GOD’S FOREORDAINED PLAN FOR SALVATION

His Law worked through our conscience and was intended to bring people to repentance and faith in Christ and to make people realise their complete inability and total inadequacy to keep either God’s standards of righteousness or their own inner convictions.

God’s plan for mankind and for every individual is to bring us to a place of faith in him and not ourselves.

THE ROLE OF CONSCIENCE IN SALVATION

Infants born into this world enjoy a time of innocence and are not accountable for past sins. Having been born into Adam’s race they have, however, inherited a fallen nature even though they have no personal sin. As they grow, they will normally mature into understanding sin. (Romans 7:9).

The individual’s conscience, that instinctive intuitive inner knowledge of good and evil, begins to develop. This is influenced by culture and upbringing and can malfunction but will inevitably shape our values and boundaries. God uses our conscience to convict us of sin (John 8:9) and if we reject that conviction, we will suffer severe consequences, for our sin violates God’s Law written not only on stone but in the hearts of all men and women. (Romans 2:14-16).

If people disregard their conscience, they eventually lose all restraint and become “confirmed sinners” and their conscience malfunctions and is seared. (1 Timothy 4:2, Titus 1:15). Our inner conscience is our silent witness to God’s laws. When it functions correctly, it establishes moral guidelines and brings correction if individuals listen to it.

REPENTANCE AND THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

When a person hears the Gospel and comes to a proper realisation of sin, it leads them into repentance. True repentance is not a once-off thing but a state of mind that, instead of making excuses or covering up for wrongdoing, leads us into an honest appraisal of our depravity.

When a person is convicted of their total inability to change or save themselves, then the Spirit of God can lead them to God’s substitute and our mediator, Jesus Christ. This may happen through someone’s personal witness, or from a sermon, or by reading the Bible, or in other ways that the Holy Spirit may use.

The reaction of a sincere person is then by faith to make a decision and receive Christ as Saviour. (Romans 10:8-17).

REBIRTH THROUGH CHRIST

When someone believes in Jesus and receives him as their Saviour they experience rebirth by his life-giving Spirit. They pass from death to life. They pass out of guilt and condemnation into the place of God’s grace and salvation.

Pardon is extended to them through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. By receiving him as Lord, a transaction takes place. They give up their old life and receive his new eternal life. By identifying with Christ, they are made one with his death and burial and also his resurrection. (Romans 6:1, Galatians 2:20).

This is portrayed in water baptism. Through repentance, the person dies to sin and self, and their old nature is symbolically buried, and they rise in new life. Water baptism is an outward figure and does not save anyone. Nevertheless, it portrays a spiritual reality of what happens when we turn away from ourselves and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

LIVING UNDER GRACE AND ENTERING THE KINGDOM

It is a command and should be obeyed and carries an enormous significance and spiritual impact for the believer. The new believer is no longer under the age of law but now under grace and is a citizen of the Kingdom of God. This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that no one could enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of the Spirit. There is no other way but to be born into it.

The previous ages all ended in death. That is why we have to be born again as a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17). We must be born into the age of resurrection that gives life and leads to heaven. All those who have progressed along this spiritual journey from conviction to repentance, to faith in Christ are forgiven and destined for resurrection. (Philippians 3:11).

FAITH IN CHRIST THROUGHOUT THE AGES

All those stuck at another stage have not yet entered eternal life. Some people in past ages experienced God’s grace and mercy by personally trusting in Christ before he actually had come. Abraham the “Father of Faith” had the Gospel preached to him long before Jesus came. He believed and received it by faith. (Galatians 3:6-14, 18 Hebrews 4:2).

Others did, too. Moses lived under the law but was undoubtedly a man who trusted in grace. David certainly was not saved by keeping the law, for he failed terribly. He looked forward to the future Messiah and, through conviction and repentance, put his faith in him. He thereby personally received grace before it was historically fulfilled. Others had the same faith but never saw its full reality and had to wait for it to be fulfilled by Christ. (Hebrews 11:13, 39-40).

THE AGE OF GRACE

Today, we are actually living in the “age of grace”, and people have the opportunity to receive God’s grace. However, many people have not yet received it because they have not put their faith in Christ. They are currently living in the age of grace but spiritually are back in one of the previous ages and have not entered into grace.

HONESTY AND DELIVERANCE

When a person denies that they have sinned, they are manifesting a complete ignorance of God’s law and righteousness – they have not got past the first basic truths. When a person says, “I am good enough”, they are fooling themselves and not allowing their God-given conscience to function and discern good and evil.

When a person says, “I am able to keep all God’s commandments” they are dishonest with themselves and have not yet come to truth and repentance. They are dead in their trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1) Only when we are honest about ourselves and face up to our need for salvation can we be delivered from spiritual death and enter the abundant life of God. (John 10:10).

PASSING FROM DEFEAT TO VICTORY

Christ came to save the lost, but people need to realise that they are lost. (Luke 19:10). Those who respond to Christ receive his promise of abundant life and pass from the bondage of the old age to the liberty of the new age. They pass from condemnation to forgiveness. They pass from defeat to victory.

The sad thing is that some of God’s children still live defeated lives, they are saved but not victorious. The Bible has much to say about Christians growing in grace and living in the Spirit.

LIVING IN THE PRESENT AGE

This present age is not yet the “Kingdom Age” but an age of conflict, confusion, persecution, tribulation and trial. We are not yet reigning with Christ for that is a future promise. (2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 5:10 we shall reign, future tense; Revelation 20:6, 22:5).

It is “through much tribulation that we enter the Kingdom of God”. (Acts 14:22). It is those who lay down their lives who will reign. (Revelation 12:11).

THE KINGDOM TO COME

The glory of the Kingdom is still future, but believers can see it now just as they did in the days of Christ. When he came as King, he brought it near. (Mark 1:15 NIV). It is coming closer every day, every moment. This is the real new age under God, not the new age taught from some pulpits.

God’s Kingdom, as opposed to man’s, will be one of glory, perfection, peace, joy and abundant life. It is possible to “see” it now. When someone in this present age is reborn, filled with the Spirit and delivered from sin, they experience the reality of a future age – the Kingdom Age.

WARNING AGAINST REJECTION

Those who deliberately and knowingly reject God’s way will not enter and experience God’s Kingdom. (Hebrews 6:4-6).

Join me as we embark on a journey through “A Life of Faith.”

God’s Kingdom Through the Ages:

Episode 9: The Coming Kingdom of God

Episode 10: The Cross: The Gateway to the Kingdom