Take My Hand Inspirations
SALVATION SERIES
What is salvation? It is a state of grace—unmerited, or
undeserved, favour given to the underserved.
Once I was a sinner saved by Grace . . . And
there are three aspects of Salvation: Justification, Regeneration and
Sanctification.
Justification: Man, guilty and condemned,
before God, is acquitted and declared righteous—that is justified.
Regeneration: An inward experience in which
the soul, dead in trespasses and in sins, needs a new life and this new life is
imparted by the Divine act of regeneration (the moment you take Step 5). The person then becomes a child of God (by adoption)
and a member of His household—the Church.
Sanctification: Set right in relation to God’s law and born
again to a new life, the person is henceforth dedicated to the service of
God. Bought with a price, he is no
longer his own; he departs not from the temple (right relationship with God and
with His other children) but serves God day and night (Luke 2:37). He is made holy and set aside by God; and he
gives himself voluntarily and freely in joy to God.
Who is saved?
A saved
man (or woman—our soul) is one who has been set right with God, adopted into
the Divine family, and is now dedicated to God’s service. In other words, his experience of salvation,
or state of grace, consists of justification, regeneration (and adoption), and
sanctification. Being justified, he
belongs to the righteous; being regenerated, he is a child of God; being
sanctified, he is a “saint” (literally, a holy person).1
And all this is
freely given to us as a Gift of God (Romans
6:23). Do you accept this gift you have received after taking Step 5?
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name (John 1:12).
Be
fully aware that after taking Step 5, Jesus does come to “dine” with you. It’s like starting a new relationship with
you—the reborn, or the new you—and with God, the Father, the Son, the Holy
Spirit. It’s a refreshing, exhilarating
experience. It’s a spiritual “high” that
feels better than any “high” that alcohol or drugs or illicit sex can give—and
it stays in you as long as you stay in Christ.
You can’t feel low again. It’s
like flying in the clouds, every day with Jesus.
This
is where I stop to caution you, dear believer.
You are now saved, Amen. What you
must keep in mind is:
Once saved, always saved is a lie; and many Christians believe that once they have taken Step 5, that’s all there’s to this salvation thing. But salvation is more than just an action. It is a change, a change in the way you live—the way you think and act (or react). Christianity today has become a mere form of works without faith—like a competition to outdo a fellow Christian in appearing to do good deeds and saying holy things publically, but privately never getting closer to the Lord by praying nor reading the Bible and practicing God’s Word nor fellowshipping with other children of God with pure love, all which are the true tests marked by Jesus.
Paul
wrote to the Church in Philippi in his exhortation to Love and Unite in
Humility to work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling (Philippians 2:12).
There
are many false doctrines that distract the new born and, nowadays, the seasoned
Christian. Placing faith in anything
outside of what is written in the Holy Bible; or misinterpreting the Word of
God for personal gain is allowing your soul to divert from the TRUTH—Jesus is the Way, the TRUTH, and the life
(John 14:6); and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today,
and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
He cannot be changed—misinterpreted, twisted, manipulated or
eliminated! The TRUTH WILL ALWAYS AND
FOREVER WILL REMAIN THE TRUTH.
You,
who have received the gift of salvation, if you throw it away by later
rejecting the Word of God, or ceasing to talk to God, or stopping fellowship (love) with other children of
God, or decide to go back into the sinful life you led before your salvation, do you
think that when Jesus comes, you’ll have automatic membership into heaven?
If
we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the TRUTH,
no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and
of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (NIV: Hebrews 10:26-27).
How do you know you are saved? He
who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have life
(1 John 5:12). Assure is an
action word which means to tell someone
confidently that something is true, especially so that they do not worry. Assurance is a noun which means a promise. By taking Step 5, Jesus has come into your
heart. You are born again as His
child. You are part of His family—the
Church. And you are set aside for God who works in you both to will and to do for His good
pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
This
is THE PROMISE, the assurance. God has
said it; therefore, it is true. Do not
worry. YOU ARE SAVED.
…That
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your
heart [the soul] that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved. For with the heart [the soul] one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
Shout
Halleluiah! as you Step on into Six singing:
Stanza 1
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
Stanza 2
Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
Stanza 3
Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blessed,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
(Refrain) 2
© 2018 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a
division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Unless otherwise stated, all scripture
quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas
Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
Footnote:
1. Pearlman, M. (1937). Chapter VIII: Salvation. In Knowing
the Doctrines of the Bible (219).
Springfield, Missouri, USA: Gospel Publishing House.
2. Lyrics to Blessed Assurance by blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby and music
composed by Phoebe Knapp © 1873.
Most of the paintings selected for
this blog are retrieved from “Black Art” search engine.
Take My Hand Inspirations
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