I would like to learn from as many of you as who would be willing as to how you personally believe the gospel will save you.

I understand that most of you probably believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, but I am interested in how you believe these facts personally affect your eternal outcome. Basically, I am wondering how each of you believes the gospel works (How does the death and resurrection of a man 2000 years ago make any difference in your life?).

Both detailed and vague answers are desired. My basic desire is to see how the answers agree and how they differentiate from one person from another. Also, if by chance you believe you are saved through the gospel and yet feel that you have no real idea as to how it works, I would like to hear those answers as well (You can PM your response if you would like.).

If you answer is identical to a previous post, please go ahead and post it anyway, for I would like to hear from as wide a range of group of people as possible.

Thanks for any time you are willing to give me in this,
JLH74

To understand how believe in the gospel saves people from the wrath of God, it is important to understand concepts like propitiation, atonement, covenant, federal headship, etc.

I will try and give an answer that covers these categories.

First, it must be established that all men are sinful, both originally and actually. By originally, I mean that, since the sin of Adam, we are born inclined to sin (Psalm 51, Ephesians 2). We are born "children of wrath". The simply proof of this is simply to ask your mother. However, most men, being blinded by pride and wickedness, cannot even see their own sin. As we are in bondage to sin, we do not even know at what we stumble (Proverbs 4). We continually deny God, and instead choose the things that he hates, all the while never obtaining lasting pleasure from any of them. By "actually", I mean that we actually sin ourselves out of our own will, which is a slave to sin.

So, God could have justly sent every single person to hell. We have all sinned, and we have all hated God by wanting to be our own God, and run our own lives. However, thanks to his grace, there was an eternal covenant made that God would indeed save some sinful men.

Christ was born of a virgin, he was not of the seed of man, but was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was also the God-man, being fully God and fully man in one person. He never sinned, as his apostles also wrote (1 Peter 2:22). It was fit that Christ should be a man, so that he could bear the punishment as a man (since God's wrath was against men). It was fit that Christ should be God, since no mere man could withstand the wrath of the Father.

According to prophecy, Christ was rejected by the people, and crucified on the cross. However, as Psalm 22 relates, this was not simply physical punishment, but also spiritual. The full wrath of God against the sins of Christ's people were poured out on Jesus. He carried our iniquities, and suffered the full punishment for them. Infinite wrath being poured on a person of infinite worth. This is propitiation. Christ was the substitute for man. Christ took the wrath of the Father, so that his love could be shed upon his believers. Christ was the fulfillment of the Passover lamb, and the fulfillment of the ram caught in the thicket (Genesis 22). He was the great Isaac who laid down his life as a sacrifice, carrying the wood on his own back.

As the Lord taught us, those who receive and rest in this propitiation are justified. Isaiah 61:10 states that the Lord's people have been clothed with a robe of righteousness. When a person receives and rests in this atonement, they are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. A great exchange has been made. Christ has born sin, so that his people may be clothed with his righteousness. In fact, "atonement" can often be translated as "exchange".

Those who believe in this work of Christ are no longer "in Adam", but are translated into the family of God, and are described as children of God. Christ has become their federal head instead of Adam, and they have been forgiven their sins for Christ's sake and merits, because of the atonement he has made for them. Those who reject such a glorious gospel will stand before God with no "robe of righteousness", and will receive justice. Since finite men have sinned against an infinite God, and sin being even more heinous because of the value of whom it was committed against, they will be punished with infinite punishment.

I hope this is helpful.

With care in Christ,
Taylor

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Taylor Otwell

Neat question. I concur with Taylor Otwell's post.

The popular phrase, "the gospel saves," is something of a misnomer because the gospel, which means "good news", is simply information which, of itself, does nothing. It is God who saves, and the gospel is a revelatory proclamation of how He does it.

The gospel reveals that God has promised whosoever rests on Christ's substitutionary sacrifice and mediation for salvation, apart from their own works, may have faith that Christ's righteousness is literally imputed* to them, and that their sin was borne by Jesus on the cross. The gospel sets forth a blessed legal transaction orchestrated and administrated by the Redeemer Judge. The aphorism is simplistic but truthful, "Christ bore the blame, saints get His name, God gets the fame."

Faith in the gospel is not the decisive reason why God saves anyone, but is the means through which He reveals whom He is saving, and the appointed method by which He applies the blessings of the cross which were purchased and accomplished in Christ's substitutionary death and victorious resurrection.

The seal of this gift is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, who instructs, empowers, chastens, and comforts the saints, causing them to cry out, "Abba", that is, Father. The Holy Spirit is given to preserve believers in their walk of faith, maintaining and successfully preserving them from apostasy. Though moral holiness is inconsistent in each believer, and amongst all believers, this process never ceases or fails altogether because it is carried on by sovereign God.

All who have repented and believed, being born again of the Spirit unto the hearing which is spiritual, have come to Christ and will therefore be raised up on the last day.

John 6:44-45, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I [b]will[/b] raise [b]him[/b] up at the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."

*Imputation - To charge; to attribute; to set to the account of. To ascribe or reckon to one what does not belong to him.

Hope that's clear.

God bless.

Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.


I was saved through Christ death from the wrath of God for all my past sins and wickedness. Christ death payed for them all. I am now being saved through Christ life that works in me and saving me day by day by making me more like Him day by day, predestined to be conformed to his image. And if I endure and make my election sure and run the race od faith i will be saved for all eterninty when he comes again. He is a mighty savior, I have been encuraged that these verses show me that I have been saved by Christ death, but how much more shall i be saved by his life!

"Christ in me"

this is my righteousness, my hope, my salvation, my everything.

Jesus Christ. in the past ,present and the future.

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CHRISTIAN

Dearest "JLH"...let me call you "Jacob", because JLH is so impersonal, kind of "THX" (that movie)

so Jacob, I was raised in the synagogue, I was bar-mitzvahed at age 13, I was taught Hebrew, and I loved it all. You never had to drag this child to temple. God was very real and very present to me. at all times, and in all places.

Fast forward 29 years: I was trading crude oil, futures, and in one day, I lost everything, including the savings of quite a few dear friends, and at that moment, after the market closed, I thought I had two options available to me, as the walls closed in, I could either A. put a pistol to my head, or B. find as many drugs as I could lay my hands, and just get "comfortably numb" as the pink floyd song sung. I was veering away from choice A, because I have a son that needs a father, and this choice seemed rather cowardly, because of the effect it would have on this innocent lad.

Choice B, getting as totally "baked" as i could seemed the way to go, but I needed to "clear my decks", as I had to take my son, seven years old to karate class, and this stood in the way of me getting inebriated, so I called his mother, and was totally transparent with her, told her my situation, told her the walls were closing in on me, that all was black, I was having panic attacks, and she said this:

"Neily, when you get scared, just start praying to God, "God please be with me", and dont look behind, dont look forward, just keep saying that prayer, "God be with me", and now go be a father to your son".

(if you knew her, this fiery red-headed Irish lass, the last thing to ask was to try and worm your way out of a committment.lol...not advisable)

So I went out, just hanging onto this simple prayer. "Please God, be with me"...for days, I clung to this simple prayer, and something happened. He answered.

Because I felt this overwhelming need to seek succor, and the only place, my heart told me was a Church, but I didnt know of a Church, so I asked my son's mother, and she told me she would "think" about it. She knew many 'churches", including some...now, I know, that I thank God, she didnt suggest.

The Church she suggested was Hope Christian Church, and I went, and the pastor spoke of Jesus..the Messiah. My heart was warmed, and I left....and all that week, I clung to that simple prayer, and I knew I had to go back next week, and before the service, I went up to the pastor, and said, "pastor, I want to be saved".....and he said, "why don't you listen to the sermon, and if you still feel the same, we'll pray at the altar, afterwards"......and we did...of course we did.

I say, "of course we did", because in retrospect, I was "saved" up in that lonely house trailer on a horse ranch, that day I cried out to God, "Please God be with me", and a merciful God, answered that prayer, and Jesus swept into my life, and took my hand. It wasn;t the Gospel that saved me, It was Jesus that saved me, Him taking my hand, when I got real, when I suddenly realized in the light of time and eternity, how abosultely weak I was and am, how vulnerable I was, how lost I was. It was that CONFESSION of mine, to this weakness, to my sin, the sin of self, the sin of pride, self-centeredness, all the junk that flows out of the human heart....just one simple plea, "God be with me"...and He answered.

and I just want to postscript this all, that what we do on this earth, has effect on others, I was to be after water baptized at Hope, 3 months after my conversion, and right before service my seven year old son, rather percocious lad, says to me, "Daddy, I want to be water baptized too". Understand this, NOBODY pressured him, this was out of nowhere, inside my heart is dancing, but I evenly asked, "Do you know what that means?" and very calmly he responded, "Yes Daddy, it means that I accept Jesus as my personal Saviour". Instead of shouting with joy, as I wanted to, I said, "lets tell pastor Ted what you just told me", he did, and that day, both me and my son made news in Heaven. He's 13 now, and I can testify that this boy has the sweetest spirit and heart you can ever imagine, there's not a malicious mean bone in his body, he's no wimp, but that sweetness, that winsomeness, comes from Jesus, Saviour of the world, proclaiming the Good News, setting us captives free.

Jesus saved the both of us.

much love in Him, neil

I'm still going to call you "Jacob", I pray you don't mind.