Bent Bow

The Bible teaches us that this salvation is a gift based upon grace through faith. Christ paid the price for your sins, but you must individually accept that grace by repenting from your sin of rebellion, dethroning Satan and allowing Jesus Christ to take His rightful place as your Lord and Savior. The Christian life is having a living, breathing, intimate relationship with Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you in every aspect of your life.

 "Do you want to be saved?"  "YES," they cry . . . "Do you want Jesus?"  "YES," they cry . . . ."Are you willing to make Him your Lord and Savior?" "Well, um, I'm not so sure about that.  All I really wanted was FIRE INSURANCE!"  "Okay, then, just say this little salvation prayer and repeat after me!  Yahoo, you're saved!  You've got Fire Insurance!"

THAT TEACHING IS FALSE DOCTRINE! It's not unusual for many churches today to lead you to believe that it's that simple and that's all there is to it!  Just say the prayer and that's all you must do in order to have eternal life. This is false teaching and very dangerous!  The true salvation experience is not a fire insurance policy as many think. True salvation is an acknowledgement and an understanding of your need for a Savior.  It's an acknowledgment that you are a sinner and have no way of redeeming yourself from your sin.  It is understanding that someone greater than you has paid the price to redeem you, but why?  What is it that I need redeeming from, and why do I need a Savior?

Truly understanding your need for salvation is the essential starting point that begins your spiritual journey.  You must recognize, understand and believe in your need for a Savior. You can't just say a prayer and think you're good to go!  You must be willing to count the cost of being a Christ follower.  Salvation and the grace of God are both free gifts, but they were not cheap!  The American church has made what Christ accomplished on the cross a cheap grace.  It is true that salvation is a free gift and it is as simple as actually believing or having faith in what Christ accomplished upon that cross!  But the mistake many churches make today is that they don't fully explain why you need a Savior, and if you don't understand your need for a Savior, you will take the cross for granted. You must understand why it is so important that you "get it"!  When you really understand the depth of His amazing love for you, you want to make Him Lord over your life.  You will want to follow Him as King.  You will never view His amazing grace as a license to continue in your present lifestyle.  And most importantly, you won't fall away from the faith like so many people do!  It is only when you truly understand why Christ did what He did for you that you should desire true salvation!  Then there will be no doubt in your mind or heart and you will be more than willing to accept Him as your Savior and Lord. This will mean fully repenting for the sin of pride in thinking you could be saved in and of yourself, and fully repenting for the many sins in your life.