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As my regular readers will know, it has long been my belief that upon accepting Jesus Christ as one's Savior, a person receives the free Gift of Eternal Life, and is forgiven for their sins. They are washed clean of all of their sins by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, as we can determine by verses such as the following:

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."


"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."


"And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many."


"And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."


"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."


"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;"


"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate . . . Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."


"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."


"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."


"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"


"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."


Of course, as all Christians realize, the reason why we must be washed in and covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ in the first place, is because God's Word informs us that we are all sinners. Again, consider the following Bible verses which clearly prove this point:

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"


"Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)"


"Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come . . . I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."


As some of the previous verses reveal, as a result of our sinful condition, we all have a certain destiny with death. Following are a few additional verses which confirm this very same point:

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? . . . For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."


"The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law."


"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."


"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it."


Thankfully, due to His Divine Foresight and planning, our Heavenly Father put a long-term plan in motion, whereby we can all escape this predicament, if we so choose. This Plan of Salvation was brought into full force when He sent His only begotten Son into this world; not only to serve as an Ambassador of His -- the Father's -- great love, but also to sacrifice Himself, forfeit His own life, and thus become a form of Vicarious Atonement for our sins. By willingly doing this, Jesus opened the way to Eternal Life for us all, and nullified our sentence of death as a result of sin. Consider the following verses:

"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."


"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."


"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."


"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."


For our part, the requirements which we must meet in order to receive this free Gift of Salvation and Eternal Life, are to accept Christ as our Savior, believe in His Resurrection, and confess Him openly before men. Furthermore, we must also recognize Him as the only Mediator who is acceptable to the Father, and the only way to gain Forgiveness, Redemption and Salvation. Consider the following verses:

"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."


"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."


"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."


"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."


"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"


If we do these things, and exercise this faith, the Bible informs us that we undergo a type of naturalization process, and we literally become the adopted Children of God, as well as beloved members of His very own household, as we see by the verses which follow:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"


"And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection."


"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together."


"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."


"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,"


"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;"


This then is our Father's wonderful Plan of Redemption and Salvation in a nutshell. As I point out in articles such as "All Are Given a Chance, But . . ." and "Is the Message of Salvation Meant for All Men?", this free, multi-faceted Gift of Forgiveness, Redemption, Salvation, Eternal Life and Spiritual Adoption is available to all persons everywhere, exactly as we are told in the verses which follow. That is why we are told that "God so loved the world". In other words, God offered His Son -- Jesus -- as Atonement for the sins of the entire world, and not just for a small, select group of people:

"The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe."


"That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."


"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."


"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."


"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."


"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."


"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."


"Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:"


"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."


"For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."


"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,"


"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."


By looking at all of the previous verses from an opposite or reverse perspective, we can likewise discover several very important truths. The very first of these is the fact that if Salvation is offered to all men, it implies that no one -- not one single individual -- is, or can be, saved without accepting Jesus Christ. As I explain in the series entitled "Apostasy of Oprah Winfrey: America's False Prophetess?", this single truth exposes the fallacy of the widespread lie which proposes that there are many paths to God outside of believing in Jesus Christ. To believe this devilish doctrine is to basically call God a liar, and His Sacred Word a lie.

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus referred to this grievous sin of calling His Father a liar, blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Furthermore, as I mention in other articles, the Lord said that this is the one unpardonable sin, as we can determine by the following verses:

"Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."


"Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:"


Contrary to what some nonbelievers may think, God does not lie. He keeps His word to us, and He fulfills His promises to us as well. If there is any falsehood involved, it is on the part of man, and not on God's part. This is made evident by verses such as the following:

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"


"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."


"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"


"Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."


"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."


"If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."


To reiterate, to foolishly claim that there are many paths to God -- as so many deceived people do today -- is really to invalidate the Sacrifice of Christ. In effect, to believe this devilish lie is to make Jesus' Death on a cruel Roman Cross absolutely meaningless. For my part, I am convinced by the previous verses that there is only one path to God, and it is directly through Jesus Christ, who is the one and only Door. Choose any other door by mistake, and we will end up in the wrong place, and we clearly won't like it. Consider these additional verses:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."


"I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name . . . Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."


"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."


The second and equally powerful truth which is revealed by the previous verses, is that contrary to another widespread, devilish lie which has been promoted for many decades now, not everyone is a Child of God. The previous verses inform us that we gain the power "to become the sons of God" when we receive, believe in and confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we are all already the Children of God, as this deceptive lie claims, then why is there any need for us "to become the sons of God" as John 1:12 clearly states? It does not make any sense, does it?

This very same truth is likewise expressed in the previous verses which concern the issue of adoption. Again, if we are all already the Children of God, then why is there a need for us to become the adopted Children of God, as the Apostle Paul explains in several of his Epistles? In fact, Paul informs us that our Heavenly Father actually put this Plan of Adoption in motion "before the foundation of the world". Due to His own Love and Foresight, He chose us for adoption "before the foundation of the world" as we see by these verses:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:"


In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John informs us of the very same thing. John makes it very clear that there is a distinct division between the Children of God, and the Children of the Devil who worship the Beast. Common sense dictates that one cannot be both a child of the Devil and a Child of God at the same time. We are either one, or we are the other. Similar to the Apostle Paul, and using a method of implied comparison, John reveals that we have each been predestinated for spiritual adoption "from the foundation of the world". That is why our names are written in the Book of Life; because God knows the end from the beginning, even if we don't. Consider these verses:

"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."


"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"


As I stated a moment ago, we can't become something which we already are. Therefore, we can only conclude that we are not truly the Children of God, and we are not truly the adopted sons and daughters of God, until the day in which we are spiritually reborn -- and thus adopted -- through our faith in the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is precisely what Paul wrote in the verse that I shared earlier from his Epistle to the Galatians. Paul writes "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus". What is it that makes us Children of God? Our "faith in Christ Jesus". It could not be any clearer than that. If we don't have faith in Christ Jesus, we are not truly a Child of God.

Of course, it should obviously be understood that from God's perspective, we are His adopted children from the very start. Why? Because He has already seen the end from the beginning, and He knows beforehand what choice we will eventually make. However, technically-speaking, until we actually fulfill the conditions of Salvation which He has set -- meaning to accept Christ -- we are not yet born-again, saved Children of God.

It should be clear to you then, that if one does not profess faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he is not a Child of God, no matter what anybody says. To reiterate, the previous verses make it very clear that a conscious choice is involved. To become a naturalized citizen of God's Kingdom, and an adopted member of His household, we must choose to believe in and receive Christ, and we must verbally confess our faith in Him before others as well. It is not simply an automatic process. It requires our conscious participation.

From a secular perspective, if a person enters a particular country, does that automatically make him a citizen of that country? Of course not. At best, he will be a visitor on a tourist visa, a student on a cultural visa, a traveling businessman, a diplomat, a foreign worker with a green card, or something similar. In order for that person to become a legal resident and citizen of that nation, he must undergo a lengthy, complex process which involves years of work, piles of paperwork and bureaucratic red tape, a number of tests, proof of loyalty, a swearing in process, etc., first. He must prove that he is worthy to be legally declared a citizen of that country.

So it is with God's Kingdom as well. We must meet all of His requirements first, before we can ever hope to be declared one of His adopted children. Furthermore, we are made worthy through our acceptance of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So again, not everyone is a Child of God automatically at birth.

Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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