How God saves

‘G od, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” (Hebrews 1:1–3 KJV) God has gone to great lengths to make sure that man may be saved. God desires that all men come unto the knowledge of the truth and be saved (1 Tim.

2:4) and it is the will of God that all come to repentance in order that they might be saved (Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9). There are multiple views of how God saves, as some teach that there is only a limited number of people that God has predestined to be saved, some teach that they have been saved by a miraculous indwelling and operation of the Holy Spirit, some teach that in order for one to be saved all that is needed is to simply accept Jesus, say a prayer and be saved, but what does the Bible teach in regard to how God saves man? God would not allow man to go through life without knowing what we must do in order to be saved but has spoken to man giving us instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17) in order that we may know His will and obey His commands.

God has instructed man throughout the ages, giving instructions in order to be saved. During the patriarchal age (beginning with Adam until the time the Law was given to Moses), God spoke directly to the patriarchs. In the Garden of Eden, God spoke directly to Adam and Eve, giving them instructs in righteousness. God did not place man on the earth after creation and leave them to wander, hoping to figure out how to be pleasing to God, but rather He communicated with them and instructed them to keep them from sin (Gen. 2:15-17). After sin entered into the world there was a time when every imagination of man was on evil continually, repenting God that He made creation and causing a great flood to be sent to destroy the wickedness of man, but before He would send the flood, God would speak directly to Noah and give instructions in order to save man (Gen. 6:5-14). God would also speak to Abraham instructing him to go to a land that would be shown to him and in so doing he and all the families of the earth might be pleased (Gen. 12:1-3). God spoke to man in order that man might be saved.

God spoke to the children of Israel. How was Israel brought out of bondage in Egypt? How did Israel inhabit the Promise Land?

How did Israel overcome the many oppressions of the Philistines? How was Israel warned of their bondage to Babylon? Throughout the history of the Israelites the fact is very clear that God spoke to Israel and in order for them to be saved they needed to listen. When Israel was in bondage in Egypt, God spoke to Moses and instructed him to go to Pharaoh (Exodus 3:7ff.).

After coming out of Egypt, God spoke to Moses, delivering His laws to them, giving them everything they needed to know in order to be pleasing to Him (Exodus 20:1-2; Deut. 6:4-9). God spoke to the prophets, instructing Israel to repent of sin in order to be saved from bondage (Isa. 1:2; Jeremiah 1:1-2; Ezek. 1:3; Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1 notice the phrase “the word of the Lord” in each of these verses). God spoke to Israel, but many would not be saved from bondage because of their failure to take heed to God’s commands (Hos. 4:6).

God has spoken to us. Just like He spoke to the patriarchs, and to Israel, He has given us instructions to save us. Many make false claims of receiving a direct revelation from God, and many false teachers have made claims of receiving a new revelation from God, but Hebrews 1:2-3 are very clear on how God speaks to man today in order that they might be saved. In these “last days” (the church age, or Christian dispensation) God has spoken unto us (mankind) by His Son (Jesus Christ and the New Covenant that was in His blood; Matt. 26:28).

Jesus Christ was given all authority in heaven and in earth and has every right to rule in His kingdom (Matt. 28:18-20). It is by Jesus Christ that God speaks to us today. Jesus is heir of all things (One who is entitled all things). Jesus is the creator of the worlds (John 1:1-3). Jesus will uphold all things and be the Judge of all doing such by His Word (John 12:48). Jesus went to the cross in order that man might be saved, shedding His blood for the remission of our sins (Heb.

9:22) and after shedding His blood and being resurrected from the tomb, He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God to rule over His kingdom/church. After Jesus completed His work to redeem mankind, He sent His apostles into the world to preach the message that is able to save (Mark 16:15).

Jesus promised the apostles the Comforter/Holy Spirit would come to guide them into all truth (John 16:13) and with Holy Spirit inspiration the apostles carried the Gospel message into all the world (Col. 1:23). It is by the Gospel that man may come to a knowledge of the truth, and by the Gospel that man might be saved (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18). Through the Word of God that declares and proclaims the Savior that has shed His blood for our redemption, God has purposed to save those that obey what is found within the Gospel message (1 Tim.

2:4).

God so loved the world that He sent His Son to be the offering for our sins, but God would not have us to be ignorant of what we must do to be saved by the blood that was shed on our behalf. God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) and those that obey His commands can be redeemed, having a living hope of a home in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-5). The patriarchs had God’s Word in order to save them, Israel was given God’s Word to save them, we have God’s Word today in order to save us, will you obey His word and be saved?

Jeremy Thornton