There are many ways taught in the churches what a person needs to do to be saved and some of what that is taught is not based upon any scriptures in the bible. In this article I am not going to focus on the differences that are taught in those churches, instead we are going to focus on what the bible says and point to the scriptures that God has given to us.
The first thing is to explain exactly what it means to be saved and what the alternative is if we are not saved. The bible tells us that one day somewhere in the future there will come an end to this Earthly Kingdom and God will do away with these present heavens and this Earth and create a new Heaven and Earth for those who are saved to reside in.(Isa 65:17 & 2 Peter 3:13).
Meanwhile all of the people who have resided on this Earth have in their future a destination that is determined by how we live our lives during the course of our lives. The choices that we make during our lives will determine which of two roads that we will travel on at the time of the end. One of these two roads will take us to Heaven, what the bible speaks of as the Kingdom of Heaven where we will enjoy eternal life with God and Jesus Christ. The other road will take us to what is called hell and is known as the Lake of Fire which is the second death. There are two deaths that we could face. One is the physical death of our flesh bodies and the second death is the place where our souls meet their end.
God has provided a way for everyone of us to inherit eternal life which will continue forever after this present Earthly life ends. The way that He has provided for us is simply stated as believing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. ( John 3:16-18 ). This Gospel states that God has sent His only begotten Son to this Earth for the purpose of giving His life in order to make an atonement for the sin of every person that lives and all we need to do is to believe this to be true.
One of the things that Jesus spoke to His Apostles was for them to go into the World and preach this Gospel to everyone and those who would believe in its truthfulness and submit to baptism would be saved. By the same token He said that those who did not believe would be damned and miss the chance to live forever. (Mark 16:15-16)
At this point what we have presented will set the course for both the unbelievers of the Gospel and those who chose to believe to eventually stand before God at what the bible calls the “Great White Throne’ judgment for God to judge every one of us according to our works in how we have lived our lives. (Rev 20:11-13)
Now you might say if I have believed the Gospel and were baptized am I not already saved, then why am I going through this judgment before God? When you believed and were baptized, you were not saved at that point, what you did was to position yourself on the path of salvation and according to how you lived your life after that will be determined by God if you deserved to be saved and inherit eternal life. Those who did not believe the gospel will have no possibility of being saved when they face this final judgment.
Too many of our churches teach the people that after their conversion they are immediately saved. They give the people a false sense of security of being saved when they won’t be until God passes them through the final judgment. These poor people go around telling each other that they have been saved and will pass from this life straight into eternal life in Heaven no matter how they conduct themselves.
Now we are going to look at the possibility of another course of action that believers of the gospel can take that will keep them from having to face this great judgment of God and prevent them from the possibility of facing the second death.
Jesus opened the door to this way of salvation when He spoke to a man named Nicodemus. (John 3:1-7) Jesus told him that he must be born again of water and Spirit in order to enter into the Kingdom of God. This could also mean the “realm” of God. Remember when Jesus said “the Kingdom of God is within you”? (Luke 17:21) What Jesus was saying to Nicodemus was that to receive the Kingdom of God (the indwelling Holy Spirit) it was necessary to be born of the water and the Spirit. That is exactly what the Apostle Peter said to the people on the day of Pentecost. He told them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and they would receive the Holy Spirit. (The kingdom of God within a person). To be born again a person receives the Holy Spirit by being born of water (baptism) and the Spirit. The Apostle Paul also said that we are all baptized into the Body of Christ by the Spirit. So the path that will allow us to miss the final judgment of God is to become a member of the Body of Christ.
Those who are members of the Body of Christ are positioned to potentially become the Bride of Christ when He returns at the first resurrection and the rapture. Until He comes and carries them off they are like ladies in waiting, betrothed to the Bridegroom, but not yet the Bride. In order for these who are in the Body of Christ to avoid the Great White Throne judgment they must be chosen by Christ to be His Bride. There is some indication in scripture that all that are in the Body will not be chosen. Look at the parable that Jesus spoke of about the ten virgins. (Matt 25:1-10) Here were ten believers who were in the body of Christ, but when the Bridegroom came only five were taken. It tells us that five of them didn’t have enough oil for their lamps to last until the Bridegroom arrived. There is a common understanding that this oil represents the Holy Spirit that all ten of them originally had, but five of them apparently didn’t have enough to last.
Remember about John the Baptist stating that Jesus had the Holy Spirit without measure? (John 3:34) This indicates that believers probably receive the amount of the Spirit according to our faith and use of the Spiritual gifts that God has given us. In the parable of the ten virgins, five of them obviously didn’t profit the Lord with the use of the measure of the Spirit they received and they didn’t have enough of the Spirit to last.
To reinforce what Jesus was telling them about the ten virgins, He went on in the same chapter of Matthew twenty five and told about the gift of certain talents to his servants. All but the last servant used the talents to benefit their master and gained more than what they received. The third servant did not use the one talent he had received and his was taken back and was given to another that used it to benefit his master. The same stands true for those who are in the Body of Christ. All receive a portion of the Holy Spirit, but they who don’t profit the Lord by the use of the gift they received will not be accepted by the Bridegroom.
Again, when Christ returns to receive His Bride, He will accept those who were baptized into the Body and have profited Him by the use of the Spiritual gift they had received, but those who are not taken will be subject to the final Judgment of God at the last day. Since Christ will have judged the faithful to be worthy to be part of the Bride, they will not again be judged by God at the last day of the White Throne Judgment.
A lot of churches teach their people that they are the Body of Christ by just being believers of the gospel and being baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but the scripture does not substantiate this. At the day when Christ returns for His Bride and they are not taken, then they will realize the teaching they received was not true.
The bottom line is this. The belief in the Gospel of Christ positions everyone to be a candidate to receive eternal life if they are judged to be worthy by God in the last day. Until that day of acceptance into Heaven they are not saved.
The acceptance of a person into the Body of Christ depends upon their belief in the Gospel of Christ, their baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit. With this act, they have positioned themselves to become the Bride of Christ when He returns and only if He has found them faithful by profiting Him with the use of the gift they had received.
My friends, do not accept the teaching by some that “once you are saved, you will always be saved”, or that God has predestinated only certain people to be saved. This is not according to scripture. The Bible does say that if a believer endures to the end, they shall be saved. (Matt 24:13) The Bible also says that it is God’s will that all people would be saved. (1 Tim 2:3-4)
The only way to be certain to be saved from your destiny being eternal separation from God and your final end being the Lake of Fire called Hell is to conform to what the scriptures teach us about how to be saved.
Following are some scriptures that need to be considered while determining what your path to salvation will be.
Mark 16:15 and he said unto them, Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 They that believe and are baptized shall be saved; but they that believe not shall be damned.
John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 They that believe on him are not condemned: but they that believe not are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Rev 20: 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead who were in them: and they were judged every person according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Matt 10:22 And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but they that endure to the end shall be saved.
Rev 20: 6 blessed and holy are they that have part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20: 7 And when the thousand years have expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 21: 8 but the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
1 Cor 15: 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1 Cor 15: 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
Mark 1: 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe the gospel.
Acts 2: 38 Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 3: 1 there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 the same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a person is born again, they cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus said unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily; I say unto you, except a person is born of water and of the Spirit, they cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again.
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