Gospel

SALVATION IS NOT COMPLICATED

by Guy Humphries
05/28/24
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SALVATION IS NOT COMPLICATED

Remember, we are dealing with the ONE fatal Big “S” Sin of unbelief, rejecting Jesus’ love GIFT of salvation.  

Going to hell is easy.  Just call God A LIAR. by choosing to reject His love GIFT of salvation.“…he that believeth NOT God HATH MADE HIM A LIAR.”  1 John 5:10 

The most vital question of your life 1s, “When you die, do you KNOW that you will go to heaven?”    If you say “NO!!!,” this is for you. 

If you say “YES!!,” Praise God and pass this on to all of your acquaintances who might be lost-going-to-hell-Jesus-rejectors that Jesus clearly defined in John 3:18. It could result in some of them going to heaven with us.

I do NOT consider myself a “Christian” [Christ-like] or even “religious,” just an incredibly grateful truly-born-again-child-of-God that Jesus clearly defined in John 3. 

In verse 6, Jesus defined our fleshly body in which our spirits reside AND our spiritual inward man which will go to heaven or hell, our CHOICE, when He enlightened a super-religious man, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the [God’s Holy] Spirit is spirit.” John 3You are flesh in which your ETERNAL spirit resides.

Realizing that each person has a different, although similar, experience, my specific purpose is to share what I was like BEFORE and AFTER trusting Jesus.  

BEFORE, I WAS a lost-going-to-hell-Jesus-rejecting-unbeliever.  

AFTER, I AM a truly-born-again-child-of-God who is eager for Jesus to take me to heaven.  

In John 3:18, Jesus clearly defined “saved” and “lost”:  SAVED: He that believeth (trusts Jesus) on Him is NOT condemned.  LOST, He that believeth NOT (rejects Jesus) IS condemned already (why) because he hath (CHOSEN to) NOT BELIEVED in (trusted in Jesus) the name of the only begotten Son of God. For emphasis, He repeated in verse 36

Before I got saved, I had ignored over 1,000 lessons and sermons about how to be saved from hell to heaven. 

Finally, God’s Holy Spirit convinced me that if I died while CHOOSING to persist in calling HIM A LIAR and ignoring and rejecting Jesus’ love GIFT of salvation,  I WAS guaranteed to go to hell if I died that day.  Consequently, that realization was so disturbing that it activated my memory of the details of many of those lessons. Recalling them enhanced my misery and fear especially since I had attempted to delete them from my memory. 

Long after I got saved, I realized that God’s Holy Spirit had “cultivated” those memories and then “watered and fertilized” them until they grew into major agitation.  

I became extremely agitated, frightened, fretful, miserable and so nervous that I could not sleep.  My farm work was constantly messed up.  I was ugly to my parents.  I rebelled. 

I did not know where to turn until a Christ-like lady who thought enough of me to ask me if I was being convicted by God’s Holy Spirit for rejecting Jesus’ love GIFT of salvation.  To truthfully answer her question, I had to recognize that God’s Holy Spirit WAS intensely convicting me!! He was DRAWING me to Him.

Then, she reminded me of what she taught me about Jesus telling of the tormented man in hell who had depended upon his riches.  He was praying to Abraham, first for a drop of water, then for his lost brothers. Luke 16  

That totally shocked me as I began to visualize myself in the TORMENTS of hell futilely begging for one drop of water but never receiving it. 

I did not know HOW to pray but that sweet lady reminded me about teaching me about Jesus telling about two very simple prayers that resulted in both lost people getting saved.

In Luke 23:42-43, while hanging on the cross, one thief prayed “…unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into Thy kingdom.  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today thou shalt be WITH ME in paradise.” In Luke 23:42-43That simple prayer resulted in that thief going to heaven with Jesus, that day.  

In Luke 18:13-14, a despised Jew that had turned against his countrymen by serving as tax collector for the Romans. He multiplied the offense by extortion.  He KNEW he was LOST and was feeling so extremely convicted that, acting upon a local custom, he “smote himself upon his breast.”  Hewas “…standing afar off…,” that is, he felt totally unworthy to approach God, so unworthy that he “…would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven…”  He prayed “… God be merciful to me a sinner.”   In his prayer, he recognized that only “God” could save him and that He is amerciful God.  He confessed that he WAS a lost-going-to-hell-“sinner.”  

He experienced the same cycle that every person goes through to become a child-of-God. [1]Conviction by God’s Holy Spirit.  [2] Finally admitting that he was a lost “sinner.” [3] He recognized that a “merciful” God was his only hope. [4] That provoked him to cry out to God for forgiveness. [5] He got saved!!! Jesus confirmed his salvation, “I tell you, this man went down to his house (SAVED!!)Justified.” 

Neither one of those on-their-way-to-hell humanswas required to know how to pray an elaborate prayer, especially like one composed by a TV evangelist who instructs lost people to pray: “Dear God, I’m a sinner headed for hell, and I need You to help me.  I do believe that Jesus in His death and resurrection paid my sin debt and purchased salvation for me.  I believe it, and right now, I submit myself in full trust to Him.  Please God, forgive me and save me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” That is an effective prayer if prayed sincerely from the heart. But, most of satan’s-children will understand the important theological truths that are expressed in that prayer that attempts to cover ALL of them. 

That prayer only enlarges upon this simple prayer, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:13b

To sum up the simplicity of that prayer again:

First, he recognized that “God” was the only One capable of answering his prayer. 

Second, he begged for the kind of “mercy” that could only be extended by a “merciful” God. 

Third, he acknowledged that God deals one-on-one with “me.” 

Fourth, he admitted that he was a lost-going-to-hell“sinner.”

“God be merciful to me a sinner,” seven words in that uncomplicated prayer that resulted in Jesus testifying to his salvation, “..this man went down to his house justified…” 

Both sinners asked forgiveness for their ONE fatalgoing-to-hell-Sin-of-rejecting-Jesus’ love GIFT of salvation and were IMMEDIATELY FORGIVEN, saved, and were an on-the-way-to-heaven-truly-born-again-child-of-God. (study John 3)

When God’s Holy Spirit convinces you that you are not saved,please sincerely pray that uncomplicated prayer and meet me in heaven.  

If you ARE born-again, saved, please pray that Jesus will Rapture us to Him today!!  “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven (to the clouds) with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up (Raptured) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thes 4:16-18  What a blessed promise!!! “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” Rev 22:20

If you are NOT thrilled when you read about the rapture, it is essential that you get right with God by asking for salvation or, if you ARE a truly-born-again-child-of-God, by getting forgiven of your daily sinS  [1 John 1:8-10] to return you to sweet fellowship with your Savior and your crown of reward at Jesus’ judgment seat. 

In the love of Christ, Guy Humphries