The purpose of this bible study is to show that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. It is by faith alone, through grace alone to the glory of God alone that we may have the opportunity to accept it.
What is salvation?
According to Wikipedia Salvation is, “the saving of human beings from sin and its consequences, which include death and separation from God” by Christ’s death and resurrection, and the justification following this salvation.“
Salvation in simple terms means we are saved. We are delivered. God gave His only Son to die in our place to save humanity. Jesus Christ gave Himself to save us from death, His sacrifice on the cross made our salvation possible. He is the only way that we can experience salvation and through Him, God demonstrated His love for us.
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, NKJV).
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Roman 5:8, NKJV).
Why do we need salvation?
In the beginning, when God created the world He made everything good – Perfect!
He told Adam and Eve that they could eat anything in the garden except fruit from ONE tree.
“Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,” He told them. “In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17, NKJV).
Now there comes along Satan talking through a serpent, twisting the words of God and deceiving Eve into believing that if she ate the fruit that God told her not to, she would be like God. Unfortunately, Eve fell for Satan’s lies and ate the fruit thereby disobeying God by going against His instruction. When Adam and Eve sinned they separated themselves from God and lost the covering of light that comes from Him. This act of disobedience destroyed their fellowship with God and brought about sin to all humanity. Through Adam’s transgression, condemnation came upon all men. The result of all this was ultimately death… but God made a way.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)
We were given a gift, a gift is a present.. we don’t work for a gift, we are given a gift, someone else works to pay for the gift to give it to you. That is what Jesus Christ did on the cross of Calvary. Although through Adam’s action, He brought death to all humanity, Jesus brings life.
“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)
What did Jesus go through for our salvation?
Jesus became a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13)
He became sin for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
He experienced death for us. (Hebrews 2:8-9)
He who was blameless left His place of glory to come down to our level and be born of a woman and became a man, he “became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.(Romans 5:21)
He was treated with disdain, contempt and ultimately died a criminal death on the cross. He died on our behalf, he died a death that he did not deserve that we may have life. That is the fullness of grace – absolute unmerited favour. God loved us so much that He would not have any of us perish, through sin God’s law had been broken and a penalty had to be made. Jesus Christ took the penalty for us and made a way of salvation.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16, 17).
How do you accept this Salvation?
What are we to do to be saved?
Salvation is a gift, Jesus freely offers it to you and each of us. By accepting Jesus Christ into our hearts we have no condemnation. (Romans 8: 1) Your part is to;
“..confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)
As we repent of our sins, God forgives us. (Acts 3:19)
As we confess, He forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
We have to make the choice to give our hearts and our lives to God. It’s by grace and through faith that we are called children of God. We do not need to work for it, it is not something we earn, it is a gift – unmerited favour. God loves us that much, He does not want any of us to perish.
“By grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
When you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, keep his commandments and abide in Him you can be confident you have eternal life. You can be confident in your salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. He will never let you go unless you change your mind and turn back to your old ways then He cannot force you. Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38,39)
Let’s rest in that blessed assurance and continue to rest and abide in Him.
Hope this has been helpful for you, this bible topic is deep and powerful. I encourage you to research and dig deeper so as to gain even more understanding of this topic. If you are looking for a place to start in your bible study have a look at the bible studies that we have here on the website. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with me and we can discuss further.
Leave a Reply