Plan of Salvation
WHO IS GOD? 

Maybe you’re not even sure there IS a god. Maybe you find it hard to believe in an all-powerful God who doesn’t stop the suffering we experience. Maybe you bristle at the thought of being ruled by a supreme Creator? Perhaps you truly believe there is a God, but He doesn’t really affect your life. 

Many have rejected the Bible’s message of who God is before honestly investigating it. When you investigate the Bible’s message about God, you will have to make some very important choices.  We invite you right now to consider the Bible’s answer to this question: Who is God? 

Here are five words that describe who God is, according to the Bible. 

GOD IS CREATOR

First of all, God is Creator. The very first thing that the Bible tells us is that "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)  Every plant, animal, mountain, star, galaxy--God created it all. And the Bible tells us that we, people, are the pinnacle of God's Creation!  

And after God finished His creation, the Bible says that "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)  God's creation was good--perfect--without sickness, death, or wrongdoing of any kind.  

And God had a purpose for his perfect creation. God created humanity and all the creation around us to glorify Him. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:11) We were made to please and serve God--not as mindless slaves, but in a loving relationship. God wants to know us and talk to us and fellowship with us.  

Sadly, right from the beginning, mankind messed up and disobeyed God. In disobeying God, humanity is now dead. We will one day die physically as God never desired. But we have also died spiritually in that we have been separated from a relationship with God. When the first man and woman sinned at the very beginning of time, a great gulf was created between humanity and God. It is as though God were standing on one side of the Grand Canyon, and we are on the other. We will never be able to jump across. That perfect fellowship with our Creator has been broken. 

GOD IS HOLY

But not only is God Creator, God is holy. To be holy means to be perfectly without sin. God is infinitely separated from any wrong or undesirable thing. When the angels praise God in Heaven, they cry out, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." (Isaiah 6:3) Since man has been separated from God, we no longer have a complete idea of what it is to be holy, so God has shown us in the Bible what He means when he says that He is holy. Each of the Ten Commandments is a reflection of who God is and His holy nature, and they show what He expects of those that want to know Him and fellowship with Him. Here are just five of them: 

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD they God in vain" (Exodus 20:7) We must never misuse God's holy name as a curse word. 

"Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20:13) We must not murder. But Jesus said later that to hate another person is the exact same as murder. 

"Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Exodus 20:14) We must never violate the sacred marriage covenant. But Jesus said again that even to look on a woman to lust is to commit adultery in the heart. 

"Thou shalt not steal" (Exodus 20:15) We must not take what does not belong to us. 

"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" (Exodus 20:16) We must not lie or bend the truth at all. 

These ten commandments reveal a little bit of who God is. In 1 Peter 1:16, God says, "Be ye holy; for I am holy." In other words, we're not measured by how well we do compared to others. We are measured against God's holiness.   

The national debt as of 2020 was over $23.6 trillion. If that debt were suddenly transferred to your account or mine--no matter how rich we are or how much more money we make than others--we would never be able to pay it off. It is as if every person is trying to jump across the Grand Canyon to get to the other side. You may do better than someone else, but it makes no difference because you will never be able to get all the way across to God. In Romans 3, the Bible lays out just how sinful humanity is:  

Romans 3:10  "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: " 

Romans 3:11 "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."  

Romans 3:12 "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." 
 
Romans 3:23  "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; "

There are no exceptions. "All have sinned, and come short." One misuse of God's name, one moment of hate, one lustful glance, one time of stealing, one tiny lie--and you've missed the mark. We don't make it. We can't jump far enough. We can't cover the distance between God and us. We are sinners. And a holy God cannot have a relationship with a sinner. 

GOD IS JUST

God is Creator, and God is holy, but God is also just. As the judge of the universe, God has to punish sin in order to be consistent with His justice. Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."  

God has not yet given us the punishment for all the times that we have violated his holiness. But on the day we die, we will meet God, and 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." How thorough is this judgment that God will give?  

Matthew 12:36  says, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." Every single careless word will be judged by the holy Creator. And what is the punishment for our sin? Romans 6:23 tells us, "For the wages of sin is death." The "wages" or the price for sin is death. When we sin, we earn death. This means not only that we will one day die physically, but we will also be separated from God forever in eternal death, eternal punishment.  

Revelation 21:8 says, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." That is what God's justice demands. It is as if we were murderers standing before a judge, and the judge has to give us our punishment. We have broken the law. And God's law is His character. He must declare us guilty. 

GOD IS LOVING

The truth that our holy Creator is also a just Judge is bad news for any who have sin or guilt. But our fourth attribute of God is very good news: God is loving. 1 John 4:16 puts it very simply: "God is love." Love defines who our God is. God loves His creation, but His love is so deep that He cannot allow us to live forever with our sin. God's love is so great that He provided a solution to our problem of sin and judgment. Jesus is God's solution to sin. The Bible tells us clearly that Jesus is God. John 1 says, "In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Later, it says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." God came down to earth and became flesh, and His name was Jesus. Jesus lived perfectly. He lived up to each of the Ten Commandments in everything:
He never misused God's name. 
He never hated 
He never lusted 
He never stole 
He never lied 
Not once. He was the only human to ever live up to God's Holiness. Jesus' life was evidence that He jumped across the gap between humanity and God. But Jesus did not come only to show humanity how we should live. He came to die. Jesus allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross and mocked at while He bled and finally died. Think about what Jesus death meant from God’s point of view: 

In Jesus' death, God made an exchange. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, God says, "For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." At the cross, Jesus who was the perfect example of God's holiness allowed Himself to become sin. And God took out all His just anger against sin on Jesus. The only one who did not need to pay for His sins died for the sins of the world. And the perfect righteousness of Jesus got put on the account of us who had never done any of it. That awful record of our shameful thoughts and deeds and motives got exchanged for that perfect record of what Jesus has done.  

Where we were separated from God, we now have Christ’s perfect relationship with God. 

Where we were hopelessly in debt from sin, we now have Christ's stamp PAID IN FULL 

Where we were criminals sentenced to death, we now have Christ's title "Righteous" 

1 Peter 3:18 says it this way: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, …" 

That is the extent of God's love. 1 John 4:10, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." The righteous wrath of God is appeased by Christ’s death. And we know God accepted Jesus’ payment for sin because Jesus didn't stay dead. Three days after Jesus' death and burial, Jesus was raised from the dead to live forever. As much as God hates our sin, He loves us and gave Himself for us. 

GOD IS GRACIOUS

God is our Creator whose holiness cannot tolerate sin. Because He is just, He has to punish sin. But because God is loving, Jesus came to take the punishment for sin. But consider one more attribute of God: God is gracious. This means, He gives us what we don't deserve…simply as a gift! Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: " Christ's work on the cross is the unmerited gift from God. That is grace. How do we get this phenomenal gift from God? We receive it. We aren’t born with it. It is received by believing. John 3:18 tell us, "He that believeth on him [Jesus] is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."  

Believing involves turning from sin and turning toward Jesus. The Bible puts it this way: (Acts 20:21) "… repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

If you want to hold on to your sin, you cannot receive Jesus’ gift. Jesus died to take away your sin. In turning from sin, you must turn toward Jesus in faith. 

Faith is made up of three things: knowledge, assent and trust. We cannot agree with what we do not know. And we cannot trust what we do not agree with. You may agree with the facts that we have presented. But trust is the key. Knowledge of God’s nature can bring you to the desperate realization that your sin is shameful before a holy God … even deserving of hell. You may come to the point of agreeing there is nothing you can do to pay for your sin. That is true. But it will only make you miserable. Trust is the firm assurance that God will accept the blood of Jesus as payment for your sins. That us where the exchange happens.  

Faith is the empty hand that reaches out to receive the grace of God.  

Romans 4:4 says “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”  

You can’t trust Jesus’ payment and your baptism or your church attendance or your good deeds. Until you declare yourself bankrupt—utterly unable to pay—the debt will still be yours. 

Romans 4:5 says: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."   

You can't have God's grace, God's gift, until you stop trying to pay for it yourself. You'll just be working endlessly to pay off a $23 trillion debt instead of accepting His payment. You'll be trying to jump across a massive canyon instead of using His work as the bridge. You'll be trying to appease a judge who declares you guilty instead of accepting Jesus' death in your place. 

CONCLUSION

Then according to the Bible, who is God?  

God is the Creator to whom we owe our life and obedience, and who wants to have a relationship with us.  

God is Holy and is infinitely offended by what we have done against Him.  

God is a just Judge who will someday judge us for our sin.  

God is loving and has Himself provided the way for us to be free from our sins.  

God is gracious and offers salvation as a gift to receive, not a merit to be earned. Christ’s blood is enough to cover whatever you have done and whoever you are. All that is left is to believe. 

I warned you that an honest investigation of the Bible’s message about God, would bring you to some very important choices. And here we are. If what the Bible says about God is true, God demands our surrender to His way of salvation: Jesus Christ… alone. You cannot be neutral. 

John 3:36 "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

If you still have questions, the best place to look is the Bible. You may want to start with the books of John and Romans.   

If you would like to talk to someone, feel free to reach out to us at (734) 482-4122 or by emailing the pastor at pastor@ssbtonline.org.  We would love to explain more to you.  

And if you have read this and trusted Jesus as your Savior from sin, we invite you to get connected with a biblically-minded church as soon as possible to grow in Jesus and learn what God wants for your life ahead.  

 







GOD'S SIMPLE PLAN OF SALVATION

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of your life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?
God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again."

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today.

How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. "For the wages [payment] of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.

"...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. "...He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us...that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed His blood and die. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11). "...without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]" (Hebrews 9:22). "...God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, "God...commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

You must believe. In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: "...'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved... ." Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior. "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12). "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13).

Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.

Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer. In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: "God be merciful to me a sinner." Just pray: "Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen."

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God's simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith. You say, "Surely, it cannot be that simple." Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God's plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.

If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment. God's power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God's promises. They never change.

Now what?

After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:
  • Pray -- you talk to God.
  • Read your Bible -- God talks to you.
  • Witness -- you talk for God.

You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord...." (2 Timothy 1:8). "Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32).

If you want to talk to someone about what you have just read, e-mail our church: admin1@ssbtonline.org.
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