SALVATION & ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
Key verse:
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36 NIV)
“You must be born again” (John 3:7)
In John 3, a high ranking teacher of the Law of Moses went to see Jesus at night. In explaining how to be saved, Jesus made some startling statements – see John 3:1-8. Jesus explained to the “good” man that for a person to enter the Kingdom of God, he or she needs a new birth (ie not the natural one).
Some other ways the Bible describes the New Birth or being born again are:
- To be “converted” – Matthew 18:3; Acts 3:19, 28:27
- To be “saved” – Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8
- To have “eternal life” – John 3:16,36; Acts 2:47
- To become a child of God – John 1:12
- To be a saint – Ephesians 1:1,18; Colossians 1:2; Romans 15:25,31, etc
- To be a believer (in Christ) – Romans 4:11, Romans 14:1; Romans 10:4; 1 Cor 7:13; 10:26 etc
- To be in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Since Jesus Himself said the New Birth or being born again is the one requirement for going to Heaven, it is important that we understand what it is, and get to know how we can receive it. First though, let us look at what it is not.
What the New Birth is NOT
- It is not simply knowing what is written in the Word of God, the Bible, good as it is (Nicodemus knew the Scriptures – he was a teacher of the Law).
- It is not simply doing good deeds or trying our best, or being “morally upright”, even though doing good to others is important. (Nicodemus was already doing that as a Pharisee, and a member of the Jewish Ruling Council).
- Going to church (Nicodemus was always in the Synagogue [the Jewish equivalent of the church building]).
- It is not being born into a Christian family (Nicodemus was born into an Israelite family of the sect of the Pharisees).
- It is not acquired by taking the Eucharist/Communion/the Lord’s Supper, being baptised, serving in the church, reading the Bible or saying your prayers regularly.
In the following sections, we want to find out man’s situation, and what God has done about it – ie how we can be saved or born again.
Man’s Predicament:
The Bible teaches that:
A. Every human being is a sinner separated from God.
Rom 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (KJV)
B. Sin has devastating consequences: eternal separation from the presence of Almighty God.
Rom 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NAS)
C. Man is incapable of saving himself, despite his best efforts.
Rom 3:20
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. (NIV)
Isa 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (KJV)
Ephesians 2:8,9
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. (RSV).
How Did We End Up Here?
Strange as it may seem, man brought this upon himself! God created man for fellowship. (Genesis 1:26-29, 2:7-25). Man disobeyed God’s express command (Gen 3:1-6).
It is to be noted that whereas they had enjoyed the company of Almighty God previously, they now hid from Him after their act of disobedience (Gen 3:8). That is what sin does – it sends us scurrying from the Presence of Almighty God!
The consequences of the first man’s disobedience were tragic and universal:
Rom 5:12,17-19
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned–
17 … by one man’s offence death reigned by one…
18 … by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation…
19 … by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners…
(KJV)
God’s Provision
We have already noted that man is incapable of saving himself. Is there any hope for man? YES! God in His love has provided a way of escape, through Jesus, for anyone who is willing to accept His offer. That is the Good News!
Let’s look at Romans 6:23 again:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NAS).
The Bible also says:
Rom 5:6-8
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)
Note, in particular, verse 8.
John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 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. (KJV)
He went to the cross for you – yes, you! He bore your punishment! He “was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all”. Isa 53:5-6 (KJV).
Man’s Response
In order for man to benefit from God’s offer, he needs to accept it. To accept it he must:
- Repent of his sins, since these sins caused the Son of God to die. To repent means to “change one’s mind”. It is a decision to change our ways, to go God’s way from now on.
Acts 2:37-38
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
- Peter replied, “Repent…, every one of you…” (NIV).
Acts 17:30
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. (NIV)
II. Believe that Christ died for him personally
Rom 10:9-11
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (NAS)
Acts 16:31
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved… (KJV)
III. Ask Jesus into his heart. Once a person comes to this point, all he needs to do is pray a simple prayer asking the Lord Jesus into his heart. He has promised:
John 6:37
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (NIV).
The New birth, then, is all about JESUS – repenting from our sins, and asking God to forgive us because of the fact that Jesus took the punishment for our sins on the cross, dying in our place. In grateful response, we then turn over our lives to God so that Jesus can live in us and help us to live a life pleasing to God.
A Prayer to Accept Jesus into Your Heart
If you would like to receive Christ in your heart and be sure of Heaven, you can pray a prayer like this:
Heavenly Father, I recognise that I am a sinner before You. I am sorry for my sins. I know from Your Word that Jesus died to pay the price of sin so I can be forgiven. I come to You in repentance, believing Your Word that says “He that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”. Please forgive my sins and accept me as Your child. Wash me from all my sins, and come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Thank You for hearing me, and for accepting me into Your Family. Thank You for saving me!
Assurance Of Salvation
If you have genuinely repented of your sins and invited Jesus into your heart, you can be sure He has answered your prayer. You almost certainly won’t notice any physical changes but that is ok. The changes are deeper than that – things have changed in your spirit. You see, man is a spirit being who possesses a soul, and lives in a physical body – see 1 Thessalonians 5:23). Your spirit, the real you, is reborn! (Ephesians 2:1-5)
[We shall learn more about the Nature of Man later]
To the new believer who has come to Christ, the Bible offers many words of assurance.
John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (NIV)
John 5:24
I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (NIV)
John 1:12-13
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
I John 2:12
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. (KJV)
1 John 5:11-13
11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Welcome into the family of God! An exciting walk with the Lord has just begun! Below are some truths you should know:
- God is now your very own Father! (John 1:12). You can come to Him and be treated as His child. He cares for you, and loves you so much He wants to live with you! See John 14:23; 16:23,27; Matthew 7:11.
- You are a completely new creature – the old you is well and truly gone! Your spirit is now alive to God – 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 3:4; Ephesians 2:1-5.
- You now live in union with the Lord Jesus – 1 Corinthians 6:17; John 15:5.
- You now have tremendous potential in Christ – Mark 9:23
- Almighty God Himself lives in you to give you victory in every area of your life – 1 John 4:4; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16
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