What has God put in His Word, the Bible, describing every human being? Note that what you read is what He says about you and me (All passages are from the English Standard Version). Be ready to say… “Ouch!”
You are God’s enemy. Romans 5:10a, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…”
You, by nature, are full of wrath toward God. Ephesians 2:3, “We all once lived in the passions of our flesh… and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
You spiritual condition is that you are dead… not sick…DEAD. Eph 2:1, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sin…”
You cannot understand anything about God. 1 Cor 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… and he is not able to understand them...“
There is nothing good or commendable in you at all. Ro 3:12b-17, All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.”
You don’t desire to know God in any way. Ro 3:10b-11, “”None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
You cannot do anything to change or remedy your spiritual condition… you have no hope of salvation. Mt 19:25-26, “When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible…'”
Because of what and who you are, you have no fear of God. Ro 3:18, “There is no fear of God before their eyes…”
If you do not believe and accept these things as 100% true… without any reservation whatsoever… you are not and cannot be saved.
But there IS hope for you to be saved none the less… it is found in Jesus Christ ALONE. ONLY through Him is any person able to be saved and enter into heaven for eternity. What follows now is Good News… The Gospel!
John 11:25-26, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
John 14:6, (Jesus is speaking) “I am the way, the truth, and the life… NO MAN comes to the Father but through Me.”
Mt 19:25-26, When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
1 Tim 2:5, For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…
“If we confess our sin He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Even though all the things at the beginning of this post are true of us, what is more important is what is true about God… namely that He is forgiving, graceful, merciful, and able to save (Matthew 19:25-26)! Now THAT is Good News!!
Great job Ron.
I need clarification on the sentence where you wrote: “If you do not believe and accept these things as 100% true… without any reservation whatsoever… you are not and cannot be saved.”
I was saved at an early age. I did not know or accept these things until later in my life. When was I saved – as a child or when I started understanding my depravity? Or, another way to put it, do you have to acknowledge and understand these fundamental truths in order to be saved?
Just need a point of clarification. And I sincerely look forward to your explanation.
Great question Tim. Now for a few thoughts…
I’m going to guess that after your conversion (I too was converted at a young age… 10)… you continued to read and study Scripture. As you read and studied, you came across these passages and truths about salvation. I’m going to continue my guess that at each point you affirmed what God showed you in His Word. And thus you grew in knowledge and understanding… affirming along the way each portion of truth as God revealed it to you. So that today… in your greatly advanced years… you have a much fuller understanding of who you were (And now are) in Christ. For example…
A surgeon is called “doctor” when he receives his degree from a university, but he really isn’t a competent “surgeon” until years later when he has grown in his learning from foundational basics to being a master at what he does. Likewise God saves a person (regardless of age) and all they understand are the basics… “I’m a sinner… Jesus died for me… I trust in Him to be saved.” Then as they continue in the faith and read/hear/taught these truths they accept them readily and joyfully… incorporating them into their theology of salvation. If a person says they are saved, and as they read/study Scripture, if they reject any of the points in this post… then they have rejected God’s truth regarding salvation… which is a very serious matter.
I should have been clearer in what I posted. In order to be saved it isn’t required to believe these things ON THE FRONT END as much as it is to believe them AS YOU FIND THEM OUT in your study of Scripture. Those who are saved MAY come to those conclusions as part of their conversion… others accept these thoughts AS they are found. Either way… those truths are a part of a maturing theology of salvation.
Does that make sense?