*** If you have ever believed in Jesus at any time in the past, then you are forgiven of all your sins, and you are saved forever, and you will certainly go to Heaven the minute you die.
As a believer in Christ, God has credited Christ's righteousness to your account.
"Justification" means that God DECLARED you and me, even though we were sinners, to be RIGHTEOUS--because of Christ.
The Bible verses about the biblical doctrine of justification prove this to be true.
God has justified, (past tense), believers in Jesus *while we were sinners*, so how could any sins, (no matter how big or how evil or how many), committed afterwards, condemn us back to an unsaved status? Biblical Answer: They cannot. Jesus died for ALL sins on the cross.
Secondly, GOD GAVE us faith as a GIFT. As a gift, He enabled us to believe in Jesus. So how could our lack of faith ever damn us? Answer: According to the Bible, it cannot. The Bible states that God's GIFTS are IRREVOCABLE. Salvation is the GIFT of God.
The Bible also says that if we are FAITH-LESS, He remains faithful. >>2nd Timothy 2:13.
According to the Bible, believers in Jesus are eternally saved and sealed by God and irrevocably safe from even the slightest possibility of going to Hell: *guaranteed* to go to Heaven.
Our sealed and guaranteed-to-go-to-Heaven status is explicitly stated in Ephesians 1:13, 14.
God says that those who believe in Jesus:
are saved,
have eternal everlasting life,
will never die,
were chosen and sealed,
are permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit,
were justified forever,
were glorified,
are predestined to be like Christ, will be kept by God till the end.
Jesus said that He will lose NONE of those who once have believed in Him.
God's salvation is complete, and it is all of God. God promises us that He will keep us till the end.
ALL verses that might be wrongly interpreted to mean that you can "lose your salvation," are verses that are NOT dealing with justification, but rather with sanctification (God's work of making us progressively holy, which is part of salvation).
And some verses are dealing with with people who never believed in Jesus to begin with, and therefore *never were saved.*
Faith is NOT "meritorious." This means that our faith by itself does not save us.
Faith in Jesus saves us.
Jesus saves us.
The Bible says that those who believe and are baptized will be saved.
Those who believe and are NOT water-baptized WILL ALSO be saved. >>John 6:47.
Water baptism is NOT required for salvation, and it is NOT part of what saves us.
And all those who believe in Jesus are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. (This is NOT the ritual of water baptism.) >>1st Corinthians 12:13.
Believers in Jesus are saved forever THROUGH simple faith in JESUS.
Hallelujah!
Thank God.
Amen.
So shall it be. :)
-C
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