1st Things 1st: "Salvation Is Found In Jesus Alone" Series

We typically use the term “plan of salvation” in terms of what I do… our response to the good news of Jesus.

• Hear the message; Believe it to be true; Confess him as Lord; Repent of our sins; Baptized into Christ--- YES, those are all things I must do!

• But it is important for us to understand that those things are my response to God’s plan… God’s “plan of salvation” is and has always been Jesus Christ!

• My sin created a wall between myself and God that I could do nothing about… until by God’s plan a way was made. Jesus was made that “atoning sacrifice” (1 Jn 4:10) that takes away my sin… and that barrier is removed.

• So I think more properly understood, the “plan of salvation” is Jesus Christ. Yet, we must still ask, “What am I you going to do about it?”

Now, if Salvation is found in Jesus ALONE…

• You’re not going to find it in any other religion… no matter how peaceful Moslems want you to believe Islam is, Mohammed cannot offer you true peace.

• You’re not going to find it in the secular world. Hope for mankind does not lie within the realm of science or technology or politics.

• You’re not going to find it by working harder or by trying to earn it yourself! Remember, Romans was very clear on this point. You cannot get there on your own!

Ephesians 2:8

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. NIV

• Salvation is a GIFT; you cannot earn it! It just doesn’t work that way.

• You will find it ONLY in Jesus Christ.

But… back to Acts 4 before we close… notice what Peter & John go on to do after their inquisition before the authorities.

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name."

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. 20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. NIV

• Peter & John were so changed by their salvation in Christ that they couldn’t help from going about telling others about that good news!

• They couldn’t help from making a difference in the lives of people everywhere they went!

God does not simply save us from our sins (as if that was it)… He saves us FOR a purpose! Paul says in Ephesians 2:9-10