Jesse Duplantis - Understanding Salvation

Understanding Salvation

A Guidebook for New Christians

Contents

Introduction
1 God's Good Plan
2 All People Need God
3 Jesus' Sacrifice, Our Redemption
4 What is a Born-Again Christian?
5 How to Be Sure of Your Salvation
6 Living By Choice and Not By Chance
7 A Place for You in Heaven
Steps to Take Next

Introduction

If you've just accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, CONGRATULATIONS! You have a brand new life ahead of you and you're on your way to Heaven too!

The commitment to follow after God is the beginning of a wonderful life filled with new ways of thinking and new ways of doing things.

Of course, you may not really know what to do now that you've accepted Jesus as your Lord. After all, this may be new to you. If so, don't worry. Many people don't know what step to take next. And that's why this book was written. It's filled with scriptures from the Bible and nuggets of truth that will help you understand the basics of salvation and jump-start you on the road to your new life.

God wants your new life with Him to be filled with peace, joy and loveand it all starts with getting to know Him better through prayer and His Word.

Chapter One

God's Good Plan

The story of mankind as found in Genesis is a fascinating one that you will want to read for yourself. Although science may lead us to believe that we came from some single-celled life form in the sea, the Bible tells us otherwise. In the Bible, you will find that God created man separately from other life.

He created two peopleone male, whom He called Adam, and one female, whom Adam called Eve. We have come to hear these names so much that many people discredit the Bible in this regard, but these were two very real people who lived and lost one of the greatest gifts ever given.

When Adam and Eve walked the earth, things were harmonious and peaceful. The Lord loved both Adam and Eve and considered them one being. He blessed them and commanded them to "Be fruitful, and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it..." He told them they had "...dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28, NKJV).

In essence, God gave the earth to them. It was a great giftand as beautiful as nature is today, it pales in comparison to what it looked like before sin affected the earth.

Adam and Eve were caretakers of the earth and they had full reign over everything that livedplants and animals, which they treated with respect and love since they did not have it in them to do otherwise.

Many people recognize that in telling Adam and Eve to "subdue the earth" that God was warning them that something was going to need subduingor putting down. They were going to have to use their power as caretakers of the earth to see to it that all still went well. What do you think was coming? You guessed it. Satan came disguised in the form of a serpent, trying to rob mankind of their relationship with God by convincing them that God was a liar and unneeded.

The Knowledge of Good and Evil

If you've ever heard the story called the "fall of man" you know that when satan came to the woman, he came with deceit in mind. He came to kill, steal and destroy God's plan for man (John 10:10). Satan tempted Eve to do something that the Lord had expressly told her and her mate not to doeat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This was a tree that was placed by God in the Garden of Eden, and it was a symbol of our free will.

God warned them. He said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die" (Genesis 3:3, NKJV). The Lord wanted them to remain innocent about evil, like little children without cares. This was His way of giving them a free choice. Then satan came, choosing to speak with Eve instead of Adam.

He asked her, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?'" (Genesis 3:1, NKJV).

Of course, satan knew what God had said to them, but he asked as if he didn't. He was laying a trap for Eve. She answered, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said

'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die'" (Genesis 3:2-3, NKJV).

Satan coyly replied, "You will not surely die."

Now, this should have perked up Eve's ears because it was probably the very first time a creature of God's creation (the serpent) said something against God's Wordtotally calling God a liar. But Eve didn't interrupt at this point and satan went on, "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5, NKJV). So, he had lied to her by contradicting what God had said and mixed both a lie and a truth. Notice that Eve listened to the serpent.

She did not subdue it, but instead entertained the idea for a moment and gazed at the tree.

The scripture says, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate" (Genesis 3:6, NKJV).

In this, Eve made the decision, after looking at the fruit, to deliberately disobey God and eat it. She was deceived, but she made her choice to believe the serpent. The fate of mankind wasn't sealed only by Eve's act of disobedience because God considered her and Adam to be one, connected in spirit. It wasn't until Adam made his choice that satan's deception was complete.

When Eve offered this to Adam, he had a choice to make. He could either obey God and not eat from the tree, or obey Eve and the serpent and rebel against God. God said they'd die; Satan said they'd gain knowledge as powerful as God.

Adam made his choice. He bit into disobedience and immediately, the earth changed. To God, this choice to believe satan over Himself was direct rebellion, a free-will creation choosing to side with His adversary, satan. To satan, these two people had given him what he wanted, entrance into the dealings of the earth. They had handed over their power to satan.

The Effects of Sin on Mankind

The scriptures tell us that Adam and Eve immediately knew that they were naked. This was the first time they'd ever felt shame, a trait that didn't exist with God. Through their choice to sin by disobeying God and siding with satan, Adam and Eve gave satan the ability to permeate the earth with his very naturethe sin nature.

The consequences or "curse" of the sin nature came into full effect, with man being told that he would have to work by the sweat of his brow to succeed in life and with the woman being told that her pain in childbirth would dramatically increase. The woman was also told that her desire would be for her husband but that he would rule over her (Genesis 3:16). This curse has been seen throughout history.

Inequality for women began with sin. Before it, men and women were in harmony. After it, they were not.

Today's uphill battle for women's rights still rages in many parts of the earth. Yet, Christ's sacrifice more than 2,000 years ago on the cross brought salvation for Christian men and womena way out of the distortion of our relationships towards one another brought on by sin's entrance into the earth.

Galatians 3:28 tells us that, through Christ, we are all equal when it says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

In the scriptural account, God had an angel drive Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and a double-edged sword was placed at its entrance. No more would they live an easy and carefree life.

Iniquity made their path hard, and it also made it hard for everyone who would follow after them.