(GIL HAMMOND) (2004,
EIGHT steps you say? Wait a minute; the requirement to be saved is to “BELIEVE.” Yes, that is true! The Bible states in the beloved verse found in John 3:16 where Jesus states, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (NASU) Many other verses in the New Testament reiterate this truth. So, is the only thing that is necessary is to “Believe” in Jesus Christ? The answer is Yes. But, only if we understand all that is involved in “Believing.” The purpose of this study in God’s Word then is to explore all that is encompassed in the term
“TO BELIEVE ON JESUS CHRIST FOR SALVATION.”
A. RECEIVE, (HEAR) THE GOSPEL MESSAGE;
C. RECOGNIZ Our SIN as “being sin” resulting in death;
D. ACKNOWLEDGE and ADMIT Our SIN to ourselves and To GOD;
E. CONFESS Our SIN to GOD;
F. REPENT – Turn from our SIN – Turn to GOD;
G. ASK (Invite) JESUS CHRIST to come into our heart and Be our SAVIOR and LORD;
H. RECEIVE – Jesus Christ into our “HEART”AND LIFE)!!
When we take these steps in the process of “Believing” then GOD does this:
1. Transfers us from the “kingdom of darkness” into the “Kingdom of Light”
2. From “the kingdom of the devil” into the “Kingdom of HIS DEAR SON” –
3. From the “kingdom of the world” – into the “Kingdom of Heaven.”
4. We become "Born Again” and become a “Child of GOD."
5. God also “Adopts” us and makes us a “Joint Heir” with JESUS CHRIST!
6. GOD makes us a “New Creation” in CHRIST JESUS!
7. GOD places His “Seal” – The Holy Spirit upon us and within us!
8. We ARE GIVEN “ETERNAL LIFE" BY JESUS CHRIST!
9. We become a part of “THE BODY OF CHRIST" – THE CHURCH!
10. We become a “Citizen of Heaven!”
11. JESUS prepares our "HOME IN HEAVEN" FOR US!
12. Heaven becomes our “Eternal Home” and our ultimate destination!
13. When our physical body dies, we go immediately into GOD'S ARMS.
14. We have The Promise that JESUS will return to take us “HOME!”
15. We have The Promise that we will receive a “PERFECT BODY!"
16. We have The Promise that GOD will make us PERFECT BEINGS!
17. We have The promise that GOD will make us just like JESUS!
18. We have the promise of Eternal Joy, Peace, and Perfection!
Let’s explore further each of these steps. The first of these steps is for us to
(A) “HEAR” THE GOSPEL MESSAGE.
Not only must we hear The Gospel Message of Salvation, WE MUST RECEIVE IT INTO THE DEPTH OF OUR BEING. It must penetrate our hearts to the depth of our SOUL to prepare us for the “CONVICTING WORK" of THE HOLY SPIRIT!
(B) Be CONVICTED of our "STATE" of sin – By the HOLY SPIRIT.
I believe that it is truly impossible for us to be “SAVED" without first being CONVICTED of our sin and our need to be Saved from our sins by GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT! This is open for serious debate but I firmly believe that we are incapable of realizing fully the great depravity of our sins within our human capacity for thinking and reasoning. In addition, the devil and his demons are always at work to blind us to the deadly seriousness of our sins and to cause us to rationalize our sins to ourselves and to others. I am constantly amazed at our human capacity to “RATIONALIZE” just about any sinful behavior. Consequently, THE HOLY SPIRIT must come to us and “CONVICT" us of the deadly consequences of our sins. This means that we cannot simply "decide to "Choose JESUS CHRIST when we decide to do so. Instead we must respond to the “CONVICTING WORK” of THE HOLY SPIRIT within out heart and life - AT THE TIME OF THE HOLY SPIRIT’S CONVICTING WORK WITHIN US!
The Holy Spirit is able to produce within us a “GODLY SORROW" concerning our STATE (DEADLY CONDITION) OF SIN! This will cause us to "feel" lost and in NEED OF A SAVIOR! We need to respond to this “Godly Sorrow” that The Holy Spirit produces within us and say “YES, TO JESUS.” GOD’S WORD STATES, “MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT ALWAYS STRIVE WITH MAN! We have no assurance that The Holy Spirit will ever come to us again with this “CONVICTION!”
Instantly, we face a choice! It is a choice that will face us every minute of every day for the rest of our existence upon this earth! Every minute, in every situation, we will face the decision to follow the “Leading of “The Holy Spirit” or to follow our own self with its selfish desires. The Bible speaks of this as the “Flesh!” We cannot escape this decision, nor can we make it only once. Every new circumstance, every new situation brings to us face to face with the “temptation” to follow the “flesh.” The demons of hell, the ways of the world, and other human beings will attempt to sway us to “follow our own desires” and to “satisfy our desires – now.” All of these say to us, “you need this,” “take it,” “enjoy it,” “you deserve it,” it’s good,” “it brings pleasure,” “it satisfies,” “it will make you better,” “it will make you stronger,” “it will make you younger-looking,” or “it will make you more beautiful or more handsome.” The emphasis will always be on “why wait,” “take it now,” “you deserve it – now!”
In the din of all of this “worldly attraction,” there is the “still, small voice” of THE HOLY SIRIT saying, “follow me.” To follow the Leading of THE HOLY SPIRIT brings about THE FRUITS of THE HOLY SPIRIT in our lives. We must learn to obey -- to turn to GOD – to surrender to HIM– to yield to HIM – to follow HIM in humble submission. We must WALK WITH GOD IN OBEDIENCE! JESUS stated in John 15, “Abide in ME and you will bear fruit.” JESUS goes on to stress that as we abide in HIM, we will bear fruit, more fruit, much fruit, and that our fruit will remain. (In other words, our fruit will not fall off prematurely.
Our failure to heed the Holy Spirit’s Conviction means that we continue in our SINFUL STATE and continue on the road to hell! At THE POINT IN TIME WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS OUR MIND AND HEART OF OUR CONDITION OF “LOSTNESS- OF OUR NEED OF SALVATION, WE ARE FACED AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME WITH MAKING A DECISION TO ALLOW JESUS CHRIST TO COME INTO OUR HEART AND LIFE AND BECOME OUR SAVIOR AND LORD OR WE SAY “NO!”
The decision is ours to make. At this moment of “Conviction” the devil (or his demons) will try every trick in the book to keep us from saying “YES” to JESUS! A favorite trick is to whisper to us “not now, you have plenty of time!” The demons will try every trick to get us to “put this urgent decision of our life OFF UNTIL A FUTURE TIME!” If the demon(s) succeed in their efforts, then we continue in our condition of SIN and continue on our way to hell! WE CONTINUE TO BE THE “PROPERTY” OF THE DEVIL! I FEAR THAT THERE ARE MANY WHO HEED THE ENTICING WORDS OF THE DEMONS OF HELL AND REJECT JESUS AGAIN AND AGAIN!
I am reminded of these very serious Words of JESUS that HE Spoke as recorded in Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14. "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (NASU) I often wonder just how few there really are that find the “Narrow” Gate – The Door – JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF and THEREFORE GAIN ETERNAL LIFE! I also am saddened to realize just how “Many” there are that continue on THE “BROAD WAY” THAT LEADS TO ETERNAL DESTRUCTION! MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON THESE POOR SOULS!!
(C) RECOGNIZE Our SIN as “being sin” resulting in death;
When we are “persuaded” by The Holy Spirit of “our Condition of SIN” and RECOGNIZE that it is "OUR SIN" we are then ready to move to the next step. Special Note: The demons of hell will continue to try their very hardest to keep us from escaping their grasp. So, they will say something like this to us, "yes, you are in sin" but, you are no worse than anyone else. Everyone is “doing it.” Why, you are even better than most, look at all the "good" you have done." Be sure to take note of the fact that the demons will mix truth with lies. This is an often used trick of the devil and his demons. The devil even tried it with JESUS when HE was led of The Holy Spirit into the “Wilderness" to be tested by the devil (Read Matthew 4:1-11). We must be ever aware of the demons lying ways. We MUST NOW,
here, we must “swallow our pride”
(D) ACKNOWLEDGE and ADMIT Our SIN to ourself and to GOD:
At this point, we can ADMIT our need of Being Saved from our SIN. So, we must actually do it to GOD! We ADMIT that it is indeed “OUR SIN" (WE “OWN" IT) and we do consciously state to GOD our sinful condition recognizing that if we continue in this "STATE" we will spend ETERNITY in hell! We are now at the point of “CONFESSING OUR SIN" TO GOD!
(E) CONFESS Our SIN to GOD:
However, remember that the demons of hell do not give us up to JESUS without a fight! Here, we must “swallow” our own “pride” and come humbly to GOD!
(F) REPENT – Turn from our SIN – Turn to GOD:
Acknowledging, admitting, confessing, and finally Repenting of our sin are
often “overlooked” requirements for our Salvation. These steps must occur
before GOD CAN FORGIVE OUR SIN AND CLEANSE US OF “ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.” And, GOD CANNOT FILL US WITH HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTIL WE ARE ‘EMPTIED OF ALL SIN!
(G) INVITE JESUS CHRIST to come into our heart and life and be our SAVIOR and LORD!
SAYING “YES” to JESUS CHRIST MAY SOUND AN EASY THING TO DO! IT IS NOT! In order to do this truthfully, we must "swallow our Pride." We must humble ourselves before GOD and truly admit that we cannot save ourselves! We must “SURRENDER" to The LORDSHIP of JESUS CHRIST and fully realize that HE ALONE CAN SAVE US! WE MUST “ASK” JESUS TO COME INTO OUR HEART AND LIFE AND BE OUR SAVIOR FROM OUR SIN!
We need to remember the Words of JESUS as recorded in Revelation Rev 3:20, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (NASU) Let’s remember this TRUTH, GOD NEVER IMPOSES HIS WILL ON US! HE CREATED US WITH A “FREE WILL.” HE ALWAYS RESPECTS THAT RIGHT THAT HE GAVE US OF A “FREE WILL” TO CHOOSE! SO, JESUS “KNOCKS” AND THEN HE WAITS FOR US TO “INVITE HIM IN” – TO “OPEN THE DOOR” OF OUR HEART AND LIFE! THIS IS OUR DECISION – WE EITHER SAY, YES OR NO! When we put the decision “off until another day," we are saying "NO."
(H) RECEIVE – Jesus Christ into our “Heart” (INTO OUR LIFE)!!
AS SIMPLE AS THIS SOUNDS, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE “RECEIVE” JESUS AND MAKE HIM WELCOME IN OUR LIFE! WE NEED TO CONSCIOUSLY “RECEIVE HIM” AND THEN ALLOW HIM TO BE LORD (AS WELL AS “SAVIOR”) OF OUR LIVES. (Contrary to an often stated term, WE DO NOT “MAKE” JESUS LORD OF OUR LIVES. INSTEAD, WE GIVE HIM OUR PERMISSION TO BE THE LORD OF OUR LIVES. AGAIN, THIS IS OUR DECISION TO MAKE! HE WILL NEVER FORCE HIMSELF ON US! WE MUST "SURRENDER" OUR HEART AND LIFE TO HIM!
WITH all of these steps enumerated (A through H), I need to point out that these can all happen in rapid succession – so much so that we may not recognize them as necessary separate steps that must follow each other. I enumerate them because I fear that perhaps many simply follow the oft given instruction to “make a DECISION FOR JESUS.” Salvation is not just making a “DECISION.” Instead, it must come from the “Heart” – from the “Depth of our SOUL!” It must involve and include our total “BEING – the complete “PERSON” THAT WE ARE! IT IS REALLY THE EXERCISE OF OUR WILL TO RECEIVE JESUS AS OUR SAVIOR AND LORD OF OUR LIFE!
SPECIAL FOOTNOTE:
Once we become a CHILD OF GOD, we must be ever diligent to "GUARD" our HEART and LIVES from the constant attacks of the devil and his demons. We must be ever aware that OUR FIGHT IS NEVER AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD (other humans). Instead, we are in a “LIFELONG WAR" with the devil and his demons! (See Ephesians 6: 10-18) We must quickly learn to successfully fight the demons of hell and win the battles. To do this successfully we must “PUT ON THE CHRISTIAN ARMOR" as outlined in Ephesians 6;10-18 and be ever vigilante as soldiers in the army of our LORD! A vitally important instruction is given to us in James 4:7-8 where we read, "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (NASU) Note that the first admonition is to “Submit to GOD.” Then, we are to “RESIST" the devil and the result is that "he will flee from you." The world, the world system, and the demons of hell will try to convince us that “there is really "No devil or demons that really exists." This is a complete lie. Again, read Ephesians 6:10-18 and be convinced that our battles of life are always again the devil and his followers.
Fortunately, our weapons are Mighty and Powerful. We read in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4. for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses." (NASU) In addition, we have this promise in Romans 8:37-39. “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39. nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NASU)
What wonderful Promises of GOD, OUR FATHER! HE is always FOR US AND NEVER AGAINST US! GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVES IN US AND IS EVER READY TO FIGHT OUR BATTLES FOR US! THE KEY IS FOR US TO ALWAYS YIELD (SURRENDER) OURSELVES TO HIM!!
MY PRAYER FOR YOU, DEAR FELLOW CHRISTIAN, IS FOR GOD TO RICHLY BLESS YOU!!
IN JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOR,
GIL HAMMOND (10-12-2024)