God did not create man with the intention of banishing him from his presence

On the contrary, God’s will is for all men to be saved:

1 Timothy 2:4a (KJV) Who will have all men to be saved,

Mankind was created for God’s pleasure…

Revelation 4:11 (KJV) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Psalm 149:4 (KJV) For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

…and for his glory:

Isaiah 43:7 (KJV) Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Man’s starting condition

However, the starting position of every human being is ‘unsaved’. Man starts as unsaved and needs to get saved. Nobody starts ‘saved’.

This is because we are all descended from a ‘fallen’ Adam:

Romans 5:12 (KJV) 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:

And this describes every person who ever has or ever will live (Christ excepted):

Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

God’s knowledge of us

God knows all about man…

Psalm 139:1-4 (KJV) O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

Luke 12:7a (KJV) But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

…and knows that he cannot save himself:

Isaiah 44:20 (KJV) He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

What man needs saving from

Man’s need for salvation comes from his sin, as this has separated him from God…

Isaiah 59:2 (KJV) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

…and God will not fellowship with sin:

Habakkuk 1:13a (KJV) Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:

Mankind was not forced along the path of sin, but chose it for itself…

Genesis 3:6 (KJV) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

…and we continue to make sin a choice:

James 4:17 (KJV) Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Romans 14:12 (KJV) So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

The righteous judge

One of the characteristics of God is that he is righteous. He is therefore a righteous judge and will not reward wickedness:

Psalm 5:4 (KJV) For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

Malachi 2:17 (KJV) Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

This again applies to everyone without exception:

Deuteronomy 10:17 (KJV) For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

Acts 10:34 (KJV) Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

How men are saved today

It has always been the case that in order to be saved men need to hear the gospel:

Romans 10:17 (KJV) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

God has always told men of his requirements before holding them accountable - to not do so would make him an unrighteous judge. We see this for example at the beginning in the garden of Eden…

Genesis 2:16-17 (KJV) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

…and before the flood, when Noah preached:

2 Peter 2:5 (KJV) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

The thing is, scripture contains numerous different gospels across different dispensations, so it is important to know which is the gospel that saves in any given dispensation.

This is the gospel which saves in the dispensation of grace, and is the one which men need to hear today:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (KJV) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

God requires belief

It has always been God’s requirement that man should believe him…

Isaiah 43:10 (KJV) Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

…and the refusal of man to do so can be traced back to the Garden of Eden:

Genesis 3:17 (KJV) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Salvation in this age comes from believing the gospel for today:

Acts 16:30-31 (KJV) 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.

To believe the gospel is to trust it

To believe the gospel of grace of grace is to trust it for salvation:

Ephesians 1:13a (KJV) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation:

When the gospel is preached some will believe…

Acts 17:4 (KJV) And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

…and some will not:

Acts 28:24 (KJV) And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

Some things which the gospel is not

There is one thing which the gospel is and many things which it is not. Here are some of the many things it is not: It is not

• Believing in the existence of God (even the devils do that)

• Being water baptised (this used to help, but not today)

• Imitating Jesus - What Would Jesus Do? (nobody is saved by imitation)

• Keeping the ten commandments (this is a. impossible and b. works)

• Accepting Jesus (wrong way around - we are accepted in him - Ephesians 1:6)

• Inviting Jesus into our heart (getting too big for our boots - it is not our place to invite Jesus. Rather, God commands men everywhere to repent - Acts 17:30)

• Going to church (works again)

• Knowing the teachings of Christ (many unsaved people know these and use them in arguments against us)

• Deciding to be a better person in future (even if this [new year resolution] was possible, this is more works)

• Making Jesus “Lord of our life” (cannot be done for more than a few seconds at a time)

What it means to be saved

To be saved means:-

• To be at peace with God

Romans 5:1 (KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

• To have forgiveness of sins:

Ephesians 1:7 (KJV) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

• To be sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption:

Ephesians 1:13 (KJV) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Ephesians 4:30 (KJV) And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

• To have a position in heavenly places:

Ephesians 2:6 (KJV) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

• To have received all spiritual blessings:

Ephesians 1:3 (KJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

• To never be separated from the love of God:

Romans 8:38-39 (KJV) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• To not be a partaker of God’s wrath:

1 Thessalonians 1:10 (KJV) And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

• To have the capability to please God:

Romans 8:8-9a (KJV) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

• To have the capability to overcome sin:

Galatians 5:24 (KJV) And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Galatians 5:16 (KJV) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.