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 Salvation |
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1. Not
of Blood
Notice, it is not of blood that one is
born into the kingdom of God. We may inherit a great many natural
characteristics from our parents. We may inherit their features,
disposition. But one thing is sure, we cannot inherit the grace of
God.
The epistle of Ephesians 2:8 states that
we obtain the grace of God only through faith. It is our faith in Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, and his death on the cross for our sins that God
requires for our salvation.
The apostle John, in his Gospel, was
speaking to the nation of Israel. The Jew prided himself in the fact
that Abraham was their father. As the seed of Abraham, the Jew was
chosen of God. They boasted, in the law given to them. They did not
feel the need of salvation through repentance. The Jew could not see
their need of a savior.
The apostle Paul confronts their view of
salvation by inheritance in Romans 2:17. behold thou art called a Jew,
and restest in the law and makest thy boast of God. Paul asserts that,
according to the Jew, salvation is based upon observances of the Law
which was given to them and that the Gentiles are excluded from
salvation because “they have not the law.”
Paul's refutes their claim to salvation
through their Jewish heritage in verse 29 of that same chapter; Behold
he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the
heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter (of the law) whose praise is
not of men, but of God.
John tells the Jews that salvation is not
inherited. Today, that truth is still valid. Salvation is not inherited
i.e. “not of blood.”
Simply because you
come from a religious family, does not guarantee you a place in heaven.
Having a Christian mother or father does not grant you the right to a
place in heaven. John says, salvation is not of blood. Salvation is not
inherited. Romans 3:23 states “for all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God.” All have sinned and fallen short of God’s absolute
holiness and perfection. All need a personal Savior. Inheritance has
nothing do to with salvation. |
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2. Nor
of the will of the flesh
What does that
mean? It simply means that you do not make yourself acceptable to
God by determination. No one can ever become a child of God simply
by deciding to be so.
John 3:6 "that
which is born of flesh is flesh."
Paul in 1
Corinthians 15, speaking of the resurrection of the dead, teaches us
that there are different realms of existence. Verses 38--39 speak of
the two distinct realms of existence in the physical world, the
animal world and the human world.
Contrary to the
theory of evolution, the barrier between the animal realm and the
human realm cannot be crossed...read 1 Corinthians 15:37-39.
In verse 40-42
Paul speaks of the celestial bodies as being distinct and separate
from the animal world and the human world.
Paul also
declares that there is another realm. The spiritual realm. The body
that is sown (buried) as a natural body (human) will be raised a
spiritual body (Vs.44)......" if there is a natural body, there is
also a spiritual body.45 so it is written the first man Adam became
a living being, the last Adam (Christ) a life giving spirit. The
spiritual did not come first, but the natural and after that the
spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second
man from heaven...as was the earthly man, so are those who are of
the earth, and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are
of heaven.. and just as we (the children of God) have borne the
likeness of the earthly man (by natural birth and existence) so
shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
There is an
unshakable truth...the natural man cannot give birth to the
spiritual man. For they are from two different realms.
1 Corinthians
15:50 states this concept simply, "flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God."
The flesh (our
human nature) is powerless because it does not have the capacity to
free itself from the grip and bondage of sin. By ourselves,
(self-effort), we cannot overcome the power of sin in our own
nature. Paul states concerning the human nature...I know that
nothing good lives in me, that is in my sinful nature...for I have
the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out...Rom
7:17,18-(NIV)-.in Vs 20 he says, so I find this law (principle,
concept) at work.. when I want to do good, evil is present right
there with me....he cries in Vs 24...what a wretched man I am, who
will deliver me from this body of death... i.e. this fleshly nature
which will cause me to die and experience eternal separation from
God almighty.....
I Corinthians
verse 29 reminds us that no flesh will glory in God's presence. It
is futile to think that by attempting to live by some personal code
of ethics, no matter how noble they may be, we will be saved. We are
warned that when we stand before God, we will find that even our
best attempts to live up to God's standards of holiness,
righteousness and perfection will fall woefully short and we will
not be allowed entrance into the heavenly kingdom.
Rom
8:7,8,13...The carnal (fleshly, sinful ) mind is hostile to God. It
does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so..
Those controlled by the sinful
nature cannot please God. If you live according to the sinful nature
(controlled by your fleshly, human nature) you will die.. but if by the
Spirit you put to death the misdeed of the body (human nature) you will
live.Galatians
5:17,18..
For the flesh
lusteth (fights) against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh:
and these are contrary to one another; so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would. |
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3. Nor
the will of man
Christianity is much
more than a religion. Every religion has one basic characteristic. Its
followers are trying to reach God, find God, or please God through their
own efforts. Religions reach up to God. Christianity is God reaching
down to man. Christianity claims that men have not found God but that
God has found them. For many, this is hard to accept. Mankind prefers
religious effort. That is to say, we prefer to deal with God on our own
terms. Mankind feels good about "being religious."
Becoming a Christian
is not striving to adhere to set creeds of man or practices that sooth
our conscience and make us feel good about ourselves (that somehow by
being religious we have "evened things out")
Man is a religious
creature, he seeks to discover God, he is uncomfortable with the inner
knowledge that he alone is unique among creation and that "something is
out there." Man vainly attempts to create a means to approach whatever
is "out there." So man is forced to have some sort of belief system to
quiet his conscience and find peace.
Religion seeks to
redefine or manufacture a “god.”
Mankind tries to make
up a god from human imaginations...God often becomes an extension of our
humanity. We attempt to create "god" whether intellectually, (in our
minds) or, a tangible “god” that can be seen. Our best efforts only
reveal a “god” that is no higher than our humanity. The Bible declares,
“who is like unto thee oh LORD among lords?”
Romans chapter one
tells us that mankind once knew God, but suppressed that knowledge and
their hearts became darkened. Mankind, by suppressing the knowledge of
the true God, lost the true concept of God and his majesty, holiness and
righteousness. Mankind sunk into paganism, and invented all sorts of
"religions" whereby he may satisfy the craving and longing within his
soul. All to no avail. No system of manmade religion will satisfy the
longing heart, no religion born of the will of man will bring peace and
eternal life, Man made religion does not grasp the reality of who God is
and only leads man further away from God. 1
Cor 1:21.. "the world through wisdom, knew not God. The wisdom, the
intellect of mankind cannot perceive the true God and therefore cannot
lead the soul to worship God. To worship God is to first know him and
man made religion cannot know God. Why? Because mankind has suppressed
--and therefore -- lost the knowledge of God..
Becoming a Christian
is not striving to be religious...to become a child of God is to respond
to what God has already done for us. The Christian life is a
relationship with God, not a religious treadmill.
John 1:13 "which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man.....but of God .”
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Only from God
In this verse (13) we
find that God reveals the way mankind enters into the family of God,
here we learn that our spiritual existence depends totally upon what
Christ has done for us.
Rom 5:6. For when we
were without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.
Mankind, on his own,
is powerless to save himself. God, in love, provided a means of
salvation. Christ died for us ...in Vs 8 we read that God demonstrated
his love for us in that even while we were sinners, Christ died for us.
Vs 9 - for if when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him
through the death of his son, how much more having been reconciled,
shall we be saved through his life (speaking of his resurrection as
proof of God's acceptance of Christ's sacrificial death). You see if
Christ's crucifixion were not enough to satisfy the scales of God's holy
justice.. Christ would not have come out of the tomb... satan would have
had the power to hold Christ in the grave...but praise God, Jesus
rose!!!!
John 1:11 states.. to
as many as received HIM (Christ) to them gave he power to become the
sons of God...
How do I do this?
Read 1 John 1:9 if we
confess our sins, he (God) is faithful and just to forgive us and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness...if we say we have not sinned, we
make him (God) out a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
First I must admit
that I have sinned, I am not perfect,,, I need to be cleansed from my
unrighteousness.
Then I confess my
sinfulness to God and HE, at that moment, declares me justified. Not by
any merit of mine, but upon the basis of Christ's death on the cross. I
now by faith receive Christ as my personal savior.
We see in this
passage that the Apostle John sets before us the way we must enter into
the heavenly kingdom. All human initiative is ruled out, the new birth
is a divine miracle. It is all of God and by God's initiative and will.
This is declared in
the favorite verse of the church.. John 3:16 For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish but have everlasting life.
My Inheritance, my
own code of ethics or morality, or another man-made "religion" will not
save me. All are totally inadequate to balance the scales of justice and
only Christ can set me free from the power of sin..
To obtain eternal
salvation, to become a child of God, is simply believing on Christ as
your personal Savior and placing your faith in His sacrifice on the
cross for your sin. |
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