Message 7 - By
Jerry D. Green
Believing
Unto Salvation
Introduction
My motivation for writing this message was a letter I received from
a young man in prison. He professed himself to be a believer, yet he was desperately
seeking an answer for what he perceived to be two problems. One, how to overcome Satan, and two, the lust demon that was on his
back. In fact, the answer to both problems is one and the same, the true gospel
of Jesus Christ. First of all, we don’t have to overcome Satan. Jesus did that
at Calvary for the true believer (Hebrews
2:14-15). And two, the stronghold of that old lust demon is actually in our
old man of sin, called “…the lust of the flesh,” which was also, for the true believer,
taken care of at Calvary (Romans 6:6).
I hope and pray “…the eyes of… (that young mans
spiritual) …understanding… (were opened) …enlightened…,” and that he came to know the glorious liberty which we have
as the children of God. But I also know that there are multitudes of professed
believers out there who are also totally bound and in the same predicament as
that young man was. This message was what the Lord gave me for him, but I can tell you it is the
answer to the bondage of Satan and sin for all who believe it, no matter what your sin problem. So if you’re
struggling with something in your life you need deliverance from, believing the
true gospel of Jesus Christ is the only
answer that will make you free indeed from all the bondage of Satan and sin. JDG
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Believing Unto
Salvation
What is salvation? Salvation is being saved, delivered, or rescued FROM
something. “…Thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall SAVE His
people FROM their sins (Matthew 1:21).” For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for IT (the gospel of Christ) IS the POWER of God
unto SALVATION to EVERYONE that…” believes IT (Romans 1:16). In Galatians
1:6-8, Paul is warning the Galatians concerning some false teachers who had
come into the Galatian church. These teachers were turning the people away from
the true gospel unto another gospel, which he says, is not another gospel, but is a perversion of the true gospel. They were turning the
truth of God (the true gospel) into a lie (Romans 1:24-26). Why was Paul so concerned about these false
teachers? Like so many today, they were preaching and teaching what they called
the gospel; They were preaching and teaching Jesus; They were preaching the
Spirit. But when the gospel being preached is a changed or perverted gospel,
that is preaching another Jesus, and
the believer of that gospel will receive another
spirit: Not the Holy Spirit of God (II
Corinthians 11:4). It is not that you believe, or how much you believe; but its WHAT you believe about Jesus and what He did for mankind at Calvary that
makes the difference between being lost,
or being saved; between struggling WITH sin,
or being FREE FROM sin. Its what you believe that He
accomplished through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension that makes
the difference between the true gospel
and a perverted gospel. The true gospel is the New Testament
Jubilee message: freedom FROM sin, freedom FROM religious law,
and freedom FROM the devil. How, you ask? It’s through faith
in the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. Praise God!
This is what salvation is; being saved FROM something. There is no salvation in a perverted gospel.
Someone wrote me recently wanting to know how to overcome Satan and
the lust demon that was on their back. That person said, I am a believer, but
I’m not always following Jesus and I’m more of a back sliding hypocrite than
anything else. I commend this person for their honesty, but are are they really saved? Is this person really a
believer? The scripture says that “…the gospel of Christ… is the power of God unto SALVATION to EVERYONE
that…” believes IT. No
doubt this person has had some association with Christianity, but what were they
taught? What do they believe about Jesus? Is He indeed the Christ? How is it
they are still the servant of sin,
if they are a true believer? Is this
salvation? And again, I have no doubt this person is sincere in their desire to
be free from that master called lust (sin), which drives them without mercy; but how could they still be
in bondage if they truly believe the
true gospel of Christ? Man’s answer
for such things is, you need professional help, or you ought to try harder, or
just do it. But “…whosoever committeth sin is the servant (or slave) of sin” (John 8:34), and the servant does not
tell the master (sin) what to do.
But “If
the Son…shall MAKE you free (FROM sin), ye shall be free indeed” (in actuality;
in reality; John 8:36). Gods answer
for both sin and the devil is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only faith in the shed blood and broken body of Jesus will make a person free indeed from both sin (the
old fallen, fleshly, lustful, depraved, sin
nature) and the devil.
I know that many church people find themselves in the same struggle
as the person I have just mentioned.
They have striven with some particular sin in their life they know is not pleasing to God, but the more
they struggle, the tighter sin’s
grasp. Preachers can find themselves in
this battle and the harder they preach against their particular sin, the stronger its hold. How could
this be? Because law is “…the strength of sin…” (I
Corinthians 15:56). Man cannot help himself in this situation. If he could,
salvation would be by works, Jesus would have died in vain, and we (mankind)
would have room to boast. But man could not and cannot help himself, which is
why Jesus came and suffered for us, that we could be MADE free indeed FROM sin (both
the nature and the act). Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples
indeed; And you shall KNOW the truth (Jesus and the true gospel of Him), and the truth
shall MAKE you free” (from sin). “If the Son
therefore shall MAKE you free (from sin), you shall be free indeed” (literally; in
actually; in reality; John 8:31-32 and
36). The key word concerning this freedom is make. Notice that the Son (Jesus) does not just set a person free,
but rather, He takes a person to Calvary with Him, where our old man of sin (the sin nature) was and “…IS crucified (put to death,
in union) with Christ…” (Romans 6:6) and we are raised again (in
union with Him, made, born, created) new creatures
(new creations). This new creation which comes forth is MADE FREE FROM sin. It is not subject to sin. For “Whosoever is born of God doth NOT
commit sin; (Why?) for (or because) His (God’s) seed (children; offspring) *REMAINETH (lives; dwells; stays; abides)
IN Him: and he (God’s seed; children; offspring) CANNOT sin; because he is (or she is, or they are) born of God (I John 3:9). “…Sin shall NOT have dominion over you (the new
creation [presently]); for you are not under the law, but
under grace (Romans
6:14). Praise God! Does this mean we never have to sin again? Absolutely! But only as long as we “…*REMAIN…,” live, dwell, stay, “…*ABIDE…” IN HIM. We must be born of Him and into Him and “*…REMAIN…” in Him, for
outside of, or apart from Him, we WILL sin. Outside of HIM, we
can do nothing (John 15:1-8). And the
result, “…the sting…,” “…the wages of sin is (still) death…,” no matter what we’ve been told. This is why we
are warned over and over concerning “…the wiles (the trickery) of the devil,” because he will “…beguile…” you and lure you
out of your “…refuge…,” if
you are not “…vigilant…” (II
Corinthians; 11:3; Ephesians 6:11;
I Peter 5:8; John 14:20-23; Psalms 91).
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* All words in this message with asterisks (*) are from the same Greek word, Strong’s #3306, “a
primary verb; … (meaning) …to stay (in a given place, state, relation…).” In
the KJV, this Greek word was translated in the following ways: abide, continue,
dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.
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In the first chapter of Luke, verses 69-75, there is a prophesy
of Jesus which says this: We shall “…be saved from our enemies…” (sin, death, and the devil), and “…being delivered out of…” their hand we
would “…serve…” (God) “…without FEAR, in
holiness and righteousness…all the days of our…” lives (Luke 1:74-75). And Hebrews 2:14 and 15 say “…that through
death… (Jesus would) …destroy him, … ,
the devil; … (who) had the power of
death (which is sin), And deliver them, who through FEAR of DEATH were all their lifetime
subject to bondage.” Praise God for this freedom FROM FEAR of DEATH which Jesus
delivered us FROM. It is because we are no longer sinners that we can now have no FEAR of DEATH. We now have no more
tormenting fear of the judgment (I John 4:17-18); no fear of hell; no fear of falling (backsliding) and no fear of the devil. This
is what true believing unto salvation
is about. “Therefore being justified by faith (in the redemptive work of Calvary) we have PEACE with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans
5:1). But God commendeth His LOVE toward us, in that, while
we were YET sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Notice that he says, while we were YET sinners. We are NOT sinners any more if we have truly believed “…the (true) gospel of Christ…” and have been truly born again of HIS
LIFE (I John 5:1). And verse 9
goes on to say, “Much more then, being now justified
by HIS BLOOD, we shall be saved by HIS LIFE.” HIS LIFE is what the truly born again believer is born of; and this NEW LIFE is what constitutes new birth. We are “…justified by His blood….” This is what our faith should be in. Not
in anything we can do. This is the “…blood of the New Testament…” (the New
Covenant; Matthew 26:28). “Wherefore Jesus also, that He…sanctify the people with His own blood,
suffered without the gate (outside of the walls of the city;
Hebrews 13:12-13). By the which will (the will of God) WE ARE sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all (Hebrews 10:7-10). For by one offering HE hath perfected (completed) forever THEM that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). He has done this. There is no
room for boasting on our part.
I Corinthians
6:9-11 name some specific things that will keep a person out of heaven. “Know ye not that
the unrighteous (sinners) SHALL NOT inherit the kingdom of God? BE NOT DECEIVED: neither
fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (catamites), nor abusers of themselves with mankind (sodomites), Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE (past tense) some of you: but (through faith in the finished work of Calvary) you (truly born again believers) ARE washed, you ARE sanctified, …you ARE justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” Sinners are NOT going to
heaven. Therefore, I cannot understand why some professed believers so
obstinately defend their “right” to be a sinner.
Revelation 21:27 says, “…there shall in no
wise enter into IT (the New Jerusalem; His true church; His body; Hebrews 12:22-23; I Corinthians 6:18) any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but (only) they which are written in the Lambs book of life.” God has made a
perfect salvation for us. According to
Strong’s Greek Dictionary, the Greek word which was translated salvation, #4991, means rescue or safety; and that is exactly what God
has done for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. He has rescued(saved, delivered)
us FROM our enemies (sin [and death, which is “The sting… , …the wages…” the result “…of sin…”], and the devil) “…and hath
translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son” (which is light
and life; Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 1:10, 3:3; John 1:4). Where could
there possibly be a safer place (Psalms 91)?
I know that many will think this good news is too good to be true; but if you will search the
scriptures you will find it is true. This good
news IS “…the (true) gospel of (Jesus, the) Christ…,” which IS “…the power of God unto SALVATION to EVERYONE that…” believes IT (Romans 1:16). It doesn’t matter what
the religious crowd would tell you,
and this includes the Christian religious
crowd. Neither does it matter what your life and/or your experience has
been in the past. Just call on Jesus with repentant heart (Godly sorrow for
your sin and sins; II Corinthians 7:10)
and believe the gospel truth that makes a
person free indeed FROM ALL sin. If
you will honestly do this, you will find that it is true, and that it will
change your life, which in turn will change your lifestyle. Jesus answered the devil
with “…it
is written…” (Matthew 4:1-11).
Likewise we must also believe that
the holy scriptures are absolutely the inspired, immutable, irrefutable Word of
God. Therefore, let us NOT make
excuse for anything God has said,
but rather, let us believe that God
has done exactly what He says He has done. Let us be as the one who came to
Jesus and said, Lord “…help thou my unbelief…” (actually, Lord
help me to believe; Mark 9:24). Lord help us to believe your
gospel (that which you have done for us at Calvary), NOT with just the
mind, but grant us faith to believe from
the heart unto “…so great (a) salvation…” , For “…How shall we escape, if we neglect
so great (a) salvation…” (Hebrews 2:3). I exhort any and every
person whose Christian experience is anything less than what the scriptures
declare it to be, to press on to KNOW the truth of the gospel. Then believe it, and submit yourself unto it. It WILL make you FREE INDEED; from SATAN,
from SIN, and from the religious LAW and/or LAWS of all men.
Message 7 - Believing Unto Salvation
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The True Gospel
Why do we emphasize the
gospel so?
1. Because the true gospel
is the only means by which man can
be reinstated to fellowship with God.
2. Because IT is the account of the sufferings, the death, the
burial, the resurrection, and the ascension of the Rock and Captain of our
salvation (Jesus), and how by faith,
IT was and is accomplished for and in us (Mark
8:31; Acts 1:11, 26:22-23; II Samuel 22:47; Hebrews
2:10; Ephesians 1:19-20, 2:5-6).
3. Because IT is the foundation upon which all other Biblical
teaching must be based (I Corinthians
3:10-15).
4. Because “…IT is the POWER OF GOD unto
SALVATION to…” all who will BELIEVE
IT (Romans 1:16).
5. Because “…He (Jesus) said unto them (and to all true
believers), Go ye into all the world, and preach THE GOSPEL to every
creature” (Mark 16:15).
JDG
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Message 7 - Believing Unto Salvation
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