TODAY Is the Day of Salvation!

"For God says, 'At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.' Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation"
(2 Corinthians 6:2).

God chose us for salvation. He does all the work to save us! There is nothing we can do to deserve or earn salvation. All we can do is believe what God said, trust Him, and receive His salvation.

Why do I need to be saved?

Everyone needs to be saved because, according to God's Word, we all have sinned and are bound to spend eternity apart from God.

“For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).
 

Everyone lives forever according to God’s Word, but only those who "repent and believe the Gospel" (Mk. 1:15) will spend eternal life with Jesus in Heaven.

“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

Mankind was created by God to glorify Him and to fellowship with Him. As such, there is, within every human being, a longing for God that can only be filled by Him. We may try to fulfill this longing with human relationships, material things, or pleasurable things but it can only be satisfied by our Creator, God. Ultimately, trying to fill our longing for God with anything other than God is fruitless and sinful behavior that leads us away from Him. Such sin ultimately leads to death.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Salvation is God’s free gift to us that makes us right with God so that our relationship with Him can be restored.

“God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Only God can save us! It is His unmerited and undeserved gift to us. We have no part in salvation other than to believe God and receive His free gift of salvation.

How do I know that God can and will save me?

We know that God will save us because He said so in His Word.

“[The Lord] does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9).

It has always been God’s plan to reconcile the world (all of mankind) to Himself.

“19For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others…21For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21).

From the very beginning, God's plan has been to send Jesus in human form to walk with us, to share God’s love with us, and ultimately, to die for our sins. Jesus' substitutionary death was made necessary because of Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience to God.

“Because one person (Adam) disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person (Jesus) obeyed God, many people will be made right in God's sight” (Romans 5:19).

Jesus is the only One Who makes salvation possible. God’s Word states that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus shed His blood on the cross of Calvary so that we can be forgiven. He did it to pay our sin debt so that we could be cleaned up and enjoy fellowship with God.

What do I need to do to be saved?

There is nothing any of us can do to be saved on our own! God is the only One who can save us. It is all His doing. Salvation is free and comes with no strings attached, but, as with any free gift, to be of value, it must first be received. Receiving salvation is simply a matter of believing Who God is and in what He has said and then appropriating it.

“9For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).
 

Note the last part of verse 9 above: “…you will be saved!” There is no catch! You cannot clean up enough to deserve God's salvation. You cannot do enough to earn His salvation. You are guaranteed salvation when you openly confess Jesus as LORD, believe that God raised Him from the dead, and then receive (possess) what He has offered to us. No matter what you have done or how unworthy you might feel, salvation is available to you simply because God has offered it to you. All you need to do is to possess it!

Salvation is simple. God's Word states that to be saved, you must:

1. Realize that you are a sinner (Rom. 3:23) and admit it to God.
   
2. Repent of your sins and believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9).
   
3. Confess that Jesus is LORD (Master) of your life (Rom. 10:10).

There is nothing magical about going through the steps above, but something supernatural happens when you truly believe what God says in His Word and trust Him concerning it. The above steps merely place you in a position to possess God's free gift. It is God Who does the saving. You can only respond to what He has already said and done.

If you believe that through the Lord Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection you have been made right with God, agree with God about it, confess it openly, and you will be saved. Saying a prayer, walking down an aisle, raising your hand, or even being baptized cannot save you. Only God can save you. Trust Him and receive His free gift of salvation right now, today!

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What happens after I am saved?

Once you are saved, you will be a different person! The change that has taken place in your heart and life has all been brought about by holy God. You are now in Him and His Spirit is in you. God's Spirit in you is both your guarantee (Eph. 1:14) and your assurance that you are saved and now belong to Him.

Remember that God had to change your heart before you could even receive salvation. This process is called "regeneration." Only those who have been regenerated by God have the capability to receive the truth about God. One you have been regenerated, you are then called by God (Rom. 8:28) and ultimately drawn by Him (John 6:44) to receive your salvation.

As a new believer, these are things you will want to do in response:

• Be baptized as Jesus commanded (Mark 16:16).
• Share your salvation experience with others (Matthew 10:32).
• Spend time daily with God (Psalm 63:1) and in His Word (Matthew 4:4).
• Be involved in a God-honoring, Bible-believing church (Hebrews 10:25).

If you followed God’s instructions and willingly received His free gift of salvation today, please let me know by commenting below so that I can rejoice with you and pray for you as you begin to grow in Christ.