This article was done as a group project in our Sunday morning Young Adult/ Teen-age Bible Class.
 

Salvation in Christ

  By the Teen-age/ Young Adult's Class

(Rom. 3:23) “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” As this verse explains, all men have sinned. But what exactly is sin? The Bible describes sin as lawlessness and transgression against God. John says “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4) This lawlessness separates us from God according to Isaiah 59:2, which says, “Our iniquities separate us from Him.” Because of this separation, God needed a plan to bring us back to him so that we could be saved from eternal death.

Jesus says, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: For they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:6) Since we have all sinned, we must desire to be filled with the righteousness that God has given us. Righteousness of God is not an attribute of God. It is a plan given by God to make us righteous. Paul tells us that the Jews were ignorant of God's righteousness. (Rom. 10:3) Does this mean that the Jews were ignorant that God was righteous? Of course not, they were ignorant of God's righteousness. Paul affirms that the righteousness of God is a plan in which we receive our faith. Romans 1:16-17 tells us that we can find the righteousness of God in the Gospel. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

Paul tells us in Romans 3:25 that God sent his son to give us remission of sin so we could partake of His righteousness. “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation is the removal of guilt. John tells us that God loved us so much that He gave His son as propitiation and thus giving us salvation, 1 John 4:10, 1 John 2:2.

In John 3:16, John tells us that we must believe in order to receive salvation. So we know this salvation is not universal. But what does it mean to have faith? “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Heb. 11:7) Here we see that writer of Hebrews tells us that Noah was saved by faith, but was he saved by faith alone? The scripture teaches us that he moved with fear and prepared an ark. So we see that Noah was saved by a faith that caused him to obey, we are saved by the same type of faith. Peter tells us that we are saved like Noah in the same manner. Peter says, “Wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 3:20-21)

Faith means trust. Faith in Christ is required for salvation. That means trust in Christ is required. If one trusts someone they obey what they say. What does Christ say we should do to be saved?

 

  • Christ says we must hear.
    • “My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.” (Luke 8:21)
  • Christ says we must believe in him.
    • “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
  • Christ says we must repent of our sins.
    • “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)
  • Christ says we must confess him.
    • “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 10:32-33)
  • Christ says we must be baptized.
    • He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16)

 

Do you trust in God enough to save you from your sins? If you do, then obey him.

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