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TYING THE KNOT
What Must I Do To Be Saved?
By: Alice DeLancy - March 2013
What Must I Do To Be Saved?
By: Alice DeLancy - March 2013
Have you noticed that the Scripture repeatedly uses marriage as an example of God and man’s spirit joining together for His believers to become His children?
Imagine your earthly father getting married without your earthly mother. The marriage is simply NOT possible without BOTH joining in covenant to turn away from other people to be only with each other.
TURNING TO Jesus to believe and trust Him only while DESIRING TO TURN FROM yourself and your sinful ways is a two-way action (believing and repenting). Like a coin…both sides make the whole coin. This is the moment of “salvation” in a believer’s life!
Becoming a person who claims to be “saved – born again” is similar to marriage. God’s Spirit draws the person and causes that person to become aware of how Holy God is. God wants this person to seek Him. The person realizes how much he/she needs God and decides to turn to God while turning away from themselves and their own ways. This is known as “repentance.”
This “turning to God only” because He draws you to Him and from yourself is a two-sided gift from God that creates a child of God. So Jesus tells the people what they must do.
In the very first sermon of His public ministry He came saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the Gospel.” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Luke 13:2)
He taught “repentance and remission of sins.” (Luke 24:47)
“Except you repent, you shall all perish.” (Luke 13:3; 5)
Peter also taught the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9; Acts 3:19; Paul taught all men everywhere to repent...Acts 17:30)
So Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15)
What does “believe” mean? What does “repent” mean?
The word “believe” is an action word from the Hebrew language. When the word is turned over to the Greek language there was not a good translatable word for it. “Believe” is then a word without action.
Here is an example:
A bottle of water with an Aquafina label on it in the Greek language is described as … “a bottle of Aquafina water.”
In the Hebrew language it is described as ... “a container which carries a liquid.”
In other words one describes what it “is” while the other describes what it “does.”
So when everyone quotes John 3:16 using “whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” the actions of the word “believeth” are often misunderstood. The word “believeth” is more than a mental understanding of….
“Yes - whoever believes Jesus is God and says that with their mouth has everlasting life.” But it is having a desire to stop one’s sinful ways while simultaneously believing God is and asking God to help you become the person He wants you to be.
Action!
Jesus Christ died upon a cross for all the sins of all people. Jesus Christ was buried. After three days He rose from the dead.
Jesus ascended into heaven and eventually sent His Spirit back to all who will accept Him as God and be willing to ask Him to come into their lives and help them to follow Him and be in relationship with Him.
The same power that rose Him from the grave is the same power He imparts to us to be able to just say “NO” to sin and just say “YES” to God.
SALVATION FLYER - PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD
Imagine your earthly father getting married without your earthly mother. The marriage is simply NOT possible without BOTH joining in covenant to turn away from other people to be only with each other.
TURNING TO Jesus to believe and trust Him only while DESIRING TO TURN FROM yourself and your sinful ways is a two-way action (believing and repenting). Like a coin…both sides make the whole coin. This is the moment of “salvation” in a believer’s life!
Becoming a person who claims to be “saved – born again” is similar to marriage. God’s Spirit draws the person and causes that person to become aware of how Holy God is. God wants this person to seek Him. The person realizes how much he/she needs God and decides to turn to God while turning away from themselves and their own ways. This is known as “repentance.”
This “turning to God only” because He draws you to Him and from yourself is a two-sided gift from God that creates a child of God. So Jesus tells the people what they must do.
In the very first sermon of His public ministry He came saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the Gospel.” (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; Luke 13:2)
He taught “repentance and remission of sins.” (Luke 24:47)
“Except you repent, you shall all perish.” (Luke 13:3; 5)
Peter also taught the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9; Acts 3:19; Paul taught all men everywhere to repent...Acts 17:30)
So Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15)
What does “believe” mean? What does “repent” mean?
The word “believe” is an action word from the Hebrew language. When the word is turned over to the Greek language there was not a good translatable word for it. “Believe” is then a word without action.
Here is an example:
A bottle of water with an Aquafina label on it in the Greek language is described as … “a bottle of Aquafina water.”
In the Hebrew language it is described as ... “a container which carries a liquid.”
In other words one describes what it “is” while the other describes what it “does.”
So when everyone quotes John 3:16 using “whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” the actions of the word “believeth” are often misunderstood. The word “believeth” is more than a mental understanding of….
“Yes - whoever believes Jesus is God and says that with their mouth has everlasting life.” But it is having a desire to stop one’s sinful ways while simultaneously believing God is and asking God to help you become the person He wants you to be.
Action!
Jesus Christ died upon a cross for all the sins of all people. Jesus Christ was buried. After three days He rose from the dead.
Jesus ascended into heaven and eventually sent His Spirit back to all who will accept Him as God and be willing to ask Him to come into their lives and help them to follow Him and be in relationship with Him.
The same power that rose Him from the grave is the same power He imparts to us to be able to just say “NO” to sin and just say “YES” to God.
SALVATION FLYER - PRINTABLE DOWNLOAD
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