By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38

HOW TO RECEIVE SALVATION 

• First of all, we receive all the benefits of our salvation by faith only. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Gal 1: 4-5 “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
• Our salvation was provided to us by the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should also know that there is nothing we did to be saved, absolutely nothing! It is entirely a free gift of grace to undeserving mankind. Unfortunately, many who go to church do not believe this truth.  It is a shame that this scripture is contradicted from many pulpits. Many insist that they work for their salvation. They insist that nobody is saved until they have prayed, confessed their sins, observed certain rituals like not wearing earrings, praying a certain number of times, etc. So many other dos and don’ts are added on as well. The truth is that there is not one single verse in the Bible to support these rituals yet some preach it and people believe it. They often refer to Zacchaeus and what Christ said to him. But, our Lord was not referring to salvation by grace because there cannot be salvation without the shedding of the blood of the son of God and without the sacrifice at Calvary. He was referring to the lost sheep of Israel under the law, just as John the Baptist was also preaching baptism of works which we do not do any more for we are baptized only when we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I trust the Lord to teach us this truth.
• Salvation is not of man for man cannot save himself. Salvation is of God through our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore, it is received by faith alone.  Titus 3:4-8 “But When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” 8 This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.”

EXAMPLE OF SOMEONETHAT RECEIVED SALVATION: THE EUNUCH

In the verse, below, the Lord caught Phillip away because his job was done. Phillip preached Christ to the Eunuch. The Eunuch believed, received salvation and was baptized. Is there anything else Phillip asked him to do? Receiving salvation is that simple!

Acts 8:34-39 “So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.” NKJV

HOW TO LIVE THE CHRISTAIN LIFE

• The Christian life is the saved life. We must work out our salvation and live it out in reality. The only way to live this new life is in Christ Jesus. The only way to realize and experience the reality of our salvation is to continue to believe the gospel and to continue to believe everything the Holy Spirit wrote that is yours in Christ Jesus. Believe you are what He said you are now in Christ, believe that you have what He said you have in Christ Jesus, and believe you can do what He said you can do through the strength Jesus supplies you now. Just as we received the new life and freedom from Satan and sin by faith, we must keep what we have by consciously believing we have them. We can do this by simply trusting the Lord who lives in you  and relying on Him as a branch relies on the Vine to live daily. Colossians 2:6 “In the same way you received Jesus our Lord and Messiah by faith, continue your journey of faith, progressing further into your union with him!” Gal 3:11 “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
• You may not see all the benefits of your salvation immediately because we are all born as spiritual babes. As we learn and believe the Word, we grow in our understanding of the gospel truth. As we grow in our understanding, our faith grows as well. This takes time, in fact, it might take a few years. 1 Peter 2:2-3 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
• We do not walk by sight. Our lives may contradict the gospel initially. Just like a baby learning to walk, we might fail here and there. That baby is not judged by what he does but by who we know he is. This applies to a baby Christian as well . We continue to believe in who we are and keep on learning more and more and growing in the knowledge of Christ Jesus and our salvation. As our understanding grows, so will what we believe grow, and by that our faith in Christ grows, our victory grows, and our life begins to mature. 2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we live by faith, not by what we see with our eyes.”
• We live daily by trusting in the Lord Jesus and not in our own selves. Paul exemplified this and even testified about it in several scriptures. Gal 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
• Without Christ, we can do nothing! Here are more scriptures to buttress this.

HOLD FAST TO THAT WHICH YOU RECEIVED

Rev 2:25-26 “But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations” The scriptures say we are to hold fast His works which He did for us in Christ Jesus. The consummation of God’s plan to save mankind through Christ Jesus. These are His works, not ours!

OUR EXCITING NEW LIFE!

Christ gave us a new life and changed us forever. This new life we now live is His life. It is called eternal life. If you have received Christ into your life, you have received His life and you are now a new creature. Now Christ can live His life through you daily if you rely on Him like Paul did.

2 Cor 5:17-18 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.”

1 John 5:11-12 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

This is the life at work in you and everyone that has received Christ. You are now described as a “New Creature” or “Born Again”. This new life now enables you to live the Life God planned for you. 

Eph 2: 10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

YOU ARE FREE

You are now a free child of God, no longer a slave to sin and satan but, truly free and set free by the son of God. We have been made free from sin. This is the gospel truth! We have been set free.

Rom 6: 7,18,22 “For he that is dead is freed from sin….18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”

HOW DID THIS FREEDOM COME ABOUT?

The Scripture explains that a dead man does not commit sin. A dead person; lifeless and inert has been freed from sin. Our old nature that had the nature of sin that was at work in us was responsible for our sinfulness. Because it was sinful by nature, it was activated by the law. Our old nature was a lawbreaker. Once the law was given, it simply disobeyed them because of its sinful nature.

Rom 7: 5 “When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.”

This old sinful lawless nature at work in us was crucified with Christ on the Cross, buried with Him, and we rose with a new life with the nature of God is now at work in us. Old things have now passed away and all things have become new.

Romans 6:10-11.“When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”

We also need to discipline our natural body: the flesh. The flesh is from this earth and is weak and sinful. It has the tendency to disobey God so, we must put it in check.

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor at Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.