Salvation is not a Reward
for the Righteous.
It is an available Gift
for those who understand their Guilt!
Introduction ~
This salvation series has been about New Testament teachings about
salvation. In this post we zero in on
four specific aspects of salvation taught in the New Testament—each closely
related to Old Testament teachings.
Confess ~
“For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ‘The
man who does those things shall live by them.’
But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ‘Do not say in your
heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down from
above) or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from
the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in
your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you 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 on 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 10:5-13).
Repent ~ “Yet
now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your
rulers. But those things which God
foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer,
He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your
sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to
you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all
things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since
the world began. For Moses truly
said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me
from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to
you. And it shall be that every soul who
will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the
people.’ Yes, and all the prophets,
from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also
foretold these days. You are sons of the
prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham,
‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His
Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from
your iniquities” (Acts 3:17-26).
Believe ~ “Jesus
answered and said to him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these
things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We
speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our
witness. If I have told you earthly
things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly
things? No one has ascended to heaven
but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in
heaven. And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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
3:10-17).
Baptism ~ “The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets: ‘Behold,
I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before
You.’ The voice of one crying in the
wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.’ John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the
remission of sins. Then all the land
of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by
him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and
with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, ‘There comes One
after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop
down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit’” (Mark 1:1-8).
~
Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT
LIFE NOW
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