Only JESUS Discipleship

Foundation of Faith - Lesson 1

5 Key Principles
of Salvation

Understanding Your Eternal Life

in Jesus Christ
 I Eternal Life is a Person
(not a thing, goal, or place)

a. Eternal life is not a thing, goal, or place. It is a person.

John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live,
even though they die.

Q: Who is eternal life?

A: JESUS CHRIST

b. There's no other way

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.“

Q: Are there any other ways to come to God?

A: I AM THE WAY (JESUS)

Q: Can a certain religion save you?

A: No!

c. There's no other name

Acts 4: 10-12
10 Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man
stands before you healed.
11 Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to
mankind by which we must be saved.

Q: Are there other names that can save you?

A: No!

d. God's criteria for salvation

1 John 5:11-13
11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have
life.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you
may know that you have eternal life.

Q: On verse 11, where can you find eternal life?

A: in his Son (JESUS CHRIST)

Q: On verse 12, what is God's criteria to determine if a person is saved or not?

A: Whoever has the Son (JESUS CHRIST) has life

Q: On verse 13, Can you know that you have eternal life?
A: Yes, who believe in the name of the Son of God (JESUS CHRIST)

Q: Have you trusted Jesus that HE alone can save?

A: Absolutely YES!
 II The Payment of Sin is Death
(Jesus died to pay for our sins)

a. The problem of sin

Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in
this way death came to all people, because all sinned.

Q: How did sin enter the world?

A: Through one man (Adam)

Q: How did death come to all people?

A: Through SIN

Q: How many people sinned?

A: ALL

b. The payment of sin is death (not good works, baptism, or church membership)

Romans 6:23
For the wages (payment) of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.

Q: What is the payment of sin?

A: DEATH

c. The penalty of our sins was paid by Jesus on the cross

1 Peter 2:24
"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed.“

Q: Whose sins did Jesus carry on the cross?

A: Me, You, All of Us

Q: Why did Jesus die on the cross?

A: So we might die to sins and live for righteousness

The reason why Jesus came and died on the cross is to pay for the penalty of our sins so
we don't have to. To receive Him is to receive God's forgiveness.
 III Eternal Life is a Gift
(Not a reward)
A gift is something that is freely given.

a. Jesus is God's gift to us

John 4:10
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink,
you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.“

Q: What did Jesus call himself?

A: the gift of God

John 3:16
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.

Q: Who did God give to save you?

A: his only begotten Son (JESUS CHRIST)

Q: Why did God give Jesus to you? Give the 3 reasons as stated in the verse
A: - God so loved the world
- should not perish
- have everlasting life

b. Eternal life is a gift found in Jesus

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Q: What is God's gift according to the verse?

A: eternal life in Christ Jesus

Q: Is salvation a reward to be earned?

A: No!

A gift is something that is meant to be received, not earned. Thus, a person can never
be saved by trying to merit it by his performance, good morals, and good works.

c. A gift is meant to be received, and it is received by faith.

Faith is trusting Jesus and not trusting yourself. It is relying fully on Jesus as your Savior and
Lord.

John 1:12
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God.

Also see John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9

Q: Can you be saved if you don't receive God's gift of eternal life in Jesus?
A: No!

Q: How do you receive Jesus, your salvation?

A: To those who believed in his name (FAITH)

We simply receive God's gift of salvation by faith. Though salvation is free on our end, it
isn't free on the giver's end. God sacrificed his own beloved Son, and Jesus willingly paid
the price that we are supposed to pay. It is free but it is priceless.
 IV Salvation is by God's Grace
(not by good works)

Grace is God giving what we do not deserve. Mercy is God withholding what we
deserve.

a. It is by God's grace.

Grace is God's undeserved and unearned favor freely given to men. It is not a reward.
Therefore, one can never earn it.

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is
the gift of God-
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Q: How is a person saved?

A: by grace you have been saved, through faith

Q: Can you be saved by good works?

A: No!

Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be
grace.

Q: Can you add your good works to your salvation?

A: No, good works do not produce salvation. Good works are the product of salvation.

b. There's no other way

Titus 3:5
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Q: What is the reason why God saved you?

A: Because of his mercy

Q: Did God save you because you are a good person?

A: No, because human standards fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23-24
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
 V We Are Born Sinners
(we must be born again)

a. A sinner cannot enter God's kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice
homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the
kingdom of God.

Q: Who cannot enter the kingdom of God?

A: All sins mentioned above (sinners)

All men are born sinners and a sinner cannot make himself righteous by doing righteous
things. Just as a cat cannot make himself a dog by learning how to bark, so is a sinner
cannot make himself righteous no matter how many "righteous acts" he did. By nature, a
man is born a sinner because Adam (humanity's parent) is a sinner.

Romans 5:18-19
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one
righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so
also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Q: How did you become a sinner?

A: A man is born a sinner because Adam (humanity's parent) is a sinner.

You are a sinner not because you sin. You sin because you are a sinner. Our actions
cannot change our being. Therefore, you must be born again.

b. You must be born again

John 3:3-7
3 Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are
born again."
4 "How can someone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot
enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!"
5 Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they
are born of water and the Spirit.
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.

Q: According to Jesus, how can you enter God's kingdom?

A: You must be born again

Q: What are the two kinds of birth that Jesus is talking about in verse 6?
A: Physical birth and Spiritual birth.

Q: To be born again, was Jesus referring to physical birth or spiritual birth?

A: Spiritual birth.
c. Born anew in Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold,
the new has come.

1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Q: How can you be born again and become a new creation (righteous)?
A: If you are in Christ

Adam is a sinner. Anyone born of Him is also a sinner. Christ is righteous, anyone born of
him is also righteous. A righteous person can enter the kingdom of God.

Romans 5:21
so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to
bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Q: While sin brought death, what did righteousness bring?

A: To bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In our first birth (physical) we came from Adam. In our second birth (spiritual) from Jesus.
Adam brought sin and death, Jesus brought righteousness and life. Anyone born of
Jesus is born righteous. A new creation.

How to Receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?

1. Accept that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior.

2. Repent of your sins and ask for forgiveness.

3. Believe in Jesus as the only one who can save you.

Sample Prayer

Lord Jesus, I humble myself before you and accept that I am a sinner worthy of judgement
and death. I ask for forgiveness of my sins and trust you that you alone can save me. I now
receive you as my Savior and Lord. I accept you into my life. Please save me and change
me into the person that you want me to be. Amen.