John 1:4 "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."

John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." 

MONTHLY LESSONS DESIGNED TO CONVERT.

July, 2021 - NEW KING JAMES VERSION

“What Must I Do To Be Saved?”

Many serious and vital questions have been pondered over the course of human history. Vast are the problems that go unsolved in this life. Such questions as, “What are the mysteries of the operations in the realm of nature, in science, philosophy, law, and even in the realm of religion. We are constantly faced with questions of absorbing interest; however, of all the great questions that have challenged the attention of men, it may be said, with certainty, that there are none greater than this,

Acts 16:30 ^“And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Even though the loss of physical things brings great and tragic pain, the questioner is not worried about earthly things. He has recognized a power greater than any known to this world, and his question is relative to his standing with that power. This is a question that every one of God’s special creations must ask!

Romans 3:23 ^“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

It is a terrible thing to be lost! We can reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul in considering mankind that they were without God, and without hope when they sought their own.

Ephesians 2:1 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins”

Ephesians 2:12 “that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

The question posed does not say, “What may I do?” “What shall I do?” The key word is “Must”! To be saved is the end goal, the thing that is desired. It can only be attained by something that is done by the individual. Everyone needs to understand and recognize, realize, and know that he or she has a part to perform in the process of salvation from sin, and that this part must be done. There is no place in all of Divine scripture that promises life or gives hope to those who do nothing to establish and maintain their relationship with their Creator.

Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

It is absolutely correct that man cannot provide the way for salvation, but the fact of the matter is that it demands that we do! There lies within the word of God through Jesus Christ, absolutely no benefit for those who do not do! If the love of God is manifest in all those who do His will, then ignorance of obedience denies the very love of God!

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

Many have claimed that God saves and man cannot do anything of himself, then it is in conflict with Apostolic instruction.

Acts 2:40 “And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”

Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”

Once again it is the educated difference between providing the way, and the savvy to get up and get on the path. Do not be carried away with speculative theories that set aside the Divine Will of God. God has not ever claimed to save anyone in disobedience!

God’s grace is not the consideration; although what would be instructed to the jailor of Philippi would definitely explain His grace and the result would be seen in his actions.

Acts 16:32-33 “Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.”

The question was what he needed to do!

The same is true for the manifestation of God’s grace, Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age”

The universal work of the Spirit of God was the process by which God revealed His will to men; as holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Spirit, which was then supported by evidentiary miracles – 2 Peter 1:16-21. God has provided the way, Jesus Christ is the way, the Holy Spirit of God has revealed the way, it is still up to man to hear and obey.

Mark 16:15-16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

People generally feel what they believe, and generally they believe what they have been taught. The order is instruct, belief, conviction, and then feeing. We feel, in keeping with what our beliefs dictate; thus feelings cannot be relied upon as evidence that sins are pardoned, apart from this process.

 It was intended to express the need to establish a relationship with the only true giver of life; physical and eternal. He sought this relationship and knew that it required being friends with God, verses at enmity. Thus, once the answer was revealed to Him concerning what God had done for him, what the Christ of God had done for him, and what the Spirit of God had done for him; there was nothing else he could do, but obey!

In the end, those who enter into and eternal relationship and eternal life are simply those who do something. Those who pass through the eternal gates into the everlasting city are the persons who do the commandments of God through Jesus Christ.

Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.”