When someone believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the news of the Gospel, they become a child of God. Their sins are forgiven, they are put into the family of God, and they are given a new nature.

The new nature is the Person of the Holy Spirit. He moves into the heart of the individual and makes him or her a “new creature in Christ” (II Cor. 5:17). The above verses reveal that the Holy Spirit becomes our “seal,” or evidence of ownership by God Himself.

He is in the newly saved person “until the redemption of the purchased possession.” The redemption spoken of here is not a reference to salvation, but to the time when Jesus comes to take His people to glory. This speaks of the Rapture.

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit becomes the “earnest,” or downpayment of salvation. His presence and working in your life is proof that you have been purchased by the blood of Christ. Romans 8:9 says that “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

He will be there in your heart until the Rapture and will not leave before it takes place. This guarantees salvation.

Certainly, it is something to praise Him for. Like He said in Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

The Bible talks about people being chosen by God “before the foundation of the world.” It makes a strong declaration that He made a choice that affects the saved of all generations. It does not refer to the Calvinistic doctrine of God choosing who would be saved and who would not.

Before He ever created the world, God decided that those who are going to be saved will be “holy and without blame” in His eyes through His love. He starts the process by putting us into His family (adopting those who believe).

In salvation, because of Christ’s payment for sin, God takes the filthy sinner and forgives them of their sin, makes that person His child, and then makes them holy. Holiness occurs in a two-fold way. First, there is the way God sees us because we are “in Christ” – spotless and without blame. Secondly, God wants us to choose to live holy by being separate from the world and choosing to live pleasing to Him in all we do. It is a lifelong process.

God’s plan of working this way in the believer’s life is “according to the good pleasure of his will.” It is the best way. God never chooses any way less than the best way. It leaves us with a free choice to love Him – or forsake Him – as some have done.

Thank God that all who sincerely come to Christ for salvation are instantly and forever saved. Whether you get saved to not is a choice you must make. Once saved, though, He will work on you to help you fulfill His unchanging plan of making you “holy and without blame before him in love.”

Christian, are you helping Him fulfill His plan for your life? Remember that He came to give you an “abundant life,” and it is a joyful life. The old song says: “Let Him have His way with thee.”

I often hear people say that you cannot know if you are going to Heaven or not. The Bible is plain about this matter – especially throughout the New Testament.

The Bible makes it plain that you not only can know but that God wants you to know – for sure. Consider the above two verses. Before you read them again, eliminate all preconceived ideas about the matter and observe what the Bible – God’s Word – says.

In verse 12, the bottom line of knowing whether you are saved or not, is what the Bible says about believing on Christ. It declares that if you have the Son (Jesus) then you have eternal life. If you do not have the Son, then, you do not have eternal life. That is quite plain.

Now, people are not born physically having the Son. We know this because verse 13 says twice that you must “believe” to be saved. Babies do not believe anything. It is why Jesus said, in John 3:3, that to go to Heaven, you must be “born again.” The first birth is not sufficient.

To believe on Jesus Christ means to understand, first, what He said about salvation. He declared that He came to save sinners. Jesus said, in Luke 5:32: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

After admitting to God that you are a sinner, you must know that Jesus died as your Substitute. All people, because of their sin (rebellion against God’s laws), are destined to go to Hell to pay for their sin. Repentance means turning from sin in your heart and being willing to start doing what God wants.

In prayer, tell God that you are sorry for your sin. Believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins and receive His payment for them, then ask Him to come into your life as Lord (Boss). If you are serious about it: you “may know that ye have eternal life” – based on the Word of God.

At that time, you have “the Son” – and not before.

There is a lot of talk about peace these days, but much of it is just talk. The primary problem with the peace this world offers is that it is only external. In spite of the talk, wars and fighting continue. Of course, peace between nations and neighbors is highly desirable.

Even with external peace, the soul is often in a condition of unrest – because of sin and doubtfulness about the eternal future. When the Lord Jesus gives peace, it eliminates the fear of eternal judgment, because He promises and gives eternal life. It also eliminates the feeling of guilt of past sin, because He takes it away – never to be seen by God again.

Some religions offer some type of peace – but it is a deception. What good is it if your mind is at a temporal peace but you still go to Hell because your sins are not forgiven? That kind of peace may offer a temporary salve of the conscience – but sin is not erased. Consider this verse: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts. 3:19). This verse promises that if you will turn from sin in your heart to God and ask Him to save and forgive you because of what Jesus did for you on the Cross, He will blot out (erase) your sins. This can give you peace with God.

Once the sin issue has been taken care of, then the promise of the above verse in John can apply to you. You will be able to have peace beyond anything this world offers – even being calm in difficult situations. This kind of peace is the peace of God.

Do you have this kind of peace today?

There are many today claiming to be or have the way to God. Because of spiritual darkness in the world, most people are confused and uncertain about their future – but there is no need for it.

You see, there is only One Who came down from Heaven to save mankind. His claim was verified by His powerful miracles, His words, and by those who were closest to Him.

The Bible prophesied His coming centuries before and declared that He would fulfill many detailed prophecies. They were so detailed that it would be impossible to predict them or even to deliberately fulfill them.

All religions teach that man must earn his way to Heaven. Because Jesus came to die for our sins, and He could only do this if He had no sin. He even invited others to point out His sins if they could – and there were no takers – not even from the religious leaders who hated Him! (John 8:46 “Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?”)

Because His life backed up His words, and so did His miracles, He proved that He was indeed “the way, the truth, and the life.” This was not just a declaration of a wish – it is the truth – that all must heed if they want to see Heaven (“No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”)

What does He require for salvation? He wants you to turn from sin and, in faith, ask Jesus to be your only Savior. He said: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Have you asked Him to be your Savior? If not, why not do it today?

In the above verses, there are several things that can be seen that must be considered to answer the above question. They are:

1. Jesus had earlier asked the disciples if they had swords. They declared that they had two.

Here, after Peter cut off a servant’s ear, Jesus tells him to put the sword away. This indicates that they could have fought, and with miraculous power – could have resisted this mob. But Jesus was not interested in their resistance for His sake – or anyone else’s.

Jesus did not say this because He was a pacifist. No, later He will come and take vengeance on those gathered against Him at Armageddon and then remove all unbelievers!

2. Jesus challenges them with a thought: “Don’t you know that I could even now call 12 legions of angels to protect Me and destroy My enemies?”

This was more than wishful thinking. The wording makes it clear that even at this moment He could have called them – and they would have come. It must be remembered that in Hezekiah’s day, one angel killed 185,000 soldiers in a single night! He refused to call them that He might go to the Cross as planned!

3. Jesus neither encouraged a riot against those arresting Him, nor did He call any angels. Why? Because He came to die for the sins of the world. He came to save men, not to destroy them.

Because He loved the world and was not willing that any should go to Hell (John 3:16), He made salvation easy. He simply wants people to turn from their sins (disobedience to God as given in the Bible), and trust on Christ to save them when they ask Him to: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). 

I have the privilege of talking to many people about spiritual matters. It is amazing to me, with Bibles in most homes, how few people there are who have actually read it through.

God has given to man a supernatural Book, one that reveals the truth about our existence, God, our future, and most important, how we can have eternal life and live with God forever. Many churches proclaim the passages every week to help people understand it. Also, many churches even encourage their people to bring their Bibles with them because they want the people to see that what they are teaching is really in God’s Book.

In the above verses, Jesus was talking to people who had the Scriptures and had memorized much of it. Yet, they were unwilling to believe what the Book plainly told them.

Many people are like that still today. Some even read the Bible but fail to accept its simple truth about salvation.

The great truth is that salvation cannot be earned. This is plainly stated in Ephesians 2:8,9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Note that salvation is the gift of God. Gifts are free.

The gift that God gave to give us salvation is the gift of His Son. John 3:16 says it very well: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Thank God, His Son Jesus, paid the full price for what we owe.

If you are not yet a believer, call on God in prayer now, asking Him to forgive you and save you – because Jesus paid your full price. Read the verse again in the paragraph right above this one.

Now that Easter is past, some may wonder whether the resurrection is all that important. The truth is that all the teachings of the Bible are meaningless unless Christ rose from the dead.

God declared two very significant things in the Bible that affect our salvation. The first is that sin separates us from God – eternally. The Bible declares in Romans 6:23 that the “wages” [pricetag] “of sin is death” in Hell.

The second very significant thing that every person on earth must know is that only blood (death) can atone for our sin. God demonstrated this to Adam and Eve in the Garden when He provided them with skins – to cover them after they sinned and their own efforts to please God with leaves had failed. The Bible clearly declares this fact in Hebrews 9:22: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

These two Biblical principles mean that if people are ever to be accepted by God and allowed to enter His holy Heaven, then Someone must take our place and die for us. Only by a substitution could the sinner ever be allowed to go unpunished.

Jesus Christ became the willing Substitute for all mankind. Although sinless, He came to die for “the sins of the world” (John 1:29). He had to die if we were to go free. But if He never came back, it would be impossible to know that our sins were forgiven by God.

Jesus’ resurrection proved that God was satisfied with His death for us. Otherwise, He would have remained in the grave – and in Hell continuing to pay for our sins.

Isaiah 53:11 – written centuries before Christ, predicted that God would be “satisfied” with what Christ did on the Cross for us. The verse says: “He” [God the Father] “shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

Because Jesus Christ paid the full price of what we owe, all that is left is for us to receive His gift of forgiveness and eternal life. John 3:16 states it very clearly: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Have you called on Jesus to forgive and save you yet? Will you believe today before it is too late?

In this little booklet, you will find real answers about who can be saved, see key salvation verses, and get a clear overview of salvation from the Bible. You really can know for sure – from the Bible – if you are going to Heaven or not!

If you are not sure, this booklet will show you how to get saved and on your way to Heaven. Jesus Christ is the Door and He wants to save you today. Find out how from this free book!

I have put together a little PDF to help explain God’s way of salvation in plain English. It is free and you do not even have to give me an email address.

Follow this link to read a copy of “How to Be Sure of Your Salvation” – or download it!

Paul first encourages believers to be a “living sacrifice” to God, and then he tells them why. He calls it a “reasonable service.”

Many reasons could be given as to why it is “reasonable.” They certainly would start with the fact that we do not deserve it; and secondly, God did not have to put His Son on a Cross for us.

God could have let all of us simply go to Hell and pay the price we deserve for our sins. After all, we are told that “the wages of sin is death” (Ro. 6:23).

In love, God sent His Son to redeem us by dying on the Cross for us. Then, He made salvation as a gift through faith (Eph. 2:8,9) and did not make us earn it. In fact, He rejects all attempts to make us pay for it – or even part of it. Once faith is put in Christ for salvation, all our sins are forgiven and erased.

We should also consider being a “living sacrifice” because He put us into His family and made us joint-heirs with His Son, Jesus Christ (“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ,” Ro. 8:17).

God’s redemption of us also includes eternal life with Him, the removal of sin from our natures when we see Him in glory, and a perfect and sinless world in the future. What more could He have done to make His gift of salvation wonderful?

Considering all these things and more – it certainly is reasonable! He will not make you make that decision, but it should also be mentioned that He adds “abundant life” and blessing to those who make that choice!