There is no other way to heaven but the way that God made. It is essential to understand how to be saved. It’s essential to know you’re saved. It is absolutely necessary to obey the gospel. It’s spoken about in both the old and new testaments. The gospel comes to us with the forcefulness of a command.
Romans 10: 16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
What does it mean to obey the gospel? The event of the gospel is the birth of Jesus, his sinless life, his substitutionary death, his burial, and his resurrection from the dead on the third day. You have to believe this to be saved. Paul spells it out in verses 9 and 10. “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”. In verse 11 he says “for the scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” In verse 13 he wrote “for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
In these verses we plainly see the way of salvation; we see what God requires. Why does Paul say then that not all have obeyed the gospel? What does it mean? Where does obedience come in? It’s simply following the command, what is laid out. It’s an action of faith toward faith. If you hear the story of Jesus and realize the condition of your soul and what Jesus did on Calvary to fix it, you must act on that. Faith comes by hearing and taking action on what you hear to the point of trusting Jesus and saving of your soul. Move on it. Make it a personal trust in Jesus. Movement to the Lord is action and that is obedience.
Sometimes we want to make our own way of salvation, but the Lord has given us the clear path to heaven through his son Jesus Christ. If we don’t do what he says we’ll walk into certain eternal death. Time and time again it was asked by the apostles, even of Jesus, “what must I do to be saved?” The answer is the same for all. Do what the Lord says. Obedience and faith may seem contradictory, but without one the other does nothing. If you don’t trust him, trying won’t work. It is a work of faith. Believing is the motivation to obedience. Follow the instructions.
Man is a chronic disobeyer of God’s moral law given in the 10 commandments. Jesus kept it completely. He was tempted in all points like we are, but he didn’t fail. He chose to follow God. All cultures and nations through all generations have disobeyed God. We all have that in common.
Isaiah asked in his day “who hath believed our report?” Paul used it in Romans. There is so much disobedience to God’s instructions. Why is it that we’re so accepting of the ways of the world and false doctrine and find it so hard to obey the word of God? The gospel comes with the force of a command behind it. It’s not a request that we be saved. It’s not optional to accept or refuse. It’s not up to us to make our own interpretation on how to be saved. There is only one way, and God laid it out. Acts 17:30 says “and the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” We’ll never be free from sin and our Adam nature until we turn from it. You can’t be lost and saved at the same time. You can’t serve two masters. There are not many ways to heaven; there is one. There is too much blending going on. You either obey the gospel or go to hell.
John was speaking about the Holy Spirit and said “and when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” He’ll show us where we miss the mark. The Holy Spirit shows the world the righteousness of Jesus and lets us know that we have to turn from our sins and trust the Lord. He pulls us from the grip of sin. It has to let go. When you repent, you are making a turn from it.
There is a death penalty attached to the gospel. The Bible says that the “soul that sinneth shall die.” Romans 6:23 says “for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” That’s why it comes with the full force of a command. By obeying the gospel, we acknowledge the position of God and our position to him. We’re not equal with God. He’s far greater. We’re condemned prisoners of sin who deserve hell, but God loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son. Jesus came and accomplished what we cannot. Trust him. Repent. Confess. Give your heart to him. He will save you; you cannot save yourself.
I’m thankful to be rescued. Salvation was not of my own choosing. He didn’t consult me about how he would save me. When we listen to our Adam nature, we will mess up. God’s word tells us what we have to do. We must obey the gospel. It is urgent that we do. That is the only way we’ll get to heaven. It is the only way to escape hell. It didn’t put a yoke upon me. God didn’t ask me to do anything I couldn’t do. Do not use the excuse that you can’t do it or that you’ll wait. You are able now, and now is the time. You have the ability within you to obey. Verse 8 says “the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.” I didn’t think I could, but I came. I was saved before I ever got to the altar.
What I am today is not because I grew up a good person. I was a lost sinner. Don’t consider the invitation as wimpy or as the invitation to join a church or a religion. That has nothing to do with it. You must repent and obey the gospel. You must see yourself a sinner lost without God. I am here today because I did. I obeyed the working of the Holy Spirit. I turned from all the demons that held me. They let go.
I’m glad I obeyed the ability to believe and put my faith in Jesus. I’m thankful I obeyed my common sense. You know what is right and wrong. There is someone to trust, and that someone is Jesus. He said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
The mandate is before you now. Obey the gospel and be saved.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 