Conditions of Salvation
By Pastor Jim May
Numbers 21:4-9, "And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
I have read this incident in the journey of Israel through the desert to set the stage for the message that God has given for me to pass on to you this morning. I want you to know that Israel failed God miserably, but this wasn’t anything new. What happened to Israel here was the result of the sin of rebellion against God and it was just a carbon copy of the Sin of Adam in the Garden.
All sin, no matter what its appearance is from the outside, is the result of one single fact: the heart of man is absolutely rebellious and is ever seeking to be equal with God by whatever means necessary to defy the laws of God so that man can have his own way and not feel like he has to answer to anyone for his actions. Rebellion against God can take on any form.
1 John 2:16 summarizes all sin into three categories, all stemming from the same root called rebellion against the power, authority and knowledge of God, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
What can be listed under the “Lust of the Flesh”?
This is the desire that plagues mankind to want those things that God considers unclean. These include all unchaste and unholy desires of the physical body such as sensual thoughts or words that produce a sensual picture in the mind and heart. The lust of the flesh produces actions that are nothing more than the things that people do to fulfill the desires brought about by their own words and pictures in their own minds such as fornication (the sexual promiscuity between unmarried people), adultery (consensual sex between married people to someone other than their husband or wife), rape (forced sex acts that are perpetrated upon innocent people beyond their will), incest (sexual contact within the family or close kinship), sodomy (homosexual relationships), bestiality (sex with animals) and all unnatural physical desires. But it doesn’t stop there either. Sins that are produced as a result of lust of the flesh also include gluttony, drunkenness, surfeiting (overindulgence of any kind), rioting, and reveling (merrymaking or noisy festivity with dancing, masking, etc., such as is found at the Mardi Gras and other party atmospheres).
The lust of the flesh also tells us that the flesh has power to control our thoughts and actions if we allow it to. The body can give us cravings that we can’t control. Since this body of flesh is made of the dust of the earth, it is composed of many chemicals, all in a perfect state of balance that will support the life that God has breathed into each of us.
When those chemicals get out of balance is when sickness, disease, additions, cravings and all manner of trouble begins. Sometimes the balance is tipped by our environment or things that we can’t control. That’s what medicines do. They are man’s attempt to restore the right balance so that health can return. But sometimes the balance is tipped by the things we put into our bodies willfully, often not understanding that they will become a destructive force that we can’t control anymore. This is what we can an addiction. It can be the result of drug abuse or alcoholism, but it could also be the result of eating or drinking something that we have a reaction to.
Some of these imbalances can be cured through medication, but many of them require more than just a physical deliverance, they require spiritual intervention as well. Some things can only be made right by the power of God that made our bodies in the first place.
The sin that enters our life through the Lust of the Flesh is powerful. No matter what form they take, they can bring death, both physically and spiritually. All of these sins tend to dishonor our bodies and destroy our relationship with God. And Only God has the power to heal these wounds, forgive these sins and return us to a place where we can feel normal and be in right standing with Him.
What sins can be listed under “Lust of the Eyes”?
This category describes the way that men tend to look after the things of this world which can never satisfy. The sin of covetousness comes into play and we give ourselves over to obtaining and chasing after gold, silver, houses, lands, and possessions. There isn’t enough gold in Fort Knox to satisfy the greed of man.
And what sins can be listed under the “pride of Life”?
How often do we see people who are caught up in ambition to be honored above other people, who desire to be the chief and love titles? The old saying goes, “There’s always a lot of chiefs but never enough Indians.”
I’ve seen this in the church when ministers desire to have titles. We can’t just be ministers, doing the work of the Lord, not desiring to put on a pedestal. We have to be given titles such as Prophet, Teacher, Bishop, Pastor, Superintendent or such. Titles aren’t bad per se, but if we allow that title to go our head, then it becomes a sin.
The Pride of Life also results in sumptuous living, surrounded in luxury while the world around us lives in squalor and having a pompous attitude, eating only the finest of foods, and being able to brag that we have the best of everything.
No palace on earth is ever big enough, grand enough or ornate enough. We can see this when every new building that is built is always designed to outdo the last. It has to be the largest, the tallest, the most appealing to the eye, or it simply won’t do. My new car has to be better than yours. My clothes have to be better than yours. My house has to be better than yours. If I feel like the things that I possess are not as good or better than yours then my self esteem is wounded and I can begin to feel as less of a person. These are all results of sins from the “Pride of Life”.
It was the lust of eye, lust of the flesh and pride of life that cause Adam to desire that forbidden fruit, that looked so good. He knew that it had to taste better than all of those that God had told him he could enjoy. And Adam just knew that eating this fruit would make him a better man, equal to God.
These same sins are what caused the Children of Israel to rebel against Moses and God in the Wilderness.
The lust of the eyes made them look back toward Egypt and long for what was there even though it meant slavery. The lust of the flesh made them desire food and homes that were better than they had right now. And the Pride of Life made them believe that they deserved better and were able to do better for themselves than what God was doing for them.
And it is those same sins that still effect every man, woman and child in the world today. Every one of us can identify with the Children of Israel in some way. I don’t think that one of us can sit here today and think of all the things that I have just said and think that we are innocent.
The Apostle Paul recognized the condition of the human heart when he wrote these words in 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."
So if we are living in the bondage of sin, where does that leave us? It leaves us all with wounded spirits, dishonored bodies and rebellious hearts. It leaves us all hopeless, bound by sin and destined for eternity without God.
But by the mercy of God there is hope.
God was angered by the rebellious heart of Israel and sent fiery serpents into the camp to kill them with a deadly venom. This was a judgment from God for sin. You see, the same God that loved Israel and wanted to give them such great promises, is also the same God who is Holy, Righteous and All-powerful. When Israel sinned, God was forced to deal with that sin and send the Rod of Correction to get their attention. But even in sending judgment upon Israel, God had mercy and made a way of deliverance for them if they would only take it.
Moses molded a brazen serpent and fastened it to a long pole. As he passed through the camp, anyone who would look upon that brazen serpent would be healed of the deadly snake bites but those who didn’t just died where they were.
Why did God tell Moses to make a brass serpent? Brass is a symbol of judgment. If you study the Tabernacle, you will see that Brass is found in many places signifying that God’s judgment for sin would be placed upon Jesus. God chose the serpent to let Israel know that He would place the judgment for their sin upon the serpent that caused death instead of upon them.
In effect, God was also telling you and I that Jesus would take the judgment for our sin upon himself. That old serpent, the Devil, will be judged also and be cast into the Lake of Fire because of his pride and the sin that he has caused in the world. Satan’s influence is like a fire that brings death when he strikes into the heart of every man, but Jesus takes the venom of sin and becomes our substitute so that we may live.
John 3:14-21, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
Can you see what Jesus has done for you? Just as the brazen serpent was lifted on a pole in the midst of the camp, Jesus has been lifted upon the cross for the world to see. The Cross of Christ passes among the nations of the world. Today, the cross of Christ is passing through our church, down the aisle and into the row where you are right now. He has been lifted up, nailed to a cross, and hung there for us to gaze upon Him and see what He has done for us, but we must choose to look up and see Jesus if we are to live.
He became your substitute and took the wrath of God’s indignation for your sin upon himself. He died on the cross, an innocent man, never having committed a sin in his own life. Jesus had no lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh or pride of life. He was without sin.
And yet He took upon himself the sin of every human being that would ever be born. He paid the price for all of us in full. There is no reason for anyone to ever go to the Lake of Fire for Jesus has purchased your salvation with his own blood on the Cross of Calvary.
Jesus made a way for your wounded spirit and poisoned soul to be healed, set free and completely delivered from the judgment of death and eternal punishment. But before Jesus’ sacrifice can be applied to your debt of sin, you will have to do something. It isn’t automatic. By default, every human being that has been born since the first man was created, will be cast into the Lake of Fire as a judgment for the sin nature that we all possessed at birth. If we die before the Age of Accountability, God’s mercy is extended and He will not hold us accountable for that sin. (This means babies and those who are mentally incompetent and unable to understand right from wrong, or could never understand enough to choose Jesus, will be forgiven by the grace of God and they will be given eternal life. I have to leave those who will qualify as not accountable to God.) Take it this way. If you can understand even a little of what I am saying right now, you won’t qualify for that “free ride” and God will still hold you accountable.
For the rest of us, no matter how old or young; no matter whether we learn of Jesus or not; no matter where we live; no matter if we may lose the ability later in life to make the right choice or not; no matter what our personal circumstances; we must choose to accept Jesus’ sacrifice and apply it to our own heart and life, or there will be no mercy, no hope, no deliverance and only eternal punishment right along side the devil in the Lake of Fire.
So how can we escape the judgment of God for sin? How can we be saved from the wrath of God? What must we do to be saved?
God sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this snake bitten and dying world. Jesus paid the price on the cross for all sin of all time with one tremendous sacrifice of His own blood.
The blood that Jesus shed, because it is holy, righteous and freely given is accepted by the Father in Heaven as the payment for sin, has the power to wash away every sin, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to cancel the debt of sin that we owe, to take away the punishment of that sin, to heal our spirit, to heal our bodies, to heal our souls and to bring us back into a perfect relationship with our Holy God.
What steps can we take to have our sins washed away?
We apply this to our heart and life by looking upon Jesus with our spiritual eyes. We must see Jesus as the Son of God, dying willingly and lovingly for our sin, and confess Him as the Lord of our Lives and the Savior of our souls. We must believe that He paid the price, was buried and then arose from the dead on the 3rd day. We must believe that Jesus is alive right now and making intercession for us in Heaven.
Finally, we must confess that we are sinners. God knows that you can’t confess each little sin that you ever committed. Some of us would never be able to leave the altar if that was true. God just wants you to recognize and confess that you are a sinner in need of a Savior.
Not only must we confess that we are sinners, but we must repent of the sins that we have committed and may still be committing today. Repentance means that we are truly sorrowful for our rebellion against God and we will do everything in our power to never do those things again.
Then we must accept Jesus’ sacrifice and believe that His blood has cleansed us and set us free, and it must be done by faith, even if you don’t feel any different at that moment.
Romans 10:9-10 says, "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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
The conditions of Salvation are simply this: Look at Jesus upon the cross. See His sacrifice as your payment for your sin debt. Believe that He is the Son of God and that He is also your Savior. Confess your sin, repent of that sin and then accept Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Master.
The rest of your life will be a journey of learning to lean on Jesus; learning to have a closer walk with God; and learning to be more like Jesus.
Jesus didn’t come to condemn you, but to save you. He didn’t come to bring judgment upon you, but to deliver you from judgment.
Let me also say that on the night before Jesus was crucified, he was beaten and tortured in Pilate’s hall by the Roman soldiers. He was beaten with many stripes by a whip that would draw blood every time it struck him.
Isaiah 53:5 tells us why Jesus allowed this brutal torture, "…he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
Because Jesus suffered for us we can be forgiven of our sin, we can be cleansed from all unrighteousness, we can have peace with God and with ourselves and other people once again, and we can receive healing for our mind, body, soul and spirit. Jesus paid it all, just for you, and just for me. All we have to do is give it all to him and let Jesus live in our heart as Lord.
Have you met the conditions of salvation today? Do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Jesus is waiting at the altar for you to come to Him. Will you choose to come?
