As I finished the first part of this project, I was aware that there was no section on salvation, or more specifically how to find salvation – whether you are a returning sheep or fresh to the flock.  Likewise, I had questions arise as to this and the giving of hope.  I can say that I had to agree with them.

Here is the thing – the Lord delivered the pages of the project according to His timing.  Understanding this, I knew there was possibility that I would be adding content.  I also knew it would be according to his timing.

So it seems that the Lord knew what he was doing.  The site benefited a number of returning believers the way it was designed when the Lord brought them here.  It seems that there are those among us that need a strong message.  The original format of the site was for their benefit.

I trusted that the Lord would provide the needed revelation when the time came.

At any rate, this morning that very thing happened.  Out of the blue He gave me an understanding of what He wanted said and guided my work.

Throughout this site we discuss the possibility of believers losing their salvation for unfaithfulness and an outright lack of faith.  Now, we must discuss the other side of the coin – those that find Christ for the first time, and those that are returning to him.

It is the very heart of the blessed hope we have in Christ.

Without any further delay let us consider the following question and all it entails:

How do I find salvation?

First, you must understand that we are all sinners.  That means you, me, your neighbors, your coworkers and everybody that has ever walked the earth.

Except for one – Jesus Christ.

He was perfect in life and death, yet He was also tempted of the devil as we are.  In those temptations He held fast to the Word of God.

He then went to the cross and died for our sins.  Understand that though he was arrested and condemned to death, it was by His choice alone that He was crucified.  It was the will of God the Father that all should be saved, yet Christ had to accept that calling.

He did accept it indeed!  He did not have to, but He did anyway – for you.  He knew your very name when He went to the cross.  He was there from the foundation of the world when your name was breathed into the books of heaven and when you became a living soul.

He died so that salvation would be possible.  It is His gift to you.  Here is the thing – it cannot be forced on you.  You have to accept the gift of salvation.  Once you accept it, the gift is yours to keep.  Once you have accepted this gift it can never be taken from you so long as you still want it.

However, just as you were free to accept the gift you are free to give it back.  You will have free will and free moral agency until the day you pass into eternity.

If you turn your back on Christ after you find salvation you give back this gift.  It is not taken away – it is given back.  You must remember this as Satan will try to convince you that you are covered if you venture down a road that you do not belong.

“You got saved and your sins are forgiven – so relax and enjoy yourself a bit.”

Indeed Satan is right – your sins are forgiven.  Likewise, faith in Christ does not mean that you will not make any mistakes and stumble.  To the contrary, it becomes a far easier thing to sin once you are saved.  It is easier because you are now more aware of right and wrong.

However, there is a difference between a genuine mistake and intentionally engaging in sin after salvation.  The Bible is clear on this.  We have covered it in great detail in this project.

It is when you start to justify your sins with your salvation that you effectively begin to turn over the gift you once accepted.  Does this mean you are unsaved the very first time you do this?  Not necessarily – however, it is different for each of us.  It depends upon the heart of the believer.  If your heart is such that you can be brought back from the edge then the Lord will try to reach you.  You are not lost yet but you are in mortal danger.

Understand that there is a point of no return.

This is true of both your salvation now and salvation for eternity.  Here is what I mean.  When you begin to engage in justifying sins with salvation you head down the road of giving back the gift.  There is a point of no return where you have fully and finally travelled that road.  You have given it back.  This is what salvation now means.

The Lord will try to reach you and bring you back to the path of salvation.  So long as your heart has not hardened to the point that you cannot hear the Holy Spirit you can be saved again.  It gets harder than before as you have damaged your heart and your “hearing”.

Unfortunately, this is like everything else in our lives.  You can grow accustomed to things.  You can drown out the Holy Spirit after enough time and he will depart from you – for good.  We have all been around loud noises that startle us, annoy us, and hurt our ears to hear.  However, if we are exposed to the noise long enough we become oblivious to it.  It becomes background noise.

Soon we no longer care that it is there.  That is the point of no return.  Once your hearing for the Lord is lost it never comes back.  There is nothing that can be done.

With that said, chances are that you are reading this because you have a real concern for your soul.  The Lord has reached you and you are responding.  That is wonderful news!

As long as you still search for him then you are not lost!  Understand that you must still repent of your sins and seek the will of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in your life.  You must seek him every day.  When you stumble you must repent.  This is not because you lose salvation with every mistake.  No, it is so that you build an honest and repentant heart.

That is what allows you to eventually discard the cares of the world that sit upon your heart and seek Him first, above all things.  It allows you to grow and to learn from your mistakes.  It makes you a resource to others that will experience the same trials you went through.  It builds an honesty in prayer that will show you the true meaning of “personal Lord and Savior” and “friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

You will find out very quickly that the hardest thing in your walk with Christ is absolute honesty.

We all have things that hold us back and drag us down.  We go to prayer and seek to repent of the sins in our life.  If we had a bad day we confess the bad day.  We confess that we are indeed sinners and repent.

That is the easy part.  It is easy to say we have sinned.  We are supposed to do this as there are far too many sins in our lives to ever recount them all.  This, however, is just the start.

There are some things in our lives that must be confessed specifically and categorically.

“Father, I keep talking to the neighbor’s wife.  I do it in hopes that she is interested in more than words.  I need help.”

“Father, I know we are supposed to be kind, but I have enjoyed running Joe down.  I don’t like a thing about him and it is creeping into my soul.”

“Father, I know Jesus is coming soon, but I just can’t shake the feeling that it’s not going to happen.  I keep wondering if I am wrong.  I know what the Bible says, but. . .”

“Father, you keep telling me that there is no reason for me to go to the casino, but I just can’t stop.  Oh, if you could just let me win I could be such a blessing with the money.”

“Father, I know I need to tithe.  I know I need to give.  But the bills, I just don’t have enough.  But I manage to find money for the beer.  I know I should have helped the guy that asked for food. . .”

By now you get the picture.

There are many ideas about holiness and living right, but more and more we see less conversation about honesty with the Lord.  We must admit to him the things that terrify us to speak.  There will be a voice deep inside you that will attempt to convince you that if you dare speak of your specific and horrific sin that you shall at once be required by God to submit to damnable judgments and sacrifice all that you are.

It convinces you that all hell will break loose if you dare to speak the words.

Remember – God already knows.  Your confession isn’t for his benefit.  It’s for yours.  You are not revealing some deep hidden secret that shall cast you from his sight.

You are coming clean so that the roadblock of that sin can be removed.

This is where holiness starts.  This is where your walk with Christ starts.  This is where your salvation starts.

The world will not implode when you accept Christ.  Many different ideas will run through your head.  Most will center on “what I need to do”.  This is natural.  However, most of the voices are your own and not God’s.  He will step back and let the clutter clear before he approaches you and presents the path forward.  You will feel the urge to rush forward and push.  He will hold you back.  You will have the need to “feel” his presence.  Yet, he will quite your spirit.  You will wonder what you have done wrong.  He will allow you to decompress before he starts your journey.

Remember – Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither shall you be.

Whether you are new to the love of Christ or a lost sheep that is finally understanding that he really is God and is truly faithful – each day will be different.  Some will be wonderful, while others not so much.  You will fall down.  You will make mistakes.  You will sin.

However, you will get back up.

The biggest difference in your life will not be your clothes, your family life, your holiday celebrations, your job or any of the other things that the Lord does change – according to His will.  These things will come.  They will come as he strengthens you and gives you understanding.  They will come in the manner and order that the Lord sets.  They will come in the manner and order that is best for you, and according to his will for your life.  They will come differently for you than for any other as you are different from any other.  They will come not because a teacher has told you that you must do “this, that or the other” or you will be lost.  They will come not because I have said they would.

They will come because you have sought the will of the Lord in your life.  You have sought His will because he has spoken to you.  He has spoken to you because you can still hear Him.  He has spoken to you because he still sees value in you.  Never forget this – no matter how many times you fall and Satan whispers “you have failed”.

During your walk you will hear many voices that offer their “insight”.  Most will be genuine, others not so much.  Some will speak as the Holy Spirit gives them the words that are meant for you.  Likewise, you will know as the Holy Spirit will impress the understanding that the words are truth.  You won’t realize at first how you know this – you will simply “know” that those words were truth.  In time you will understand and recognize the voice of the Lord.

Likewise, when all of the voices become confusing, the Lord will give you guidance on those that speak truth and those that are nothing more than dry bones.  These are the voices that speak the right things outwardly, yet you simply know something is missing on the inside.

Know this – your walk with Christ is never finished while you walk this earth.  There will always be room to grow.  This becomes important as Satan will work your flesh to convince you that you are not worthy.  Here is the thing:

You will never be worthy.  None of us will.  There is no drop of your own blood that can change this.  Christ alone is worthy.  All you can do is accept His gift, seek His will and decide that you will serve him no matter how many times you fall down.

Should the Lord return and find you seeking Him you shall know the promise of His coming.  You will have his blessed hope so long as He is truly your first love.  This is a marriage.  He is perfect – you are not.  He knows that you have struggles.  He knows that you have bad days.  He also knows that you seek Him in prayer every night – even the nights when your heart is broken and you hurt.  When Satan softly whispers “let the prayers go tonight.  It’s OK – He knows you are tired”, the Lord hears when you decide that Christ means more than sleep.

It may not be an earth shattering prayer in your eyes.  Yet, you offer it anyway.

To the bloody and beaten believer that finds a miracle, or the single mother that receives a miracle of healing for her infant child it will mean everything.

It will be more than all the stars of the sky.  It will be a sacrifice before the Lord that shall be a remembrance of you for all eternity.  It is a memorial forged in eternity the moment you pushed your heartbreak aside and spoke before the Lord;

“Lord, though I hurt tonight I know I am blessed.  Send the blessing You have given to me to my brothers and sisters in Iran.  They are the ones that truly suffer.  Also Lord, I pass by the homeless shelter every day.  Father, I know they have needs that are far greater than I know.  I will give what I can on payday, but until then I can pray for them.  Send the Holy Spirit and grant whatever needs that are there tonight.”

You will have given more than all others in that moment.

There is something that you will want to remember.

Take everything to the Lord in prayer.  Even those things that He tells you.  This is what we are expected to do.  Prayer and the Bible are your first stop on anything that comes down your path.  From the unknown teacher to the mightiest pastors – and everyone in between.  Submit all they say to the understanding of the Lord and he shall guide you.

Including those voices that are well meaning, yet lack truth.

With this I shall close these words and offer a prayer for those that seek to be redeemed back to the Lord and to find the joy and freedom of salvation.  Join me in this prayer and you shall breathe free this very day:

Father,

In the name of your Son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I bow before You.

I confess that I am lost in sin and will perish for eternity without You.  I confess that I am a sinner and repent of my wrongs.

I confess that Jesus Christ alone can bring salvation.  There are no other means by which I can be saved.  There is no other god, nor any other name under heaven.

I confess that the shed blood of Christ is the payment for my sins.  Father, I accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for me on the cross.   

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ I ask forgiveness of all my sins.

I ask that you come into my heart and make me a new creature in Christ.  I want the promise of eternal life and the hope of His coming.

I no longer want to live in fear, unsure of tomorrow and never knowing when my life shall be required of me.

I have but one life Father – and it is a gift from You.  I offer it back as a sacrifice to You and graciously accept the new life offered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Father, guide me from this day forward and I shall seek You with a whole heart, trusting in You for all things.

In the blessed name of my Personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Amen.

 

Matthew 19:25-26 – When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:9-10 – That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Philippians 3:4-11 – Though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:  circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.  But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Luke 3:8 – Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.