Category: Redemption

Any correct concept of God’s interaction with mankind will keep in view both His justice and His compassion. God is not capricious. He has treated man fairly. He is just. His desire to save men, not condemn them, impelled him to send His only begotten Son. He is compassionate. This grand scheme of redemption has brought salvation to many souls. However, most have rejected His overture.

The question, “How are people saved from the consequences of their sins,” is answered in Galatians chapter 3.  God revealed to Abraham that justification is…

We affirm that the gospel is God’s power to salvation. That to be saved one must believe that gospel, repent of their sins and be…

And so the entirety of Bible history, from the creation of man, to God’s promises to Abraham, to the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt, to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, to the habitation of the land of Canaan by Israel, to the judgments, captivity and restoration of that nation, to the birth and life of Jesus of Nazareth, all point to the cross, and the subsequent victory over death in Christ’s resurrection.

There is deliverance available, not by submitting to the dominion of the flesh, but by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus as an obedient servant of righteousness who has found newness of life in Christ.

The journey to our Canaan begins with blood and water and ends in milk and honey. Along the way, Pharaoh Satan will attempt to lure the pilgrim back, but abiding in Christ’s word will lead to the Promised Land.

This is written to communicate with you concerning the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. Have you accepted Jesus by faith (Hebrews 11:6)? Have you repented of your sins (Luke 13:3)? Have you confessed your faith in Jesus (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:9-10)? Have you been baptized for the remission of your sins (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-7)? Are you following Jesus as a faithful disciple (Revelations 2:10)?

Once the Ethiopian had obeyed, he went on his way rejoicing. We also can go rejoicing in salvation if we will follow the pattern for conversion revealed in the word of God. Regardless of the different messages taught by men today, the gospel of Christ remains the one and only message bringing salvation through Christ to obedient believers.

Baptism upon a confession of faith, brings conversion to fruition and automatically places one in the church for which Jesus died (Acts 2:47). Paul called this assembly the church of Christ in Romans 16:16 and it is purely necessary to the scheme of salvation as the household of God in which the redeemed dwell while on Earth.

For over 2,000 years now, the Lord has been calling people by the same gospel as Peter here preached and as he preached in the house of Cornelius. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He and He alone has the right to direct our lives. He is Lord. He is Christ, God’s own anointed. Based on who He is, and what He has done, we owe our allegiance to Him in all things.

Do trips to the doctor exasperate you as much as they do me? It seems like there is something wrong when you pay a guy fifty dollars to tell you that you are too fat! Even though it is the truth, it seems to me that I should not have to pay fifty dollars to hear a doctor tell me what I could have told him by looking in the mirror.

During my last doctor visit, the nurse was somewhat more kind in breaking the news. Her way of expressing it made me consider the problem from another angle. She looked very surprised when she had to adjust the balance weights upward and then said, “You hide your weight well.” I had never heard that before, nor do I believe she looked very closely or she would have discovered where I was hiding it. But it did make me think about something. Let us suppose that one could “hide the weight” from others, would it change the weight total? Would it change the effects of the added weight? No, the effects remain the same whether hidden or obvious. There is no relief from the effects of the physical burden by hiding the problem. Whether the nurse, the doctor or the patient think the burden is hidden, it still exists and the effects remain.

Anyone who shares my problem of being overweight can understand how you can bear a burden everyday, but fail to think about it in that light until forced to do so. The extra weight has its effect upon one every day, but we just fail to think about it until we look in a mirror, step on scales or face reality due to some other factor. Whether conscious of the problem or not, the need for relief from the ill effects remains.

There is a parallel to be drawn between a burden often present on the spiritual man. Just like the physical body can be quietly burdened by a load, so can our soul. The effects of a burdened soul, however, are far worse than the increased risk and fatigue associated with a physical burden of added weight. The burden associated with the spiritual man may have eternal consequences.

The Bible teaches us that our sins are heavy burdens upon our soul. David spoke of such saying, “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me” (Psalm 38:4). Other passages refer to sin in the same way. Sin is a burden too heavy for any person to lift from the soul.

But the burden of sin is not always apparent to the sinner or those surrounding the sinner. Sometimes the sinner is deceived by sin (Hebrews 3:13). Some sins are kept secret (Psalm 19:12; 90:8). Some people conceal their sins from others (Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 29:15). Does that change the effect of the sins? No, the wages of sin is still death (Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

However, the Word of God also makes plain the means by which we can find rest from the heavy burden of sin. When we look to Jesus, we find the needed help in taking our sins away. Notice His promise of help:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Paul told the Christians to whom he wrote that they were dead spiritually as a result of their sins, but were made alive by the grace of Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10). Salvation is not earned by man. Regardless of what one does, he does not merit forgiveness. Man is not strong enough to lift the load of sin himself, but Christ can and will.

The fact that Christ promises to lift our burden of sin by His grace does not free us from meeting the conditions He commands. Grace may well be extended conditionally.

If a speaker offered a $1000 to each person in the audience who got out of his seat, walked to the front, and took the money from the speaker’s hand, would the recipients have earned the $1000 by meeting those conditions? Obviously not, it was still a gift! That gift was conditional, but it was no less a gift.

So it is with Christ and the gift of salvation. He says, “Come to Me” and “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” Those are conditions for us to meet in order for Jesus to lift our burden of sin, but His cleansing is still by grace. In order for us to understand what is entailed in those conditions, we must see what else the Bible says about the subject.

Immediately before He ascended to heaven, Jesus spoke of the conditions upon which He would save us. At that time, He laid down in plain terms how we “come,” “learn,” and take His “yoke” upon us in obedience. Christ says it this way:

“And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).

When we come and learn of Christ through the Gospel and take His yoke in obeying that Gospel, we meet the conditions of Christ and we receive the gift of salvation from our sins. We do not merit salvation by meeting those conditions any more than the people earned $1000 by meeting the speaker’s conditions. It is still a gift of grace!

Some today question the conditions of faith and/or baptism set by Jesus as being essential. When one teaches that both conditions are essential to receive salvation, some accuse that one of teaching that we merit salvation by works. Why would they so misrepresent simple, plain, Bible teaching?

If Jesus had said, “He who believes and is baptized will receive $1000,” I doubt that anyone would question either condition as essential to receive the $1000. Why do some reject the conditions when something far more valuable, salvation, is at stake?

Jesus’ offer still continues as it was originally given. He will lift the load of our sins and give us salvation if we will but respond to Him in obedience to His will, meeting His conditions for gracious pardon.

For every soul burdened down with sin, there is rest in Christ. The dreadful toll of sin can be exchanged for the joy of salvation in all who will obey Him. Though some may doubt it, the conditional offer of rest from the burden of our sins constitutes the only way to salvation offered by the grace of God. Failure to realize that our burden of sin is the root problem for our spiritual ills does not change the effect. Whether we, a nurse, our friends, a loved one or anyone else think we hide our burden well, the problem and its effect remain until we receive the gracious gift of forgiveness and rest for the soul found in Christ.

we can see evidence of a divine hand in the writing of the various books of the Bible. We see God’s promise to the serpent fulfilled: and who else but God could foretell an event centuries before it comes to pass? And notice that the New Testament writers do not make it a point to expressly tell us that Jesus is the Seed foretold in Genesis, whereas they certainly would have if they were fabricating a story to fit the prophecy.

God demands that we respond to the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. We must accept the facts of the gospel (believe), we must repent of our sins (turn away), we must confess Jesus as the Son of God, and we must be baptized to have our sins washed away. That is the part man plays in God’s Scheme of Redemption for man. God has done his part. All that remains is for each of us to do our part, that we might one day meet our Lord in the air, and ever be with him. If you have not yet obeyed the gospel, we invite you to do so today.

Repentance is not a small thing. It is a complete change of direction in the life of the penitent. Some want to come to God on their own terms, and this simply cannot be done. When we tell individuals that they need to be baptized into Christ, and that they will not need to change much in their lives, we do them a disservice. To please God there must be a fundamental and pervasive change. Self must die. All thoughts must be brought into subjection to Christ. There must be sorrow for sins committed against God, and that sorrow must lead to the determination to serve God acceptably.

It is our desire that all who read this article will obtain the redemption of their soul. In order to do this you must believe in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). God sent His son to die for our sins. Jesus led a life of perfection, and submitted willingly to the cross. His blood purchased for us the forgiveness of sins. His resurrection enabled us to hope for eternal life. This eternal reward can be yours. Will you believe?

The power of the gospel is persuasive. It can only produce repentance when it is heard by honest hearts seeking the truth. Stephen’s tormentors were not interested in the truth, they simply wanted to protect their precious conventions (cf. Acts 7). The Jews on Pentecost however were sincerely seeking forgiveness, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

We affirm that our salvation is made available through the freely given and unmerited favor of God. He sent his Son to earth not because we deserved such treatment, but because He loved us. We have access to His eternal presence only because of His good grace. However, it is clear from scripture that not all gain access to the blood of Christ. God demands that conditions be met before man can enjoy the privilege of remission of sins. In affirming this we do not claim that man earns his salvation. The debt is too great and our efforts too imperfect to accomplish such a feat. We do, however, have to submit to God’s will in order to be saved.

The following material in this month’s Watchman Magazine is intended to give an overview of the sublime plan of Redemption. It is our intention to both document the great expression of God’s grace in sending His Son to die in our stead, and the divine requirements mandated by God that we might receive the benefits of such a gift. No study of Redemption is sufficient that does not explain both God’s part, and man’s part in securing that safety.

When you see how clearly the conditions of salvation are set forth by Jesus, I hope that you will promptly render the “obedience of faith” for which the gospel was preached (Rom. 1:5; 16:26).