Come And See

2. In John 4:42, there was a group of Samaritans that believed in Jesus and said, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

4. Sin is present in the world, and every accountable soul is in sin (Romans 3:10, 12, 22, 23; I John 3:4)

5. Isaiah said it well in a prophecy concerning Jesus, when he wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to His own way…”, but then wrote, “The Lord hath laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6)

A. If all accountable people are in sin, then they are    in need of forgiveness

1. The Bible informs us that sin is a burden that leads to eternal punishment.

-Those desiring to escape the penalty of sin, must come to Jesus.

-The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”

-The two options are revealed…Which will you choose?

2. One thing that man must be convicted of is that sin is a reality in their life.

-Does an individual seek medical help if he is not convinced He is sick? NO

-Therefore, one must see that they are sick in sin, and that they need to come to the Great Physician (Mark 2:17)

B. Do you realize that sin is a part of your life?

1. Will you make the changes necessary, in order to have the forgiveness of your sins?

2. Will you come to Jesus tonight?

1.Passages abound that show Jesus saves.

-In Matthew 1:21, the Bible says, “and thou shalt call His name JESUS; for it is He that shall save His people from their sins.”

-In John 3:16, 17, it is written, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him”

-Paul wrote Timothy and said, “Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Timothy 1:15)

-Acts 4:12, records, “And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men wherein we must be saved”

2. Jesus saved us by the blood of the cross that He shed

-In Matthew 26:28, Jesus said, “For this is my blood of covenant, which is poured out for many unto the remission of sins.”

-Paul penned in Romans 5:8, 9, “But God commendeth His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

-Peter reminded the Christian when he wrote, “Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from our vain manner of life handed down from your father; but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ” (I Peter 1:18-19).

-John reminds us of the cleansing power when he wrote in

I John 1:7, “and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us of all sin”

-Even in Revelation 1:5, the Bible says, “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by His blood.”

B. The Bible says that Jesus died for every man.

1. Will you accept this sacrifice of love (Hebrews 2:9; I Timothy 2:3-6)

2. Not all will be saved, but the desire of God is still the same (II Peter 3:9)

3. Will you believe and accept the forgiveness of your sins?

A. Salvation Is Free

1. Everyone who comes and trusts in Jesus will have everlasting life

-The price for salvation was paid at Calvary’s cross

-Romans 6:23, says, “the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord”

-God has given those who have true faith, the blessing of salvation in Christ

-Paul wrote to Ephesus, “For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift Of God; not of works, that no man should glory” (Ephesians 2:8, 9)

-Salvation is not something one can earn, or come to deserve.

-God sent His Son freely, out of love and care for man.

-Paul told Titus that salvation is, “Not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to His mercy he saved us…” (Titus 3:5)

-Law keeping will not save any man, for man can keep all without stumbling, as it is written, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them” (Galatians 3:10)

-God owes us nothing, and we can’t work to deserve His good favor and grace. We must simply accept the gift on His terms. (See Romans 4:4)

B. Salvation can only be found in Christ…will you accept salvation?

1. Will you believe in Jesus?

2. Come in full faith obey the Lord.

A. Salvation is by faith (Galatians 3:26, 27)

1. Passages abound to show that we are saved by faith

-John 3:16 is a very familiar passage that says, “whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life”

-Luke recorded in the book of Acts 13:38, 39, “Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins: and by Him everyone that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses”

-In Acts 15:9, it is said, “And He made no distinction between us and them cleansing their hearts by faith”

2. Paul wrote a great deal about salvation by faith

-Paul said of the gospel, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

-Paul wrote to those at Rome, in Romans 3:24-26, “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.”

-Again in Romans 5:1-2, Paul recorded, “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.”

B. In salvation there is a certain faith that the Bible says one must have.

1. A true belief in the reality of the Son of God must be expressed

-Salvation comes first by one acknowledging the existence of one who can save us.

-This is known as a mental assent to Jesus as the Son of God

-Jesus said, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for except ye believe that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

-Some after, “hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8)

-Luke tells us by inspiration, “And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:21)

-This type of belief is the simple belief of the testimony concerning Christ. (John 20:30-31)

-Paul said that, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17)

-This mental assent is the first step, because no one will honestly seek the help of one who they don’t know has the power to save.

2. The second step, is trusting in Jesus on the basis of that faith

-To acknowledge the ability of any physician is not effective for us unless we seek their help

-Jesus is to no avail to those who know His power put don’t come to Him.

-A man who stands at a bus stop waiting on the bus to Houston will not go to Houston unless he boards the bus.

-Christ has the power to save us from our sins, but believing that will not save you. Only those who trust in Him to the extent of submitting to His will in humble obedience will be saved.

-If I tell you I will give my car as a gift, but you will have to wash, wax, and fill it with gas, how many would trust me to the extent of completing those things.

-Jesus said to those He commissioned, “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded…” (Matthew 28:19, 20)

-Mark’s account of this commission, says, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:15-16)

-Luke also said in Luke 24:45-47, “Then opened He their mind, that they might understand the scripture; and he said unto them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached in His name unto all the nation, beginning from Jerusalem.”

-From the three accounts of the great commission we find that to truly have faith we must trust Jesus to the extent of obedience.

-Jesus wants all men from every nation to be His disciple by following and observing His every command.

-Notice the following examples:

*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, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

*This is the preaching that Jesus said would begin at Jerusalem for the remission of sins.

*Those who believed, repented and were baptized and were showing true faith.

*Acts 10:43, records, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

*There is no contradiction in scripture, true faith simply includes, obeying the Lord.

*Acts 2:41, says, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”

*Acts 2:44 concludes their obedience as making them true believers, “And all that believed were together, and had all things common”

*Acts 18:8 says, “And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.”

*1 Corinthians 15:1-2, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye standBy which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”

*Acts 16:33-34 then tells us, “And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.”

* Verse 34 tells us what he had done, “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

-It is clear that saving faith includes total submission to the will of the Lord.

A. Many times people are unsure what examples to follow as the way to conversion.

1. Some try to use examples before the death of Christ.

-Many times Jesus said “thy sins are forgiven”, and He told the thief that He had a place in paradise while on the cross. (Luke 5:20; 7:48; 23:43)

-Is this our example for what we must do? NO…Why?

-Jesus said that He had, “power on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6)

-When Jesus died, He left His will and it came into effect. (Hebrews 9:15-17)

-The Lord still has the same power to save, but it is after the conditions in the will.

2. The place to look is after the death of Christ in the New Testament.

-Jesus before He ascended to the Father commissioned His disciples to go and preach to all the world. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:45-49)

-When the Holy Spirit came He would guide the apostles into all the truth. (John 16:13)

-This truth has been recorded in the New Testament for us to read and understand. (Ephesians 3:3-4)

B. New Testament Examples.

1. Those on the day of Pentecost

-Peter came preaching Jesus, and helping the people to realize the sin that they had committed by crucifying the Holy One of God. (Acts 2:22-24, 32-33, 36)

-They certainly believed the preaching of Jesus and wanted to repent because in verse 37 it is recorded, “Now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do?”

-Listen to Peter as he responds, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

-They believed, repented, expressed their belief, and were baptized…all for the obtaining of remission of sins.

-About 3,000 were involved in trusting in the Lord that day (Acts 2:40-41)

-The Bible calls them believers, “And all that believed were together…” (Acts 2:44)

-The people on Pentecost were saved.

*Were those on Pentecost saved by Jesus and His blood? YES

*Were they save by God’s unmerited favor? YES

*Was this salvation the gift of God? YES

-And what was their access into this salvation?

*hearing, believing, repenting, expressing their faith, being baptized

-Will you believe, fully trusting the Lord?

2. Saul Of Tarsus

-We find Saul being a persecutor of the church, and doing it in good conscience. (Acts 23:1; 26:9)

-Acts 7:58, says, “And they cast him [Stephen] out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.”

-Acts 8:3, states how Saul, “laid waste the church, entering into every house, and dragging men and women committed them to prison.”

-Saul whom we know as Paul, said that he was, “Chief of sinners” (I Timothy 1:15), and needed the salvation in Christ.

-The question we must answer is, How did Saul receive salvation in Christ?

-First, Jesus appeared to Saul and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” (Acts 9:4)

-Jesus was revealing Saul’s sinful state.

-Saul said, “Who art thou Lord?”, and Jesus responded “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” (Acts 9:5)

-Saul must have believed, because he said, “What must I do Lord?” (Acts 9:6)

-Saul’s desire to know what to do to change, also show a penitent heart.

-Jesus told Saul, “Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” (Acts 9:6; Acts 22:10)

-Whatever Saul was told to do, was something he must do!

-Saul spent three days without sight, food, or drink while he prayed.

-Question: Was Saul saved yet? NO

-Ananias came to Saul to instruct him unto salvation.

-In Acts 22:16, Ananias said, “why are you waiting, arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord.”

-When did Saul have his sins washed away?

*When He saw the Lord on the road to Damascus

*When He prayed

*When he came in trusting faith to the commands of the Lord.

*Was Saul saved by Jesus Christ and His blood? YES *Was he saved by the unmerited favor of God? YES

*Was this salvation a gift of God? YES

*Saul heard, believed, repented, confessed the name of the Lord, and was baptized for the washing away of sins.

3. The Ethiopian Eunuch

-In Acts 8 we read about a eunuch returning home from worship in Jerusalem, and reading the scriptures in his chariot.

-He was sincere about his convictions, but was wrong, still trying to follow the law of Moses.

-Although sincere, the eunuch was still in sin and error.

-The Lord sent Philip, the evangelist, to teach this man the truth about Jesus. (Acts 8:26, 27)

-When Philip arrived, he heard the eunuch reading Isaiah 53:7, where it read, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter ; and like a lamb dumb before His shearers, so opened He not His mouth; In His humiliation his judgment was taken away; and who shall declare His generation; for His life is taken from the earth.” (vs. 32-33)

-Philip asked the eunuch, “Understandest what thou readest?”

-The eunuch said, “How can I except some man guide me?”

- So Philip preached Jesus unto Him…as He had a desire to know what the scriptures were talking about. (vs. 34-35)

-What did Philip preach…?

*No doubt Philip preached the life, death, burial, an resurrection of Jesus

*Surely he talked about Jesus as the Son of God

*Surely he told Him about the salvation in Christ

-But, what else did Philip preach…

*Read, verse 36, “And as they came on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?’…”

*How did the eunuch know about baptism?

*Could Philip have preached this as the way to salvation?

…Peter did (I Peter 3:21)

-Philip told the eunuch, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.”

-The eunuch responded, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

-Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and the eunuch was baptized. (Acts 8:38)

-The eunuch went on his way rejoicing, having believed in Jesus with all His heart, and receiving salvation.

-This is in perfect harmony with Jesus’ teaching, “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

*Was the eunuch saved by Jesus Christ and His blood? YES

*Was he saved by the unmerited favor of God? YES

*Was this salvation a gift of God? YES

-The eunuch heard the word, believed, repented by changing his ways, confessed the name of Christ and was baptized

2. We are not earning our salvation, but simply doing what the Lord commands to put true faith in His name (Galatians 3:26-27)

3. Anyone who expects to be saved must obey the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 5:8-9; II Thessalonians 1:7-9)

-HEAR John 12:48

-BELIEVE John 8:24

-REPENT Luke 13:3,5

-CONFESS Matthew 10:32-33

-BAPTIZED Mark 16:16

-FAITHFUL Matthew 24:13

5. Won’t you realize that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world, and give your life to Him? (John 20:30-31)

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Last modified: 05/02/08

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