THE TWO PARTS OF SALVATION

Another Musick-al note:                                                      12

                                 THE TWO PARTS OF SALVATION     

     It should not be a surprise to people that there are two parts to the salvation of our souls.  God formed man in his own image with the freedom to act and choose.  When men believed Satan’s lies, they disobeyed God and lost their fellowship with Him.  God loved mankind and initiated redemption but men continued to choose disobedience and sin.  God continued His plan to save all who would recognize and love Him, finally sending His Son, Jesus, into the world to save lost mankind. Jesus took upon Himself the sin-debt (Ezekiel 18:3, Romans 6:23) of every man and paid its price on the cross for all men (Hebrews 2:9).  We thank the Lord God for accepting His death in lieu of the death of all men. Jesus was raised from the dead and now sits at God’s own right hand offering eternal salvation to all who believe and obey Him (Hebrews 5:9). God’s part is now complete and it remains for man to do his part to save his own soul.

    Every person must accept the fact that they must respond to God’s offer of salvation or be lost forever.  Man must believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 3:16), repent (die to) of every sin (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30), confess Christ Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:32-33) and be buried with Him (Colossians 2:12) in baptism (submerged in water), then be raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-10).  It is in the act of baptism that God washes away each person’s sin (Acts 22:16).  Jesus paid the debt of sin for all mankind.  Now the Lord Jesus is the source of salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:8-9).  In being baptized, we become children of God (Galatians 3:26-27) and we are added to His body (1 Corinthians 12:13) which is His church (Ephesians 1:22-23).  This obedience to the Gospel of Christ is the beginning of our new life (Romans 6:4) in which we must continue to pay attention to the Words of Jesus that we may do them (Matthew 7:21-27).  Also in obeying the Gospel of Christ we place ourselves in Christ and in His ultimate safety from the wrath of God (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).  It is therefore so very important that we do our part in saving our souls by obeying Him and living for Him.   God has done His part.  Will we do our part?