was never really saved to
begin with. They believe that once you are
truly saved, you are completely secure in
your salvation.
Whatever your view
on Hebrews 6 is, notice that Hebrews 6:6
clearly teaches that it is impossible for a
person to be saved a second time.
I
think these verses describe either
superficial believers who commit apostasy
and renounce their Christian faith, or they
come very close to salvation, but in the
end, turned away from Christ. In either
case, those who reject Christ will not be
saved.
A true believer cannot
forfeit, or lose their salvation because
they have sinned.
We all sin! The
difference between a saved person and an
unsaved person is how they respond to Christ
when they do sin. When we are born-again, we
won’t live our lives in a continual state of
sin. Christians want to obey Christ
naturally out of love. When we are in
Christ, we become God’s new creation, made
in the image of Christ (Rom. 6:6, 11). The
scriptures say that God gives us the desire
to always believe in Him (1 Jn. 3:9, 23;
Ezek. 36:26-27; Rom. 6:17). When we are
truly born-again, Christ gives us an
incorruptible love. Our old self gets
crucified with Christ and we are no longer
slaves to sin, but rather, “slaves of
righteousness.” God has promised us that
those who are truly saved will never reject
Jesus as their Lord and Savior (John 10:27-29;
Phil. 1:6; Jude 1:24-25). We
may stumble and fall, but Christ helps us to
our feet and we begin the process of living
for Christ all over again.
Jesus
said in John 19:30, “It is finished.” All of
our sins – past, present, and future – were
taken away through Christ’s sacrifice for
those who truly believe in Him (1 Jn. 2:2).
As a new creation, you have been perfectly
forgiven and forever cleansed of all your
sins (Heb. 10:14).
A true
Christian is someone who will endure until
the end.
Matthew 24:13 says, “But
the one who endures to the end will be
saved.”
The Bible tells us that we
do not need to fear that we won’t endure
until the end. Our perseverance is
guaranteed when we accept Christ’s offer of
salvation under the terms of the New
Covenant. Jeremiah 32:40 says: “I will put
the fear of Me in their hearts so that they
will not turn away from Me.” Those who
actually fall away from Christ give proof
that they were never really true believers
to begin with. Notice what 1 John 2:19 says,
“They went out from us, but they did not
belong to us; for if they had belonged to
us, they would have remained with us.
However, they went out so that it might be
made clear that none of them belongs to us.”
(CSB)
When you truly belong to
Christ, you can know for certain that you
have eternal life!
Remember Romans 8:31-39 which says, “What then shall we say
to these things? If God is for us, who can
be against us? He who did not spare his own
Son but gave him up for us all, how will he
not also with him graciously give us all
things? Who shall bring any charge against
God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is
to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who
died—more than that, who was raised—who is
at the right hand of God, who indeed is
interceding for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is
written, “For your sake we are being killed
all the day long; we are regarded as sheep
to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. For I am sure that neither death
nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things
present nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Another good scripture to remember is
1 John 5:12-14 that says, “Whoever has the Son
has life; whoever does not have the Son of
God does not have life. I write these things
to you who believe in the name of the Son of
God that you may know that you have eternal
life. And this is the confidence that we
have toward him, that if we ask anything
according to his will he hears us.”
The Bible tells us that once we become a
member of the New Covenant our sins are no
longer remembered by God (Jer. 31:34; Rom. 11:27). They are no longer on any
books of record that God keeps (Heb. 8:12; 10:17). God wants us to put our past
behind us. If God has chosen not to remember
our sins, then we need to learn to forgive
ourselves. God wants us to live like a
forgiven child of God, as someone who knows
for certain they are saved. We need to
persevere in our faith and trust God, and
believe that He has forgiven us completely
and enjoy the peace that can only be found
in Him.
You can trust God’s Word
that says, "Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Phil. 4:6-7 NIV).
Do you know
whose child you really are? Do you believe
in the Son of God and have you made Jesus
Christ the Lord and Savior of your life? Do
you trust God enough to believe Him when He
says your salvation is totally secure?
Here are some good Bible verses to
remember about salvation and the promise of
eternal life:
God knows who
his children are from the beginning.
2 Timothy 2:19 says, “But
God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this
seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,”
and, “Let everyone who names the name of the
Lord depart from iniquity.’”
(cf. Acts 15:16-18; John 2:24; 6:64; 10:14).
We are completely
secure in our salvation. God has given us
His promise that we have eternal life.
John 3:16 says, “For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life.” (cf. John 3:36; 5:24; 6:37; 10:27-29;
Rom. 6:23; 8:38-39; 10:13; 11:6, 29; Jude 1:24;
1 Jn. 5:13; Eph. 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22; Phil. 1:6;
Heb. 10:14; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2:25; 5:11, 13).
Our sins are blotted out and not
remembered when we become members of the
body of Christ.
Hebrews 8:10-12 says, “For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after
those days, declares the Lord: I will put my
laws into their minds, and write them on
their hearts, and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people. And they shall not
teach, each one his neighbor and each one
his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for
they shall all know me, from the least of
them to the greatest. For I will be merciful
toward their iniquities, and I will remember
their sins no more.” (cf. Jer. 31:33-34; Isa. 43:25; 44:22;
Acts 3:19; 1 Jn. 1:7;
John 3:18; 19:30; Rom. 5:9; 8:1; 11:27; Heb. 10:16-17).
The Holy
Spirit seals us as God’s guarantee of our
salvation.
Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In him you also, when you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and believed in him, were sealed
with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until we
acquire possession of it, to the praise of
his glory.” (cf. Eph. 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22; 2 Tim. 2:19).
God enables all true Christians to persevere
unto
the end.
Philippians 1:6
says, “And I am sure of this, that he who
began a good work in you will bring it to
completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (cf. Matt. 10:22; 24:13; Gal. 6:9; Phil. 3:13-14;
Heb. 3:14; 10:36; Rom. 5:3-5; James 1:2, 3, 4, 12;
1 Cor. 13:7; 15:58; 2 Thess. 3:13; 2 Tim. 4:18).
We are saved because of what Christ has done
for us, not because we are without sin.
Always try to remember Ephesians 2:8-10,
“For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is
the gift of God, not a result of works, so
that no one may boast. For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.”
God’s
grace is not cheap, Christ had to die so we
could have eternal life.
Philippians 1:6 says, "And I am sure of this, that he
who began a good work in you will bring it
to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
Our salvation is not based on anything we
do. It is all the work of Christ in our
lives. If you are in Christ, then you can
know for certain that you have eternal life
because of what God has promised us in His
Word!
|
