What is Salvation?

Lesson 1
Separated From God: Rebellion

Since the fall of mankind (Genesis 3), we have all been separated from and in disobedience (rebellion) to God. Aside from Jesus Christ (God in the flesh), not one of us, through our own efforts, achieve a righteous status worthy of heaven and pleasing to God. Scripture echoes this drastic reality:

-Romans 3:23; 5:12
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
-Jeremiah 17:9
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
-Psalm 51:5
For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
-Ecclesiastes 7:20
Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.
-Isaiah 64:6
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
-1 John 1:8
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.

The Human Condition

Origin of Sin in Our Lives

-Psalm 51:5
For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
-Romans 5:12
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

Questions
When do you believe sin entered your life?
Is everyone a sinner?
Is sin merely a behavior or is it in our nature?

But I'm a Good Person

You are thoughtful, respectful of others, help those who are sick and in need, and give to the poor. Perhaps you go to church, pray, and work very hard to do good things, hoping to please God. Doesn't that count for something? Of course it does. Unfortunately, however, you and I can do nothing to earn our way into God's favor or work our way into heaven. It is only through Jesus Christ that we might be made favorable in God's eyes and suitable to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

- Isaiah 64:6
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
–John 3:16
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
–John 20:31
But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
-Romans 3:10
As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one.
-Romans 5:6
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
- 1 John 2:25
And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
– Ephesians 2:8
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
– Titus 2:11; 3:5
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.
he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

Questions
Apart from Jesus Christ (fully God, fully man) has anyone ever lived who was not a sinner?
How good of a person do we have to be to get into heaven? How many good acts must we do?
What is our standing in God's eyes when considering how good a person we have tried to be?
Why did Jesus come to earth?
For whom did he die on the cross?

"Marco Polo" without God

Do you remember the beloved childhood game we all chose to play in swimming pools on hot summer days? One of us would be labeled "it" and thus made to close our eyes and call out "Marco" as we sloshed through water in search of teasing peers, each in response yelling "Polo" as they scattered to avoid detection? When it comes to spirituality, not only are we blind and lost, but we also can't even play the game unless prompted and drawn by God to participate. 

-Romans 3:11
No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.
-1 John 4:10, 19
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
We love each other because he loved us first.
-John 6:44
For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.

Questions
Why would none of us seek God?
Was there a time in your life that you believe God was drawing you toward Him?
Can we take credit for seeking Christ?
What did Jesus mean when he said "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them..."?

Quiet Desperation

It has been said that most people in society live a life of quiet desperation. In part, I firmly believe that is due to not having God's love and security and purpose in their lives. Without God we have no hope of eternity. Without God we are completely lost.

-Job 27:8
For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off
and takes away their life?
-Ephesians 2:12
In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
-1 Corinthians 15:19
And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
-Titus 3:7
Because of His grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.
-1 Peter 1:13
So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
-Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died[a] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

Questions
For those cut off from God, what hope exits?
What does "hope in Christ" mean?
What does it mean for us that God can be trusted to keep His promise?
For those "in Christ" what is the hope promised?

New Believers Study Page

Home Page