If we are going to talk about salvation, we have to talk about salvation from what? There is coming a time when Gods patience will end. When that time comes judgment will be pronounced and the dividing line is determined by one thing and one thing alone, who put their faith, hope, and trust in Jesus and those who didn’t.
God is being merciful now. He is trying to draw each of us into relationship with Him. Each one of us has had God interact with us in some way. Maybe you didn’t notice it, maybe you dismissed it, but it was there. It’s in His creation. Look at the earth, look at the stars, look at the universe. Think about the complexity of life, how so many specific moments had to occur in order for you and I to exist.
He is revealing himself so that you and I could be invited into the glory and majesty of who He is and what He has designed us to be and what He has prepared for us. This world and everything in it will come to an end one day. That’s not hyperbole, that’s fact. Death and destruction are what await. It’s not a matter of if, but when.
When rebellion began against our Creator when Adam ate of the fruit and sin brought death into the world, God could have left it at that. Instead, because of His great love and mercy for us, He gave us a way to escape death, to overcome judgment. He did that through His son Jesus.
This is the salvation given us, from the destruction of our own doing. And this salvation comes by belief in Jesus. This is what John says about it. It’s a verse that even if you’re not a Christian, you’ve probably at least seen when watching a sporting event.
John 3:16-17
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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
We are saved because we believe in Jesus, which is exactly what Paul told the Philippian jailer in the story in Acts chapter 16.
Acts 16:25-32
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
We covered what we are saved from, the need for salvation, but what exactly are we supposed to believe about Jesus? When the jailer asks “What must I do to be saved?” the answer in short was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they told him about the word of the Lord. The explained what he needed to believe. There is another passage where Paul clearly spells out what he shared when he preached the word of the Lord.
First, let’s start with having a working definition of what we mean by believe. People believe in a lot of things, right? Aliens, flat earth, perfect spouses….
Belief isn’t just an intellectual idea. It’s causes a reaction or action. If I truly believe something then I should act on it. (Illustration – asking someone to sit in a chair to demonstrate that the chair will actually hold them)
Can we all agree that when we truly believe something our actions follow that belief? Yes, okay. Now, lets talk about what we are supposed to believe. What it is that spurs an action in us? What is that the Holy Spirit uses make our hearts come alive. Paul writes to the church in Corinth and he says this.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The gospel I preached unto, that you received and stand in, but more than that are saved by is what? That Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again just as the scriptures said He would. That’s it! It’s that simple. Do you believe that Jesus existed, that He died and was resurrected for you and I to receive forgiveness of sins?
Some of you are saying “wait a minute, there’s more than that.” No, there’s not. What about God head? Not necessary for salvation? What about understanding the mode of baptism? Nope, you don’t have to understand the ins and outs of baptism to be saved. You need to believe on Jesus and then act on that belief.
I want to speak to some of us who have been in church for a while for a minute. We have overcomplicated the simplicity of the gospel. Sometimes worse, we skip right over the gospel part.
If you are giving someone a Bible study on baptism before you know if they believe the gospel message or not, you have skipped a major step. The most important step. If they don’t believe that Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected for their sins according to scripture, baptism means nothing.
We can’t assume people know, and especially believe that. The reason there are four parts to this series is because each part is needed. If we want to see someone saved, the need to believe the gospel, they need to repent, meaning change their mind on the direction of their life and agree with God on what He says, be baptized while confessing the Lord Jesus and then live as a new creation with a new life.
The genesis, the root of all of it, is the simplicity of belief in Jesus and what He did. Paul talks about this when he writes to the church in Rome.
Romans 10:6-11
But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
It starts in the heart, not the mind. Something happens to our heart when we hear the good news of Jesus that then drives our thinking. Elsewhere we read that we are saved by faith not of works, in another place by grace through faith. In other words, the dividing line between who is a Christian and who is not is based on what we believe about Jesus. That drives everything else.
We don’t have to achieve anything. We don’t have to come up with an idea. It doesn’t take a great effort like trying to reach into heaven and bring Jesus or somehow raise Him from the dead. It is all been done, we just have to believe that it has been done. This mirrors what Jesus said just before the verse we started with this morning.
John 3:13-15
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Jesus was lifted up on the cross. He was lifted up to die and through His death we have been given access to God. Our sin, our rebellion against God has been dealt with. In His resurrection, you and I have been invited to live a new life.
The things you don’t like about yourself, the times that you fail even your own standards, all of it finds redemption when we believe in Jesus. The way you think changes, the way you live changes, the way you love changes.
If you are listening this morning and there is something about yourself that you wish was different. If you are wondering if there is a way to stop doing the things you don’t want to do and start doing the things you do want to do. If you are feeling a little hopeless, a little tired, He is inviting you in.
He wants to redeem you. Do we know what it means to be redeemed? It means to be used for your intended purpose. You were designed, you are not an accident. You have purpose and value. When you believe in Jesus, what He does is goes about restoring you to your purpose and aligning you with how you were designed.
Maybe you’re sitting here listening and thinking, I don’t know. It sounds a little too easy, a little too convenient. Let me assure you that while believing in Jesus is easy, living for him is a journey with its ups and downs. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. When Christ calls us, He offers salvation freely, but it comes with a cost.
To follow Jesus is to give up what we want for what He wants. It means a life laid down. You will be challenged, but you will be given the power to live up to the challenge. Living for Christ isn’t for the faint of heart. But, if you believe that He died, was buried, resurrected for our sins according to the scriptures, you will find the strength and He will be committed to you.
If you are here and you already believe, but you have found yourself drifting, go back to basics. Focus on the simple gospel truth, remember what you believe. Remember that if He overcame death, if He overcame the world, so will you.