Carl wrote:
>
> Evangelist John Rice's sermon below is on the topic of salvation and the
> Biblical fact that salvation is by God's Grace through faith in Jesus
Christ
> and NOT by works of man.
>
> May God bless,
> Carl
> my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
> my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
>
> ---
>
> What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Ask those trapped under rubble for three days now hoping to
be rescued following Chinas worst earthquake for thirty years.
Ask them why your god, who you claim created everything,
created such an unstable planet as Planet Earth
Question the indiscriminate killings by cyclones, volcanoes
and earthquakes and then ask *yourself* about the futility
and childishness of hampering after imaginary loving [!?] gods.
Bob
Humanist
> by John R. Rice
>
> What must I do to be saved? Here in the simplest, shortest form is
put
> the question to which every man must learn the answer, or spend eternity
> lost, away from God, suffering the torments of the damned! Thank God,
this
> question is asked and answered in the Word of God so simply that every
soul
> can understand it. There are other questions in God's Word which affect
the
> soul's welfare, and many places in the Bible is the plan of salvation
made
> plain, but only one place is this question given word for word, and
there,
> too, we find the answer.
>
> Paul and Silas were in jail in the city of Philippi and at
midnight
> they sang and prayed until God broke down all the doors and broke the
stocks
> which held their feet, with a mighty earthquake. The poor jailer,
frightened
> and convicted of his sins, came to these two preachers and asked this
> question. Read it in Acts 16:29-31:
>
> "Then he called for a light and sprang in, and came trembling, and
> fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs,
what
> must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and
> thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
>
> "What must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and
> thou shalt be saved"! There is God's plan of salvation, the only plan He
has
> for every man, woman and child who was ever born into the whole world.
>
> WHAT MUST I DO?
>
> Sinner, there is something you must do if you would be saved.
There
> was hope for this jailer because he saw himself a lost sinner and came
> trembling to inquire, "What must I do?" Reader, you are a sinner. The
Word
> of God from beginning to end emphasizes that fact. In Isaiah 53:6 we
learn:
>
> "ALL we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned EVERY ONE to
his
> own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us ALL."
>
> We have all gone astray! The Lord is not content for sinners to be
> left believing themselves good. In Romans the third chapter, how
positive,
> how certain is the Word of God that every man, woman and child is a
sinner!
>
> "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have
> before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are ALL under sin; As it
is
> written, There is NONE righteous, NO, NOT ONE: There is NONE that
> understandeth, there is NONE that seeketh after God. They are ALL gone
out
> of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is NONE that
doeth
> good, NO, NOT ONE"!--Rom. 3:9-12.
>
> In verses 22 and 23 it is stated again that "there is no
difference:
> for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." That is the
reason
> Jesus said to Nicodemus in the third chapter of John, "Marvel not that I
> said unto thee, YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN." And a little later in the same
> chapter, verse 18, He said that the man who has not believed in Jesus is
> already condemned.
>
> Certainly these Scriptures must make it clear to every man who
> believes the Word of God that he is a sinner, and until he has believed
in
> Christ and has been saved, he is a lost sinner and needs saving. The
heart
> is wrong, and only God can make that right. Then if you want to be
saved,
> you must admit in your own heart, "I am a sinner. I am lost and need to
be
> saved." No one ever was saved without coming for salvation as a sinner.
>
> CHRIST DIED TO SAVE SINNERS, NOT GOOD MEN
>
> Oh, I beg you, see it today! You are a poor, lost sinner, a
Hell-bound
> sinner! Your heart is black. You have hardened your heart, you have
resisted
> the call of God, you have rejected Christ. However good you are in man's
> sight, you are a terrible sinner, and unless you turn to Christ you must
> spend eternity in Hell. A SINNER! That is what you are. Admit it in your
own
> heart, confess it to God. You are a sinner and you need saving worse
than
> you need anything else in the world.
>
> If you have settled in your heart that matter, then you are ready
to
> learn God's answer to your question, "What must I do to be saved?"
>
> BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
>
> Here is God's simple way to be saved. You are a sinner, your heart
is
> wrong, you cannot save yourself, you are already condemned. The thing
you
> are to do then, to be saved, is to simply trust the Lord Jesus with that
> matter. When you do trust Him, then you have God's promise, "Thou shalt
be
> saved."
>
> I do not mean that you are simply to believe that there is a God
or
> that there is a Saviour. Devils believe that and tremble (James 2:19).
You
> can believe that a certain physician is a good doctor without calling
him to
> be your doctor when you are sick. You can believe that a certain man is
a
> good lawyer without taking him as your lawyer to defend your case. You
are
> not just to believe the truth about Jesus; you are to believe on Him,
that
> is, depend upon Him, risk Him, trust Him; and when you do, you are
saved.
>
> NOT SAVED BY GOOD WORKS
>
> Of course, you do not deserve salvation. There is nothing you can
do
> that will make you worthy of it. You cannot be saved by keeping the Ten
> Commandments, for the Scripture clearly shows that you have not kept
them.
> Romans 3:20 says:
>
> "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified
> in his own sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
>
> The same thing is told in Galatians 3:11 which says:
>
> "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it
is
> evident: for, The just shall live by faith."
>
> Many, many Scriptures repeat again and again that there is no
> salvation through human goodness.
>
> "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to
> his mercy he saved us, by the wa****ng of regeneration, and renewing of
the
> Holy Ghost."--Titus 3:5.
>
> "FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH; AND THAT NOT OF
YOURSELVES;
> IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST."--Eph.
2:8,
> 9.
>
> We had as well admit, then, that no man deserves saving and no man
can
> save himself. Salvation must be free or the sinner could never get it.
In
> fact, it takes blood to pay for sin, for the Scripture says:
>
> "Without Shedding of Blood Is No Remission"--Hebrews 9:22
>
> "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died
for
> the ungodly."--Rom. 5:6.
>
> "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his
> own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."--Isa.
53:6.
>
> Peter tells us that all of us are bought by the blood of Christ:
>
> "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible
> things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by
> tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as
of a
> lamb without blemish and without spot."--1 Peter 1:18, 19.
>
> Every lamb, bullock, heifer, goat, turtle dove and pigeon offered
in
> the Old Testament times on the altar pictured this: that man, a guilty
> sinner, must have some innocent one to shed his blood to pay for one
man's
> sins. Jesus died for our sins, and, thank God, salvation is bought for
every
> man in the world, if he will have it, as the free gift of God.
>
> "For the wages of sin is death; but the GIFT of God is eternal
life
> through Jesus Christ our Lord."--Rom. 6:23.
>
> Dear sinner, remember that church member****p will not save you. If
you
> have been baptized that cannot save you. Baptism does not save, does not
> keep anybody saved. It is only an act of duty for those who have already
> found Christ as their Saviour. A moral life or lodge member****p or good
> citizen****p--these must all fail to bring salvation, for it is "not by
works
> of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved
us"
> (Titus 3:5). Don't depend, then, on what you do, but on what Jesus did
and
> promises to do for you.
>
> WHAT ABOUT REPENTANCE?
>
> Does not the Bible say that we must repent? Yes, the Bible plainly
> says that "God ... commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts
17:30),
> and again, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3,
5).
> This was the preaching of John the Baptist, of Jesus, of Peter and of
Paul,
> that men should repent. And certainly repentance is God's plan of
salvation.
> The trouble here, however, is that men misunderstand what repentance
means,
> and there has grown up an idea that repentance means a period of weeping
and
> mourning over sin, or sorrow for sins. This idea comes from the Douay
> Version of the Bible which instead of "repent" says "do penance." So the
> place of inquiry, where people should be taught the plan of salvation
from
> the Bible, in revival meetings, became "the mourner's bench" and
thousands
> of people have been taught that God would not hear their prayer nor
forgive
> their sins until they went through a process of sorrow and mourning over
> their sins!
>
> Do not misunderstand me. God is anxious for you to have a
penitent,
> broken heart over your sins. You have gone away from God. You have
trampled
> under foot the blood of Jesus Christ, wasted years of your life which
you
> can never live over again. You have served your father, the Devil. There
is
> plenty for you to weep over, and I am not surprised if you feel deep
shame
> and sorrow in your heart that you have so mistreated the God who made
you
> and the Saviour who died for you. I am not surprised if you cannot keep
back
> the tears! But what I want you to know is that tears or no tears,
however
> much sorrow you may have in your heart, or not have, those things do not
> save you.
>
> You ought to be sorry for your sins and ashamed of them. "Godly
sorrow
> worketh repentance" (2 Cor. 7:10)--the right kind of sorrow leads to
> immediate repentance, but mourning is not itself repentance.
>
> "Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no respite know, These
for
> sin cold not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone."
>
> To repent literally means to have a change of mind or spirit
toward
> God and toward sin. It means to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all
> your heart, and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. You can see, then,
how
> the man who believes in Christ repents and the man who repents believes
in
> Christ. The jailer repented when he turned form sin to believe in the
Lord
> Jesus Christ.
>
> INSTANT SALVATION!
>
> The jailer did not go through a period of mourning. He was told to
> believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; he did just that and was saved, and
his
> whole family was saved the same way, immediately, the same hour of the
> night. Everywhere you look through the New Testament you find that
people
> were saved all at once without any process, without any period of
mourning.
>
> Zacchaeus, up a tree, trusted Jesus and made haste and came down,
and
> received Him joyfully (Luke 19:6-9). Jesus said,
>
> "This day is salvation come to this house." When Peter told
Cornelius
> and his assembled household that they could be saved
>
> by believing, immediately "while Peter yet spake these words," the
> Scripture says, the Holy Spirit came on them and they were happily saved
> (Acts 10:44-48). The thief on the cross, wicked sinner that he was, who
a
> few minutes before had been railing at Jesus, was saved immediately when
he
> inquired of Jesus (Luke 23:42, 43). In the first chapter of John, verses
35
> to 49, we see where Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael were all
> converted, one by one, immediately by faith in Christ. There is no
record of
> any person in Bible times who was ever told to wait, or mourn, or weep
over
> his sins before trusting Jesus and being saved! One who believes in
Christ
> has repented. Repentance and faith are the same thing put in different
> words, and neither requires a long period of time, nor a process of
mourning
> and sorrow.
>
> Salvation is instantaneous. All that keeps you today from being
saved
> is the wickedness of your heart that holds on to sin and will not run to
> Jesus to trust in Him for salvation. I beg you, turn in shame and sorrow
> from your sins this minute, and trust in Christ and be saved!
>
> CAN ONE BE SAVED WITHOUT PRAYER?
>
> In the Bible there are many cases of sinners who prayed like the
thief
> on the cross or the publican in the temple. In fact, Romans 10:13 says:
>
> "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved."
>
> Many people believe that a sinner cannot be saved without a period
of
> prayer, without consciously calling on God. However, the Bible does not
say
> that a sinner must pray in order to be saved. In fact, immediately
following
> the verse in Romans 10:13 is an explanation which shows that calling on
God
> is an evidence of faith in the heart and that it is really faith which
> settles the matter. Read it again.
>
> "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.
> How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?"--Rom.
> 10:13, 14.
>
> The Lord encourages the sinner to pray, and the Lord hears and
answers
> the sinner's prayer, if that sinner trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation
> when he prays. He heard the prayer of the thief on the cross, of the
> publican in the temple, of blind Bartimaeus. But the Scripture says,
"How
> then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?" Certainly
every
> one who is to be saved must believe. Prayer is evidence of faith. No
matter
> how long one prays, if he does not trust in Christ, he can never be
saved.
> If he trusts in Christ without conscious prayer, then he is saved
already.
> There is just one plan of salvation and just one step a sinner must take
to
> secure it. That step is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!
>
> Some way we preachers have left the impression on this poor world
of
> sinners that God is hardhearted and that it takes many tears and loud
cries
> and long periods of sorrow before He will hear and save the sinner. We
have
> left the impression that God does not care whether sinners are saved or
not,
> and that sinners must some way touch the heart of God and get Him ready
to
> forgive. What a slander on a good and holy God who "so loved the world,
that
> he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH in him should
not
> perish, but have everlasting life." Man's sins are already paid for,
God's
> wrath is already turned away from any sinner who wants to be saved. Both
the
> Father and the Son are a million times more anxious to save every sinner
> than the sinner can be to get saved! Thank God, I do not have to beg God
to
> forgive my sins. He will do it the minute I am willing to trust it with
Him.
>
> HOW TO GET THE CHANGE OF HEART
>
> This simple way of being saved by faith seems so easy, and it is.
Some
> sinner may say, "But I thought one must have a change of heart." So you
> must, dear sinner, but that is God's part. Jesus was talking to
Nicodemus
> when He said, "Ye must be born again," and in the same chapter He tells
> Nicodemus how to get the new birth.
>
> "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."--John 3:16.
>
> The change in your heart, sinner, is God's part and you may be
sure He
> will attend to that. Your part is to simply believe in Him. Whatever
else is
> necessary in your eternal salvation, the Lord attends to when you trust
in
> Him, or believe in Him.
>
> HOW SHOULD I FEEL?
>
> Some people have an idea that the change of heart is a matter of
> feeling. Some do not want to claim Christ as Saviour until they have the
> mysterious feeling that they want. Do not let the Devil deceive you
here. I
> believe in heartfelt religion, and thank God for the joy which He gives
to
> me day by day. But the Bible nowhere tells how one must feel before he
is
> saved, nor does it anywhere say how you feel after you are saved. In
fact,
> people do not feel the same. Feeling varies with the person saved.
>
> Some cry when they are saved, some laugh, and a few shout aloud
the
> praises of God. One is no more saved than the other.
>
> What you want, dear sinner, is salvation, and you should be
satisfied
> to feel any way that will please the Lord, just so He forgives your
sins.
>
> Be sure you notice another fact, too, and that is that you cannot
feel
> right until you get right. Rejoicing does not come before you trust the
> Lord. One does not feel the result of medicine before he takes it. The
> Children of Israel in the wilderness, bitten by fiery serpents and at
the
> point of death, were not healed and did not feel healed until they
looked to
> the brass serpent on the pole (Num. 21:6-9). People are not saved by
> feeling; they are saved by trusting in Christ. The prodigal son, away
from
> home in the hog pen, decided to arise and go to his father, but he did
not
> feel good. He was without shoes, clothed in rags, without the ring of
> son****p, without any evidence of his father's forgiveness, peri****ng
with
> hunger! Yet he arose and came to his father, not by feeling, but by
faith in
> his father. Thank God, his father received him, like God receives every
> sinner who will come. And when the prodigal boy sat down at his father's
> table, with shoes of the gospel of peace, clothed in the garments of
> righteousness of Christ, with the ring of son****p on his finger, eating
the
> fatted calf at the right hand of the father, happy in his love, then he
has
> plenty of feeling. Feeling comes after salvation. Leave the feeling with
the
> Lord and come to the Saviour by faith today.
>
> After you are saved, you will get peace and joy out of following
the
> Lord in baptism, reading His Word, winning souls and otherwise pleasing
Him.
> You need to go to the Lord again and again day by day for the joy of a
> Christian life. But thank God that salvation is settled once and for all
> when you simply depend upon Christ as your Saviour.
>
> WHAT ABOUT PUBLIC CONFESSION?
>
> Every person who is saved ought to publicly confess Christ.
Matthew
> 10:32 and Romans 10:9 plainly teach that God will claim as His child any
of
> us who will claim Christ as our Saviour, but we simply confess with the
> mouth what we have already trusted in our hearts. Concerning that very
> matter Romans 10:10 says:
>
> "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the
> mouth confession is made unto salvation."
>
> To claim Christ as your Saviour simply proves that you trust Him
in
> the heart. Likewise with all other promises in the Bible about how to be
> saved. "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," says John
6:37;
> and salvation is promised in John 1:12 to as many as receive Jesus. But
you
> could not come to Christ without trusting Him, and John 1:12 shows that
> receiving Jesus is the same as believing on His name.
>
> Dear sinner, do not make this a difficult matter. There is one
simple
> step between you and Jesus. When you trust Him, everything else is
settled,
> and you have repented, you have come to Christ, you have received Him,
you
> have done everything necessary to be saved. Take the answer in Acts
16:31 at
> face value: "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED"!
In
> dozens of Scriptures all through the Bible salvation is promised to
those
> that believe. Read carefully the following Scriptures and see that again
and
> again, many, many times, God has promised all any poor sinner would ever
> need when he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
>
> "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."--John 1:12.
>
> "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so
must
> the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not
> perish, but have eternal life. 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."--John 3:14-16.
>
> "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH
not
> is condemned already, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the
only
> begotten Son of God."--John 3:18.
>
> "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
> BELIEVETH not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on
> him."--John 3:36.
>
> "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
> BELIEVETH on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
> into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."--John 5:24.
>
> "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which
seeth
> the Son, and BELIEVETH on him, may have everlasting life: and I will
raise
> him up at the last day."--John 6:40.
>
> "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me hath
> everlasting life."--John 6:47.
>
> "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name
whosoever
> BELIEVETH in him shall receive remission of sins."--Acts 10:43.
>
> "And by him all that BELIEVE are justified from all things, from
which
> ye could not be justified by the law of Moses."--Acts 13:39.
>
> Read again the Scripture we started with:
>
> "What must I do to be saved?"
>
> "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."--Acts
> 16:30, 31.
>
> Trust Jesus, the Great Physician
>
> If you were sick and about to die, and there was some good doctor
whom
> you could trust, would you not risk him to take your case, give you the
> necessary treatment, and with God's help get you well? Then just like
that,
> trust in Christ, depend on Him for your salvation, and turn it over to
Him
> today. With the same kind of faith that will call in a doctor and risk
him
> for your body, you can call in the Lord Jesus Christ and risk Him to
forgive
> your sins and save your poor lost soul! He said, "They that are whole
need
> not a physician, but they that are sick" (Luke 5:31). He is the Great
> Physician and will heal your soul instantly if you will trust Him. As
you
> would trust a doctor, submit to his treatment, depend on him for
results, so
> trust Jesus today about your soul. To be sure, human doctors fail many
> times. Their results at best are gradual, and so no doctor is a perfect
> picture of Jesus. The doctor can work no miracles, but Jesus can, and
the
> change that is needed in that poor, wicked heart, He will make
immediately,
> instantly, without any further effort on your part, when you trust Him!
>
> JESUS IS OUR LAWYER
>
> If you had committed a crime and were thrown in jail, probably the
> first thing you would do would be to send for some lawyer in whom you
had
> confidence and trust him with the entire matter of your defense. In
God's
> sight you are a criminal, condemned already and with the wrath of God
upon
> you day by day. But God has provided somebody to take the part of us
poor
> sinners, criminals before the bar of God's justice, and Jesus is that
> lawyer, for the Scripture says:
>
> "If any man sin, we have an advocate [or lawyer] with the Father,
> Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and
not
> for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."--1 John 2:1,
2.
>
> Jesus will not only be your lawyer to defend your case; He has
already
> paid the penalty and you may safely trust Him to have you immediately
> pardoned and justified! Why not simply risk Jesus as you would risk a
good
> lawyer? Jesus is better than any lawyer, of course, and you do not have
to
> pay Him a fee, and He never fails.
>
> A WEDDING
>
> A young man and young woman stand together, side by side, before
the
> preacher. The preacher says, "You will join right hands." Then to the
young
> man he says, "Do you take this young woman to be your lawfully wedded
wife,
> to love her and cherish her until death do you part?" He answers, "I
do." To
> the young woman the preacher says: "Do you take this man to be your
lawfully
> wedded husband until death do you part?" She answers, "I do." Then the
> preacher says: "I pronounce you man and wife," and they are married in
the
> sight of God and man.
>
> What a simple picture of salvation! Jesus is the bridegroom and we
who
> trust Him are to be His bride. Already Jesus has loved you and has long
> urged you to accept His love. Jesus invites you to accept His love.
Jesus
> invites you to believe in Him right now and be saved and so become a
part of
> His bride. Will you not right now with the same simple faith of that
young
> woman who takes a husband, accept Jesus as your Saviour and say to Him,
"I
> do."?
>
> MAKE IT SURE--CLAIM HIM TODAY!
>
> The way is plain and you can be saved this moment if you will.
>
> Surely it has become plain, dear lost sinner, that it is your own
> fault if you are lost! Do you hate Jesus Christ? Will you hold on to
your
> sin and go to Hell for your stubbornness? Nothing in the world could
show
> your wickedness like postponing this matter. You can be saved right now,
> this minute. I beg you, do it now. Turn your whole heart from sin to
trust
> in Christ. Choose for Heaven against Hell, choose for Christ against
Satan.
> Do not let Satan deceive you any longer. If you delay, it may result in
a
> hardened heart, a wasted life and a tortured soul in Hell! And if you
are
> not saved, when God has made the way so plain and paid the price for
your
> sins, then you have no one to blame but yourself. Will you trust Jesus
> Christ today and be saved?
>
> "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day
may
> bring forth."--Prov. 27:1.
>
> "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of
> salvation."--2 Cor. 6:2.
>
> "Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts."--Heb.
3:7,
> 8.
>
> God has given you this heartbeat, this breath, this moment in
order to
> trust Christ, but there is no promise of another. I beg you do it right
now,
> and then claim Him as your Saviour.
>
> One who trusts Jesus Christ as personal Saviour should publicly
claim
> Him before men. "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and
> with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10).
>
> After trusting Jesus Christ you should join a church and be
baptized.
> I hope you will find a good Bible-believing church and attend
faithfully.
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