THE PLAN OF SALVATION

Something You May Need To Know... The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

You might be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with me?" Well, Jesus said in Matthew 5:20-32, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."

Let make this a little more plain. This is what the Apostle Paul is saying in the first verses that I mentioned to you (1 Cor. 6:9-10) Don't fool yourself. People that don't have a right relationship with God ARE NOT GOING TO HEAVEN. (That means they are going to Hell!) This is a list of those people:

1) Fornicators - anyone who has sexual relations outside of marriage.

2) Idolaters - anyone who puts anything before the Lord Jesus Christ (i.e. going fishing/camping/racing/etc; when you should be in church.)

3) Adulterers - anyone who cheats on their spouse. (Please note: according to the statements made by Jesus above, you are an adulterer if you even think about cheating on your spouse, or if you've been divorced and re-married for any reason save fornication.)

4) Effeminate - men who act like women, or who don't take their God-given role of leadership in the home.

5) Abusers of themselves with mankind - homosexuals, drug addicts, and such like.

6) Thieves - anyone who taking anything that doesn't belong to you without someone's knowledge.

7) Covetous - anyone who desires another's property; to want what doesn't belong to him.

8) Drunkards - anyone who has consumed alcohol and become drunk even if it is once, you're a drunkard.

9) Revilers - anyone who speaks abusively of others.

10) Extortioners - anyone who takes things that don't belong to him, usually by force. However, a person who is constantly taking advantage of others, a moocher, is also an extortioner.

You may have never realized this before, but you are guilty of at least one of the charges listed above. If there is any doubt, read James 2:10 "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

According to the Bible, we are all guilty. Romans 3:10-12 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" And according to the Bible, Hell is your eternal destiny.

Romans 6:23a "For the wages of sin is death;" At this point, you may have noticed something different about the above scripture reference.

It's different because it's not a whole verse. The rest of the verse goes like this, "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." If you didn't already know this, Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, knowing that you a sinner, knowing that you are going to hell, offered Himself as a sacrifice to pay for your sins.

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

If you don't understand what this says up to this point, please let me make it more simple. You are a sinner as identified above. According to God, you are condemned to go to hell.

Mark 9:46 "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (This is a place of eternal torment.) Your only escape is to ask Jesus Christ to save you.

Romans 10:9 "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."

This verse says to confess the Lord Jesus. A confession is to tell someone what you have done, or what you know. Confess to the Lord Jesus that you are a sinner and that you know you are going to go to hell.

Repent of your sin and confess the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour (the one who saves you) before men. and believe (know) in your heart that He is the Son of God.

And you shall be saved. You will get to go to heaven. It's as simple as A, B, C.

A - Admit that you are a sinner and repent of your sins.

B - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ-both on His finished work and person.

C - Confess Him before men as your Lord & Saviour. ... And you shall be saved.

Remember, John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." There's only one way to get to heaven and that is through Jesus- His way! Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."