Ephesians 2:4-9; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the Heavenly Places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages, He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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.” (ESV – all emphasis mine)
Acts 4:12; “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Going to 1 John 1:6-9, “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
In numerous places in the Bible, we’re told that Jesus is the only way to Salvation. Our being saved is a gift, not something we can do works to earn, nor can we pay any fee to buy it. One problem that many early religious leaders caused was they changed the true word from the Father to fit their own greed. Jesus made one statement in John 14:6 that totally dispelled all their religious tactics. “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.'”
Even before this direct statement, Jesus tried to let the people know that He spoke with authority from the Father. In John 8:31-32, 36, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and the truth will set you free…. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'”
For anyone who tries to say that our Savior never really claimed to be God, John 10:30 plainly states, “I and the Father are One.” Even then, the religious leaders accused Him of blasphemy and were going to stone Him.
Jesus, one-third of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, came as a human to earth for one main purpose. The Father can only accept perfection, and the blood of animals could never fully satisfy that need (Hebrews 9:12-14). He allowed the regular sacrifices only until the perfect, sinless blood of the “Lamb of God” could be offered once and for all. While He was on this earth, Jesus allowed Himself to be lower than the angels, and He became fully human until the sacrifice was complete (Hebrews 2:7-9).
In 2 Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” Then 2 Corinthians 5:21: for our sake, He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.”
When I see those verses and others that tell about Jesus taking the sins of the world to the cross, and know that He suffered horribly to pay for all those sins, I realize that all the sins I have committed were a part of His suffering. And to know without a doubt that when I told my Jesus that I was a sinner, and I knew that I couldn’t be with Him unless He would forgive and save me, I truly believe that at that moment, I was forgiven and saved (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13).
Romans 10:11-12; “For the scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him.'”
One of the main issues today is having so many false prophets in previously Bible-based churches who are twisting the words to tickle ears. Again, the Father is not surprised as it is in His word to us that this would be the case near the end of this age (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
The so-called “many ways” to heaven and we don’t really need Jesus, or Jesus was just a prophet, not really God, are Satan’s tools that are working today just as they did on Eve and Adam in Genesis 3, in the Garden of Eden. As a result, all humans except Jesus are born with a sin nature. Our blood has been contaminated. That’s why only a sinless person could provide our sin payment, and the only person who ever, and will ever, have a sin-free life is Jesus.
And to say His sacrifice wasn’t enough and more is needed is to insult the Creator of all there is by telling Him we humans know more than He does.
Elvina Hall (1818-1889) wrote a hymn in 1865 called “Jesus Paid It All.” The refrain of this wonderful song is clear, direct, and absolutely 100% correct.
1.) I hear the Savior say, ‘Thy strength indeed is small; child of weakness watch and pray; find in Me thine all in all.’
Ref) Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.
2.) Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stone. (ref)
3.) For nothing good have I, whereby Thy grace to claim. I’ll wash my garments white in the blood of Calvary’s Lamb. (ref)
4.) And when before the throne, I stand in Him complete, ‘Jesus died my soul to save,’ my lips shall still repeat. (ref)
Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self; lovers of money, proud; arrogant; abusive; disobedient to their parents; ungrateful, unholy, heartless; unappeasable; slanderous; without self-control; brutal; not loving good; treacherous; reckless; swollen with conceit; lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; having the appearance of Godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
Just watching local, national, and world news shows that all of these are present, and all at once for the first time. Jesus told about earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, terrors, and great signs from heaven. Satanic worship is in the open as never before.
Without trying to set any dates, it is obvious we are approaching the end of this present age. To all who have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior, we have true hope for our future. The day is coming when there will be the sound of the Trumpet of God and a shout from an archangel. We will be taken up to meet Our Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
For all who do not have Jesus as their Savior, the time following the Rapture will be the worst they will ever experience. It will be literally hell on earth during the reign of the antichrist and his false prophet. The thing is, it’s not difficult to avoid this tragedy.
Romans 10:9-13 gives the simple steps to receiving and accepting Jesus and being saved forever. There is nothing hard about this except for human unbelief. Many feel there just has to be more they can do to gain their own Salvation. Our God loves us beyond anything we could ever imagine (John 3:16), and He would love for everyone to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9).
It’s totally up to each individual to choose between heaven and hell, and the Father will force no one either way. However, all who do accept His Son will have a totally wonderful life forever. All who do not will end up in the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:11-15).
The challenge that Joshua gave to his people in Joshua 24:15 still applies today. “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region by the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwelt. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” The other “gods” today are the worldly treasures that are desired over our Heavenly Father.
Hope to see you there when Jesus calls His flock up to meet Him to avoid being in the wrath that will come.
Maranatha – Come, Lord Jesus!