• Home
  
  
• Origins of IFBs
  
  
• About Me
  
  
• Whats New?
  
  
• Articles by Topic
  
  
• IFB Church Directory
  
  
• Links
  
  
• Comments
  
  
• Email Me

God's Plan of Salvation

The plan of salvation is so simple yet many over the centuries and still today stumble over the simplicity of it.

What is the Gospel?

The word "Gospel" means good news. The "good news" is that God sent his son to die on the cross for the sins of mankind.

Romans 5:8(NIV)
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

John 3:16(NIV)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

What is sin?

Sin is breaking breaking God's law. Adam, the first man whom God created sinned against God. Now we as his descendents all under the curse of sin.

Romans 5:12(NIV)
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--"

Romans 3:23(NIV)
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

What is the penalty for sin?

The Bible says the penalty for sin(breaking God's law) is death.

Romans 6:23(NIV)
"For the wages of sin is death..."

What can we do to pay for sins?

We can do nothing to pay for sins. He saved us because of his mercy and grace.

Titus 3:5(NIV)
"he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, "

Ephesians 2:8-9(NIV)
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. "

What must we do to be saved - how do we accept God's gracious gift?

• 1. We must accept that we are sinners - that we have broken God's law. Christ said that he did not come to call those who thought they were righteous, but those who knew they were sinners to repentance. We must accept the penalty for our sin is death.
  

  Luke 5:32(NIV)
  "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.""

• 2. We must accept Jesus Christ for he was - the Messiah, God in the flesh. We must accept Christ's death on the cross and his shed blood as the total payment for our sins. We can do nothing to earn it or merit it. We must call on him by name, acknowledging our sin before a Holy God and calling on Christ to save us.
  

  Romans 10:9-10(NIV)
  "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

  John 14:6(NIV)
  "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. "

I have acknowledged my sin before God and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior - now what do I do?

Ephesians 1:11-14
"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."

Anything you "do" after you have accept Christ is seperate from your salvation. This is a critical point to understand. After you have accepted Christ you have new nature - you have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in you. You now have a relationship with God - your foundation is Christ.

Now you must choose if and what you will build on that foundation - if you will grow that relationship. The "rewards" of growing that relationship are not only temporal and will benefit you in this life but they will also benefit in the life to come in heaven.

The first thing we are commanded to do as Christians after accepting Christ as our Savior is to be baptized and bring ourselves into the fellowship of and under the preaching of a local church.

Acts 2:41-42(NIV)

"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

After going to a local church you need to study God's Word and be sensitive to leading of his spirit in your life and the rewards of your new-found relationship with Christ will be like nothing you could have ever imagined.

Look for upcoming articles in this section and the standards section on living the Christian walk - but don't wait for me - if you have just accepted Christ look to the most perfect handbook on Christian living - the Bible.