God’s Plan of Salvation

This week I heard a great story about giving the plan of salvation, and then I read Beth Amatelli’s GPS blog.

When I think about presenting the salvation plan, I think of the Roman Road – while there are variations, here’s a short one with a huge message:

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9-10 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.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

All of the information in those verses was given by a student to his graduating class – a public school graduating class – in a speech just a few years ago. A teacher, speaking after him, stated that although she had prepared a speech, she tossed it aside and suggested that the audience spend time considering what that graduating senior offered them – belief in their eternal future.

I caution, however, that sticking with God’s Plan of Salvation, not our own, is extremely important. I’ve used a global positioning system that directed me incorrectly. As I sat at a corner, looking down the road at our church, that gps was sending me to a spot several miles away, assuring me it was the way to go. Wrong!

Stick to the Bible, which tells us good works will show our faith, but faith is what saves us:

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. (James 2:18 KJV)

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2:8 KJV)

We can have good works without faith; we can show faith through good works; we cannot be saved without faith. We’re not witnessing to people in order to get good works, we’re interested in their eternal soul. That’s why I ask that you read and check further anything I write here.  Like Paul, I ask that you:

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8 KJV)

Rather than ask “What would Jesus do,” read the Bible to find out what He did, then set personal standards based on His actions, not society’s.