God’s Plan for Our Salvation

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For sake of time and space, this outline does not cover every passage that deals with God’s plan for our salvation.  It is my hope that this outline will not only effectively show God’s answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved,” but will also act as a springboard for

further study.

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Question:  What do you mean God “saves” us?  What does He save us from?

Isaiah 59:1-2  Our sins, or our disobedience to God, separate us from God. While we are still sinners, before we have been forgiven by God, we are separated from Him.  Psalm 5:4 indicates that those who have not been forgiven cannot live with God; they have no hope of going to Heaven. 

Romans 5:12, 18-19   Before Adam and Eve sinned (see Genesis chapter 3) there was no sin in the world.  Everything was perfect, including people.  But when they disobeyed God, sin was introduced into the world.  The sin led to their death, both physical and spiritual.  If they had remained perfect, they would have lived forever with God, but because God and sin cannot live together, Adam and Eve died (death is a separation.  They had to be separated from God). 

2 Thessalonians 1:8-10  The world is not going to last forever.  One day the world will end and all people will be judged based on whether or not they obeyed God.  Those who don’t know God, or who didn’t obey Him, will be punished by being separated from Him forever in Hell.

Question:  So, God saves people from their sins, so they won’t be separated from Him forever.  But I’m a good person.  Why do I need to be saved?

Romans 5:12  This verse is clear on the point that all people since Adam and Eve have sinned.  Each one, once he/she sinned, died, just as Adam and Eve did.

Romans 3:23  No one is exempt from this.  Everyone has sinned.

Romans 3:10-18 Most people try to do the right thing, to be a good person.  But everyone has sinned.  Everyone has disobeyed God, and therefore no one is righteous in His sight.

Question:  But if no one is acceptable to God, then how can anyone be saved?  What Can save me?

John 1:29 (see also Leviticus 16:5-16)  God has always required that blood be shed in order for the sins of another to be forgiven (see Hebrews 9:22).  Life is found in the blood (see Leviticus 17:11).  Something else must die—must shed its blood--in the place of the one who sinned, to spare the life of the sinner.  In the old covenant between God and people, that blood was to be shed by animals.  In the new covenant, the one we have and obey today, the blood was shed by a Man.

Ephesians 1:7   By the grace of God, it is the blood of this Man that takes our sins away, and therefore saves us from Hell.

Ephesians 2:13  Who is this Man?  It is the Christ, the Savior, Jesus.  We were far away from God because of our sins, but Jesus’ blood can take

away those sins and bring us to God again.

John 14:6  Jesus is the way to God.  He is the One who can tell us what the

truth of God really is.  He is the one who can give us life through His

blood.  He is the only way to be saved.

Question:  Why Jesus?  Why is He the only one who’s qualified to save me?

John 6:68-69   Jesus was more than just a Man.  He was and is the Son of God.  God sent Him to earth for the purpose of saving people from their sins.

John 3:34-36   God sent Jesus.  The things Jesus taught were from God; His words were God’s words.  Whether or not we are acceptable to God depends on whether or not we believe in Jesus.  If we reject Jesus, then we are rejecting God, and we have no hope of being saved.

Hebrews 4:14-15  Jesus, being a Man, was tempted to sin in all the ways we are, but He did not sin.  He is the only perfect Man who has ever lived.  It is because He is pure and blameless that He can completely take our sins away through His blood.  If He were not perfect, He Himself would have needed forgiveness, and His blood wouldn’t have been sufficient to cleanse us. 

Question:  So what did Jesus do to save us? 

Romans 5:8    Jesus died, thereby shedding His blood to save us.

John 3:14 (see also Numbers 21:5-9)  When the Israelites complained against God, He sent snakes, and many people died from snake bites.  When the people asked for forgiveness, God told Moses to make an image of the very thing that was killing them—the snakes—and put it up on a pole for all to see.  Whoever looked at it would be saved from death.  Likewise, Jesus was lifted up on a cross for all to see.  With His death He took the penalty for our sins.  Though He had never sinned, He became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21 ); He became the thing that was killing us.  And we, if we look to Him and believe, will be saved.

I Peter 2:22-24  We deserve to die because of our sins.  But Jesus took the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross.  The punishment He received can heal us and save us from the punishment we deserve.

Matthew 26:47—27:54; Mark 14:43—15:39; Luke 22:47—23:47;John 18:1—19:30  These are four accounts of the death of Jesus, from the time of his arrest to the time of His death.  These detail the suffering He endured on our behalf.

Question:  I see that it is a great thing that Jesus took the penalty for my sins.  But what happened to Him then?  It makes no sense for me to serve a dead man!

Luke 24:1-48  When Jesus died He paid the penalty for our sins.  But that wasn’t the end.  If He had remained dead, then what good would forgiveness be for us?  When we died, that would be the end!  But three days after His death Jesus conquered death by rising from the grave, never to die again.  He is alive!  Death no longer has any power over us; it cannot hold us.  Though our bodies die, our spirits will live forever. 

I Thessalonians 4:13-17  Not only do our spirits live forever, but our bodies will be resurrected at the end of the world.  Death means nothing for us now; it is only temporary. 

Hebrews 2:14-15  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection He destroyed the power of Satan.  Jesus is the Son of God; He can take away our sins, save us from eternal separation from God in Hell, and deliver us from death.  He is more powerful than Satan; He is alive now and will continue to live forever!

Question:  What do I need to do to obtain the salvation Jesus can give me?

Ephesians 2:8-9  The first thing we need to remember is that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation; it is a gift from God—His gift of grace to those who have believed.

Romans 6:1  Since salvation comes by God’s grace to us, and therefore cannot be earned, can’t we just continue sinning, knowing that God’s grace will save us?  No.  God expects our obedience.  Remember that God’s grace is given to those who have believed.  If we believe in God, then we will believe that His words are true.  If we believe His words, then we will obey them.

Luke 17:10  Obedience to the commands of God is nothing to be proud of or brag about.  When we obey God, we are only doing what is expected of us.

Romans 10:14, 17  How can we know about God, much less believe in Him unless we first hear about Him?

John 12:48  Jesus’ words—the things He taught—came from God.  They are trustworthy, and they are what will judge us one day.  So before anything else, we must hear and read the words of God.  We have them written down in the Bible.

John 1:12

John 3:14-18

John 3:36

John 6:47

Acts 10:43

Galatians 3:26

Hebrews 11:6

To be saved, it is essential that we believe in Jesus.  If we believe in Jesus, we believe in God also.  If we believe in Them, then we also will believe that the things They said are true.  Without this belief—this trust—it is impossible to be pleasing to God, and therefore impossible to be saved.

Matthew 10:32-33

Luke 12:8

Romans 10:9-10

Our belief in Jesus will lead us to tell others about Him.  This is necessary if we are to be saved.  We must confess to others Who Jesus is.  If we do, then He also will speak on our behalf before God and the angels in Heaven.

Luke 13:3

Acts 2:38

Acts 3:19

Acts 17:30

Before we can be forgiven of our sins, we must repent.  This means to turn away from our sins.  We are sorry for our disobedience, and the result is that we turn our backs on our sinful acts, and turn to face God—to do the things He wants us to do.

Mark 16:15-16  Three necessities are listed here: hearing about Jesus, believing in Him, and being baptized.

Acts 2:38, 41  Two are listed: repent, and be baptized.

Acts 22:16

Romans 6:3-8

Galatians 3:27

Colossians 2:11-13

I Peter 3:21

We must be baptized (immersed) for the purpose of having our sins forgiven.  In this way we imitate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  Our old, sinful selves die and are buried in water (this is why we are totally immersed in water—buried), and rise again from the water new, perfect, and forgiven of our sins.  This is where we “put on Christ,” where we receive the Holy Spirit, where our sins are forgiven us, where we are given new life.      

John 14:15, 21, 23

Acts 10:34-35

2 John 1:9

Revelation 2:10 (the last part of the verse)

James 1:12 (refer back to John 14:15)

We must be faithful to God.  We must continue to obey Him if we are to be saved.  Salvation is not a one-time event.  It is a process.  If we obey His commands and are granted salvation, but then stop obeying Him, we will be lost. 

Question:  Some of the verses listed mention the Holy Spirit.  What is His role in my

salvation?

Romans 8:15-17  He bears witness that we are children of God

Romans 8:26  He assists us in our prayers.

Ephesians 1:13-14  He is given by God as a guarantee of our inheritance, the salvation we have been given.

I Corinthians 6:11 He justifies us before God, through the name of Jesus

Galatians 5:16-26  Enables us to do what is right in the sight of God

James 4:5  He lives in us

II Corinthians 3:18  Transforms us into the image of the glory of the Lord Jesus

II Corinthians 1:22; 5:5  Lives in our hearts as a guarantee of our salvation

Romans 8:9  Lives in us to show that we belong to Jesus

Romans 8:13  Enables us to stop doing what is wrong, and do what is right

Question:  When does the Spirit come to live in us?

John 7:38-39

Ephesians 1:13

These two verses indicate that the Spirit is given to those who believe in Jesus.

Acts 2:38  The Spirit is given when we are baptized for the forgiveness of our sins

Acts 5:32  The Spirit is given to those who have obeyed God. The conclusion we can draw is that those who believe in Jesus will obey His commands.  Upon our obedience, we are given the Spirit to live in our hearts.

Question:  Does the Bible give any examples of people being saved in this manner?

Acts 16:25-34  Heard, Believed and were Baptized

Acts 2:36-42, 47  Heard, Believed, Repented, were Baptized, & received the Holy Spirit

Acts 8:4-13  Heard, Believed and were Baptized

Acts 8:26-40  Heard, Believed, Confessed and was Baptized

Acts 9:1-20  Heard, Believed and was Baptized

Acts 16:13-15  Heard and were Baptized

Acts 13:47-48  Heard and Believed

Acts 18:8  Heard, Believed and were Baptized

Question:  What are my responsibilities once I am saved?

There are many; here are a few.

II Peter 1:5-11 

II Timothy 2:15

Titus 2:12

Always be growing in knowledge, endeavoring to be obedient and well pleasing

to God.

Acts 8:22  Though we have been forgiven of our sins, we must continue to repent

and ask forgiveness for the sins we commit after we are saved.

Hebrews 10:25  Meet with the Church—with the people who have believed and

obeyed Christ.

2 John 1:5-6  Love one another, continuing to obey God’s commands

Galatians 1:6-10  Do not turn aside to teachings other than the ones God has given.

Romans 12:13  Care for the needs of others, particularly for those in the family of God.

I Thessalonians 5:17  Pray

I Corinthians 11:23-34  Meet with the Church to participate in the eating of the Lord’s Supper, being sure to do it in a worthy manner.

Question:  What is the conclusion we can draw from this study?

            Everyone has disobeyed God, and that disobedience results in our death.  Jesus took the penalty for our sins upon Himself, giving us the forgiveness of sins and conquering death when He died on the cross and arose again to live forever.  He is our only way to salvation; there is no one else we can turn to in order to be saved.

            Once we hear the word of God we must first believe that it is true.  Upon hearing and believing, the natural result will be that we will tell others of our belief.  Our belief will also lead us to obey God’s commands, repenting of our past sins and turning to serve God.  Just as Jesus died, was buried and rose again from the grave, we also will obey His command to die to our old sins, be “buried” in water through baptism, and rise again from the water a new person. 

            Having obeyed His commands, we will be forgiven of our sins, and God will give us the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts, witnessing that we are children of God, and guaranteeing our salvation.  We must then continue to serve God and obey His commands all the days of our lives, always pressing forward as the Spirit transforms us day by day into the image of the glory of Jesus.  We must follow the path that God has given, trusting in no other, for His is the way that leads to salvation.

            We cannot follow only part of God’s plan and be assured of our salvation.  If we hear God’s word, but do not obey, it does us no good.  If we are baptized without believing, then we’re just getting wet; we have no forgiveness.  If we obey and are saved, and then grow lazy and stop serving God, then we will not have been “faithful unto death,” and will not be given “the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)  If we are saved, and then decide to serve God in ways that seem good to us, but He has not commanded, then we cannot be assured that He will be pleased with our service.  Believing in God and in His word means that we trust that He knows what is best, and that He will do all that He has promised.

So much ter be done!

The work’s never through

An the work ain’t much fun.

No thanks fer yer labor

No pay fer the job"

Jest "What’s fer supper?"

"How bout corn-on-da-cob?"

Ya mop an ya sweep,

Ya dust an ya shine

Then turn around

And what do ya find?

His shoes on the floor,

His coat on the chair,

His rear in the couch,

An his feet in the air!!

So ya kick off yer shoes

An ya throw down yer broom"

An ya wink at yer ole man

Proverbs 25:16  "Have you found honey?  Eat only as much as you need, Lest you be filled with it and vomit."

1 Peter 1:5-9  But also for this very reason, having all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Titus 2:2-3  "that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;  the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things—"

The men who lead as elders in the congregations must possess self-control.

*Note*  The terms "bishop" and "elder" describe the same office.

1 Timothy 3:2-3  "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;  not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money..."

Titus 1:5-9  "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you— if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money,  but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

By these verses we understand that God wants His people to be temperate, self-controlled in all matters, whether it be with food, alcohol, desire for money, etc.  In most congregations, you'll find people who are temperate with alcohol (many don't drink it at all).  Most understand that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" (1

Timothy 6:10), though pursuit of excessive wealth can be a trap for many.  But the killer--the one that affects each and every congregation is the excessive consumption of food.  There are bound to be one or more members in probably every group who fight lack of temperance with food.  I'm one of them.  I know lots of them.  And I know that many of you out there have chuckled in sympathy when people lament after a basket dinner: "Oo, I ate too much!"  Probably most of us have eaten in a hurry, and ended up getting too much to eat before our brains registered that we were full.  Many of us have finished our first serving, and felt like we'd had just enough.  But wasn't that pie good?  Wouldn't we like just a bit more of that mac 'n' cheese?  "Yes, thank you, I'll take another roll."

When we get an ice cream cone, is one small scoop sufficient?  Usually we get 2 or 3 big ones.  Ice cream's not very filling, after all, we reason.  It just melts and fills in all the gaps between the food in your stomach.  And then, some people like their ice cream topped with hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream and a cherry.  Make that 5 cherries and extra hot fudge. When we open a bag of chips, do we eat 5 or 6 of them and put the bag away, or do we sit munching on them until half the bag is gone?

How do we know when we've had enough?  The obvious answer would be to eat only when we're hungry, and stop when we're satisfied, not stuffed.  But I think there's more to it.  It doesn't take a lot of pasta to make me feel satisfied, for example.  But I can eat and eat popcorn, and not feel full.  Does that mean it's okay for me to keep eating bowl-fulls of popcorn until I do feel full?  I don't think so.  I think temperance carries the idea of doing things in the right amounts--not too much, nor too little.  Even though my stomach doesn't feel full yet, my brain is capable of thinking, "It's not healthy for my body for me to consume this much popcorn.  I need to stop."  If I am still truly hungry, I can get a small serving of something more filling.  On the flip side, some people over-compensate for a problem with gluttony (or, sometimes an imagined problem) by eating too little.  This isn't temperance, either.  

Since this is such an important issue, one that affects many of us, and one that is found throughout the Bible, you'd think you'd be hearing lots of sermons about it.  Nope.  I heard one this year, and it made me want to sink into the floor, which is probably why we don't hear them more often.  It steps on many of our toes!  And it's such a personal issue; you don't want to discreetly mention to an overweight person that they may need to work on temperance.  No!  I wouldn't!  And I'm one of those overweight people who doesn't want anyone to mention that to me.  Now, if a brother or sister had a drinking problem, would we talk to them?  Probably.  If they were in the habit of lying, would we say something?  Likely.  If they gossip habitually?  Possibly (and we should more often than we do).  But gluttony?  Seldom.  And, there are other considerations.  Some people have medical issues that prevent weight-loss.  You can't always assume that an overweight person is intemperate.  Nor can you assume that a person who looks trim and fit is temperate.  They may have an outstanding metabolism that hides the fact that they do eat more than their body needs.

So, how are we to help one another learn self-control in all matters, and especially when it comes to food?  I don't know the answer, but I think that it would do us all good to study it, and to hear lessons about it more often. Any thoughts?