Category Archives: salvation
Capital punishment – opening the door to salvation
After the flood God gave Noah a new command.
“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.” (Genesis 9:6)
Despite the fact that capital punishment was commanded by God many Christians believe it should be abolished. One argument they use is that killing a person closes the door to any hope that he will repent of his sins and be saved. Yet the Bible tells of a case where capital punishment opened the door to salvation for one man.
When Jesus was crucified two others were crucified with him.
“Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.” (Matthew 27:38-44)
But one of the robbers changed his mind about Jesus.
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”” (Luke 23:39-44)
Even though he was dying he put his faith in Jesus and received the assurance that would be in Paradise that same day.
Have you ever thought about what his fate would have been if he had not been captured and executed by the Romans? He clearly didn’t believe in Jesus before he was sentenced. Perhaps he would have lived out his life and died without having his sins forgiven and been condemned to eternity in the lake of fire. The Romans took his physical life but opened the door for him to receive eternal life.
Are you a CINO?
If you read many political discussions you may have read the terms DINO and RINO. They stand for Democrat in Name Only and Republican in Name Only. They describe those who are members of a political party but who don’t really promote the things that party stands for. In the long run it doesn’t really matter whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, a DINO, or a RINO. One day Jesus Christ will return and set up his kingdom and rule the entire world. All of our present governments and political parties will be eliminated. But it will make a big difference whether or not you are a CINO.
CINO stands for Christian in Name Only. We are all sinners and deserve nothing but eternal condemnation in Hell. Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to atone for our sins.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)
Anyone who turns from his sin and receives Jesus as his Lord and Savior will be forgiven.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:11-13)
There is large body of people in the world who have taken this step and are forgiven. But there is another large body who believe they are Christians but have not really put their faith in Jesus. They are CINOs. There was a time when I was a member of this group.
As early as I can remember I have gone to Sunday school and church. Unfortunately I attended a church that wasn’t always Biblical in its teaching. I don’t recall that anyone in that church explained the way of salvation to me. They emphasized the need to be baptized and join the church. When I was 14 years old I took this step. After being baptized I believed that I was a Christian, but in fact I was only a CINO.
God didn’t allow me to go on in this condition for very long. I learned of a radio program called Back to the Bible which taught the Bible accurately and as a result of listening to program I heard the gospel and became a real Christian.
People become CINOs for many reasons. Some are baptized when they are infants and think that this act makes them Christians. Sometimes someone who attends a church that actually preaches the gospel will go forward in response to a public invitation and believe that this saves him. I have even heard of people who were ordained and serving as pastors who realized that they were not saved. The Bible says that we should examine ourselves to make sure our salvation is real.
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5)
If you are unsure whether you are a Christian or only a CINO here is a site that may help you to examine yourself and determine your true spiritual condition.
Deathbed salvation
Mr. and Mrs. Brown were faithful members of their church and the taught their sons, Harry and Tom, to be faithful too. When the sons grew up Harry rejected his parents’ teaching and stopped attending church. Tom continued to be active in church.
The time came when Harry was about to die. He realized that he was not ready and finally repented of his sins and put his faith in Jesus Christ. His life had been wasted because he had lived for his own pleasure but in the end he was saved.
Tom also reached the end of his life. Looking back he realized that he had tried to live a Christian life but in fact he was not a Christian because he had not repented and believed in Christ. Near the end of his life he finally took this step. His life had been wasted because he had trusted in his church and his service to it rather than in Christ but in the end he was saved.
When we think of deathbed salvation we generally think of someone like Harry rather then Tom. The Bible gives us an example of such salvation. One of the criminals who was crucified with Christ repented and was told that he would be in Paradise that very day. We often forget that all people, regardless of how good a life the live, fall short of God’s standards and need to be saved.
There was a time when I was on the way to ending up as Tom did. I had gone to Sunday school as long as I can remember. When I was 14 years old I got baptized and became a member of my church. I was active in the church and at one time seriously considered becoming a preacher. The only thing wrong was that the church was liberal in its theology and on one there had ever told me how to be saved.
God didn’t wait until I was on my deathbed to save me. About two years after I joined the church I began listening to a radio program called Back to the Bible and through it a learned the true way of salvation.
Someone who lives a life contrary to the Bible doesn’t need to wonder whether he is saved or not. If he thinks about the subject at all he will know he isn’t. But it is possible for someone to live a life that is outwardly righteous and not really be saved. The Bible warns us in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.” Satan uses many tricks to keep people from being saved; one is to convince us we are already saved. Examine yourselves to make sure you are not falling for this trick.
Answers for Seekers
The end or the beginning?
The last two chapters of the Bible describe the creation of a new heaven and a new earth which will be the home of all whose sins have been forgiven through their faith in Jesus Christ. There will be no more sin or temptation to sin. All that is evil will have been removed.
Some people think of this time as being like retirement. We have finished our work and now we are able to begin living a life of leisure. Nothing can be further from the truth. This is not the end of our service to God but its true beginning.
When God created Adam and Eve he had great plans for their future. We don’t know what those plans were because they ate the fruit that God had forbidden and so brought sin and death into the world. All that has happened since then is God’s efforts to remove these two invaders and restore the creation to what he intended it to be. Once that has been accomplished he will begin to carry out the real purpose for which he created us.
The Last Battle, the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, ends with the destruction of Narnia and with the followers of Aslan being taken to a new and perfect Narnia.
And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can truly say that they lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page. Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before.
This is an accurate description of what awaits Christians at the end of this age.
If you have not had your sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ this is not your future. After death you will be judged for your sins and be sentenced to eternity in the lake of fire. But if you are willing to turn from your sins and believe in Christ you can share in this future. The link below will take you to a site that explains in more detail how you can do this and answers many of the questions you may have on this subject.
Today is the most dangerous time for a gay person to be alive
In the past gay people were hated, discriminated against, and sometimes physically attacked. Today we live in a society which accepts being gay as normal and even allows persons of the same sex to get married. In fact, it seems as if the reality is just the opposite of the title of this post. If this life were the only one we had, that would be correct. There is one problem. We must all die.
It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
Spiritual health
Here is something I read on Facebook.
Spiritual health
by Ken Ham
Actually, a person’s spiritual health is not just essential, it is most essential, in fact vital! “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Read the rest of this entry
Forsaken
God has never promised that his children will be wealthy in this life but he has promised that we will have everything we need.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
Because he has promised never to forsake us we don’t need to be concerned about how much money we have. He will give us what we need when we need it. If we don’t have something we would like to have it means we don’t need it so we can be content with what we have, no matter how little that is. Read the rest of this entry
God’s part and man’s part in salvation
Here is something I read on Facebook.
God’s part and man’s part in salvation
by Joshua Agan
GOD’S PART — or — MAN’S PART?
People sometimes argue about whether God alone has a part in salvation, or whether Man has any role at all. Both sides have some good points to make, but the whole disagreement hinges on the fact that two people view the same salvation from different sides. Read the rest of this entry
Repentance
Here is something I read on Facebook.
Repentance
by Joshua Agan
When Jesus sent Paul to the Gentiles, Paul clearly outlines the message he took to all nations:
“Repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” Read the rest of this entry
Our wonderful savior
Here is something I read on Facebook.
Our wonderful savior
What a wonderful Savior we have in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
He is a Savior who is humble and lowly in heart. He is an accessible Savior. He is most approachable. He is the most understanding person in the entire universe, and He understands His people’s weaknesses and struggles. His enemies got it right when they called Him a “friend of sinners” (Matthew 11:19). Jesus Christ is love itself clothed in flesh. Read the rest of this entry
Why did God let bad things happen to the good person?
“Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” Have you ever heard anyone ask that question? Perhaps you have asked it. We know that God is just and yet we see good people undergoing bad experiences. How could a just God allow this to happen? Read the rest of this entry
Were you born in Jerusalem?
Psalm 87 describes Jerusalem during the Millennium, when Christ is reigning on the earth.
On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
the LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
Glorious things of you are spoken,
O city of God. SelahAmong those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
“This one was born there,” they say.
And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself will establish her.
The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” SelahSingers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”
It’s not what you know but who you know
“It’s not what you know but who you know.” Have you ever heard anyone say that? Usually it is said by someone who believes some other person has received a promotion or some other honor because someone has shown favoritism to him, not because he earned it. Often this is the case. People are often promoted over those who are better qualified because they know the boss and the other person doesn’t. This is certainly unfair.
But there is one case where who you know is more important than what you know Read the rest of this entry
Comfort zones
I recently read a Pearls Before Swine comic strip in which Pig and Goat were having a conversation.
Pig said, “I’m starting to think I don’t ever want to die.”
Goat asked, “Why is that?”
Pig replied, “It’s outside my comfort zone. Never leave your comfort zone.”
Nothing happens by chance
Here is something I read on Facebook.
Nothing happens by chance
The other night, the night before I left for Florida, Andy, the owner of TractPlanet, sent me some gas money, because he was generous enough to pay for my trip down to his place, as we figure out if me working for him here will be a good fit.
I wanted to get my gas tank filled the night before, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it the next morning, and so I went to get gas. I got to the station, and just went I started pumping the gas, a lady came up to me and asked me if I could give her a ride to a grocery store nearby. I hesitated for a bit, because it appeared that she may have some sort of drug or alcohol issue, and I don’t need to risk getting pulled over and then get in trouble for possession of a substance I never saw in my life, simply because someone in my vehicle possessed it. Read the rest of this entry
Wrong Salvation Instructions
Here is something I read on Facebook.
Wrong Salvation Instructions
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT : PLEASE READ
Wrong Salvation Instructions
This is a short excerpt from Are You a Rotten Fish? that describes a number of the incorrect Gospel RESPONSES that have produced untold false converts.
Accept Jesus
Were you told to “accept” Jesus? Here’s the glitch with that well worn phrase: Jesus does not need our acceptance, we need His (Romans 15:7). The great news is, He will accept us—if we obey His command to repent and trust Him. Read the rest of this entry
A heretical church
Here is something I read on Facebook.
A heretical church
My story of when I was a member of a heretical church.
I’ve had this jersey for nearly a couple years now. It’s a Church of Christ softball league jersey, and it belongs to me. We were allowed to choose the name we wanted, and whatever number was available. I chose Romans 9 for obvious reasons, but there is more to the story than this. Read the rest of this entry
ARE YOU BAD ENOUGH TO BE SAVED?
Here is something I read on Facebook.
ARE YOU BAD ENOUGH TO BE SAVED?
by Blaine Michael Seman
Peter walked with Christ and he denied Christ with cursing.
The apostle Paul heard Stephen’s last words and approved of his murder.
Manasseh was raised in a godly family and still sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists
John Newton, a self admitted apostate, led others away from the faith.
All the above were saved and changed…but you still think you are too dirty to be saved? Am I right?
Crucifixes – only half of the gospel
The apostle Paul attached great importance to the crucifixion of Jesus. Here are two things he said about it:
I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2)
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
clydeherrin 