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Who is condemned to Hell? Most people would probably think of people who are really bad, like murderers, etc., but the bible has a diffe...

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Call Upon The Lord And Be Saved

There are so many definitions heard nowadays about how to be saved that it is hard to sort through all of them, and it actually brings confusion to people's minds about which one is right.  Some examples of these are to invite Jesus into your life, give your life to Christ, make a commitment to Christ, surrender your life to Christ, repent of your sins, make Jesus lord of your life, or have a personal relationship with Christ.  You may be thinking, well they are all about the same thing, just worded differently, but that is not true at all. Actually, none of the above are accurate in their explanation of how to be saved. The bibles even says in I Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not the author of confusion..." , so the bible is very clear that to be saved is to believe on Christ and call upon his name.

John 3:16 is a very famous verse in the bible that says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," and verse 17 says, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."  Did you notice how it says whosoever believes shall have everlasting life and be saved.  Over 90 times in the book of John the word "believe" is used,  It is believe, believe, believe.  It never once says make a commitment to Christ, surrender your life to Christ, or any of the other above examples, it is just believe.  In the book of Acts chapter 16 is the story of a man who wanted to know how to be saved.  Acts 16:30b: Sirs, what must I do to be saved,?  and verse 31:a: And they said, Believe on :the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved....

The following are some verses in the book of John which speak about believing.
John 3:18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  
John 3:36: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.  
John 6:35: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.  
John 6:47: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

Again, God spells it out very clearly in I John 5:13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  According to this verse, when we believe on Jesus' name and call upon him to save us, we can know beyond any shadow of a doubt that we are saved forever.

You may be thinking, yes I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so how do I get saved. The answer is found in Romans 10:9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  Romans 10:13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So first you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose again and then you call upon him to save you.

We don't give anything to get saved, we receive to get saved.  John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.  The bible never says to make a commitment to Christ, but on the contrary God made a commitment, to us when he promised that whosoever would believe on Christ and call upon him in faith he would save.  You may be thinking that that is too easy, but that is clearly the plan of salvation from the bible.  People think they have to do something to earn salvation, but there is nothing we could ever do to earn it, it is a free gift of God's mercy.  That is the sole reason he gave his only begotten son to suffer such agony and pain and to die on the cross for our sins to keep us out of hell, so he could save us and give us eternal life.  Ephesians 2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

The following are examples of people who called upon the name of the Lord and were gloriously saved instantly: Luke 18:13: And the publican standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  In Luke 23:42, the thief on the cross next to Jesus records, "And he said unto Jesus, Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.  Also, in Isaiah 55:6:it says " Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.

When the bible says believe on Jesus that does not mean you just believe about Jesus, that he is the son of God, and that he existed.  Believe on him means to depend upon him and rely upon him, put your faith in him and trust in all that he did for you in order to save you and give you forgiveness of sins and eternal life.  The bible says that we must be born again.  We are not just born believing on Jesus; that is why we need to be born again.  The bible says in John 3:2-3: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  So you see, when you call upon the name of the Lord to save you that is when you are born again,  That is when you become a child of God.  John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.  

When we believe on Jesus (not just believe about), we receive him as our savior.  If you have never called upon the name of the Lord to save you, I pray you will call upon him now and receive this wondrous gift of eternal life.

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