8/05/07 – 31LAW “Conditional Salvation”
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s message is “Conditional Salvation”

If you have been listening to these broadcasts for sometime, then you have heard many of the last day deceptions that Jesus warned against in Matthew 24, that we have used the Bible to expose week after week. Do you know what is really sad? Most of the Christian world embraces Satan’s lies as if they were gospel truth. Sadly, these false doctrines in the churches today are based more on traditional teachings, rather than God’s revealed truth in scripture. Today we will expose one more of Satan’s gross deceptions he has pulled over the church’s eyes.

But before we begin, let us seek God’s guidance, “Heavenly Father, as we look at this most important subject regarding God’s salvation, I pray that You bless those listening today with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that we may understand that salvation is free, but it wasn’t cheap, and it is conditional. We pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding so that we may live in the center of Your revealed will, as we ask in Jesus Name, Amen.”
Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.
If you are a new listener, you may be wondering what I meant when I said that most of the Christian world embraces Satan’s lies as if they were gospel truth. In Matthew chapter 24, the disciples wanted to know what were the signs of the second coming of Jesus and the end of the world. 4 times in that chapter Jesus warned about deception. He wasn’t warning the secular world, He was warning the Christian church. He knew that Satan and his willing human agents were going to plunge the Christian church into a gross darkness. He had to first get the church into willfully transgressing God’s law. If he could accomplish that, he knew he could hold the church in a spiritual darkness, believing it as truth.
The prophet Isaiah in chapter 60 verse 2 said, “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people:” He was speaking about the last days. Alright new listener, I will list some of these deceptions of Satan that are embraced by Christendom, which has caused this spiritual darkness. We have studied them previously and may study them in future broadcasts, because the fact that I have been uncovering these deceptions and proving their error, the majority of those who listen seem to love the deceptions and spiritual darkness, since it would be too uncomfortable to change.
1.	The state of the dead. Most of the Christian world believes that you go straight to heaven or hell at death. That’s a lie and we have proved from scripture you will be in a sleep of death and know nothing until the resurrection.
2.	What, where and when is Hell? Many think hell fire is burning now and will forever and the lost will burn in torment throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. A double lie as the scriptures clearly teach that hell fire begins after the second resurrection and Satan, his angels and all the lost will be destroyed. They will be ashes and as if they never were.
3.	The Millennium is another false teaching and many believe anti-Christ is future. They say those who are not caught up in the rapture will have a second chance in the seven year period after the rapture. That is gross deception. I taught the truth on the second coming of Jesus and there is no second chance. In fact, before the great tribulation period, probation will have closed for the world, and if anyone is still sinning then, they will be lost. Anti-Christ is not future, he is here now and has been since the second century.
And there are many other deceptions we have been exposing, however today I am going to expose the deception of unconditional salvation. There are those that teach that all you have to do is believe in Jesus and you will be saved. The Bible says in James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” My brothers and sisters in Jesus please understand that believing is not the sole criteria to attaining salvation. 

Listen carefully now, there is only one basis of salvation and that is that we are saved by grace through faith in what Jesus has done for us. There is nothing we can do to merit salvation. Works will save no one.

Let’s look at Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We are saved by the infinite grace of God alone. There is nothing that finite mankind can do to earn salvation. All of the good works you have done or continue to do will not count one bit towards your salvation. Being saved is nothing you can earn. Jesus did all the work. You may ask why perform good works then? Good works and obedience to God are the natural result of the love we have due to the fact that we are saved by grace. It’s very simple. 

Look now at Romans 3:22-26 “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

And Romans 1:17 says, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

We also read in Romans 5:1, 2, 21 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Now consider Romans 10:9, 10, 13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  

And Romans 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

Once again the BASIS of salvation is that we are saved by grace through faith in what Jesus has done for us. 

G.R.A.C.E. – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

Can one say that once they are saved by grace and their name is entered into the Book of Life, that they have a lock on salvation? Indeed NOT! That would be unconditional salvation and the Bible is very clear, Salvation is CONDITIONAL! The Bible gives us 5 conditions to salvation:

1.	We must Believe – John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

2.	We must Repent – Luke 13:3, 5 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” It is repeated in verse 5, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” When scripture is repeated, God wants us to get the message.

3.	We must Confess - 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” All right now, we must believe, we must repent and we must confess. All conditions of salvation. The next condition is: 

4.	We must be Baptized – John 3:3, 5-7 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” Any person who has done the above 3 steps, must then be baptized by immersion. It is a condition of salvation. The only exception in the Bible was the thief on the cross. Others would be in the case of any person who is willing, but physically incapable, such as someone on their death bed or a person on death row. In that case the baptism of Jesus will be vicariously credited to such person. And the final condition of salvation is:

5.	We must keep the Commandments – John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” 1 John 2:3, 4 “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”

Any person who says that it is not necessary to keep the commandments, including the fourth commandment regarding keeping holy God’s seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday), the scripture says is a liar and does not know Jesus. Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Well time is up for this week. Next week we will begin another important study. If you would like to worship with seventh day Sabbath-keepers, come to the Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church new location at the Hampton Inn Conference suite in South Hill, VA at the exit 12 interchange of Interstate 85. We meet at 10:00 am and will be meeting there until out new building has been completed.
Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Come Lord Jesus.