Lesson 3: Salvation

[0:00] So today we're going to continue in our discipleship series, the Ministry of Reconciliation. And we're on the third lesson tonight.

[0:12] And the title is Salvation. So we've learned about the greatest commandment, to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. And where that leads us, it leads us to salvation.

[0:26] So we're going to continue from there today. The first commandment, the first great commandment, Matthew chapter 22, verse 36 to 38.

[0:42] Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, all of thy soul, and with all of thy mind.

[0:55] This is the first and great commandment. Amen. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you, God, for your word. And we thank you for all of your commandments, God. All your teachings, God, every word that's in your scripture is given to us, God, that would help us.

[1:11] It would help us bring us to perfection in you. God, I pray, Lord, that's exactly what it does today, God, that it would help us grow in you and bring us closer to you. In Jesus' name I pray.

[1:23] Amen. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Found in both the Old and New Testaments, as I've mentioned each week, this is known as the greatest commandment in the Bible, and Jesus is clearly spelling out three different aspects of our being and that of our makeup, who we are, and that is our heart, our soul, and our mind.

[1:46] And so, just to backtrack a little bit and bring us to the point where we're at right now, I want to just say when we end up adhering to this commandment, because it's just like all the other commandments, thou shalt not kill, but guess what?

[2:00] They're still murderers, right? So, although it's a commandment, we still are given that free will, that choice, are we going to follow these commandments or not? And so, if we end up adhering to this great commandment to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, where does that lead us to?

[2:16] Where does it get us to? And when we do that, it affects our thoughts. When we love God with all of our heart, it affects our thoughts and our intents. We've talked about that.

[2:27] It's in our hearts where our thoughts and intents are conceived, and that those can be the predictors of our actions, and our actions turn into habits, and those control our lives, and they're hard to break.

[2:41] And we need good habits, amen? We need godly habits. We need righteous habits, not just bad habits. Okay? But it affects our thoughts. We don't think the same as we used to think.

[2:53] We think differently. We look at life differently. We look at the things of God differently. It's not foolishness to us anymore. When we're in the world, the things of God is foolishness.

[3:04] But when we begin to love God with all of our heart, it's not foolishness anymore. We want to know, what does the word of God say for me? And so, our intentions change. And that's repentance, really, because your intents, the direction you intend to go, changes.

[3:20] And so, therefore, your actions change. And that leads you to the repentance and produces praise and worship. When you love God with all your heart, you can't help but to talk about him with other people.

[3:31] You can't help to sing of his praises, in a sense. Maybe not just singing in church, but, like, literally singing. Like, God, you're so good. Thank you, God, for who you are. I appreciate you.

[3:42] Just all through the day, you know, the Bible says to pray continually without ceasing. You can do that. You can pull into the gas station to get a snack and a drink. And while you're filling that ice cup with your favorite drink, you can say, God, I thank you, Lord.

[3:56] You're so good. And God can be on your mind all the time. And when you love God with all of your heart, that's what happens. And when you love God with all your soul, your relationship grows. God's a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

[4:09] You have a human spirit, and it's your human spirit, your spiritual body, that communes with God. And so we have to have a love with our whole soul, which includes our spiritual self.

[4:22] And his likes then start to become our likes. And his desires become our desires. And his word begins to commune with us because we need the Holy Spirit to help guide us into understanding and truth of his word.

[4:37] And so when you get to that point of salvation, you get the Holy Spirit. It's like a whole other level. And the word gets opened up to you even more. And your spiritual body begins to get nourished like it should be, and it's not malnourished anymore.

[4:53] And so your spirit should become stronger and your flesh weaker and should be able to control the urges of your flesh. And you just learn what he wants. And when you experience that new birth, you'll get to that point.

[5:07] And when you love God with all of your mind, your faith grows. Like I said, there comes a point where we go through things in life that we don't understand. Why are we going through this? A lot of times we put ourselves in that place, but not all the times.

[5:21] There's just the fact of life. The Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust the same. We're afflicted with the same afflictions of people that are in the world.

[5:33] We just can't avoid it. It's the human condition that we just have trouble and troubles. And so, but when we love God with all of our mind, there comes a point where I may not understand what's going on, but I just trust God that he can work it out and that where our understanding ends, that's where faith has to begin.

[5:53] And so, if we love God with all of our mind, then our faith is able to grow. We're able to exercise our faith. And you can begin to realize that his love for you is true.

[6:07] And his bringing salvation through a new birth experience is true. And that's faith. It takes faith to understand the plan of salvation. It takes faith to believe that God wants to give you eternal life.

[6:19] It takes faith to believe that God wants to wash away your sins and to baptize you with his spirit. And give you power over sin. And it takes faith for those things.

[6:31] And the things that hinder us when people want to receive the baptism of the spirit, for example, and to experience salvation. The things that hinder us is, one, we're not fully repented.

[6:43] Our thoughts and intents are not the right way. Okay? And our actions are not the right way. We haven't loved God with all of our heart yet. We don't know a lot about his word.

[6:55] We haven't tried to love God with our soul. We haven't really studied the word. We don't really even know what it says. And the other thing that can help us struggle is our faith.

[7:06] We want to try to figure it out with our mind. Like, what is it going to be like if I speak in tongues? Do I say the words? Or what's going to happen to me? We start getting it. It starts getting in our mind.

[7:17] But we have to let those things go and trust God and have that faith. So, it's loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind will lead you to a salvation experience. When you read Acts 2.38, you will be able to participate in that and receive what God has for you, which is salvation.

[7:35] Amen. So, everyone needs salvation. Romans 3.23 says, Romans 3.23, Romans 3.23, So, easy to remember those two scriptures if you ever need a reminder.

[7:58] Romans 3.23 and Romans 6.23. I don't know why that seems easy to remember. It's easy for me to remember. But it basically is telling us that we're all sinners. That's probably why we don't want to remember those scriptures.

[8:11] Who wants to be told you're a sinner? But the fact of the matter is we're sinners. All have sin and come short of the glory of God. And our earnings for that, our wages that we're going to receive for that, that work that we've done of sin, is death.

[8:27] That's the wage that we receive. Okay? But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Remember, the heart is the natural. It's naturally deceitful.

[8:40] It's flesh. And it's evil. I don't know if you remember that from the lesson before. But our heart is naturally deceitful and evil. 1 John 1, verse 8.

[8:55] If we say that we have no sin, we're deceiving ourselves. And the truth is not in us. Verse 9.

[9:05] If we confess our sins, I am a sinner. Right? That's confessing our sins. I'm a sinner. Admitting, I'm a sinner. I've sinned. The Bible says in verse 9.

[9:17] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Verse 10.

[9:27] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Job put it like this in Job 14 and 1.

[9:38] Man that is born of a woman is a few days and full of trouble. And Miles' mother said amen. Just a few days from the womb and we're full of trouble.

[9:53] It's our human condition. It's our human nature. We can't avoid it. We didn't ask for it, but it's there. Thanks to our first Adam. Jesus explained it to Nicodemus.

[10:08] Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit, he cannot enter in the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again.

[10:22] Paul said, they that are in the flesh cannot please God, but you're not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If so, be that the spirit of God dwells in you. In order for you not to be in the flesh, you need to have the spirit of God dwelling in you.

[10:35] And that's the gift of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And so without that, we're dwelling in the flesh, and we cannot please God. The Bible says it right there, Romans 8 and 8. They that are in the flesh cannot please God.

[10:49] You are not going to please God if you're in the flesh. You need salvation. And so there's a clear message throughout the word of God that mankind is by nature sinful, sinful, and needs to be saved.

[11:01] We need to be saved. I don't care how good you are. I don't care what nonprofits you help coordinate. I don't care if you go rebuild Haiti.

[11:16] I don't care. None of those things matter. What matters is, do you have the Holy Ghost? Have you been baptized in Jesus' name? Have you repented of your sins? You need to experience the plan of salvation in order to be saved.

[11:27] You're not going to be able to work your way into the kingdom of God with good works. You're not going to be able to do that because it's a gift. It's a gift that we cannot earn. Okay? And so where do we find salvation?

[11:39] How do we obtain salvation if we can't work our way into it? See, a lot of churches, they don't even believe in what I'm talking about tonight. They don't even believe that you have to be baptized in Jesus' name or receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in order to enter in the kingdom of God, like Jesus told Nicodemus.

[11:56] They don't even believe that. And their focus is on going overseas and helping feed the hungry and the poor, and all those things are good. Those are all good.

[12:06] It's better to give than to receive. That's the biblical principle. But that's not going to get them into heaven. All their good deeds, all their good works is not going to get them into heaven. And the only way they're going to experience salvation is if they understand this word of God and what it says that we need to do.

[12:20] Okay? And so where do we find salvation then? There's only one that provides salvation, and that is God himself. Isaiah 43 and 10. 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.

[12:40] Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. There's no other God. There's only one God. Verse 11. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior.

[12:55] So this is God speaking in the Old Testament to a prophet, saying that I was here, and there was no God before me, and I'm still here, and there's not going to be a God after me.

[13:08] I'm the Lord, and beside me there's no Savior. I'm your Savior. Isaiah 45 and 21 through 23. Tell ye and bring them near.

[13:20] Yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord, and there is no else, no God else beside me?

[13:35] A just God and a Savior? There is none beside me. Verse 22. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else.

[13:48] I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear.

[14:00] This is God speaking, God speaking in the Old Testament. So how do we, he, God alone is our salvation and our Savior.

[14:12] There is no other Savior. Very clear. Don't try to come with me with some other scripture that doesn't match this scripture. It has to be a puzzle that fits together.

[14:22] Okay? It has to be a puzzle that all fits perfectly together. You can try to put a puzzle together and force a piece in there, but that's not going to do you very well.

[14:34] You're not going to complete that puzzle. All the scriptures have to fit together. You better show me something. If you're going to try to show me something else, then you have a misunderstanding of what scripture is.

[14:45] This is very clear. This is black and white. There is no God besides him, and God is the Savior. Okay? So when you get in the New Testament and you start seeing that Jesus is the Savior, then we know that Jesus is God, and there's no argument to it.

[14:58] You can try to find some other little scripture here and there and try to interpret what it means, but if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. Don't force it. Don't force it.

[15:36] Don't force it. Don't force it. Don force it. Don force it. Don force it.

[15:56] So this is the plain and simple.

[16:15] Okay. We have to be born again of water and of spirit to see and to enter into the kingdom of God. Okay.

[16:25] And later, Peter makes it abundantly clear when preaching to that crowd that were asking him, what could they do? Finding out that they just crucified the Savior.

[16:39] Okay. And following that great outpouring of God's spirit in the upper room in Acts 2, Acts 2, 38. Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.

[16:52] And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Okay. So here salvation is described clearly as a three-step process. Okay. And how all these other religious groups or other ideas come about, about religion, ideas of how to be saved is beyond me.

[17:13] I want to see it for myself in the scripture. Don't try to explain me some other way that's not in this scripture. This is very, very clear.

[17:24] Jesus was clear. Okay. With Nicodemus. Peter was clear with the crowd. Okay. You have to be, you have to repent. You have to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins.

[17:37] And you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That's salvation. Okay. So let's get these three steps. First, repentance. We've already read in 1 John. And that's a great example of repentance.

[17:51] But repentance is more than just saying I'm sorry. It's more than that. It's recognizing that we are sinners. It's recognizing and confessing our sins, yes, to God.

[18:02] But it's also turning away from that life. We live as sinners and pursuing a life of righteousness instead. And ultimately, it is the grace of God that calls us to repentance.

[18:16] We don't earn it. There's nothing we can do to deserve it. It is the grace of God that allows us to repent and start this process of salvation.

[18:27] But it's this repentance, and it gives us the opportunity. Grace gives us the opportunity to repent. But repentance is something we must decide to do and act on with our own knowledge, with our own decision.

[18:40] Okay. God can call you all day long, and you can leave him on read. He can try texting you all day long, and you can leave him on read. You cannot answer that call.

[18:53] Okay. But God is calling us to repent. God is calling us to have salvation. God is inviting us to have eternal life with him, and it's a free gift. It's through his grace and his mercy that he allows this.

[19:07] But we still have to accept it. We still have to act on it. We still have to partake of that and do something about it. And we have to figure out what that is, and it's in Scripture. It's so plain and clear, like I've already mentioned.

[19:19] Okay. So don't be persuaded with some other teaching besides what's clear in Scripture. Water baptism is the next step.

[19:33] Baptism is done by full submersion in water, like being buried in a tomb or a grave. It is symbolic or the likeness of a burial. Think of it as a supernatural funeral ceremony.

[19:45] Okay. Okay. Okay. Also, when someone is buried, let me just throw it in, they're not sprinkled with dirt. Okay.

[19:56] That would not be a good situation. Somebody dies, and you drag them over to a cemetery somewhere, and instead of burying them, you just sprinkle some dirt on them.

[20:07] And that's not a burial. That's going to be a nasty situation soon. Okay. So all baptism in the Bible were done in full submersion of underwater because of what it represents and what its likeness is.

[20:22] And it represents and its likeness is to a burial. It's found in Romans 6 and 3. Know you not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death?

[20:32] The word itself means to be buried. Okay. When you look at the original Greek word, it means to be buried. All baptisms conducted by the apostles and the disciples of Jesus Christ were done in the name of Jesus Christ, which accomplishes Jesus' command in Matthew 28 and 19, to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

[20:55] Okay. It's a name. Jesus, in this commandment, uses the word name, indicating there is a singular name for Father, a single name that represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

[21:09] Okay. Those apostles Jesus taught are shortly thereafter, just, I mean, 40 days later, 30 days later, 10 days later, baptizing people in the name of Jesus.

[21:22] 10 days later, baptizing in the name of Jesus. They knew what they were doing. They knew what Jesus was asking them to do. We know that God's name was only known as I Am, and we know the Son's name is Jesus, and the Bible calls the Holy Ghost the Comforter.

[21:45] So, you can put those together and say, I am Jesus, the Comforter. And it's still Jesus.

[21:56] So, even if you didn't have the understanding that name is singular, and you didn't ever read Acts 2.38, you can still figure it out. I am Jesus, the Comforter.

[22:06] That's the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The names that were given, the names of their understanding. So, but we have a revealed name in Jesus. Amen. So, spirit baptism is the third part.

[22:20] Whenever John the Baptist was asked about his baptism, because he was the forerunner of Jesus, he always said that there would be one coming after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

[22:34] He's quoted as saying that in Scripture. In John 1, verse 33, it says, And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.

[23:03] Okay? What is John referring to? Does anybody know? He's referring to the number one thing that Trinitarians use to try to prove that there's a difference between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that there's three different persons.

[23:22] And that is the vision that John had that when he baptized Jesus, that the heavens opened, a voice sounded from heaven, from God, saying that he's well pleased with his Son, and that the Spirit as a dove came and rested upon Jesus.

[23:41] And they take that literally, when it says right here, John's explaining it, that the one that told him to go baptize in the first place with water, the same said unto him, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.

[24:01] So, and there's more explanation in there, but it was a vision for John to see. It wasn't, there wasn't a literal voice from heaven. There wasn't a literal dove that came and landed.

[24:12] When you get to heaven, you're not going to see a throne with, an empty throne with the invisible Spirit of God on there, and Jesus sitting on a little stool to the right, and like a dove flying around.

[24:26] Okay? You're not going to see that. You're only going to see Jesus. Okay? We know that. So, we know that the vision John saw was of Jesus.

[24:37] Jesus, and later Jesus said, in Luke chapter 12, verse 50, But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened till it be accomplished?

[24:50] He couldn't wait to be able to baptize with the baptism he had to be baptized with. Jesus had a baptism to give us as well.

[25:03] John had a baptism of water, and it was God that directed him to do that. Jesus had a baptism as well, but it wasn't going to be given until after his resurrection and ascension into heaven on the day of Pentecost is when it happened.

[25:22] But remember the scripture earlier, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[25:33] Remember, we're all sinners, we've all sinned, we've all come short of the glory, and the wages of that is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. The gift of God. The gift of God through Jesus Christ.

[25:47] Remember, the Holy Ghost is a gift. We read it, Acts 2.38. The gift of the Holy Ghost. It's a gift. The gift of God is the Holy Ghost.

[25:58] And that's what gives us eternal life. Remember, we have to be born of the Spirit. And we have to be born of the water and of the Spirit. And there was a baptism of water, and there was this baptism that Jesus said that he had to give.

[26:12] Okay? So it's a gift from God. It's a gift from Jesus. Okay? Because we know Jesus is God. The baptism that Jesus has to give us is the Holy Ghost, and it is the Holy Ghost that will raise us up in the last day.

[26:25] If the Spirit that was in Christ, the man Christ, Jesus, is in you, then just like Christ Jesus raised from the dead, you will also raise from the dead in the last day.

[26:38] You need to have the baptism that Jesus has to give, which is a gift of God. It's through Jesus Christ, and he will baptize you with his Spirit, the Comforter.

[26:50] And it will raise you up in the last day. Do not believe any other teaching than what these scriptures say. This salvation teaching I'm teaching, it's so vitally important.

[27:02] It's eternal. We're talking about eternal life. We're talking about eternity from here. Everything that we participate in now is not forever. We can't even fully understand eternity.

[27:15] We can't really grasp it or understand it. You don't want to give up eternal salvation for things of no value or that's not going to benefit you in any way from this point on when you leave here.

[27:29] And there's whole religious organizations out there teaching that the baptism of the Holy Ghost isn't given anymore. And they have no scriptural evidence of it.

[27:42] You ask them to show you a scripture, and they can't tell you a scripture. They will not be able to show you a scripture. They may show you a scripture that doesn't say that, and then they try to tell you that's what it says.

[27:55] And I'm telling you right now, if you aren't baptized in the Spirit, you're not going to go to heaven. You're going to go to hell. God's wrath will meet you in your death, and you will be ushered to hell in that moment.

[28:08] And those same organizations will then tell you there's no hell either. There's no hell. Well, that's convenient. Just eliminate large portions of scripture that plainly speak of your way of salvation, and then eliminate the parts where when you don't do that, there's a judgment.

[28:31] There's a consequence to that, that God has spent thousands of years allowing his word to be in our presence, warning us about what's to come. Available to us all.

[28:42] The word of God. Those people are being deceived by doctrines of devils, and there are preachers out there teaching you that you don't need the Holy Ghost, or that you automatically receive it when you repeat this prayer.

[28:58] Repeat after me. Accept the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, and you have now experienced salvation all of a sudden. Or that you automatically receive the Holy Spirit when you're baptized.

[29:10] Some of them will say you do need to repent, and you need to be baptized. And they'll baptize you not in the name of Jesus, but in titles. Or some of them I've even heard say, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in Jesus' name.

[29:24] Because they don't even know what. And then they believe that that's when you get the Holy Ghost, when you get baptized. Absolutely not. That's not what the scripture says. There was clear distinction between water baptism and spirit baptism.

[29:38] Two completely separate different things. Two completely separate different births. Born of the water and of the Spirit. Baptized in the water and of the Spirit.

[29:49] You need both. In Acts 8, verse 14, it says, Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost.

[30:08] For as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. It's interesting. It says, For as yet he was fallen upon none of them.

[30:21] When it's referring to the Holy Ghost. It is he. It is Jesus. Thank you. They were baptized only in the name of the Lord Jesus. They haven't received the Holy Ghost yet. They've received the word. They were baptized in Jesus' name.

[30:34] They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. But they hadn't received the Holy Ghost yet. And this is what this is telling us. This is why they sent Peter and John. For this one purpose.

[30:44] They've received the word of God in their hearts. They repented of their sins. They were put down in the water in Jesus' name. Their sins have been washed away. They were born again of the water.

[30:55] But they have not yet been born again of the Spirit. And they understand that that's a need. So they sent Peter and John. And verse 17. Then laid their hands on them. And they received the Holy Ghost.

[31:06] These are two separate different instances. Two different separate experiences. And they're both required for salvation. And the greatest commandment leads us to salvation.

[31:22] When you love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind. We're going to find salvation. But if you don't love God's word. You don't love God. How can you love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind.

[31:34] And you don't love God's word. Or you want to question it. Or when it's plainly there. And you just don't think that's too harsh. You think that's too harsh. You just don't agree with that. It can't mean that.

[31:45] It must mean this. Well, then you don't love God. We have to love truth. We have to love His word. This is God.

[31:56] This word is spirit and truth. 2 Thessalonians 2 and 9. Even Him whose coming is after the working of Satan.

[32:06] With all power and signs and lying wonders. Talking about the spirit Antichrist. We're talking about a figure. Okay? The man of sin.

[32:17] Even Him whose coming is after the working of Satan. With all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness. Of unrighteousness.

[32:29] And them that perish. Because they receive not the love of truth. That they might be saved. They were deceived.

[32:43] With unrighteousness. Unrighteousness. They were taken from truth. Because they receive not the love of truth. That they might be saved. Verse 11. And for this cause. Because they were able to be deceived.

[32:55] They were allowed themselves to be deceived. Because they did not have a love for truth. So that they could be saved. And for that reason. God shall send them a strong delusion. That they should believe a lie. That they all might be damned.

[33:07] Who believe not the truth. But had pleasure in unrighteousness. So you want to make. Excuse after excuse. Why you don't need to follow. The simple. Plain.

[33:18] Black and white. Teachings. Of Jesus. To Nicodemus. In John chapter 3. You don't want to. You want to make excuses. Why you don't want to follow. The teachings of Peter.

[33:29] In Acts 2.38. That you have to be born again. Of the water. And the spirit. Repent. Be baptized. In the name of Jesus. And you'll get the Holy Ghost. You want to make excuses for that.

[33:41] And try to sell it some other way. Then you don't believe truth. The love for truth is not in you. And you will receive a strong delusion.

[33:51] Directly from God himself. And you will be damned to hell over it. You will not have salvation. Because there's only one Savior. There's only one God.

[34:03] One Savior. His name is Jesus. This is the word of God. This is his word. He tells us what we need to do to be saved. And there's not going to be any other way. In. So why do people choose that?

[34:18] Because they receive not the love of truth. That they might be saved. But instead have pleasure and unrighteousness. All these people out there that reject this truth. Reject it because they choose to have pleasure and unrighteousness.

[34:32] They would. They understand. Because if you love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind. It changes you. You're going to. And you truly repent. You're changed. You're not going that way anymore.

[34:42] You're going towards God. And that means no more pleasures of sin that you once enjoyed so much. And people aren't willing to trade their love and their pleasure.

[34:53] And the sinful things that they're doing for eternal salvation. It doesn't make sense. It's foolishness to them. Because they don't have a love for the truth. They don't love God with all their heart, soul, and mind.

[35:06] And they're trading their eternal salvation for the most insignificant things. That they could possibly obtain and have. There's no pleasurable sin worth your eternal salvation. There's nothing worth it.

[35:18] If you know you shouldn't be doing it, knock it off. Quit doing it. It's sin. Find an altar. Repent of your sins. And then stay saved.

[35:29] That's right. You have to stay saved. Once you repent and are baptized in water and in the spirit, you're in this state of salvation. But you aren't completely saved.

[35:40] You won't be completely saved until you meet Jesus face to face. Whether you've died and passed from this life or you're alive when he returns.

[35:51] That's the only way that you're going to ultimately really be saved. That's the day of your salvation. Okay. Right now we have a state of salvation.

[36:01] But it can be taken away. You can lose it. So you have to stay saved. The book of Acts teaches you how to find salvation. I've showed you this.

[36:12] And then from Romans to Revelation, all those other books in the New Testament, all the letters to the churches, all the letters to the saved, the people that experienced salvation, Acts 2.38.

[36:23] It teaches them how to stay saved. Hebrews 3 and 12. Take heed, brethren, lest there be any of you an evil heart of unbelief.

[36:36] Unbelief of this word, the Bible calls that an evil heart. Unbelief. Evil heart of unbelief. Unbelief. Take heed, brethren, lest there be any in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God.

[36:52] Departing from the living God. You had God and now you're leaving. Verse 13. But exhort one another daily. While it is called today. While today is called today.

[37:05] Daily. While it's today. This is today. Exhort one another daily. While it's called today. Lest any of you be hardened through your deceitfulness of sin.

[37:18] For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. What does that mean? Maintain your salvation until the end.

[37:29] You received something. You were partakers of Christ. And in that moment, you have a confidence. And it's saying in that beginning moment of your salvation.

[37:42] Be steadfast unto the end. Maintain your salvation unto the end. You have to contend for it. You have to fight for it. You have to keep it. So it's not lost or taken from you by the deceitfulness of sin.

[37:56] By seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. 2 Peter 2 verse 20. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[38:10] They are again entangled therein. And are overcome. The latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it had been better for them to not have known the way of righteousness.

[38:25] Than after they have known it. To turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. Verse 22. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb.

[38:39] The dog is turned to his own vomit again. And the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Peter is saying once you receive the gift of salvation.

[38:51] Once you receive that precious gift of the Holy Ghost. The spirit of God in you. If you turn back to a sinful life. It's like a dog returning to its vomit.

[39:02] It's like a pig that had been washed clean. Going back and wallowing in the mud again. And the Bible says you're going to be worse in the end. Than you were when you were first found.

[39:14] With salvation. Salvation is a gift. Let's all stand. But maintaining that salvation. Salvation is going to take continued faithfulness and obedience to the word of God.

[39:25] We can't just get to a certain point where we experience salvation. And then put it on cruise control. That's not going to work. We have to love God with all your heart.

[39:36] Our soul. And with all our mind. We have to reject sin. We have to be. We have to repent. We have to be baptized in Jesus name. And in water. We have to be baptized in the water.

[39:47] We have to be baptized. With the baptism that Jesus has to give us. The spirit. Find a truth preaching church. And stick with it. Till Jesus comes. Amen. God we thank you Lord for your word.

[39:59] I pray Lord that you challenged us with it God. Amen. Amen.