Week 3 - "Salvation"

Introduction



Throughout history, God has given every individual a chance to accept his eternal plan of salvation. Sadly, most people have rejected it and will suffer forever.

Accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour is the most important decision you will ever make during your lifetime!

Instead of being destined for hell, you will now spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you have a reason to live with eternal results. He has filled the emptiness inside.

The devil also knows of your new life in Jesus. His desire for you to reject God's salvation is no longer in effect. However, he will now exert every effort to keep you from growing close to God and fulfilling God's plan in your life.

These discipleship lessons are designed to help you begin your new life in Jesus Christ. They are to help you understand what your relationship to God is, how to communicate with Him, how to apply basic Bible principles to your life, and how YOUR life can be an influential witness and testimony of God's Grace.

Salvation:

What happened when I got saved and what is my new relationship with God?

Your decision to trust Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior is the greatest decision you could ever make. However, it is very unlikely you understand the true significance of what has happened in your life.

The purpose of this lesson is to explain briefly what took place and how your decision has affected your basic relationship to God.

I. There are only two spiritual families in the world.

    A. The Devil's family.

         1. John 8:44 speaks of a group of people who are "of your father the devil." - see also John 8:38.

         2. You enter this family by birth through your physical father, who is ultimately a descendant of Adam. Genesis 5:3 shows that the descendants of Adam are born in Adam's image and likeness which is that of a fallen sinner.

        3. You inherited your sin nature from your father Adam. Romans 5:12 states, "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

        4. Romans 5:12 also states that as a result of your sin you are to die.

            a. Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death..."

            b. 1 Corinthians 15:22: "in Adam all die..."

    B. God's Family.

        1. John 1:12-13 says, "But as many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

"But as many as receive Him" --- Your decision to trust Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour.

"To them gave He power to become the SONS of GOD" --- Our entrance into God's family.

"Even to them that believe on His name" --- A biblical belief marked by faith and repentance.

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man." --- It is not a physical birth.

"But of God" --- It is a spiritual birth.

        2. You also enter God's family by birth; but it is a spiritual birth by your Heavenly Father. John 3:3 states "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God."

        3. This new birth puts you into God's family in exactly the same way your physical birth puts you into your father's family. You are now a son of God by birth!

        4. As a result of your new birth, you have inherited God's divine nature and you now have eternal life.

       

           a. John 6:47: "He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."

           b. John 3:36: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting Life."

           c. 1 John 5:12: "He that hath the Son hath life."

II. Being in God's family separates you from the devil's family.

    A. Your body is now a temple of the Holy Ghost. God's Holy Spirit lives inside you. 1 Corinthians 6:19

    B. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 commands you as a believer to maintain a difference between yourself and the lost.

    C. Your new life is perfectly summarized in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ."

III. You now have a new relationship with God, you are a member of his family!

     A. He is your Heavenly Father and you are His child. 1 John 2:1 says, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

     B. Now that you are saved, God no longer deals with you as a sinner, but as His child.

    C. This relationship is pictured by the earthly relationship between a father and a child.

        1. A good father loves and cares for his child. 1 Peter 5:7

        2. A good father protects his child. Matthew 18:6

        3. A good father provides for his child. Philippians 4:19

        4. A good father guides and teaches his child. John 14:26

       5. A good father helps his child. Psalm 46:1

       6. A good father will not discourage his child. Colossians 3:21

       7. A good father disciplines his child. Hebrews 12:5-11

       8. A good father feeds his child. Matthew 4:4

       9. A good father has a plan for his child. Romans 8:28-29

    D. A good father will NEVER do anything to purposely hurt his child. He will do only those things that will help in the growth and maturing process. Your Heavenly Father operates in the same way, only his ways are perfect. Unlike earthly fathers who sometimes err, God never makes a mistake in His dealings with His children. Matthew 7:11 "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?"

IV. You did  NOT  lose your physical nature at the time of your spiritual birth.

     A. This is obvious in that you are still alive.

     B. You now have two natures.

         1. Old nature - physical, sinful, in Adam's image.

         2. New nature - spiritual, perfect, in God's image.

    C. Both natures are present constantly. The one that will control you is the one that you feed the most!!!

        1. Colossians 3:5-10

        2. 2 Corinthians 4:14-18

V. Basic questions.

    A. Will I sin after I am saved? Yes, you still have your old sin nature. Romans 7:25

    B. How does my sin affect my relationship with my Father? God does not kick you out of His family. When you sin, He disciplines you as a child. Hebrews 12:5-11

    C. What should I do when I sin?

        1. Confess it and trust the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse you. 1 John 1:6-10; Proverbs 28:13

        2. Repent from it (turn away from it) and ask God to give you a hatred for that sin so you can revenge all disobedience by doing what is right. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6