How did the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ save us? First of all, the Bible says that all have sinned and no one is without sin. This is stated in Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and fall short of the righteousness of God. Moreover, Christ is the only person who has not sinned according to 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says that, “Christ never sinned.” He is the Son of God. This is written in Matthew 3:17, “And a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus was made flesh, He became human, and became like us. 1 Timothy 3:16 states that: He was made flesh, declared righteous by the Holy Spirit. He was created, formed, by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary. And in Matthew 1:20, it says: Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. Then in Luke 1:30-31,34-35, it is written: Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you are highly favored by God; you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Mary asked the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child you will bear will be called the Son of God.
According to the Bible, no one can be saved, if he has sinned or if he is not righteous, but in Christ Jesus, we will have eternal life in the presence of God the Father. Romans 6:23 tells us: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The reason why the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ became our salvation is because: when Jesus died on the cross, God the Father forgave the sins of the world. This was explained in Ephesians 1:7, telling us that: In Him (referring to Lord Jesus) we have redemption (redemption is salvation from sin) through His blood (literally means through Jesus death), the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. In other words, humanities sins were forgiven when Jesus died on the cross, resulting in our salvation.
Romans 4:25 declares that: Jesus was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. In other words, justification means we are being made righteous in God’s eyes. When we are declared righteous before God, our sins are forgiven, we are not guilty, we are fully accepted before God. After we became righteous, then comes our salvation, for we are being saved from sin and eternal death, and salvation will produce eternal life, so we can live forever with God in heaven.
So when Jesus died on the cross, our sins are forgiven. And when Jesus rose from the dead after three days, salvation entered into the world. Although salvation is for everyone, it is clearly stated in the Bible that this salvation is only for those who trust in Jesus, for those who believe on Jesus death and resurrection. It was explained in Colossians 1:14, that says: And through His Son, He redeemed us, which means that He rescue us, He saved us, and our sins have been forgiven. God’s wrath against us was removed when Christ died and rose again, so our sins are forgiven, which resulted in our salvation, but only if we believe in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:25 says that: Christ came to the world to sacrifice his life, so that God's wrath would be removed from us, and through his blood, (His death), our sins are forgiven if we believe in Him. Therefore, if we want God the Father's fierce anger removed from us, what we must do is to trust Jesus and believe in the death and resurrection of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. We become righteous if we believe in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:22 tells us that: God considers a person righteous through faith in Christ. But what kind of faith should we have?
What you need is faith in trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior, and believe in His the death that will result in the forgiveness of your sins, and His resurrection that will result in your salvation. Afterwards, you can be considered righteous in the eyes of God. Romans 4:24 tells us that: God considers us righteous if we believe in Him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, when you accept Jesus Christ into your life, and you will declare that He is your Lord, and you will believe with all your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This is clearly written in Romans 10:9 telling us: "That if you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe with all your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
The death on the cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the most important doctrine of the Holy Scriptures. Why? Because it is only natural for humans to seek heaven where they can find eternal blissfulness and avoid everlasting sufferings and eternal torments in hell. So if this is the case that humans seek heaven, salvation is a must; and the death and resurrection of Jesus is all about salvation and it gives us full knowledge of our salvation, how we can go to heaven through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But salvation to enter heaven someday when our days are over are only granted for those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord God and Personal Savior, and believe in His death and resurrection.
The Lord Jesus Christ is also God the Son, He is the only begotten Son of God the Father. According to the scriptures, no one can come to God except through Jesus Christ. He is the only way to the kingdom of God the Father in heaven. It was written in John 14:6, that says: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. So if you want to come to God the Father, and live forever with Him in heaven, it is only through Jesus Christ, meaning it is by means of faith in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But how does the Bible describes faith? Actually, the Bible describes faith in this way: It is the assurance that we will surely receive what we are hoping for, and it will surely happen; and faith is the assurance of the things we do not see, for it will surely come to pass. It was written in Hebrews 11:1 that says: Faith is the assurance that we will receive the things we hope for. And it is being certain of things we do not see. In other words, because of our faith, we believe in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and His resurrection for our salvation. And because of our faith, we trust that we become righteous in the eyes of God by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Thus, our sins our forgiven when we attain righteousness, that brings us eternal life in heaven through faith in Christ Jesus. So our eternal destiny will be secured in heaven once we became righteous in the sight of God by faith in Jesus.
So even though we do not see it, by means of our faith, someday after our days expired here on earth, we will be able to enter the kingdom of God because we already become righteous in the eyes of God, as a result of our faith in Christ Jesus. If we compare this to a couple that is about to get married soon, the couple sees in the future that they will be faithful to each other even though it has not happened yet, the couple trusts that they will be loyal to each other, not having an extra-marital affairs, in spite of the fact that it has not yet happened.
This is the same thing with faith as what the Bible described; we hope that in the future we will be able to be with God who created us because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the meaning and summary of faith as written in the Bible: Faith means that we believe in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and that we accept Him as Lord God and Personal Savior.
Some people think that by just doing good deeds, they can go to heaven. That by just doing only good works without faith in Jesus Christ will produce their salvation. But that's not what the Bible says; it is explicitly stated in Ephesians 2:8-9, that we cannot be saved by our works. That salvation comes solely from God alone, that salvation is a gift of God, not by any human effort, so that no human being can boast by saying that he is saved by doing only good works without faith in Jesus. And the Bible clearly says in James 2:20 and 26 that faith without works is dead. Although faith in Jesus is the requirement in entering heaven, it must be adapted to a faith that is described in the Bible, it must conform to what the Bible says about faith. And what does the Bible says about faith? Well, the Bible teaches us that for our faith to be alive, it must be accompanied by doing good deeds. Because according to James 2:20 and 26, faith without works is dead. God considers a person righteous because of his good works and not because of faith alone. As what the Bible teaches us in James 2:24 and 26, that we become righteous before God by our good works, not by faith alone. It further says that: just as the body is dead without the spirit, so faith without good works is dead also.
So by practicing faith intellectually, practicing faith only in mind without action, it is therefore a useless faith, for it cannot guarantee an access to heaven. Faith and good works must always be together for our faith to be alive as what the Bible says, and when our faith is alive, it will be our assurance of entering God's heavenly kingdom. In other words, according to the Bible, neither practicing good works only will merit heaven, nor practicing faith only will likewise merit heaven. If the two are not together, they are futile. So if we want to be with God's kingdom someday, make sure that the two are always together, make sure to practice faith in Jesus Christ by accepting Him as Lord God and Personal Savior, and by practicing to do good works most especially turning away from sin, so we can show our good works, for it is a significant sign of our good deeds, it is a clear manifestation of our good works.
According to the Bible, a person who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be considered a sinner. This Bible teaching is found in John 16:9, which says that: He will show people that they are sinners because they do not believe in Me. Furthermore, it is also written in Romans 6:23 that sin produces eternal death (meaning eternal separation from God), but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So it is very clear in this Bible verse that if a person continuous to sin because of his unbelief, not believing that Jesus died and rose again on the third day, and he does not accept Jesus as Lord God and Personal Savior, he becomes a sinner; and when he becomes a sinner and living in sin, it will result in his eternal death, his eternal banishment from God, and therefore, he cannot be saved, he cannot go to heaven. And if he does not go to heaven, his eternal destination will be in hell.
According to John 3:18, there is no judgment for anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. But anyone who does not believe in Him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. So for those who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord God and Personal Savior, they are not judged guilty, for they are justified because of their faith. But for those who rejected our Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord God and Personal Savior, they are already judged guilty. If they are found guilty, they will be condemned to punishment. Let us always remember this: If a person does not believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, he is sinning against God. Because of his continuous sinning, God will judge him. And this judgment, according to the Bible, will result in his eternal punishment by sending his soul to hell, he will be thrown into the lake of fire burning with brimstones.
