THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do . . ." (Luke 23:34).

These words were spoken by Jesus from the cross. What an example for us! Jesus must have been suffering tremendous physical pain. Yet the inner pain must have far outweighed that pain that was in His body. Among those who cried, "Crucify Him, crucify Him," were those that He had ministered unto. Yet there had been no gratefulness on their part for the healing of their bodies, or whatever need had been met by Jesus.

Who was Jesus forgiving when He prayed that prayer? Surely all who were responsible for His death and had wronged Him in any way. Who was responsible for the death of Jesus?

Judas, the religious leaders, Pilate, the Roman soldiers, and many others--including you and I: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 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" (Isaiah 53:5-6).

Because He has forgiven us, we can and must forgive others: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you so also do ye" (Colossians 3:12-13).

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WHY WE CAN FORGIVE

In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus gave a parable that teaches us why we can forgive others. The parable was taught in answer to Peter's question, "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?" It seems that Peter was keeping a careful count of how many times his brother had wronged him. He had in his mind that seven times should be the limit--and then he would get even with him in some way. How shocked he was when Jesus answered:

". . . I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (verse 22).

That is 490 times! Jesus really was not setting any limits. He was telling us that we must always be willing to forgive others. And there is a big reason why this should be easy. Jesus has forgiven us a great debt of sin.

"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents (at least 60 million US dollars).But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt" (Matthew 18:23-27).

In this parable, we are the servant who owed a great debt that we could not pay, and Jesus Christ is the lord who forgave that debt whenever we humbled ourselves before Him. We have experienced the wonderful feeling of having all of our sins forgiven, when we should have suffered because of them. The song says:

I should have been crucified,
I should have suffered and died,
I should have hung on the cross in disgrace,
But Jesus my Lord took my place.

The debt that He forgave was great, so we should be able to forgive others who owe us a lesser debt.

"But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow-servants, which owed him an hundred pence (about 50 US dollars): and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses" (Matthew 18:28-35).

A person who holds grudges and unforgiveness in his heart has emotionally "been turned over unto the tormentors," because these things will eat like a cancer and destroy him. Forgiveness is the only cure for this kind of cancer.

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HOW OFTEN SHOULD WE FORGIVE

The "Lord's Prayer" was given unto us as a model prayer to be prayed daily! Included in this prayer are these words: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matthew 6:14).

Let's look at this verse in the Amplified Version, to get a fuller meaning: ". . . for if you forgive people their trespasses--that is, their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go and giving up resentment--your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matthew 6:14, Amplified Bible). Then comes the warning:

"But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (verse 15).

Who are we to forgive? Everybody. Many people live in constant condemnation because they have been hurt by others and are not willing to forgive. The forgiveness Jesus is asking us to extend to others must be sincere. We must be willing to give up our resentment towards those who have hurt us.

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FORGIVENESS

Our relationship with God is determined by our relationship with one another:

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"      (I John 4:20).

God will treat us as we treat others: "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven"      (Luke 6:36-37).

One of the most serious problems that plague mankind is unforgiveness. Many people have all kinds of resentments and bitterness that they have allowed to build up inside them through the years. This is true even among Christians. This is a tremendous hindrance to those who would really seek to love others with the love of Jesus. Besides this, God will turn a deaf ear to our prayers if we harbor unforgiveness towards even just one person!
 

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God Desires All Men to be Saved

God has given each man and each woman a free will to make their own choices in this life. The next 3 verses will show us that God does not want anyone to perish, but that He will not make or force anyone to accept Him and His Son and what His Son’s death on the cross really means for all of us.

Here are three very powerful verses showing that God wants all men and all women to be saved through the Blood of His Son Jesus.

1. “God our Savior, who desires ALL MEN to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)
    
2. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
    
3. “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For WHOEVER calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:12)

Notice that God is wanting all men and all women to accept His free gift of eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. He is not making any exceptions either by race, color, creed or gender.
The Bible also tells us that God the Father is no respecter of persons, which means He loves each man and each woman equally and unconditionally.

We Are Saved by Grace Through Faith – Not Works

 The gift of eternal salvation is a free gift given by God to all those who will believe on Jesus and what His death on the cross really means for all of us. These next 3 verses will specifically tell us that good works will not get us into heaven. Works are needed after salvation.The Bible says that faith without works is dead – but that is after you have received God’s gift of eternal salvation. After you get saved, God has a plan and a purpose for your life, and this is where you will go to work for God into whatever your calling is going to be in Him. But to initially receive the gift of eternal salvation from God the Father is simply done by having faith and belief in Jesus Christ and what He personally did for you on the cross. Here are the verses:

1. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8)
    
2. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ … for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)
    
3. “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:20,23)

The Bible specifically tells us in that last verse that all men and all women have sinned and have fallen way short of the glory of our God. The Bible says that there are none that are righteous before the eyes of God the Father. As a result, none of our fleshly works, no matter how good we think they may be, will ever be good enough to get us into heaven or back into the good graces of our Lord and Savior.

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The Basics of Salvation Through Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

As you will see in the very powerful verses I will be listing in this article – Jesus Christ, and His sacrificial death on the cross, is the central and most important fundamental, basic tenet of the Christian faith. Jesus Christ is God’s only plan of eternal salvation for the entire world.

"The Bible specifically says, without any other possible interpretation, that there is only one God, one faith, one baptism and one way to God the Father – and that is only through His Son Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross. Jesus says that He, and only He, is the way, the truth and the life leading to God the Father and that no one comes to the Father except through Him!"

Many people, including some Christians, believe that God the Father honors all other religions as long as people try to live a good and godly life and try to stay out of trouble. However, as you will see in the Scripture verses I will list below, this is not the way God the Father has everything set up. God will not honor any other religion, and He makes it very clear that it is only through His Son and His sacrificial death on the cross that will give people eternal salvation and thus eternal life with Him in heaven.

The Bible says that we are appointed for the defense of the gospel. It is our job, when called upon, to defend God and Jesus on the basics of our salvation. Here are two verses specifically telling us this:

1. “… knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:17)
    
2. “… always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you …” (1 Peter 3:15)

Below are some of the main verses from Scripture that will deal with the basics of our salvation through Jesus Christ. These verses are the basic ammunition that you will need when witnessing to anyone.

There are 6 main principles to the basic message of God’s plan of eternal salvation for the entire world. Here they are, along with all of the Scripture verses to back them up.

1. Jesus Christ is the Only Way to God the Father and Heaven

As stated above, there is no other name under Heaven by which man can be saved other than through the name of Jesus Christ! God the Father will not honor any other name, religion or faith!
Please note the extreme power and authority on the first four verses listed below. These first four verses specifically tell us, without any other possible interpretation, that Jesus Christ is the only way to be able to receive eternal salvation with God the Father.

1. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
    
2. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all …” (1 Timothy 2:5)
    
3. “There is one body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4)
    
4. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
    
5. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and find pasture … I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9)
    
6. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25)
    
7. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
    
8. And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
    
9. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)
    
10. “… whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:15-16)
     
11. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)
     
12. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
     
13. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)
     
14. “… And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11)
     
15. “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:14)

I do not see any other interpretation as to what these verses are trying to tell us other than Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father and His dwelling place, heaven! I don’t think God the Father could have made things any more clearer than by the way He has worded all of the above Scripture verses!
Jesus Himself said in the New Testament that He did not come to bring peace – but division! What He means by this is that He is drawing a major battle line in the sand. You either believe in Him and everything that He stands for – or you do not. There are no middle or neutral grounds on this issue.

"If you choose not to believe in Jesus and His message of eternal salvation through His death on the cross, then you will die in your sins and go straight to hell when you die – no if, ands or buts about it! The life that we are living down here on this earth is serious business! The choices that we make in this life will determine our ultimate fate in the afterlife.
Choose Jesus and the blood that He has personally shed for you on the cross – and you will become saved and born again – and you will then enter into the most incredible place imaginable when you die – heaven itself!
Choose anyone or anything else, and you will cross over into the most horrible place imaginable when you die – hell itself, and then eventually into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone after the Millennium has taken place, where the Bible says that the smoke of your torment will ascend forever and ever!"

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