JESUS CHRIST, THE SAVIOR
As one reads posts on some sites one sees an awful lot of chatter about Jesus Christ, the Savior. Much of it includes the fact that He died, was buried, and rose again. Large fancy memes are posted over and over again with sweet little passages that sound very nice, and even though they are literally God’s word, they really have no literal meaning to any person in and of themselves. ‘Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.’ So??? ‘Jesus is the Son of God.’ So??? ‘Jesus’ blood washed away all of our sins.’ Really???? These are all pretty little pieces of spiritual jargon that pew-warmers have leaned to recite and post on social media platforms. Now, let me give you some very clear facts about Jesus while He trudged around the dusty roads of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. Jesus was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. I can relate to that, as I am as well. It grieves me much when I see friends and family members on the broad road that leads to hell. It grieves me much when I proclaim truth to others, and they reject it outright.
Jesus told us that if we don’t know God we go to hell. Jn. 17:3. Paul confirmed that. 2 Thes. 1:8-9. Jesus told us that if we did not do the will of His Father we go to hell. Mat. 7:21 Paul confirmed that Rom. 2:13, 6:16 as did John 1 Jn. 3:7 Jesus told us that if we do not stop sinning we go to hell. Mk. 9:42-47, Jn. 8:34-36. Paul confirmed that as well. 1 Cor. 15:2 & 3, .Rom. 6:23. Paul also reminded his readers, to their shame, that knowing God was what would have stopped them from sinning. Jesus gave us the Great Commission in which we are told that to be a disciple of His we must obey everything He told us. Mat. 28:20 He told us we must be afraid of God Mat. 10:28. He told us we must be perfect as His Father is perfect. Mat. 5:48. Those are just two of the commands He left us with. But we MUST not overlook any of them or see them as somehow irrelevant when compared to His death, burial and resurrection.
As I spend time on certain sites, I sadly see that many well-meaning folks believe they are Christians just because Jesus died, was buried and rose again. Sure, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for every sin from that time on. But that does not mean that every sin has been forgiven from that time. It is a practical thing. We no longer have to go and sacrifice some animal or bird on an altar at some temple somewhere. Jesus told us that we have just two options in life. We either repent or perish. Lk. 13:3 & 5 We all know what ‘perish’ means don’t we? Hell. But do we all know what repent means? I have heard preachers who have no clue what it means. I hear them and many others stating that we need to keep repenting. Ezekiel describes what repenting means in Chapter 18 and in 33:11-16. Second Chron. 7:14 tells us what it means as well. Turning from all sin. Solomon told us that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Prov. 8:12. Through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil. Prov. 16:6. We are told that the fear of God stops one from sinning. Ex.20:20. We are assured that if we sin God does NOT hear our prayers. 2 Chron. 7:14, Prov. 28:9, Jn. 9:31. Is. 1:10-20. Paul gave us the message of salvation in a nut shell Romans six 22. Once we have stopped sinning, and become slaves to God, we are declared holy in God’s sight, which leads to eternity in heaven.
When one seriously studies the bible, one finds that it is like a beautiful jig-saw, with lots of pieces fitting together perfectly. The major theme of the bible is: Those who obey God, live and those who don’t, don’t. Be careful of some of Paul’s wording in chapters three through five of Romans because when he uses the word ‘believe’ we have to remember that the original Greek word which ‘believe’ has been translated from means: have faith, trust, with the implication that actions based on that faith and trust will follow. It is NEVER simply some mental assent. Peter warned us about these passages from Paul, and told us that if we allow Satan to have us believe something that Paul was not really attempting to tell us, we do it to our destruction. 2 Peter 3:16
The progression of salvation is as follows. Decide seriously to make the knowledge of God the most important thing you can ever do. Get to know God. When you really do, you WILL fear Him. Ex. 20:20 assures us that at that time, we stop sinning. We are able to really repent. That is when the Holy Spirit comes and lives in you. Acts 2:38, 5:32. God CANNOT cohabit with sin. For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people cannot dwell. Ps. 5:4. Then you begin that unbelievable journey of living IN CHRIST. 1 Jn. 3:4-10. That is certainly not ‘free salvation,’ as preachers have called it for 150 years. To get to know God you must spend countless hours in deep, serious and passionate study of His autobiography, searching for truth with ALL your heart. Jesus/God is Truth, so He will reveal Himself to you when He sees that you are extremely serious and passionate about getting to know Him. Jer. 29:11-14. Solomon also tells us how we must search for God. Prov. 2:1-5 We have all been deceived by Satan for a very long time We must get rid of all that false gospel and open our eyes, minds, and hearts to truth. It’s far greater than ‘finding Jesus,’ or ‘coming to Jesus.’ That is simply semantics with zero substance to transform anyone from sinner to saint, or to a new creation. 2 Cor. 5:17
I truly believe that Satan has got most of us so fixated on Jesus that we have forgotten God. In doing that, he takes us to hell with him. I am praying for you. And God does hear my prayers. I sure hope to meet you in heaven.
Please read my book A Nation Broken. Amazon & B & N have it.