Salvation: How Did we Arrive Here?

Today, the most fundamental truths as revealed in the bible are also probably the least known! A platform like this will help us get things straight again in the Holy Ghost. Where are we? Who are we? Where have we arrived? And how did we arrive here? All as defined by the bible. Praise God!

So where are we?
We are in Christ Jesus. Secure and sealed!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.[[2Co 5:17]]

and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.[[1Jn 5:20]]

And be found in him... [Philippians 3:9]

We are in the Spirit, not in the flesh!

[[Rom 8:9]] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

In fact, In the Spirit is our home!

[[Gal 5:25]] If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Now, How did we get here? Salvation/rebirth.

By my chats with Christians, I discovered this is the most clumsy path to trace for many. Lots only know they are saved but don't know they got saved. They begin to tell stories. One day, in 19something I was in one meeting, as I was... as I was... then... and then I... and then I... That was how I decided not to sin again and "I gave my life to Christ"

Because there were many things that happened that day, so many cannot pinpoint what or when exactly they got saved, especially if it was a long sermon or series of sermon with irrelevant words and even jokes. But the Bible will clarify things for us. Will you like to see it?

*[[Act 16:30]] KJV* And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

That was the conversation between Paul and Silas and the jailer. The question was "what must I do to be saved?"

But to you who is saved now, we can rewrite it as "Sirs, what did I do to be saved?" or better still "how did I get saved?"

*[[Act 16:31]] KJV* And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

"I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am saved!" Alleluia!

What about Romans 10:9?

*[[Rom 10:9]] KJV* That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

I confessed with my mouth because that's what I believe, God raised Jesus from the dead! That is how I got saved! Alleluia!"

Henceforth, don't be of the group that if asked cannot pinpoint the exact thing that got them saved!

It's not the altar call, it's your believing that God raised Jesus from the dead! Not everybody got saved in church! Not all church calls for altar call all the time!

It's not of your believing in God (because even demons believe in one God), but belief in Jesus!

It's not of your works (Eph 2:9), so speak less of your works when asked how you got saved.

It's not your change of behavior! Salvation produces a change of character, but a change of character is not salvation. Everyone of us here didn't get here because of our change of character. It's when we arrived here that we started to drop every bad character, so we cannot boast of our change of character to get saved. Any person in the can make new year resolutions but no resolution cannot get them here whether successful or not!

First, there was or must be a hearing. [Rom 10:17] KJV So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

And then you simply rest on what you heard. This is what is called believing. That is how you got here, part of us, a member of the body of Christ! That is how you got saved! That is what is common to ALL who are saved EVERYWHERE in all nations and kingdoms.

Now you can take the same message to someone's hearing today. He also may rest on the message that God raised Jesus from the dead and believe. Stamped! He also gets here with us in Christ. Glory to Jesus!

How to know if your interpretation or understanding of the scriptures is correct

How do I know if the way I'm interpreting scriptures when I read it is right or wrong? Do we lazily rely on the theory of "each man is entitled to his own opinion"? No! There is no opinionism in Bible interpretation. But how then do we rate or evaluate interpretations since we have diverse views already? Some say "pray and let the Holy Spirit give you the meaning". Hmm.. But even with that, we still do not interprete the same way! Isn't the Spirit one anymore?
Truth is not relative at all: it is ABSOLUTE: ONE AND THE SAME!
But how do we mark people's answers right or wrong? Now the Bible again will answer you.

Come with me to Luke 24..

*[[Luk 24:45]] KJV* Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

So what you're about to hear now is Jesus' understanding of the scriptures. He opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures, how? what words did He call the words by which one "understand the scriptures"?

Note that He didn't say "a scripture", or a verse of the scriptures, but "the scriptures".

Now, what does the Bible mean by the scriptures? Genesis to Revelations? No.
Genesis to Malachi, the law and the prophets.

So if you pick any portion of these books, Jesus is about to tell us what He told those men and they afterwards were said to "understand the scriptures".

Luke 24:46 NIV
He told them, "THIS IS WHAT IS WRITTEN: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
47 and repentance and
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem

What a simple summary! Jesus said "THIS is what is [actually] written..." I thought that would be a typographical error but it's not. This, not these... The scriptures are not about MANY things. It's just about ONE. The day you also stop considering the Scriptures as multifaceted or multidimensional is when your mind opens too and you begin to understand the Scriptures.
This I what all of the holy men who spake as moved by the Holy Ghost were saying: that it behoved Christ...
behove means "necessary"...
It was necessary for Christ to suffer...

Let's highlight what Jesus said the Scriptures were saying. The entire Scriptures can be summarised into four headlines:

1. behoved or it was necessary for Christ to suffer
2. to rise from the dead
3. repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached in His name
4. this work must begin at Jerusalem

So when you read Joel 2:28,
*[[Joe 2:28]] KJV* And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

you ask why was that speaking to the Jews? Because it must begin at Jerusalem.

So when you read Jeremiah 31:33
Jer 31:33-34
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel;
After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord:for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord:
for I will forgive their iniquity,
and I will remember their sin no more.
(KJV)

And you think this promise should be for all men, you'll know it's because it must begin at Jerusalem.

So when you read Exodus and ask why did the things happened to Israel as they happened? Why must people always bring the blood of animals often? Answer: it is necessary that Christ suffer these things. When you read the cries of Isaiah and the lamentations of Jeremiah, what do they mean? it is necessary that Christ suffer these things...
"who hath believed our report...", "I sought for a man to stand in the gap... I found none", "there is none righteous", "Job 14:1-2
1 Man that is born of a woman
is of few days, and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."
Ecc 4:1
1 So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun:and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
"vanity upon vanity, all is vanity"
What all these mean is that it is necessary for Christ to suffer... man is helpless, defenceless, miserable. A Christ must arise.

what's Isaiah 59:1 saying?
Isa 59:1-2
1 Behold, the Lord 's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;
neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God,
and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

It is saying it is necessary for Christ to suffer..

So the Scriptures keep telling us the necessity of the Christ to suffer. You keep hearing that word "must" emphasized in all of Jesus' words.

See how Peter puts it

[1Peter 1:10-11]] ...the prophets... who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, and the glory that should follow.

Hmm.. See again what Jesus said:

*[[Luk 24:25]] KJV* Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe ALL that the prophets have spoken:

ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN. Jesus wants to tell us ALL THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE SPOKEN

*[[Luk 24:26]] BBE* Was it not NECESSARY for the Christ to go through these things, and to come into his glory?
*[[Luk 24:26]] KJV* Ought not Christ to have SUFFERED these things, and to enter into his glory?

I thought the Messiah's coming is just a portion or SOME of the Scriptures, but Jesus said if you don't believe this (how it's necessary for Christ to suffer), you don't believe ALL (not some) that the prophets have spoken. It means this is ALL everyone was saying! According to Jesus, and even Peter, if you don't KNOW this, you don't know some of scriptures? You don't know ALL that the prophets have spoken. What a heavy blow on your theological professorial office! Sorry! You know nothing!

*[[Luk 24:27]] KJV* And beginning at Moses and ALL the prophets, he expounded unto them in ALL THE SCRIPTURES the things concerning himself.

He began at Moses (Genesis) and ALL the prophets... hmm. It was a long journey you know.

*[[Joh 5:39]] ISV* You examine the Scriptures carefully because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. Yet they testify about me (how Jesus will suffer these things).

This is how the word that became flesh told us the Scriptures are. This is how to know if you are carrying a true interpretation of the Scriptures or not. Can you summarise your interpretation to how it behoved Christ to suffer these things and be raised from the dead? Get it right here and keep getting it right. Miss it here and keep missing ALL THE SCRIPTURES. Because ALL scripture is a product of the inspiration of God by prophecy (2Peter 1:20-21, 2Timothy 3:16) and it is only the TESTIMONY of JESUS CHRIST ALONE that is the spirit (breath, inspiration) of prophecy (Rev 19:10).

God's Spirit does not leave the Believer

One of our Praise Song goes…
create in me a clean heart oh Lord
And renew right spirit within me
Cast me not away from thy presence oh Lord
Take not thy holy spirit from me
Restore unto....

Haba! But Let's see the Bible

See David didn't want to lose the Holy Spirit..
Hmm... But we don't dwell in the same dispensation. The Holy Spirit comes into the believer at salvation and He has come TO STAY!

He DWELLS in the believer FOR BETTER, FOR BETTER!
FOREVER!

[Joh 14:16] KJV And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you FOR EVER;

You remember the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman?

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. [Joh 4:13-14]

Water here is symbolic of the Spirit (John 7:39)

He says to her, if you can have this water; normally when you take of water, the quantity reduces, but this will increase and become a well. Well is symbolic for STABILITY, UNSHAKABILITY, ASSURANCE, FIXED STRUCTURE, PERMANENCE source. A source that is fixed, immovable.

Now, to thirst means to be in short of water, right? To thirst for this Jesus' kind of water will therefore mean to lack the Spirit.

But Jesus says that man "shall NEVER THIRST AGAIN". Hmmm...

Now, at salvation, a Christian takes of this water.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been ALL MADE TO DRINK INTO ONE SPIRIT. (1Corinthians 12:13)

Only ignorance therefore could have made Christians who have taken this water (at salvation) keep reciting David: "my soul pants like a deer", "I thirst for you…", "fill my cup…"

I am not saying don't be hungry anymore, but please be definite about what you're hungry or thirsty for. It cannot be for the Holy Spirit as we just see. It cannot be for "more of the Spirit" as some people often hide under. God doesn't give the Spirit in quantity (John 3:34). There's no 5kg Holy Spirit, 60% Holy Spirit, etc.

So Jesus says to the drinker of His water he will NEVER lack that Spirit anymore. He will never have to come back for another bucket of Holy Spirit, or another "filling of the Spirit", because he will have a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.

So unlike David, Unlike Saul, unlike Samson… God will NEVER leave the believer

[Psalm 37:25] I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken...

Therefore if you're among "the righteous", you will NEVER be forsaken.

Every man that has received the gospel has been made righteous by faith. "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Gal 3:6)  And this is not produced, maintained, altered, made or marred by (good or bad) works: he is righteous as long as God his righteousness is. So he can never fall out of the covenant of "never forsaken"

Sorry for being so sharp (if I have been) but I must say it because this is what promotes holy living everywhere. When you are always conscious that the Spirit of God dwells in you, that alone means fleeing every appearance of evil.

You needed to see how Paul corrected fornication amongst brethren in Corinth.

[1Corinthians 6:18-20] Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Wow! He did it by reminding them of how the Holy Ghost is in them. He reminds them of how that they are redeemed: "ye are bought with a price".

I thought he would be telling them that that partner they had fornication with had 21 demons that are so powerful to kill their own Holy Ghost. And Paul should tell them to come out and be "born again again" and receive the Holy Spirit afresh.

Tell a Christian who still watches pornography that he is bought with a price! Tell the Christian who still tell lies that he is bought with a price!

Let's do a simple arithmetic. What percentage of Christians today know, believe and preach that all of them have the Holy Spirit in them?

OK how many of those who even know this also know, believe and preach that this Holy Spirit dwells in them FOREVER?

Few of the fewest, right?
Does this not explain why there's so much sins in today's church?

Look at it, if a woman wants to dress or live indecently, she's got to say "I'm the owner of my body. I can live my life the way I want it". Have you ever encountered people who say "well, me I've given up on making heaven, since the Holy Spirit has left me because I can't retain Him by living holy"? Now, why do they say this? Because you didn't teach them the truth that the Holy Spirit will NEVER leave them.

Whether taught or disregarded, truth is unchanged! The Holy Spirit is here to stay! You are enslaved to live in righteousness and produce good works. God won't let go of you. The Holy Spirit will stay at His duty post and won't run because of sins. Why? He was sent to help fight sin and so won't retreat for sin's sake! Praise God!

Insist on the good Good News (3)

...as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! Romans 10:15 KJV I just wanted you to see why the gospel you give your ears to must be good news. One word you must never replace there is the word "good". If it isn't good, it's not the gospel because the gospel is good news. No congregation anywhere can be helped except by the GOOD news. It can only be by grace, something extravagantly good that we're saved. Though you may not like easy and cheap things, but you must humble yourself here otherwise you get into trouble. No people, race or colour can get God and live worthy except there is a GOOD news! Isaiah 61:1-2 KJV The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach GOOD tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; [2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord , and the day of vengeance of our God; to COMFORT all that mourn; How else do you intend to achieve it? Telling a fornicator, "you are a fornicator"? Telling a corrupt officer "I will tell you the truth sir! You're corrupt" is like telling a devil, "devil you are wicked, you're going to hell". Because a leopard cannot change its spot. No, not by telling it that it has spots. You don't get to solve any sin problem except by the GOOD news. "You can be free from this sin". "Sinner, do you know God loves you still?" "Abortionist, do you know God loves you still?" "Backslider, do you know God will never give up on you?" "Sickler, do you know Christ is the one that healed you by His stripes?" "Rejected and oppressed race, do you know you're accepted in the beloved?" "Jilted fellow, do you know God is interested in you?" "Cultist, do you know God will use you still?" That's the glad tidings of good things you're sent to preach! Come on, oh preacher! Also do not forget this. The good news is good because of Christ Jesus who has taken the pain and has sucked from the cup of gall on the cross. Therefore to preach a christless good news is nothing but sweet talk. The listeners of that therefore are nothing but itchy-eared people being deceived. Why are you accepted before the Father today? Christ! Why are you forgiven? Christ. Christ is the reason for the good news. It's all about Him. Go tell it on the mountain; over the hills and everywhere: the wonderful story of redemption!

Insist on the "good" Good News (2)

If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and BE NOT MOVED AWAY FROM THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Col 1:23 KJV In the previous article we saw how that our message is the gospel: And the gospel means Good News. Not just any good thing you say is the gospel, we settled that: but in whatever you'll preach, you must not lose the adjective "good". It must be good! If it isn't a good news, then it can't be the gospel! You see, if our translators have helped us to keep including the word "good" in every translation of that word, maybe it would have passed the message clearer and have saved me this time of going over this topic over and over again. That's just an opinion anyway. In our reference text, Paul admonishes us not just to start up our ministry, our church, our brothers fellowship, our sister's weekly, annual, monthly ministry etc, on the Good Good News, and later begin to "hammer the bitter truth". What! Then it means you only were luring people into your ministry; it means your so-called good News is only sweet talking: since it only applies when you still needed people to come and join. But our Gospel is not sweet talk. It's real and true! There's no "bitter truth" of the gospel. Whoa! I hope you didn't misread me. I didn't say truth isn't bitter? It may be, but that can't be the gospel truth, otherwise the gospel is not a totally good news. I also didn't say we cannot speak bitter truth to ourselves in church, but please let's learn to separate when we're preaching the SAVING gospel, and when we're simply speaking common sense or general advice on life matters. "Sister, don't let any man defile you when you're not married. It has serious implications!" That's sound advice and may be bitter to hear. But the gospel will speak of how Christ destroyed both the potency and penalty of fornication for you, so shall you not commit sins because now you're born of God, and if in case any man falls into that sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ! This latter presentation of truth is the gospel! Really it's a good news. Dear Evangelist, our reference text establishes that already, there's such thing as "the hope of the gospel", let us not be moved away from the hopefulness, optimism, and joyfulness of the gospel: rather, let us CONTINUE in the faith, in how we take everything (righteousness, wisdom, sanctification, redemption) simply by responding to the faith that cometh by hearing, Hearing what? hearing what them that preach the gospel of GLAD tidings have brought to us. And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring GLAD tidings of GOOD things! Romans 10:15 KJV Romans 10:17 KJV So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Insist on the "Good" Good News

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! Romans 10:15 KJV The system of the law law because of it's culture, practices and weakness is called the ministration of death and of condemnation. *[[2Co 3:7]] KJV* But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones... *[[2Co 3:9]] KJV* For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. No wonder a prophet under the law can be sent to a king or to a nation just to proclaim death and condemnation; to pronounce doom on them because they have failed to keep the commandments. Never mind them, what they were doing then was bible-based. That's their ministry. However, the truth God wants you to know about His message today is that it will be wrong to try to develop another ministration of death and condemnation after God has already established a new covenant based on better promises. God does not expect you to carry a message of "you will die if you don't repent today. You will go to hell. Your sins are heavy on you". No. Where will the sinner eventually go if he doesn't repent? Sure, it's hell. What's the fate of the sinner? Death! But for your information and learning, that isn't the message you are given to proclaim, and God won't like you to change His message. But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not RECKONING TO THEM THEIR TRESPASSES, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation. [2Corinthians 5:18-19] WEB You were commissioned to speak the truth, and the Gospel (Good News) is the SAVING truth. The word translated from the Greek as the Gospel is a word that means "good news". The word from which we got the English word "evangelist" is the Greek word "euaggelos" which means a messenger or angel of good news. How you'll miss your calling as an evangelist if you inadvertently turn out to be a preacher of any news that isn't good. To "do the work of an evangelist" according to Paul therefore mean to speak the Good news. Is anything good the gospel? No. But the Good news of what Christ secured eternally for us. Keep preaching it. That's the man that is fulfilling the great commission. I see you standing before the Father on the last day to say "I have fully preached the Gospel: I have fully preached the Good News". You're loved.

God does not Identify His own by Fruits

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. [Mat 7:20] Yes. Jesus said by their fruits ye shall know them and that is correct for man to man identification. But do you know it is wrong for anyone to think God knows His own by their fruits? for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. [1Samuel 16:7] The Christian should not take good works as the basis for his being a child of God. We should not be too quick to write off anyone who doesn't seem to have the fruits (by our yardstick) as not being a child of God. We should not expect that for God to know His children, He would be out checking their works: asking questions like "does he live holy or not? does he tell lies? does he love the Bible? does he miss certain church programmes? does he pay tithes?" etc., before He knows His own. That will be foolish to think so. What a useless mother He will be if He identifies His children by what they do. Then an unbeliever will manage to squeeze his way through, and the memory-troubled father will take a son of the devil for His own and vice versa. That's why some Christian single ladies who will not listen to the Spirit in choosing their life partner fall into wrong hands: because they keep looking for fruits. Fruits are of the outward appearance, anybody can cook up good works. but God looks not on the outward appearance. Glory! God looks much deeper within. God does not know you by your fruits: He knows His own by the ROOTS. It's not a sin you commit that makes you a sinner: rather, you commit sins because you first (from the roots) are a sinner. So sometimes a man who is genuinely saved may still be in the business of committing certain sins (even though this isn't encouraged), you are not seeing fruits passe, but take heed to yourself if you love to pass the condemnation verdict on people: watch it that you don't mock God's child. God is able to make him stand. He is God's own still, God's seed remains in him to get him back. *[[Rom 14:4]] KJV* Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One more word of hope concerning such weak saints: the body of a good tree cannot be so much corrupted and fruitless to the extent that it will get to its root and change it: rather, the changed root will affect the body and then the fruits. Just be patient. God does not identify by fruits but by roots.