Must I Be Saved? (Part 2)
Everyone knows that one day, we are all going to die…
this is an irrefutable fact. So what happens after death?
What awaits us?
Is there actually a “other” side?
If there was ever a critical set of questions, you just
read them. Now let’s get the answers.
Here’s what the Bible says about death.
Psalm 89:48 AMP
What man can live and shall not see death, or can deliver
himself from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the place of
the dead)? Selah [pause, and calmly consider that]!
Hebrews 9:27
And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment:
Death is a universal fact, but what is this judgment spoken
of in Hebrews 9:27? The apostle Paul spoke of this judgment:
II Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the
things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad.
Romans 2:16
In the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ…
Jude also spoke of this judgment:
Jude 14-15
14 Behold, the Lord
cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon
all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of
all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed,
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have
spoken against him.
When you stand before the judgment seat of Christ, you will
stand for yourself, by yourself, with no one else! All of
the agnostic and atheistic beliefs… all of the philosophical
rantings and religious dissertations about God and eternal
life will be moot and irrelevant. You will be judged solely
by the Written Word of God.
Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened:
and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.
This judgment can be classified as the final judgment because
once a man or woman stands before God, and is judged, it’s
either heaven or hell… there’s no turning back.
Unlike traffic court, when you appear before this Judge, you
get no time extensions to get your act together. There are
no provisions for you to file a motion to delay your case.
You can’t call together a dream team of attorneys such
as Johnnie Cochran, Mark Geragos, and Robert Shapiro to plead
your case. If you meet the requirements, you go unto the resurrection
of life. If you fail to meet the requirements, you go unto
the resurrection of damnation.
John 5:29
And shall come forth;
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life;
and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Let’s take a glimpse at the resurrection of damnation,
which means a person is eventually cast into the lake of fire.
By the way, forget what you have been told about hell because
it is not the final place reserved for those who have rejected
the Word of God. The Scriptures reveal that in the end, those
who have rejected Christ will be cast into a place called
the lake of fire.
Luke 12:5
But I will forewarn you whom
ye shall fear; fear him, which after he hath killed hath
power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Revelation 20:14,15
14 And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
If talking about death, eternal life, heaven, and hell frightens
you, then you had better pay close attention because people
who have their name written in the Lamb's book of life have
absolutely no fear of death, hell, or the grave. It is the
people who have decided to play Russian roulette with their
souls, who should be very afraid of these subjects.
In the state of Georgia, the police sometimes have checkpoints
to catch drunk drivers and to verify that everyone is driving
with a valid driver’s license and auto insurance. If
I pass through one of those checkpoints, I never sweat the
police because I don't drink, I keep my driver’s license
valid, and I always have automobile insurance. It is the people
who drink and drive, have no auto insurance or no driver’s
license who start sweating when they see the police. In the
final judgment, when you stand before God, will you stand
before Him fearful or overwhelmed with, “I’m guilty,
He’s got me,” jitters? Or, will you stand before
Him with confidence and boldness?
I John 4:17
Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment…
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy…
Out of all the things I have shared with you thus far, make
sure you get this next point drilled into your brain. There’s
only one way to have boldness in the day of judgment. Your
name must be recorded in the book of life. If it is not, I
don’t know what to tell except that no one is going
to be able to help you. Not even God!
Revelation 20:15
And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
How does one get his or her name written in the book of life?
Here’s how.
John 3:3,7
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.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Matthew 18:3
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted,
and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven.
The Scriptures reveal that you must be born-again. You must
be converted. That is the only method to have your name recorded
in the book of life. Are you born again? Have you been converted?
Before you answer those questions, let’s find out how
a person becomes born again.
Romans 10:9-10,13
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.
10 For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation.
13 For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
John 5:24
Verily, verily, I
say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on
him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
You obtain eternal life by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ
and confessing Him as your Lord. At that point your name is
recorded in the book of life. That is the simplicity of the
gospel. Jesus summed up the entire plan of salvation in four
verses of Scripture:
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have eternal life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved.
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 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
Personally, one of the many things that I love about the
Lord God is that He made His Word easy to understand. And
these scriptures make being converted super clear. Jesus is
the Way, the Truth and the Life and if you believe in your
heart that Jesus Christ died and that God raised Him up from
the dead and then you confess Him as Lord of your life, the
Bible teaches that you are now saved. If you have never prayed
the prayer of salvation and you want to have eternal life,
then pray this prayer out loud:
Lord,
You said in your Word, to those that come to Me,
I will in no wise cast them out, (John 6:37). You also
said in your Word, whosoever calls on the Name of the
Lord shall be saved, (Romans 10:13). I call on the Name
of the Lord and I believe that Jesus Christ died and
was buried and I believe that God raised Him from the
dead and I confess Him as Lord of my life.
According to Your Word, I am saved and my name
is now recorded in the Lamb’s book of life! Thank
You Lord for giving me eternal life! I can call you
Abba Father and I call Jesus, my Lord. Thank You Father
for accepting me into your family, which is now my family,
the family of God.
In Jesus Name, Amen |
If you prayed that prayer out loud with your whole heart
you are now saved! You have been made the righteousness of
God through the shed Blood of Jesus the Christ. You are not
converted because you feel like it. Don't ever base your walk
with Christ on your feelings. Your feelings can and will change
but the Word of God stays the same, (See Hebrews 13:8). Christians
are commanded to walk by faith and not by their feelings,
(See II Corinthians 5:17). You are converted because you believed
and then obeyed the Scriptures. You are now a new creation
in Christ Jesus.
II Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away: behold, all things are new.
What does this transformation mean? It means that God has
wiped out your sinful past no matter how ugly it was and your
name will not be blotted out of the Lamb's book of life. Some
people would say but Brother Triplett, I didn't have a sinful
past. I’ve never lived an ungodly, dirty, or rebellious
life. The Scriptures record that all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, (See Romans 3:23). We were all
born into iniquity.
Proverbs 20:9
Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from
my sin?
Ecclesiastes 7:20
For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good,
and sinneth not.
Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother
conceive me.
Your mother could have been a bona fide saint, but once you
passed through her birth canal, you were born into a sinful
and sin-filled world. When you came to the age of accountability,
you are required to make a decision between heaven and hell.
You may have never cursed, lied, stolen or committed fornication
or adultery. You may be a chaste virgin who volunteers for
the Salvation Army and Habitat For Humanity, but you are not
in need of salvation because of what you did or didn’t
do! You need salvation because of how you were born in sin,
just like everyone else.
But thanks be unto God for His abundant mercy in that while
we were yet sinners, He sent His only begotten Son to die
for us. Amen! Now that you are born again, according to the
Scriptures, this is just the beginning of your new life in
Christ. Where a lot of Christians and ministers blow it, is
that they stop right here. They come to a brake-locking, tire
screeching halt, right at the new birth. But the new birth
is just the beginning. It is the starting point of your relationship
with the Lord. In order for me to assist you in getting on
track as a new babe in Christ, and getting you to the next
level, there are four things you need to do:
1). Be Filled With The Holy Spirit
2). Purchase a Good Study Bible
3). Find a Good Church Home
4). Find your God-given purpose
Do those things and you’ll be well on your way to being
a productive faith-filled Believer. Please contact
our ministry to let us know that you have prayed the prayer
of salvation.
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