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In this article, let us look at the issue of Salvation and how it can be obtained. We will also look at some false views because this matter is too important to get wrong. In fact this is truly a matter of life and death - yours! The statistics are pretty persuasive; one out of every one die.

Imagine for a few moments that it is Judgement Day. There we are, all standing around, waiting for each of our names to be called. The angel calls my name. I step forward to face my Creator. After He checks the big book beside Him, He turns to me and asks me a rather strange question. "Why should I let you into my heaven?"

I speak up loud enough for all to hear. "Well, I went to church every week," I say, "religiously. I gave in the offerings. I served on various committees, and I even helped out at the building working bees. I mean, we had to look after your building, didn't we. And while I was a member of our local service club I helped raise lots of money, and did good works for people. Besides, I never committed murder, or any of those Big Sins. I've lived a good clean life, so I've earned my right to be here."

"What did you do about Jesus?" He asks.

"Well," I say, "I didn't want to get too fanatical about religion, you know; some of my club mates wouldn't like that. They'd think I was weird, or a bible-basher or something.

Continuing my dialogue with God I say, "Anyway, my Elders told me that even though Jesus was important, he was just a good man who went around helping people, and teaching good moral lessons. Actually, I always thought it was a bit of a pity that those Jews had him killed before he could do anything really important.

"I guess you know that our church had some wonderful revelations over the years. Our prophets were pretty good, you know. Some of the things they said seemed a bit far-fetched at first; but our Elders told us they were alright, and the Elders are good men too. They'll be around here somewhere, so you should ask them."

I can almost see tears in the Father's eyes. After a pause He replies, "Jesus is part of me. Because you rejected Him, then you rejected me also. In your arrogance and pride you have also rejected His payment for your sins. You chose to take the advice of others which was contrary to My Word. You are judged by your own words. What a pity; it didn't need to be this way."

There are many people who earnestly believe that by doing good things for others and joining a church that their ticket into heaven is guaranteed. I guess it is a sort of fire insurance policy. Hell is full of people who thought like that.

God Does Not Send People to Hell

Any person who rejects Jesus by that same decision chooses their eternal destiny - total separation from God. While the above was imaginary, it is too true for too many. Those for whom the above is true will take their sin with them, and go to that place God never intended for any human being. The Bible says it is a place of eternal torment and darkness which has no escape. If you doubt me, just read the story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31.

God created a place, which we call hell, as a prison for Lucifer (Satan or the Devil) and the angels (demons) who rebelled against God in pre-human history.

Avoiding The Issue of Sin

Many people don't want to face the issue of sin in their lives. Because in their heart of hearts they know what the consequences will be, many avoid this issue by claiming to be atheists, or agnostics or just plain pagans. It is interesting that almost every cult group rejects the notion of hell. Perhaps they reason it this way; "If we reject the idea of hell, then hell won't exist for us."

The Christadelphians, the Jehovah's Witnesses and some smaller cults teach the error of annihilation. This means that the unrighteous will be destroyed and cease to exist.

The Christian Scientists, Spiritualists and New Age occultists teach that you make your own heaven or hell by doing good or bad. The Mormons, the Moonies and the Baha'i teach that mankind is basically good, and according to them the very worst you could do is end up in some sort of lower heaven.

None of these teachings are found in the Bible. Their source is direct from Satan himself. He knows his eternal destination; he just wants to take as many of us with him as he can.

The Law Shows Us Our Sin

God gave us the Law, mostly through Moses. This is recorded in the first five books of the Old Testament, and includes the Ten Commandments. The Bible teaches us that the Law is the perfect pattern of a holy life (Romans 7:12). A major problem we humans have with the Law is that God's pass rate is 100%. Anything less is a total failure. "Whoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet stumble in just one point, he is guilty of all," says James (2:10). So if we fail on just one small point then we are disqualified from the test. To help people keep the Law, the early Hebrew Teachers developed a series of rules to supplement the Ten Commandments. These 603 additional rules were supposed to prevent people from breaking any of the Law.

The Letter of The Law, or The Spirit?

Unfortunately people struggled to keep the letter of the Law, and rather missed the spirit of it. It was a lawyer who tried to trick Jesus by asking Him which was the greatest commandment in the Law. The answer Jesus gave rings down the centuries as the clearest possible explanation of why God made the Law. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets," (Matthew 22:37-40). (The term 'The Law and the Prophets' means all the Old Testament.)

So when it is all boiled down, God wants us to love, honour and obey Him, and to love and honour one another. Why? Because if we love God and the people around us, we would never blaspheme, or steal, or kill, or commit adultery. We would never take a fancy to our neighbour's camel or house or anything else.

Both history and the Bible have surely taught us that this is much easier to say than do. The problem is that every son and daughter of Adam and Eve is tainted with generations of sin. On top of this we have each added our own sin and rebellion against God, and our selfishness against one another. The simple truth is that none of us can fulfil the whole Law of God because we sin. That is why the Scriptures can plainly state, "There is no one righteous, no, not one," (Romans 3:10), and "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23).

The Futility of Self-Salvation

Sadly, even today there are many people who are still trying to fulfil the Law, and they never can. Such thinking will lead those poor deceived people to face God's judgement without His grace. God doesn't want it that way. "All who sin under the Law will be judged by the Law." (Romans 2:12b).

Such people are usually blinded by a spirit of religious legalism, so that they cannot see God's way for salvation.

How Can We Understand God's Way?

God is Holy and Just, which means He has never broken His own law or sinned in any way. He could hardly claim to be Just if He gave one law for us and had a different law for Himself, could He? When we speak of a Just God, we mean that His justice must be fulfilled. Sin must be paid for. Let me give you an illustration of this.

A man was taken before a judge because he had broken the law. This man pleaded guilty - because he was. He knew that he had no way of paying the rather large penalty which the law of the land required. The only option available to this guilty man was to ask for mercy. He was genuinely sorry (repentant) for what he had done. But for justice to be done and seen to be done, the penalty had to be paid. The judge saw this, and fined the guilty man the full penalty.

Once this fine was paid the case could be closed, because the law would be fulfilled. The judge got up from his seat and went over to the bailiff and paid the whole fine himself. Then he went over to the guilty man in the dock and hugged him, and told him that now he was free. This judge acted with mercy, because he saw true repentance.

Grace was shown by the judge towards this man. To the guilty man this grace was free because he could never have paid the debt himself, and yet the debt was paid.

One of the main root meanings for the Greek word for grace is "Divine favour," contrasted with an "unpayable debt." When grace is applied the result is freedom, which brings rejoicing.

So, God has a law which we cannot fully keep. We try but fail because of sin. God's justice requires that the penalty for sin must be paid. In His grace and mercy He decided to take the place of the guilty ones Himself, even though He was not guilty. He would pay the penalty so He could restore the relationship He wants with each and every one of us. Because sin is a barrier between God and us, the sin must be paid for so it can be removed. "When the fullness of time had come God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons," (Galatians 4:4).

Jesus Lived under The Law, But He Didn't Sin

When Jesus was crucified He took on Himself every sin that you and I and every other person committed who has ever lived in all time and eternity. Every act of disobedience to God, every lie, every theft, every act of adultery or murder, jealousy, gossip, every sin. Jesus took them all upon Himself. That vast amount of sin was so appalling, so terrible to look at even God the Father had to turn His back on His own Son. We heaped that sin and shame on Jesus. He did receive physical wounds, but Jesus died from a heart which was broken because of the barrier of sin which now separated Him from the Father - the first and only time they had ever been apart. It was too much to bear. So Jesus took the place which each one of us should have taken, and He paid the penalty for our sin. He died so that those who believe in Him would be justified - just as if you or I had never sinned. It means much more than a pardon; it is a restoring of that right relationship with God. We are made righteous. Isn't that wonderful!

God Paid Our Penalty Because He Loves Us

Jesus "was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," (Romans 4:25 - 5:1 NIV).

We Can Never Earn Forgiveness

There is nothing any one of us can do to earn forgiveness of sins. One of Satan's most successful ways of holding people in the bondage of sin is to convince them they can earn their salvation. Doing penance, or walking up cathedral steps on their knees, or having to belong to a certain church or religious organisation and obeying all their man-made rules and traditions - none of these will save any of us. If they did then God's Word would be a lie, and God Himself would be a liar.

But The Bible Says That God Cannot Lie.

We cannot earn our salvation. If you think you can, then you have believed a lie from the devil. It is that simple! If any person chooses to work for their salvation then they are either in deception or filled with stubbornness and pride in their own importance and ability. Such people are to be pitied. Why? Because they face God's judgement without His grace.

Each one of us will stand before God who will judge us. "As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement," (Hebrews 9:27).

God's Way Is Much Better

Once we recognise our sin is sin, we can surely see our need to repent. Repentance means we choose to turn away from our sins, and turn towards God. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," (Romans 5:8), and "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Romans 6:23). "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death," (Romans 8:1-2).

So, God gives us forgiveness as a free gift. This requires nothing from us, and yet He requires everything. We can never earn that forgiveness, but as someone once said, "The annual subscription for the Kingdom of God is everything you have." When Jesus has first place in our lives - when He is the God of our life - then we wouldn't think of withholding anything from Him.

All His, or Not His!

All that we have and are belong to Him, or none of it does. So it is very clear; the only way to salvation is to repent of our sin and accept that Jesus Christ is who the Bible says He is - God the Son, the Redeemer, our Saviour and Friend.

"Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes,.." (Romans 10:4 NIV). "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," (Romans 10:9-10 NIV). Your heart in this Biblical context means your true character, your will.

Jesus Is Our Redeemer

A redeemer is someone who buys a slave so he can be set free. Each and every one of us is born a slave to Satan and sin. By accepting Jesus, we accept His free gift of salvation and freedom from sin and its penalty.

"A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ,..." (Galatians 2:16a).

God in His grace is calling sin-filled people to repent, to accept the gift of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. So what is Faith? Faith is a persuasion, a firm conviction which is based on hearing and recognising God's truth. It causes a personal surrender to God, and then our conduct is inspired or changed by such a surrender. Our faith does not rest on God's promises; our faith is in the Living Person of God Himself! If it doesn't, then it is not faith. "The righteous shall live by faith," (Romans 1:17).

So our faith is a walk, minute by hour by day by week by lifetime, in Jesus Christ.

What Will You Do Now?

Will you attempt to work towards the unworkable? Or will you cry out to the God of the Bible, surrender to Jesus Christ, turn away from every sin, and let the cleansing power of His love restore you to Him, and make you whole?.

The promises of God are reliable, because we can trust Him. "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever," (Hebrews 13:8). Come to Jesus, for He alone is "The Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Jesus," (John 14:6).

"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. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do," (Ephesians 2: 8-10 NIV).

We have seen clearly that no one can earn their salvation, that good works before salvation don't count. Once we are saved and because we have surrendered to God, then He has tasks for us to do, as His Spirit directs. These are the result of salvation, not a condition.

"I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the Day of Salvation," (2 Corinthians 6:2b). Don't go to sleep tonight until you have surrendered to Jesus. Make certain of your eternal destination!