Articles by: Kenneth J. Ester
How exactly are we Saved?
I have studied this subject as much as any other doctrine in the Bible. I have put aside my own beliefs and studied it through unbiased eyes and I used Primary Verses to prove it. According to the Word of God. According to God's truth and not any man's interpretation of God's words, we are saved by faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior alone. Not by works of any kind! Not by water baptism! Not by repenting of sins. Only through faith in Jesus. These verses are exactly how we are saved...
Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
These are two of a total of 18 Primary verses that state exactly "how" we are saved. You have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. You have to believe that Jesus rose from the dead! You have to believe it enough that you are willing to tell someone and mean it! Telling someone does not save you. It only proves you are not ashamed to admit it. It proves you truly believe in your heart.
Think about it for a moment. Use simple logic to understand it. What is salvation? It is to save our souls from an eternity of suffering in the Lake of Fire. Our souls are not physical! They are spiritual! Salvation is spiritual! So if it is a gift of God as Paul tells us, then it is a spiritual gift! As with any gift, it is not something you earn. That would make it a reward or a payment. A gift is something given for free. Also, as with any gift, it is never yours until you accept it. If you don't accept the gift of salvation, then it is not yours. You need to accept it to receive it. How do you accept a spiritual gift? You believe it is real!
That is why the gift of salvation is for anyone who believes with all their heart that Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead. Because to believe those two things, by default you must believe God is real. Jesus was real. Jesus died on the cross to save us!
Ephesians 1:13 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
After hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, the very moment you truly believe, God sends the Holy Spirit to enter you. The Holy Spirit seals you with a promise of salvation and when the day comes, whether we die or it is the great day of the rapture, it will be the Holy Spirit within us that will be what God looks for to save us and take us to heaven. It will not be anything man does physically that will save us. It will simply be our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior that will save us because it will be our faith in Jesus that is the reason the Holy Spirit is sent to seal us with the promise of salvation.
Primary Salvation Scriptures from Jesus.
Primary Salvation Scriptures from the writers.
Also read:
Why do we need Salvation?
What did God do to Save us?
False Doctrines on Salvation:
Saved by Works
Saved by Water Baptism
Saved by Repenting of Sin
Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
These are two of a total of 18 Primary verses that state exactly "how" we are saved. You have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. You have to believe that Jesus rose from the dead! You have to believe it enough that you are willing to tell someone and mean it! Telling someone does not save you. It only proves you are not ashamed to admit it. It proves you truly believe in your heart.
Think about it for a moment. Use simple logic to understand it. What is salvation? It is to save our souls from an eternity of suffering in the Lake of Fire. Our souls are not physical! They are spiritual! Salvation is spiritual! So if it is a gift of God as Paul tells us, then it is a spiritual gift! As with any gift, it is not something you earn. That would make it a reward or a payment. A gift is something given for free. Also, as with any gift, it is never yours until you accept it. If you don't accept the gift of salvation, then it is not yours. You need to accept it to receive it. How do you accept a spiritual gift? You believe it is real!
That is why the gift of salvation is for anyone who believes with all their heart that Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead. Because to believe those two things, by default you must believe God is real. Jesus was real. Jesus died on the cross to save us!
Ephesians 1:13 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
After hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ, the very moment you truly believe, God sends the Holy Spirit to enter you. The Holy Spirit seals you with a promise of salvation and when the day comes, whether we die or it is the great day of the rapture, it will be the Holy Spirit within us that will be what God looks for to save us and take us to heaven. It will not be anything man does physically that will save us. It will simply be our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior that will save us because it will be our faith in Jesus that is the reason the Holy Spirit is sent to seal us with the promise of salvation.
Primary Salvation Scriptures from Jesus.
Primary Salvation Scriptures from the writers.
Also read:
Why do we need Salvation?
What did God do to Save us?
False Doctrines on Salvation:
Saved by Works
Saved by Water Baptism
Saved by Repenting of Sin
