How To Be Saved
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How To Be Saved
Numbers 21:4b-9
Psalm 98:1-5
1 Corinthians 1:18-24
John 3:13-17
We are living in a scary time in history. Yes, the war in Ukraine and the imminent invasion to be possibly soon in Taiwan possibly leading to a third world war are all scary things. The rise of inflation to the prices of our goods and utilities is certainly scary. The social unrest between the battle of abortion rights and battle of sexual identity rights are also all enough to make your head spin in confusion. However, all these things are a cake walk compared to the scariest thing of all that is affecting the Church and all of mankind. This one scary thing should have us seriously bothered for the future of the Church. I am talking about the post-modern view of salvation. Unfortunately, I am not talking about a biblical worldview but it is a worldly worldview. This view of salvation is dangerously making headway and if we remain quiet about it then it will destroy the church as we know it. This is a viewpoint that salvation can be earned. That if you just do more good deeds than bad deeds and in general are a good person then this is enough to enter the kingdom of heaven after you die. The problem is that the Bible does not share the same opinion.
The only way to enter the kingdom of heaven after we die is to be pure. However, if we have ever sinned, meaning if we ever broke the law of God even once then we are impure and have no right to enter the kingdom of heaven. I know a lot of people who are good people and have done many good things in their life but I do not know any of them who have never sinned at least once in their life. I would venture to say that they all have probably sinned multiple times. Therefore, according to the bible not one of them would be able to go to heaven based on the fact that they have sinned before. Even if all their good deeds outweighed all their bad deeds it still would not be enough. For they would still be judged based upon the crimes they have committed.
So then how is it that one may be saved? While the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, they became impatient and complained to Moses that all this traveling sucked and all their food which God had been providing for them was also boring and sucked. That may not be literally what they said but that is my modern interpretation of the situation. Therefore, in response to their whining, God sent poisonous serpents that would bite the people and many of them died because of it. So, the people begged for forgiveness and God had Moses build a bronze snake on a pole and if the people would look at the snake after being bitten then they would live. Notice that he did not take away the punishment of the snakes but he gave them a means of salvation from death based upon a faith that what God said would be true.
God has done the same thing with Jesus. In John 3:13-17 we have the Gospel message laid out for us plainly telling us the only way to enter heaven. Jesus says that in the same way that Moses lifted the snake in the desert so will the Son of Man be lifted up and who ever looks to Jesus and believes will have eternal life. Jesus is the only way to be saved and forgiven from our sins so that we may be made pure. No work of human deed can do what Jesus does for us. Verse 17 says, “Ford God did not send his Son into the World to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
So where does this work-based salvation come from then? Why is becoming so popular in our world today? We speculate the exact reasons but I have my own theories. It is difficult to trust and rely on someone else to do the work for you. Trusting that Jesus has paid it all requires faith which unless their faith is strong enough then this is not a good enough assurance for them. Therefore, the world views this faith as foolishness just as Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians. People today think that they are too intelligent to believe in such nonsense so to speak. Well God has saved us through foolishness so to speak. It is probably foolish to love the people of the world so much that you would die for them even knowing that not all of them will look to you for salvation and not all of them will be saved.
Why then is this belief in earned salvation becoming so popular in the church though? It is because the Church itself is moving away from the Bible as the foundation of its worldview. Other research shows that only 35% of Pastors have a biblical worldview. Therefore, a majority of pastors are not preaching from the Word of God but are preaching their own word and their own interpretation of faith. Paul says that the “Jews demand signs (visual proof) and the Greeks look for wisdom (Intellectual reasoning). But we preach Christ crucified: (both the sign and reasoning) a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. If pastors do not believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved then they will not preach this message. Therefore, a different message is being preached. This my friends is a very scary and appalling thing to think about. For Christ is the only one who helps us to salvation but if that truth is not being preached to the world, then the gap between those who are saved and those who are not is rapidly widening and it is because the Church has failed to separate itself from the world and its modern way of thinking.
I am here to tell you this morning that there is only one way in which to be saved and that is through our faith and acceptance in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. All our good deeds should be a direct result of our faith in Christ but the deeds themselves does not earn us our way into heaven. Only Jesus can make us pure enough to enter heaven. It is a gift willingly given to us by mercy as none of us will ever deserve or earn such grace. If I were to ever preach anything different other than salvation through a faith in Christ alone then I have no place as a pastor in this church. No pastor who preaches anything other than what is written in the scriptures has any place in leading any church. For the Gospel message of Christ crucified is the only message that should be preached. Anything else serves as a stumbling block for Satan. Therefore, if you wish to be saved and you wish to go to heaven when your life on this earth is over then believe in the Word of God. Believe that Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for all your sins. Believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation.