FACT #1: You must take personal responsibility if you expect to be saved.
On the first day of the church, in Acts chapter 2, masses of people were listening to Peter’s sermon as he spoke of how they had been responsible for crucifying the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. Verse 37 picks up the narrative:
Acts 2.37 ESV
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
(IMPORTANT: If you’ve been under the incorrect impression that these instructions applied only to the Jews but no one else, please be sure to read this first. ) After telling them what to do, noticed later, it says…
Acts 2.40
And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
As you can see, these verses strongly indicate that people play a vital role in their own salvation.In other words, if we expect to find, we have to seek—and if we expect God to open up the door of salvation to us, we have to knock (see Matt. 7.7).
Therefore, we must be proactive in our own salvation! The Apostle Paul added the following:
Philippians 2:12
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…
Why with “fear and trembling?” For one thing, the Scriptures say (Hebrews 10.31): “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Then Jesus said (Mt 10.28): “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear Him Who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
He also said this…
Matthew 7.13
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Therefore, it is clear that we must take personal responsibility in our own salvation if we expect to be saved. But that’s not all…
FACT #2: We must implant the Word of God into our hearts—and then OBEY it—if we expect to be saved
Please consider the following passages:
James 1.21
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.Acts 17.11
…the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.Colossians 1.9-10
…BE FILLED with the knowledge of His will…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn infants, desire pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation…
But if we fail to do that, we should carefully consider God’s chilling condemnation of His people in former days:
Hosea 4.6
My people [God’s people Israel] are destroyed for a lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to Me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God I also will forget your children.
Instead of focusing on the Law of God, they turned their attention, like billions today to entertainment.
The prophet Micah described the people of Israel, a people “who hate the good and love the evil” (Micah 3:2), led by preachers who “utter wind and lies.” And then he said this: “If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink’ [which can give one a false sense of feeling good] he would be the just preacher for this people!” (Micah 2:11, ESV).
The Lord said in Amos 8:11:
Amos 8:11
…the days are coming…that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD’.
Speaking of Israel’s leader, Micah would record that her leaders “…judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money; yet they lean on the LORD, and say, ‘Is not the LORD among us?” (Micah 3:16 ESV).
Hosea then said that–because of this–there is “… no knowledge of God in the land; but there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, committing adultery …” (Hosea 4:2).
He added: “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets [i.e., preachers] concerning the prophets who make My people stray … The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be dark for them … For there is no answer from God” (Micah 3:5-7).
Unfortunately, the people of Israel found it easier to persecute and kill these messengers of God rather than to accept the truth they revealed. Even today in the religious world–for a price–those who refuse to believe the truth can buy a preacher, just like Israel did.
Preachers in our own churches these days bear a tremendous responsibility. Paul said:
2 Timothy 4.1-4
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers who will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
(By the way, every preacher should review James 3:1!)
The above prophecy is certainly coming to pass in our modern Christian religious world. So, in addition to taking personal responsibility for our own salvation, we see that—if we expect to save our souls—we must also “humbly implant the Word of God into our minds.”
FACT #3: We must “call upon Lord“ to be saved–implying turning our lives over to Him as our Lord, and looking to Him for our guidance
Back to the first day of the church–the Day of Pentecost–to the listening masses, early on in His message, Peter said this:
Acts 2:21
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Please notice that salvation is extended to everyone—not just the certain lucky ones that were “Predestined” to be eternally saved. For more, please read: Predestination: Fact or Fiction?
Act 2:37
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Please notice that the masses here were calling on the men (who had been obviously sent by God) to find out how to be saved. In so doing, they were calling upon God for knowledge of their salvation.
After appealing to these men from God for instruction on what to do, Peter said:
Act 2:38
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (I plan on examining what the “gift of the HS actually is in another sermon.)
Finally, Paul wrote this:
Romans 10.12-14
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on Him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How then will they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
This brings us to our next point…
Man’s Critical Role in his Own Salvation:
Introduction
Verses
Facts 1-3
Facts 4-6
Facts 7-9
Facts 10-12 (Conclusion)