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Calvary and The Gospel of Jesus

God is complete and does not need us. He brought us into existence for our own pleasure and joy but it also gave Him pleasure and joy to do this. We are His created children and He loves us dearly and desires a personal relationship with each one of us. He weeps over our hurts and rejoices in our joys just as any father would.

When Satan stole us from Him, God determined to restore us to the relationship we had with Him before mankind was persuaded by Satan to rejected it. Being Love by nature He did what was necessary for this and has done all He can for this to happen to each one of us to individually re-enter this lost relationship.

This is the basis of The Good News: that God Loves us so much He will do anything He can to restore us to the relationship He desires us to have with Him and because of this came to earth to teach us the truths we need to know to defeat the lies of Satan (so we could live as He desires us to live). He then met the punishment for our wrongs against Him (sin) so that we can now approach Him as if nothing had ever happened to destroy the original relationship mankind had had with Him.

This is the essence of The Gospel of Jesus, that God was in Christ reconciling us to Himself to restore us to the relationship originally had with all the benefits and joys He has for us in that relationship. All He asks of us is that we obey and serve Him out of love for Him and to tell others of what He has done for them so that they can to share in the benefits and joys we have now and will have in heaven.

2 Cor 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

The purpose of the death of Jesus was to remove the barrier (the defilement of sin on us) between God and mankind so that we could again relate to God and have a personal relationship with Jesus and The Father and through this relationship have eternal life (Salvation) (Jn 17:3). We relate to Jesus as saviour when He is our lord by voluntary decision and not by forceful compulsion. In other words we want Him to be our Lord as we love him and desire to obey Him. We do this voluntarily out of love for Him and appreciate what He has done for us and not because we are forced to obey Him.

We are saved by faith but are only able to enter into this fellowship arrangement with God because Jesus redeemed us by His death at Cavalry removing the defilement of sin on us and making it possible for us to approach God and enter this salvation relationship (Jn 17:3). It is because of this redemption and remission of sin that we are able to enter The Kingdom of God as nothing defiled can enter it. The redemption of Jesus removed the defiling sin did to us so we could now enter The Kingdom, of God.

We relate to the Father as adopted children and to The Holy Spirit as a ward of whom He is guardian of on behalf of Jesus. We are also a step brother to Jesus because of our adoption of us by The Father as His child.

Two things happened at Calvary

Our sins were remitted when Jesus redeemed us so that we were no longer defiled by sin, so could enter The Kingdom of God and have The Holy Spirit live in us.

Satan was defeated and taken captive (Eph 4:8) so he has no right to leave his prison and roam the world free. He has no legal rights in creation as he and his demons are prisoners and prisoners have no rights so he can be evicted and sent back to prison in Jesus’ Name as well as punished for leaving his prisoner as well as what he did when after he left his prison.

On Remission of Sin

This is not understood by many so I will explain it here.

Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

A blood sacrifice was often used to witness a covenant and the blood of Jesus was to be the witness to the new Covenant (Testament) between God and all mankind, not just between God and the Jews as The Old Testament was.

His death fulfilled the sacrificial law which required and animal die in our place so that this type of sacrifice was no longer necessary. He paid for our punishment so we have been redeemed and now are free from the oppressor and his kingdom, Satan!

1 Pet 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

By Jesus taking on Himself all our sin and its punishment for them our sins were able to be remitted by God so it is as if we had never sinned!

Luke 1:77 to give a knowledge of salvation to His people by remission of their sins,

People could understand and know of salvation and how this was possible because of the remission of their sins. Remission of sin allows salvation through faith without the needs for animal sacrifice on a consistent basis.

Without remission of sin we could not approach God let alone enter into a personal relationship with Jesus and The Father which is what salvation is (Jn 17:3).

Luke 24:47 And repentance and remission of sins must be preached on His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Jesus wants us to preach repentance and remission of sin to all and not just salvation as repentance and remission of sin allow salvation to occur so must be understood to properly understand solvation and why faith alone saves.

Acts 10:43 To this One all the Prophets witness, so that through His name everyone believing into Him will receive remission of sins.

You must believe Jesus is God and Lord of all as well as what He did at Calvary before He can be your saviour.

Rom 3:25 whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, as a demonstration of His righteousness through the passing over of the sins that had taken place before, in the forbearance of God,

Propitiation means to satisfy another. Jesus was God’s propitiation (satisfaction and appeasement) for sin and satisfied God in this area so God looks at us as if we have never sinned as a result of Jesus satisfying Him in this area.

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are purified by blood according to the Law; and apart from shedding of blood no remission occurs.

A blood sacrifice was required by God for sins to be remitted and Jesus was our blood sacrifice for this.

Heb 10:16-20 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

As a result of The New Covenant witnessed to by The Blood of Jesus God no longer judges us for our failings of His requirements. We no longer need to make a sin offering to be acceptable to God and can approach The Throne of God without any fear of rejection when we are in a correct relationship with him. When we sin we are no longer defiled by it but when we eject the rule of God we remove ourself from the New Covenant relationship with God and are left in our sins and can lose our salvation if we do not repent (Rev 3:5). Repentance restores the relationship.

Through repentance we are declaring Jesus is Lord of our life again and that we are following Him as Lord so that He is again saviour.

You lose your salvation through unrepented disobedience (Re 3:5) and blaspheming The Holy Spirit (Mark 3:9). As long as you have not blasphemed The Holy Spirit or through continued knowingly unrepented disobedience rejected Jesus as Lord you do not lose your salvation (Heb 6:6-8).

A Summary of the Gospel of Jesus

In the beginning God and mankind walked together as friends in a personal relationship with each other in a wonderful garden God created for mankind to live in.

Mankind (consisting then of only Adam and Eve) rejected God because they listened to His enemy, Satan, and did not obey God. God then removed them from His Garden (Kingdom) and placed them in the kingdom of His enemy, Satan. They had chosen to listen to Satan and not God and lost their personal relationship with God.

This separation from God meant that when they died that they did not go to where God ruled (heaven) but to the kingdom of His enemy (Hell) because they had chosen to follow His enemy instead of Him.

God saw that mankind was not able to undo the damage to this relationship, which prevented them once again walking with God as His friend. So He sent Jesus (Himself) to die in our place and meet the requirements of God so we could be able to relate to Him on a continual personal basis once again.

This is what the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus is, that Jesus broke down the barrier separating us from God through meeting the punishment we should have suffered so we can now always approach God confidently without the need for a person to be an intermediatory and that through faith in who Jesus is: God come to earth, born of a virgin, rose from the dead, ruler of all as well as obeying His requirements, we can have eternal life with Him in heaven.

Jesus died on the cross to remove the barrier that stopped us relating to God as His friend as well as meeting the punishment for our failings (sins) against God. Because of Calvary and its effect covering all sins, all time, all places and eternity (and beyond), the spiritual consequences our failings are dealt with before we even do them so that there is no shame, guilt, condemnation any more, just a need to repent (turn from the wrong we are doing) and to continue to try and obey Jesus in all we do. We may still have physical consequence as a result of these failings but God can help you in them and heal any injury that results from them.

You will not go to hell because you tried to obey Jesus and failed at times. You will go to hell because you stopped trying to obey and rejected Jesus as a result.

Salvation is by faith in Jesus and what Jesus did at Calvary made it possible also to live in that salvation relationship.

A statement of the Gospel and Atonement

Any Gospel not based on the revealed truths of the Bible or that adds to or subtracts from it is apostasy and belongs to the teachings of demons!

(2 John 1:10) If someone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not welcome or accept that person into your house.

Man was made to relate to God on a personal basis and when man is not in this relationship He is not living the life God desires him to live and is not placing Himself in the way of the blessings God wishes to give him!

In the beginning God created everything and because of this He owns everything.

(Genesis 1:1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God created people male and female in His Image. When we look at people we are seeing a reflection of God’s (Spiritual) Nature and it is to this nature that He desires us to mature into. God is a pure spirit and has no physical form we can be a reflection of.

(Genesis 1:26-27) Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; …So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Originally all creation was in harmony with God, It was probably on the day of rest that Adam and Eve sinned as the first six days were ‘good’ but the Seventh was not described as such.

(Genesis 1:31-2:1) Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.

Mankind was placed in a a beautiful park God had created for them

(Genesis 2:15-17) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

A man (Adam) disobeyed God and rejected God’s rule. This resulted in mankind being separated from God. This is what spiritual death is, a separation from The Presence of God (Heaven) and placement in the kingdom of His enemy (Hell) now and after death

(Genesis 3:5-8) "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

(Genesis 3:9-11) Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

Physical death resulted from this rebellion as spiritual death had already occurred through Adam’s rebellion and what happens in the physical is a result of spiritual decisions. (Man had separated himself from God through rejecting the Authority of God which is spiritual death).

Note that it is to the man to whom the sin was accounted to as being the cause of death and not the woman who appeared to disobeyed first. If Adam had been carrying out his headship responsibilities correctly Eve would never have been near that tree and as head of the family He was responsible for protecting her from sin. He also failed in His stewardship responsibilities as he was also responsible for protecting that tree from danger. He actually disobeyed first as He was being negligent in His stewardship duties and this led to Eve sinning.

So the first two sins were against the stewardship God had given Adam, firstly of The Garden of Eden and secondly of his wife, Eve.

(Romans 5:12) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned;

Jesus was the one promised then to defeat Satan and reconcile man to God!

(Genesis 3:14-15) And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Note that the woman is stated to be Satan’s enemy and not the man. The man was at fault and allowed the woman to be in a position to sin so he has excluded himself from being able to be used for redemptive purposes because He was not deceived but sinned voluntarily. The woman did not sin voluntarily but was deceived because the man did not protect her so has the privilege of being used to destroy Satan and his works.

This is perhaps the main reason why women have been Satan’s main area of attack and which is why Jesus loved women and was so gentle with them because they were hurt so much by Satan to prevent His coming and being born.

This is a warning to men that women can be deceived by Satan more easily than men as they are more trusting and more emotionally driven than a man so a man needs to protect his wife and daughters and not put them in a place where they can be deceived and sin.

Mankind’s relationship with God was broken and as a result as man was cast out of the place where he used to walk in a face-to-face relationship with God.

(Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

All have voluntarily sinned (have chosen to do that which is evil and wrong) and fallen short of God’s Glory (His moral requirements) and are unable to save themselves from the punishment of rebellion (sin) against God. It is an offence against an infinite God so is infinite in the way it needs to be dealt with.

(Romans 3:23 ) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Literally "all have failed to keep God’s moral requirements"

The result of Sin is spiritual defilement and death (unholiness and separation from God) and physical death. But through Jesus, God gives us the gift of eternal life (Spiritual life in His presence) which is the restoration to the type of fellowship mankind originally had with God in the garden.

(Romans 6:23 When people sin, they earn what sin pays -- death. But God gives us a free gift -- life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Unworthy as we are of God even considering us as possible citizens of His Kingdom, Jesus died for us because of God’s love for us so we could enter into a relationship with Him, The Father and The Holy Spirit now, in Eternity and beyond (Salvation).

(Romans 5:7-8) Very few people will die to save the life of someone else. Although perhaps for a good person someone might possibly die. But God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

We die once and then are judged for our sins - there is no second chance!

(Hebrews 9:27) Just as everyone must die once and be judged,

Jesus is the only way to God’s forgiveness and the reconciliation that results from accepting that forgiveness.

(John 14:6) Jesus answered, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.

Jesus has broken down the wall that separates us from God and has reconciled (removed the barriers between) God and us. On the cross our sins were remitted so that the defilement of sin no longer affects us as Jesus took this defilement on Himself with our sins. If we had been only forgiven, the defilement of sin would have still been there, but as all our sins were remitted this defilement no longer is there to affect us. This defilement prevented us entering the The Kingdom of God and relating to God.

Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

(Eph 2:14) For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

There is only one way to God and that is Jesus and only one man that can help us to properly relate to God and that is Jesus. Anyone else who says they are a mediator between God and mankind are deceived by Satan. We are dead to sin as Jesus removed them from us so there are no sins left for anyone else to remove or deal with.

1 Pet 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Jesus took on Himself the punishment we should have had for our sins so it is as if we had never sin or were defiled by this sin. As a result of Calvary God sees us as undefiled and in a correct relationship with Him (if we accept what Jesus did for us at Cavalry). Jesus redeemed us with His Life. It was His life for ours.

(Jn 14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

(1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

The purpose of a leader or minister is not to mediate between God or us but to teach us and guide how to correctly relate to God! The moment they have control over us for their purposes they are no longer serving God but themself.

Jesus can deliver what He said He could (Phil 2:9-11) as He now rules all creation and eternity.

Eph 2: 9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It requires us to believe what Jesus taught and did.

(John 5:24) "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

You must declare Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour and believe Him to be so and show it by your lifestyle. (Righteousness simply means being in a correct relationship with God). You must also believe God has raised Him from the dead to a new life in heaven so that you also will have that after you die.

(Romans 10:9-10) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

If you have done these things and have decided to obey Jesus as your Lord in all you do, you now have eternal life in Jesus and have been restored to a relationship with Him! This will result in a new lifestyle in which you reject all that was wrong in your old lifestyle. You must also declare your faith openly by your life and word or it is not ‘saving’ faith.

(1 John 5:11) This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

This will result in new lifestyle attitudes and decisions in which you reject all that was wrong in your old lifestyle. You are a new spiritual person in Jesus and need to discipline yourself to allow the new attitudes to be expressed in all you do.

2 Cor:5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

This is because of the transformation The Holy Spirit does in you when you decide to follow Jesus and are to become a citizen of His Kingdom.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Salvation is a relationship that needs to be nurtured and maintained to keep it.

(Jn 17:3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

(CEV) My dear friends, you always obeyed when I was with you. Now that I am away, you should obey even more. So work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved.

Salvation is an adventure of discovery which you are in with Jesus and this requires effort (work) on your part. As you discover who you are in Jesus you work out your salvation.

This Salvation is available to everyone. Jesus came to save people and not condemn people. All are redeemed but only those accepting what Jesus offers and whom live in accordance with His requirements, are saved.

(John 3:16-17 "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. "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

We become citizens of The Kingdom of God:

(Col 1:12-13) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

CEV Col 1:12-13 I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son,

Jesus rose from the dead and went to Heaven Where He is now!

(Matthew 28:6 He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was.

You must believe what the scriptures say about these things

(1 Corinthians 15:3-4) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

You must show you are a follower of Jesus by doing His work and living as He desires you to live.

(John 14:15) "If you love Me, keep My commandments.

As a result of your obedience to Jesus you must believe Jesus has prepared a place for you in Heaven and will reward your faithful obedience, your trust in Him as well as be able to deliver His promises to you!

(John 14:2-3) "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

(Heb 11:6) But without faith it is impossible to please him : for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

And believe we will be with Jesus the moment we die!

(2 Corinthians 5:8) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

You will be given a reward according to your obedience to Him.

(2 Corinthians 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

(Galatians 6:7-9) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

When you are with Jesus you will no longer have the problems you had on the earth:

(Revelation 21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

And we will once again walk in face-to-face fellowship with God in heaven as Adam and Eve did in the park called Eden.

Are you saved at Calvary

You are not saved by Calvary. You are redeemed at Calvary. There Jesus removed everything that made you unacceptable to God. Salvation has always been through voluntary faith and examples in the Bible are Abraham (representative of the Jews) and Rahab (representative of the gentiles).

At Calvary all the spiritual consequences of sin were dealt with by Jesus so that there is nothing we have done or that is in us to stop God accepting us. The requirement for being acceptable is to voluntarily follow Jesus as Lord and Saviour because we love Him and appreciate Him and what He has done for us.

Voluntary faith in Jesus as Redeemer and Lord of all saves you and what happened at Calvary allows you to live the lifestyle faith requires to be lived.

At Calvary all our sins were remitted so we do not need to ask for forgiveness of them as the redemptive work of Jesus at Calvary was complete and does not need to be repeated again. However, we do need to admit to God we have fallen short of His requirements (disobeyed Him) and then turn away from the thing causing us to do this and try to do His Will for us (repentance).

You are redeemed (the spiritual consequences of sin in your life are dealt with) if you have accepted salvation. As a result of this redemption:

You are justified (All in you or which you have done that stops God accepting you has been removed)

You are righteous as a result of this (in a proper relationship with Jesus and The Father)

You are able to approach God for salvation because you now can enter into a personal relationship with Jesus and The Father and enjoy all that results from that relationship.

Salvation (results from faith in Jesus, who He is and what He did and taught)

By faith you accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. This results in:

Transferred from Satan’s kingdom to that of God’s Kingdom

God sanctifies you ( marks you as His through The Holy Spirit being able to live in you) and sets you apart for His service

Because of this you are holy to Him (set apart for Him) and should live a holy life

You become His adopted child and enter into all the rights, responsibilities, rewards and relationships of a citizen of The Kingdom of God.

Atonement (What the death of Jesus at Calvary did for us)

Jesus by His death on the cross, was able to pay the penalty required by God for our disobedience and restore us to a relationship with God so that when God sees us, we are accepted because of what Jesus has done for us. He looks upon us as if we had never sinned.

(Romans 5:18) Because of Adam’s sin and the way it affected us we all ended up doing wrong and falling short of God’s requirements and were going to be punished but Jesus met God’s requirements and gave us the chance to be restored to a relationship with God and eternal life if we accept what He offers us.

(1 Corinthians 1:30) Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin.

This is a result of nothing we have started or could do, but purely a result of God’s actions - our role is obedient faith.

(Ephesians 2:8-9) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

CEV Eph 2:8-9 You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about.

Why was it necessary for Jesus to die?

The Mosaic Law states that God required another animal to die in our place for us to be redeemed from the consequences of our wrongs against Him through our not doing what He requires of us. Every sin has two parts: the disobeying of a requirement of God and the lack of love shown to another that causes them eventual hurt or pain.

(Leviticus 17:11) This is because the life of the body is in the blood, and I have given you rules for pouring that blood on the altar to remove your sins so you will belong to the LORD. It is the blood that removes the sins, because it is life.

(Mat 25:39) Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me

Jesus was God and only needed to die once. Because He is God the scope and coverage of His death was infinite and eternal in consequences (it covered all the universe, all time and all who have lived, are living and will live) but is only of value for those who accept salvation!

All have been redeemed so all can enter into the relationship God wants them to have but it is only those who have faith in Jesus Christ that results in salvation that can take advantage of the redemption so freely given to all at Calvary.

(Hebrews 9:28) so Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, not to offer himself for sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Heb 10:10-12 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

Jesus has removed the need for us to sacrifice animals to redeem us from the eternal consequences of sin

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Heb 10:14 NEV By His death on the cross he has made acceptable for ever those that are set apart to Him

We now can be restored to the personal relationship with Jesus, whenever we do fail to meet God’s requirements through sincere repentance of our sins - admitting to God we did wrong and trying very hard not to do this wrong again, as we continuously try and develop the Lordship relationship we have with Jesus in our life.

Jesus will never reject anyone who comes to Him for salvation. You know you can go to Him for your Salvation needs because of what Jesus said:

John 6:37 Everything and everyone that the Father has given me will come to me, and I won’t turn any of them away.

You must believe in your heart that Jesus is The Lord of all, that He rose from the dead and are willing to tell others all about Jesus and what He has done for you and them.

Rom 10:9-10 So you will be saved, if you honestly say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others.

You must also obey what Jesus desires you to do if He is really your Lord.

(Luk 6:46) And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

What does He desire you to do?

Jesus’ mission statement for ministry was as follows:

(Luk 4:18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

His example was as follows (Matthew 4:23):

And Jesus went about all Galilee,

Teaching in their synagogues,

And preaching the gospel of the kingdom,

Delivering people from the effects of Satan on them

And healing all manner of sickness

And all manner of disease among the people.

This is what our objective should be!

Jesus will help you in this as He said that anyone who wanted to know what to do to serve Him would be taught by The Holy Spirit.

(Joh 16:13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

But you must be wanting and willing to do His Will for Him to be able to teach it to you.

Jn 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.

The last words of Jesus to His people can be summarized as follows:

"All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in My name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

One of the main signs of our being a follower of Jesus is our love for Him expressed in the way we desire to serve him, spend time with Him, live in obedience to His Will for us as well as express His love to others around us. Obedience results in The Holy Spirit being sent to help us in this:

Joh 14:15-16 Jesus said to his disciples: If you love me, you will do as I command. Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you.

This obedience will result in The Kingdom of God manifesting in and through our lives and we will demonstrate it as He said we would in Mark 16:17-18. Jesus said the signs in these verses would be performed by His followers:

They shall cast out devils;

They shall speak with new tongues;

They shall take up serpents;

and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;

They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover

We will be rewarded for our obedience and one of the requirements of faith is that we must believe God will reward us for our loving service of Him:

Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

We must endure to the end to receive our rewards and not be concerned about dying in the service of Jesus.

1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Remember that evangelism is really telling what Jesus has done for people in the kingdom of Satan and how He has affected your life as a result of your accepting what He has done for you.

If you love as Jesus Loves you will go and tell people what He has done for them so they can enjoy what you have received as a result of your accepting what He has done for you. To be saved from going to hell and then not telling others going to hell how to avoid going there is hypocrisy and callousness and is not of God whose nature is love and who desires all to be saved.

You must endure to the end to keep your salvation:

(Mat 10:22) And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved.

Remember that trials are a sign of His Love as He uses them to mature you to His character or guide you back to where you should be.

(Rev 3:19) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

The key to victory over Satan and his plans are to put the things of Jesus before your own values and purposes and be faithful to His Calling of you until you die:

You must hold that what God wants you to do is being more important than your own life and its purposes"

(Mat 10:3) Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.

You must offer yourself to Jesus to use and focus on His Things (Rom 12:1-3 and Col 3:1-3)

God promises to supply all you need in this life for those who seek to be in a correct relationship with him as well as being used by Him to further His Kingdom :

Mat 6:31-34 Don’t worry and ask yourselves, "Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear? Only people who don’t know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all of these. But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well. Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today."

He also promises to never test you above what you can cope with:

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

To become a follower of Jesus will cost you all that you have but in return you will gain riches unimaginable in the world to come.

What are we to preach as The Gospel then?

Luke 24: 46-47 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

We are to preach repentance (the turning from the things of Satan to the things of God) and remission of sins (removal of sins as if they had never occurred in the first place. We are to proclaim Jesus has risen from the dead and we too will rise from the spiritual death to newness of life now and in eternity.

The Gospel is that God saves us if we voluntarily follow Jesus as Lord and God accepts us as we are and treats us as if we had never sinned so that we can enter into a relationship of eternal significance and be with Him forever.

No one is worthy to be saved but God ignores this because of His Love for us as well as what Jesus did at Calvary.

God does not condemn our mistakes if we are trying to do His Will and does not judge us for them. He even tries to use them to teach us things we need to know.

There are no spiritual consequences for our sins after Calvary so we should not look at the past and its failings but to the future God has prepared for us as we walk in the path He has prepared from before creation for us to follow (Mat 6:33, 2 Cor 3:18).

2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the LORD.

Calvary, The Cross and salvation

The Cross was an event that marked the end of the Old Covenant (testament) and the beginning of the New Covenant (testament). Covenants are time based and so are not part of the eternal Kingdom of God but of the arrangements He has made in regard to time and eternity. Their effects, however may be felt in The Kingdom now and beyond eternity.

On the cross Jesus died and met the sacrificial requirements of God to deal with the spiritual consequences of sin and through this redeemed all that ever lived. This also broke down the barriers between God and man and made the Levitical priesthood and Temple no longer necessary as He is now our High Priest and we are a temple of God as The Holy Spirit now lives in us. When Jesus died He met the requirements of the sacrificial law and broke the barrier down between God and man making The Temple obsolete.

As a consequence of His obedient self-sacrifice He was given Lordship of all, having made Satan, and all the demons he had, captive and prisoners of the war through this victory He won at calvary.

Were we Saved at Cavalry?

What exactly does the cross have to do with salvation?

Note the following points:

Abraham did not have The Law and was declared righteous and justified by God because of his faith (Rom 4:3-5).

Rom 4:3-5 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Those who die without knowledge of Jesus are declared righteous through obeying their conscience as directed by The Holy Spirit (Rom 2:14-16)

Rom 2:14-15 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Jesus never preached the cross as salvation but preached The Kingdom of God and he need for a personal relationship with God (Jn17:3) as being salvation (eternal life). The redemption we were given at Calvary allows us to approach God and enter into a salvation relationship.

Mat 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

What happens at the point of Salvation? We are taken from Satan’s control; to that of Jesus and placed in His Kingdom. This did not happen at the cross but after it. In fact The Father is the one who removes us from Satan’s Kingdom to that of The kingdom of God.

Col 1:12-13 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into The Kingdom of his dear Son:

At the cross we were redeemed and had our sins forgiven but that is not Salvation. That was Jesus obtaining ownership of all things (including all who lived, spiritual or physical) and the right to judge them as well as removing the defilement or our sins.

Jesus took on himself all the consequences of our sin so that we no longer have this burden on us and God can relate to us as if we have never sinned. When we sin it is already dealt with so we do not need to ask for forgiveness as it has already been given all we do is thank God for it and accept what Jesus did at the cross and repent of whatever we are doing that is in rebellion against God.

Col 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Before Calvary people were declared righteous and justified by God because of their faith. They obeyed God as their Lord and thus had a relationship with Him (Jn 17:3). By this they stated they belonged to His Kingdom and Rulership. Thus they were ‘saved’ from The Kingdom of Darkness.

Rom 4:3 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Calvary emphasised God’s Grace as the basis of salvation and not anything we could do so that we did not need to meet the requirements of God’s Law for our failings (sins) as Jesus had met them. He died for all (Those that died before Calvary and those that would die after Calvary) and redeemed them from Satan so that those who called Him Lord and obeyed Him as Lord no longer were under Satan’s authority.

What actually happened at Calvary?

The barrier between God and man was removed (Eph 2:14).

Jesus took our judgment and shame onto Himself (and there is no longer condemnation, guilt or shame to be dealt with (Col 2:13-16).

Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the God’s judgment on us (Rom 5:11).

He showed His love for all mankind by dying for those who were not worthy of it (namely all mankind Rom 5:7-8).

He redeemed all mankind not just those that would respond to Him. However, it is only those that respond that obtain eternal life (1 Pet 3:18) and have the defilement of sin removed that prevents eternal life being obtained.

He removed the defilement of sin so we could enter into a salvation relationship with Jesus and The Father.

He was raised from the dead as He was sinless and the punishment of death was not appropriate and should not have been carried out (2 Cor 5:21).

The sacrificial law was fulfilled so it no longer is needed to approach God.

He earned the right to be ruler of all having overcome God’s enemy and thus obtained the right to control His enemies kingdom (Phil 2:9-11).

There may be others but these are the ones that come to mind as being extremely important.

Shame, Guilt and Condemnation

There is no longer any condemnation, guilt, shame or spiritual judgment for sin as Jesus bore all our sins at Calvary for those that would accept Him and His Father’s Kingdom and whom would forgo their former lifestyle that had alienated them from God. This means there is no longer anything to feel guilty about, ashamed of or condemned of for any sins (failings) we do as Jesus took our guilt on Himself, was ashamed for us and took away that which would condemn us (our sin) so any feelings of guilt , shame or condemnation now come from Satan and should be cast to the abyss in Jesus’ Name and told to stay there when you feel these being placed on you by demons.

There may be natural consequences of your ‘sinful’ actions and these need to be dealt with in a Godly manner e.g. pregnancy for premarital sex or brain damage for drug abuse (which can be healed by Jesus) but Jesus can help you bear these mentally and emotionally if you truly repent of the sinful actions causing them and desire to live in a personal relationship with Him and The Father.

Jesus did not come to condemn but to reconcile people to God (Jn3:17) and to save them from Satan’s Kingdom so they would become citizens of The Kingdom of God as a result of their being reconciled to God.

Jesus should not have died

Jesus should not have died as He was sinless. Death was for sin and He had not sinned so the curse of death did not apply to him.

Rom 5:12 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

Thus God raised Him from the dead as He had not sinned and should not have died.

1 Cor 5:1 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

He was offered by God on our behalf. His death was in place of ours and the animals previously sacrificed for people. His death met the requirements of the Law for atonement for sin. Thus after Calvary there was no need to sacrifice for sin.

As He is God, the sacrifice was infinite covering all that will ever live and meeting God’s sacrificial requirements for eternity and beyond.

Because He paid the price to free us from the consequences of sin He has purchased us and we are His (Gal 3:13).

Gla 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Everything The Law could do to us was negated at calvary by what Jesus did!.

The barrier between God and man was removed so man could fellowship directly with God. The seal of The Holy Spirit was then able to be given to those who desired a relationship with God so that there is no longer a need to have an intermediary between God and Man as God is in man.

Jesus was given greater authority than Satan (after all He had defeated all that Satan could tempt Him with) so that Satan and His demons have to obey His authority either commanded by Him directly or those whom He has delegated it to.

Maintaining your salvation

To promote Calvary as the reason we are saved is incorrect. Calvary is the reason we can approach God but for salvation we need to be a personal relationship with Jesus and The Father..

This is why obedience is necessary to keep your salvation as it keeps you in the correct relationship with God so that your salvation is maintained and matured and protected by Him (Rev 3:5).

It is your heart attitude of faith and obedience that is important and not just legalistic observance of what Jesus require of us.

Demons obey Jesus out of necessity so obedience to Jesus out of necessity does not preserve your salvation. It is the worship of Him by your life and your love of Him that results in obedience that preserves your salvation.

Jesus asks you to try and obey. He knows we will fail at times but after Calvary all sin is forgiven so we do not need to ask for forgiveness. All we need to do is repent and keep trying to obey Him out of love for Him!

An overview of how it all fits together

All are redeemed (our punishment and defilement removed by what Jesus did at Calvary) as Jesus The Christ died once for all not just those that would accept Him as Lord and Saviour. However it is the faith in Jesus as Lord and saviour as well as the resultant relationship that saves as the defilement being removed only allows us to approach God if we want too and take advantage of what Jesus did at Cavlary..

Salvation is a result of faith in Jesus, making Him Lord of your life and results in your being transferred from Satan’s Kingdom to God’s Kingdom and being placed in a position to have a direct and personal relationship with God. This is a result of God’s Grace (Love) as we did not know we needed salvation and redemption and were not able to do these things ourself anyway.

As a result of this salvation we are set apart by God as His (Sanctified) and given The Holy Spirit to mark us as being His property. We worship Him by our lives out of Love and Gratitude and separate ourselves from the things of Satan’s kingdom to those of Jesus (holiness). Jesus must be Lord for us to belong to His Kingdom otherwise He cannot be our Saviour (2 Pet 1:11).

Redeemed from what?

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

How:

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

Whether we acknowledge it or not we all are the property of Jesus as He redeemed us on the cross through His Blood. This one perfect sacrifice replacing the need for an animal to die in our place.

The Law was given by God. The Curse of The Law is the punishment we bring on ourselves through disobeying The Law. God does not Curse (punish) us. We bring it on ourselves as the reward we earn for the kind of life we lead (Gal 6:7-8).

Though disobedience we come under the rulership of Satan as we have chosen to obey his rules and not those of Jesus. Whom we obey in our heart is our Lord and it is their kingdom we belong too.

This law cannot be The Mosaic Law as salvation by faith was before The Mosaic Law existed. The Mosaic Law was in a way a reflection of God’s Law and not a substitute for it. The laws of The Kingdom of God over ride all law systems so that The Mosaic Law had to follow the laws of The Kingdom of which the sacrificial law was one.

Anytime we purposely disobey God we are doing what Satan wants us to do and by default end up under his rule in that area of disobedience. It is when the person totally gives themselves to disobey God that they are a citizen of Satan’s kingdom otherwise he is only able to control the parts we give to him through rejecting The Lordship of Jesus in that area and disobeying Him in that area. As long as we desire in our heart to serve Jesus as our Lord we belong to The Kingdom of God.

At Calvary Jesus overcame Satan through spiritually defeating everything Satan had tempted Him with in His life with and also met fully God’s sacrificial requirements for our reconciliation and restoration. He became the perfect sacrifice for sin so that we no longer need to sacrifice an animal. Once and for all that sacrifice has been made so that we have permanent access to God now and permanent forgiveness of sins so that we do not need to ask for forgiveness and need only to repent and continue to try and obey God in what He asks us to do.

God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus and rewarded him for it.

Jesus had won a spiritual victory over Satan so had the right to command Satan and his kingdom. He also had redeemed all mankind so that they belonged to Him. God then gave Jesus the rest of the universe. This was so Jesus could be a good steward of what He has redeemed (mankind) and been victorious over (Satan and his kingdom) and carry out God’s purposes for them as well as the promises He had made to mankind while he was on earth. With this gift to Jesus by God Jesus then ruled all and every knee has to bow to His Lordship and will do so either on earth or at judgment.

His Love for God kept Him sinless

His Love for us drove Him to Calvary to redeem us and reconcile us to God

His Love for us causes Him to do all that is necessary for us to obey Him and be with Him forever

What of those who have never hear of Jesus or Calvary?

It is estimated that over 60% of all who have lived have never heard of Jesus or Calvary. So how does Calvary relate to their situation.

All are redeemed at Calvary so they are redeemed also.

To be saved you have to follow Jesus as Lord.

His Will for us is revealed through The Holy Spirit (Conscience) and the Bible. These people do not have the Bible so God cannot ask them to obey it.

So all that remains is how they obeyed the promptings of The Holy Spirit in their conscience and by their obedience to Him, do the Will of Jesus.

Jesus is your Lord because you obey Him. You can still obey His Will without knowing who He is because you follow the Guide He has given you (The Holy Spirit) in your conscience.

Even though they have never heard of The Bible, Calvary or Jesus, these people still obey Him and His Will for them because and they obey the promptings of The Holy Spirit in them. It is because of this He is their Lord and they have Salvation (Rom 2:14-15)!