A Short Essay Concerning Eternal Salvation

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God is not a being like us:  He has existed forever, having no beginning – He is eternal.  He has revealed Himself in His Word, the Bible, as One God existing and manifesting Himself in three Persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  This is known as the Trinity.  Because He is self-existent and eternal He has need of nothing outside of Himself and is perfect in every way.

 

God chose to put His glorious perfections on display by creating the universe and all that is in it.  This creation included all plant and animal life, as well as man and angelic beings who would serve God and enjoy His glorious revelation of Himself.

 

On the sixth day of creation week God created man – Adam and Eve.  He provided for them all they would need to live in perfect surroundings and in communion and harmony with their Creator. 

 

Shortly after the creation was finished, many angels, following the lead of an angel named Lucifer, rebelled and sinned against their Creator and became the enemies of God.  Lucifer is now known as Satan (the devil) and the other fallen angels are demons.

 

Then God placed the man and the woman He had created in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve were to be God’s representatives over all creation.  He instructed Adam to tend the garden and have dominion over the earth.  God would generously provide for man by giving him the fruit of every tree of the garden to eat, except one – the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  If Adam disobeyed God, the penalty would be death. 

 

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." 

(Genesis 2:16-17)

 

Disobedience to God – sin – violates God’s justice and demands a penalty.  The penalty is death – both physical and spiritual death – a separation from God.  God could not simply overlook sin without violating His own justice, something He could never do.

 

Soon after God’s command not to eat of this Tree, the great enemy of God, Satan, tempted Eve to do so and she did, as did Adam after her.

 

God confronted Adam and Eve about their sin and pronounced His curse upon them and all of their descendants, and the created world as well.  Mankind, and the world, would never be the same because of the presence of sin and the curse of God. 

 

From then on all of Adam and Eve’s descendants have been born separated from God and are by nature rebellious sinners against God and subject to death.  This is the reason that all people ultimately die.

 

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.  (Romans 5:12)

 

As a result no person is able to live up to God’s standard of sinless perfection.  Man’s hope of repairing his severed relationship with God is gone; there is nothing a person can offer and nothing a person can do to reconcile themselves to the holy God.

 

As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.

(Romans 3:10-11)

 

This human corruption does not mean that every person always acts in an outwardly evil manner to their full potential, but it does mean that every aspect of our humanity has been marred by sin.  If a person is to have any hope of reconciliation with God, God must be the one to act.

 

In order to rescue sinful humans God sent His Son to take upon Himself humanity.  He would be born of a virgin girl named Mary.

 

"And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."  (Matthew 1:21)

 

The baby born to this young Jewish woman had no human father and therefore was not born a sinner like all others.  He was unique in that He had both a human nature like ours, yet without sin, and a Divine nature – He was the God-Man – God in the flesh.

 

God’s justice demands that a sinner’s penalty of death and eternal condemnation be paid.  This penalty could never be fully paid by the sinner.  So, unless one can act as a sinner’s substitute and pay the penalty in full for them, they will be forever lost.  But no one is able to act as another’s substitute except God’s own Son, Jesus.     

 

He lived a perfect and sinless life before God and therefore could act as a suitable and acceptable sacrifice for sins.  Jesus Christ was uniquely qualified to die in the place of sinners – a death He Himself did not deserve for He was not corrupted by the sin of Adam and never Himself committed any sin.

 

On the Cross nearly 2,000 years ago God punished Jesus for the sin of His people – their sin was placed upon Him so He could pay its penalty through death.  Since Jesus paid the penalty in full, God raised Him from the grave to live forever.  God’s justice is now upheld in forgiving those for whom Christ died.

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For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received:  that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.      

(1Corinthians 15:3-4)

 

Though the Bible makes these truths clear and indisputable, how can anyone know for sure their own sins are forgiven and that Jesus’ death paid the penalty for them?  This is the Good News I want you to hear.  In fact, the word Gospel means Good News.  Here is how you can know your sins are forgiven:

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  (John 3:16)

 

God has acted in love to save sinners.  He declares that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ, that is, trusting Jesus is the One that God sent to pay the penalty for their sins, is saved and has eternal life.

 

You see, there is nothing you can do to be saved and forgiven of your sins.  You cannot satisfy Divine Justice no matter what you might do.  Only God can do that.  And God has said in His Word that all who believe in Jesus Christ are saved.

 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)

 

That is Good News!

 

Now, before you leave this page, please answer this important question in your own heart and before God:

 

Do you believe in Jesus and that He died on the Cross for you?

 

Let me ask you the same question another way:

 

Are you trusting only in Jesus Christ and His death on the Cross for the forgiveness of your sins and your eternal redemption?

 

If your answer to that question is “yes,” God declares in His Word that you have eternal life and are His child.

 

If you are unsure, I would ask you think about what Jesus has said in the Bible about Himself:

 

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  (John 14:6)

 

There is no other way to salvation.  Please consider carefully and prayerfully who Jesus is and what He has done for sinners.  To find out more about Jesus please contact us here at Cornerstone Baptist Church.  Our desire is that you will eventually be able to answer “yes” to the previous question. 

 

If you are believing in Jesus Christ, He wants you to be a part of the fellowship of His people – other believers – in a local church.  Cornerstone Baptist Church is such a church and one that teaches the Bible.  I encourage you to begin taking steps to attend this church, or one like it, so that you can grow in your new life in Christ.

 

One last bit of good news.  Jesus’ death and resurrection not only redeems people from their sin and death, but also makes certain the future renewal of all that has been marred by man’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden.  The curse of God will someday be lifted and this earth will be made new with God and man living in perfect righteousness together.  Satan will be banished, sin and death will no longer be present, and God’s magnificent glory will be fully displayed and enjoyed by His holy angels and His redeemed people forever and ever.

 

This is indeed Good News, news everyone everywhere needs to hear!

 

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* All Bible verses are from the New King James Bible