If you agree and acknowledge the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and if you believe God raised him from the dead, you will absolutely be saved.
For God gave not His Son Jesus up to Calvary in order to keep it in its sins, but to redeem the world (that would include you and I) and to buy it back as His own.
The reason we needed bought back, or as we've gotten used to saying, redeemed, is because we were sold for a debt we could only pay once: death and destruction.
Jesus paid that debt.
He paid for the destruction through the beatings, the whippings, the scourging, through Roman tortures too cruel for the Bible to do more than hint at, and through the hours on the cross.
Psalm 22:6-8: "But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
"All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
"He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him."
When Jesus was beaten and scourged by the Romans, it was hours of torture, beatings, and scourgings. The Romans had perfected the worse evil procedures with which to punish evil-doers. They visited these procedures with such relish that Jesus was not even recognizable as a man.
He did that so that your salvation is complete.
Psalm 22:14-18: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
"My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
"I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
"They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture."
In the days of Jesus' earthly ministry and his crucifixion, Psalm 22, 23 and 24 were all one single scroll, one single book. To the people it was written to, it was a message that no matter how bad things look, God has not forsaken those who trust in Him.
It contains that wonderful section, "The Lord is my shepherd..."
This scroll was also a foretelling of Jesus' darkest hours, a "duel prophesy" having both a contemporary message and a prophetic meaning.
For Jesus, the prophesy was that he would look like a worm, not a man, that "strong bulls" would dislocate every single one of his joints.
It is recorded that Jesus, praying that the cup would pass, sweat blood for the intensity of his dread of what was to come.
Why?
Because he knew the prophesies regarding his tribulation, including the scroll that contained what we know as these three Psalms.
"A worm, and not a man..."
"They pierced my hands and my feet..."
"I may tell all my bones..."
Yes, Jesus knew these things. Although legions of angels would have descended upon Calvary and pulled him off that cross, and he would have been sinless in the asking, Jesus stayed upon that cross so that all our sin, weakness, frailty and inadequacy is paid for.
He did it for you.
He did it for me.
He is our salvation.
It is written that his heart was melted in the midst of him. Indeed, when on Calvary he was pierced with the Centurion's spear, water gushed from the wound. Jesus literally died of a broken heart.
But his life was not taken.
In spite of wounds that would have slain the rest of us many times over, Jesus lived until he gave up the ghost, until he willingly gave up his life.
It is likely that his wounds would have been lethal for anyone with less than absolute mastery over his life before he ever left the halls of judgment to be carried to Calvary.
We see so many depictions of Jesus carrying his cross, but the cross he bore for us was a spiritual cross. With Jesus having every bone out of joint, the Romans had to draft Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus' tree, Jesus' cross.
If every joint was out of joint, then every muscle was bruised.
It is said his face looked not like a human face, but like a mound of hamburger.
The beatings crushed his internal organs.
He went through this thorough destruction so that your sins are paid for, so that your salvation is complete.
Luke 22:19-20: "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."
You see? Jesus did not just shed his blood, did not just lay down his life to pay for our sins, to give us life from death.
He underwent unimaginable torture in order to free our bodies as well, in order to heal us as well as give us life.
Jesus is our salvation.
He is the salvation of our life, for in him we have eternal life.
He is the salvation, the healing, of our body as we believe.
He is the salvation, the wholeness of the body of Christ.
Jesus, the resurrection Lord, is our salvation.
Rom. 10:9: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Thou, you, shall be saved. Not "maybe saved", not "saved if you also...", but shall be saved.
How complete is the Christian's salvation?
Please understand, what is, is. Simple as that. We all have a right to our opinions...and then there is truth.
What exists, exists, and all our egotistical mental meanderings, all of our imaginations, will not change what is one bit.
True, there are times we can change what is by making something else. But that is different from looking at reality and deciding, "I feel this is what it all means, so I will color my world in this shade."
We should not be interested in forming an opinion we can claim as our own. We should be interested in finding out what actually is true.
In the first few years, God told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of goof and evil or he would die.
What was the counterfeit, what was Satan's lie?
"Thou shalt not surely die."
The exact opposite.
Did Adam surely die in that day?
Some say "No, only the seeds of death were planted in him."
Poppycock.
Adam died that day.
He died spiritually.
His body and soul, soul being his "breath-life," lived on another nine hundred years, but rest assured, God did not lie, God did not speak ambiguously. In the day Adam stood by and silently watched as Eve risked her life, and then partook of the forbidden thing himself, he died.
By one man sin entered into this world. Not by one woman, not by Eve, who first partook of the forbidden thing, but by the man who stood at her side and watched her, using her as a guinea pig. He sinned, he died.
What died, his body ? His soul?
A body is the flesh, his flesh did not die.
A soul is breath life, even animals are said in the Bible to have soul. He had breath, soul, another nine hundred years or so.
Gen. 2:7: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
See? His body was formed, his soul was breathed into him.
What died?
Adam died spiritually.
Rom. 5:12: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
See? dead.
Gen. 1:26-27: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
God formed the body , made the soul. But He also created Man, male and female, in His own image.
What is the image of God?
John 4:24: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
God formed Man, male and female, of the dust, breathed the breath of life and made them living souls, but created them in His image, spirit.
They were not living bodies and souls with a spirit, they were living spirits with a body and soul. Until of course they partook of the forbidden fruit, then they were Dawn of the dead, the living dead.
As have been we all.
dead in trespasses and sins.
Zombies walking around aimlessly, looking for sustenance that will never satisfy our cravings.
Sure, in the Old Testament it speaks of the Spirit of God coming "upon" men of God. Think of it as "life support." An artificial spiritual life support system. Spirit upon, not in.
That is, until we were saved by Christ.
When Christ saved us, what happened?
Rom. 5:12, 19-21: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:...
"...For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
As Adam brought death, not to the body and soul but to the spirit of Man, Jesus brought life.
But it does not just say life; it says "eternal life."
How complete is our salvation? It is eternal.
1 Cor. 3:11-15: "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
"Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, woof, hay, stubble;
"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
"If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
"If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
God is not mocked. We cannot be saved and live the life of Riley and expect no consequence. If we live badly, our works being "hay and stubble" will be "burned," we shall suffer loss.
But the man himself, the Christian, will be saved by that very same process.
Why?
Because the life we have in Christ is eternal.
Rom. 8:1-2: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
Because we have spirit and true life, we have the ability to walk like it.
We are no longer zombies. We are alive. We are spiritual. This is how complete our salvation is.
Mark 16:16-18: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
"They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
That word "damned" means "judged," "kritos" in the Greek, no more, no less. Romans 2:6-11 discusses this judgment of those who are not baptized and shall be judged, both Jew and Gentile. 1 Cor. 3:12-17 discusses the judgment of a Christian.
How complete is our salvation?
For Jew and Gentile, salvation is judged by works.
For the Christian, his works may be worthless because after salvation he ceases believing, refusing to walk in the spirit, and all his works may be destroyed, burned.
Satan's original lie to Adam, and to every natural man since, has been "Thou shalt not surely die."
Satan's lie to the Christian is, "You just might die, after all."
If a Christian man defiles the Church which is God's habitation, His Temple, that man in turn shall suffer loss. God is not mocked.
But the man himself shall be saved.
Why?
Because our salvation is not in our works, but through recognition of Christ's works in which Christ shattered any claim Satan has on us, God bestowed life upon us.
Not just any life, but spiritual life.
Not just spiritual life, but seed. God gave us the gift of pnuema hagion, that is to say, Holy Spirit.
God our Father is Holy, He is Spirit, He is the Holy Spirit.
What did He give us?
Holy spirit, spiritual DNA.
Acts 2:38-39: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call."
This "Holy Ghost" are in the text "pneuma hagion" in the texts. "Pneuma" means "spirit," "hagion" means "holy." God did not give a gift of Himself. We do not own a piece of God. We were given "pneuma hagion," we were given "holy spirit."
This gift is ours, it is without repentance, for the gifts and callings of God are without repentance.
The most we can do is ignore it, and continue to build our lives as hay, as stubble that will be burned at our judgment.
O brothers and sisters, what a waste, what a shame that would be.
These signs shall follow those that believe, Jesus said.
Well, rise up and believe!
How complete is our salvation?
It is based on our sonship!
Rom. 8:12-17: "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body , ye shall live.
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."
This so-called "spirit of adoption," why, it is no such thing.
It is the spirit of "huiothesia," sonship.
It is our gift of pneuma hagion, our gift of holy spirit, our sonship spirit.
What is God? The Pneuma The Hagion. His gift to us is spiritual DNA, people, our salvation is complete.
Eph. 3:19: "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ, how complete is our salvation?
We are children of God Almighty, called to walk in the fulness of God Himself.
Our lives should not be Biblical in terms of religiosity, our lives should be Biblical in terms of our relationship with our Lord and Saviour, in terms of our relationship with God, full.
Full of faith, full of signs, miracles and wonders.
If you know the knowledge of God, you will walk in the spirit, you will walk in this fulness.
How complete is our salvation?
Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ, we aren't concerned with achieving eternal life, we can concentrate on using the spirit power and the life we gained through Christ to please our Father!
You want to keep yourself pure in God? Simply remind yourself of what it is He already gave you.
1 John 3:1-3: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
How complete is our salvation?
It is eternal. It is grace. It is our foundation.
1 Pet. 1:22-23: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
That's right, love one another.
Walk in love.
Why? Because our salvation is complete, because we are born again, not of corruptible seed by the Word of God. Because we are God's children, infused with His spirit, His spiritual DNA.
How complete is our salvation?
Col. 2:8-10: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
"And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:"
How complete is our salvation? It is eternal life, based on incorruptible seed, connecting us forever to God and to Christ and to one another.
Our salvation is as complete as it gets.
Now go out and act like it.
Amen?
AMEN!