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For the last two weeks we have
looked at many facts about salvation.
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It is one thing to know the facts
about salvation, but it is something else entirely to experience salvation.
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Since we have heard the facts, we
need to ask a different question: How can
I be saved?
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However, before we can answer how to
be saved, we need to ask another question: Why
is it important to know how to be saved?
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The answer is simple. It is
important to know how to be saved because
salvation changes both the present human
condition and the eternal human
condition.
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What
is the present human condition?
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For the unsaved person, the present condition is one without joy or understanding.
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King Solomon watched the behavior of
sinful people who did not know God and wrote in Proverbs 13:15, "Good sense wins favor, but the way of the
treacherous is their ruin" (ESV).
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Solomon understood that the present
condition of unsaved people is life characterized by deceit and destruction.
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Because sin separates people from
finding true life in God, the unsaved cannot experience real, lasting joy.
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Ephesians
4:18
says, "Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God
gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against
him." (NLT)
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Unsaved people cannot understand the
working of God's Spirit because they have rejected the things of God.
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The present condition of unsaved
people is also one of corruption and
contamination.
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The lives of the unsaved are sin
saturated. Everything about their lives
is dominated and controlled by sin.
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Titus
1:15
says, "To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and
unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are
defiled." (ESV)
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For those who are not saved, nothing
they do can amount to anything of eternal importance because they have no
relationship with God and are still dead in their sins.
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What
about the present condition of saved people?
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1Peter
1:5-6 say, "And through your faith, God is
protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to
be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is
wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little
while." (NLT)
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The first condition of saved people is:
joy. Those who are saved experience
joy even through trouble.
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The second condition of saved people
is: understanding.
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1
John 5:20 says, "And we know that the Son has come,
and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we
live in fellowship with the one true God because we live in fellowship with his
Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life." (NLT)
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This understanding comes to the
saved by the Holy Spirit
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1
Corinthians 2:12 says, "And we have received
God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God
has freely given us." (NLT)
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Saved people can only understand
salvation and the Bible because the Holy Spirit gives understanding.
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The third condition of saved people
is: purity.
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The Lord Jesus became human to save
everyone God calls and cleanse them to be his own special people.
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1
Peter 1: 22 says, "You were cleansed from
your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each
other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with a pure heart."
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Those who are saved are no longer
dead in their sins but are alive in Christ and need to practice reflecting that
life each day.
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We have seen how salvation changes
the present human condition, now what
about the eternal human condition?
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The
eternal condition for the unsaved is torment in fire.
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There are two things that we need to
note about the torment of the unsaved.
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#1. The torment is eternal. In Mark 9: 43, Jesus described hell as 'the unquenchable fire' and
again in verse 48 Jesus described
hell as the place 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched'.
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A fire that is unquenchable cannot
be put out; it burns forever, never going out.
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Many other places throughout the
Bible describe the fires of hell as eternal.
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#2. The second thing we need to note
about the eternal condition of the unsaved is that the torment is physical.
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Matthew
10:28 says, "And do not fear those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and
body in hell." (ESV)
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Luke recounted in Luke 16 a parable
which Jesus told about a rich man and a poor man by the name of Lazarus.
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Because the rich man neglected to
show mercy to the poor, especially, Lazarus he found himself in hell.
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Let's listen to the description of
the rich man's suffering Jesus gave.
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"And in Hades, being in
torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip
the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this
flame.' (Luke 16:23-24, ESV)
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Let no one be misled. When the
unsaved are condemned to hell, they do not cease to exist.
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They spend eternity tormented by
fire in a real physical body.
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What
about the eternal condition of the saved?
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The
saved will be with God in heaven.
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Jesus
said
to his disciples, "In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so,
would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." (John
14:2-3, ESV)
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The saved will be where Jesus Christ
is, in heaven with God, and God will continually show his kindness to the saved
for all eternity.
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Now that we know the present and
eternal conditions of the saved and the unsaved, we can answer the question: How can I be saved?
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Believe! To
believe means 'to have faith; to place trust in; to commit yourself to
something or someone '.
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But the most important thing to
understand about faith is the object of your faith, that is, in what or who you
place your faith.
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People can place their faith in many
things. We can place our faith in our baptism, in our church, in our pastor, in
our good works, in praying the sinner's prayer, but none of those things can
save anyone.
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It's also not the genuineness or
sincerity of your faith that saves you.
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It's not the strength of your faith
that saves you.
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The Lord Jesus Christ alone is the
object and anchor of true saving faith.
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Romans
10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved."
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As unsaved sinners, sin was our
master; we were enslaved to sin.
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But by God's grace through faith
when we confess Jesus as Lord, sin is no longer our master or ruler. Instead,
we surrender our lives to Jesus and submit to him as master and ruler over us.
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Jesus is Lord.
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The apostle Peter said about Jesus
in Acts 4:12, "There is
salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we
must be saved."
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An old story is told about a very
wealthy man who had a priceless art collection. The man had only one son whom
he loved very much.
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One day the son became very sick and
died. Heartbroken over the death of his son, the father died of his grief a few
weeks later.
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The news spread far and wide of the
father's death and that his priceless art collection would be sold at auction.
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When the day of the auction arrived
people traveled from all over hoping to make a successful bid on something from
the collection.
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The father's will determined,
however, that the first work of art up for bid was a portrait of the late son.
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The painting was by an unheard of
artist and the auctioneer was met with silence from those who gathered to
snatch up works from the departed father's valuable collection.
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An old servant of the wealthy man
was there who dearly loved the son. He
had scraped together all he had, which amounted to a mere $0.75.
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Hearing no other bids, the servant
bid all he had for the son's portrait.
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The auctioneer called for other bids
and hearing none declared the portrait sold to the old servant.
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The restless crowd could not wait
for the auction to continue, but the auctioneer declared that the sale was
ended.
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Stunned, the crowd stood in shocked
silence.
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You see, the father's will also
determined that whoever loved the son enough to buy the portrait received
everything.
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Jesus is Savior. 'Jesus' means 'the
Lord saves' and that salvation was accomplished by Jesus on the cross where he
suffered and died for our sin.
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Jesus is Christ. 'Christ' means 'Anointed One; Messiah'. 'Christ' is not a name, but a title which
refers to Jesus as King over all and God's Son and heir.
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Once Jesus asked his disciples who
people said he was and after giving a variety of answers he asked them,
"but who do you say I am?"
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Simon
Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God."
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Jesus replied, "You are
blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to
you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell
will not conquer it." (Matthew 16:16-18, NLT)
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Because Jesus is Savior, Lord, and
Christ, he alone saves from sin and its penalty.
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Believe
in Jesus; turn from sin; submit to him, and you will be saved.
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