Sermon # 5 - How Can We Be Saved? Series

We read in Acts 2:47, “every day the Lord was adding to their number those being saved.” (TLV)

As we study the latter part of Acts 2:47 we take special note of the fact “that every day the Lord was adding to their numbers those being saved.” Firstly it was the Lord Himself who adding the people to the church, and secondly they were being added every single day, and not just once in a while.

As we look closely at the way the early church functioned we will then understand the reason why they were a strong church. Only if we can comprehend this fully, can we also become a strong church that the Lord desires for us to be. The church is God ordained, and if it is the Lord who brings people in, He does so for a reason. If the Lord was daily bringing into the fold those who were being saved the question we need to ask is, ‘What is salvation or what does it mean to be saved?’

Many people including those who have been part of the church for many years are still not sure if they are saved. The word of the Lord is uncompromising on the fact that only a person who is saved can enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is therefore imperative that everyone needs to have the assurance that they are saved for sure.

We will look into the Parable of the Good Samaritan as recorded in Luke 10 and see the allegory we can draw from the same, and see how the Lord worked out His divine plan of Salvation for us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Below is the question that was raised to Jesus by a man who was an expert in the law.

We read in Luke 10:25, “Then an expert in Moses’ Teachings stood up to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”(GW)

If we read the passage carefully we see that the expert in the law asked Jesus two questions. The first question was, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” and the second one was “who are my neighbors?” It was in connection with this man’s questions that Jesus narrated this parable. Many are of the opinion that this parable was an answer to his second question, but if we read closely, we see that Jesus was answering the previous, and more important question of the man namely ”What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In simple words he was asking Jesus how he could be saved, and get to heaven.

Luke 10:30 reads, “ And Jesus, answering him, said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he got into the hands of thieves, who took his clothing and gave him cruel blows, and when they went away, he was half dead.” (BBE)

Let’s look at this parable in detail. A certain man was travelling from Jerusalem (represents a city of peace) to Jericho (represents a city of peril, with no walls). In a way this man who was in a place of peace (Jerusalem) was journeying to a place of danger (Jericho), and this he is doing of his own accord, and not on compulsion from anyone.

The man is probably a representation of Adam. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was enjoying himself - he had everything he could ask for - God’s peace, His presence and the absence of fear. Everything changed when Adam and Eve decided to disobey the Lord and listened to Satan’s lies, and thereby fell into the trap he set for them. The consequence that Adam and Eve had to face was an eternal one. They were chased out of the presence of God, and were now in their fallen state, exposed to every form of sin and danger.

One of the reasons many people are going astray is they are being ensnared by the cunning and craftiness of Satan and decide to do as he prompts, not aware of the aftermath of their choices.

When this man decided to move away from Jerusalem, which was a place of peace to Jericho, a place of peril what happened was inevitable. He fell into the hands of thieves who stripped him, beat him up, and left him half dead. The man made a wrong decision, and was now in a place of danger and deep trouble.

The thieves are a representation of Satan. The only aim of Satan is to kill, steal and destroy. He tricks people into his schemes, and then leaves them in a deplorable condition. Let us never think for a moment that we will receive anything good from following Satan’s plans.

If we find ourselves in a situation where our peace is removed, or in a place of unforeseen danger and desperation where we are unable to pray or worship the Lord we must remember that this is not from the Lord, but most certainly the work of Satan.