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1. What is Life’s Purpose? 

God created man on the 6th day of creation. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in his own image...male and female created he them.” In I Corinthians 6:20, God tells us that the reason He created man is to “glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Other verses clearly tell man that he is to glorify God: Isaiah 43:7b says, “for I [God] have created him for my glory...” and Colossians 1:16c says, “all things were created by him [God], and for him.” But how do we glorify God? John 15 perfectly shows a saved person’s relationship with Jesus Christ using an illustration of a grape vine. In verse 1, we see that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the True Vine and His Father, God, is the Husbandman, or caretaker of the plant: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” In verse 5a, Christ says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches....” This verse is speaking about a saved person: he is a branch that is connected to (an off-shoot of) the vine, which is Jesus Christ. Verse 8a clearly tells us that God is glorified when a branch produces much fruit: “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit....” The fruit mentioned here is referring to the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” However, one cannot bear any fruit if he is not saved. Verse 4b says “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” Abiding in Christ is to have salvation! 

Personal testimony from the author: 

“Obtaining salvation and living the Christian life as God has commanded is truly a blessing and a privilege! The Christian life should not be viewed as a miserable life. It is so joyful and awesome because I have the privilege of serving the One Who saved me from eternal punishment!! I am so blessed by my God! I am not speaking of earthly, material, and temporary wealth that only lasts as long as I am on earth; instead, I am speaking of a life that has an eternal purpose and a reason for living it. To every single reader of this tract, I personally PLEAD with you to truly give your life to God Who created you! I pray earnestly that you would realize your position before God, and would receive salvation so that you can glorify your Maker with your actions. Eternity is serious, and certainly nothing to take lightly! Both you and I and every single other human on earth will live eternally either in heaven or hell. Please read this tract seriously, realizing that this is dealing with eternity! As one who genuinely cares for your individual, eternal soul, I ask that you would truly abide in Christ—get saved!!” -Zack Taylor 

2. What is Salvation? 

For a soul to be saved, his heart must genuinely repent, believe, confess, and call. These words are described in detail in section #4.

Salvation is necessary because man is sinful and Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Eternal life is available to man because Christ paid the wages of sin (death) when He died on the cross! He then conquered death by rising from the dead three days later!”

The Greek word translated “salvation” in the Bible literally means “rescue” or “delivery.” But what is one being rescued from? He is rescued from the natural man, which is explained below. To be saved is “to be born again.” In John 3:3, Jesus states, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God [heaven].” This is not a physical second birth, but a spiritual second birth. I Corinthians 15:46-47 says, “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural [the natural man]; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy...” Every human born into the world is born as a natural man (which has a sinful nature) and will remain one until the end of his life: I John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Sin is disobeying God and His commands. This natural man has desires to please the flesh and has nothing to do with God. Romans 8:7-8 says, “Because the carnal mind [the natural man] is enmity against [an enemy of] God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Salvation is a 180 degree turn from sin to God; a completely different person is the result. Even if you are not a “very wicked” person, you still have the sin nature controlling your actions and intentions if you are not saved. 

3. Who Provides Salvation to Man? 

To completely understand the way that God offers salvation to all of mankind, you must first understand who God is. First, there is only one God. I Corinthians 8:4b says, “there is none other God but one.” Second, God is a unity of the three Persons that composes the Godhead: the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Colossians 2:9 shows the unity in the Godhead: “For in him [Jesus Christ] dwelleth all the fullness [unity] of the Godhead bodily.” Third, all three Persons of the Godhead are recognized as God. 

God the Father. John 6:27c: “for him hath God the Father sealed.”

God the Son (Jesus Christ). Hebrews 1:8: “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever….” 

God the Holy Ghost (same as the Holy Spirit). Acts 5:3b and 4b: “to lie to the Holy Ghost…thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”

The unity of the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost is called the Trinity. I John 5:7 states, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” The Word in this verse is a reference to Jesus Christ, since the other two Persons of the Trinity are already mentioned: the Father and the Holy Ghost. In John 1:1, the Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This means that the Word is a Person of the Godhead. The Word is Jesus because the Word is the declaration to man of Who God is, which is the role Jesus Christ played when He came to earth. John 1:18 says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God the Father, came to the earth from heaven and was born in Israel about 2,000 years ago. Because Jesus Christ is the Son of God, holy and perfect, He (Jesus Christ) lived a sinless life of 33 years. At age 30, He started an earthly ministry, died on the cross at age 33, rose from the grave 3 days later to offer to man eternal life, and ascended back into heaven. Jesus Christ, in His amazing, sacrificial love, willingly died on the cross and shed His innocent, sinless blood for the redemption of man. Redemption is a synonym for salvation. “Redemption means bought and released, describing the act of buying a slave from the market in order to give him freedom” (David Cloud, Way of Life Believer’s Bible Dictionary, pg. 305). This is such a wonderful picture of what salvation is: God purchasing us (with His Son’s blood) and releasing us from the grip of sin. He gives the saved person freedom from the way of the natural man: Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is referred to as the Gospel (glad tidings or news). The Gospel is clearly given in I Corinthians 15:1-11. Verses 1-4 say, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you...For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how 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.” In Acts 20:24b, the Bible says, “to testify the gospel of the grace of God.” This verse says the Gospel is of (or by) God’s grace. This relates to Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Jesus Christ did the work for man that is required for salvation when He died on the cross. While on the cross, Jesus said in John 19:30, “It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” Man does NO WORKS for salvation because if he did, he would have something to boast in (“lest any man should boast” Ephesians 2:9) and could therefore lose his salvation by doing “bad works.” But Christ did the work! Grace is God giving to man what man does not deserve. Man does not deserve salvation because God is holy, perfect, and sinless but man is sinful, unholy, and rebellious against God. This is why salvation is so awesome: because man does not deserve it, yet God sent His only Son to save mankind. Man must only respond to this gift through honest repentance of his sins, faith in God, and calling out to Him!!

4. How Does One Obtain Salvation? 

Salvation is made at a point in time. It is a choice to give one’s life to God and trust in Him for salvation. It is not a continual, progressive journey or process. Man has the opportunity to be saved only during his lifetime on earth. Then begins eternity. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” You must have a genuine desire to serve your Creator. And as this tract so far has shown, man bears this responsibility. The following sections show God’s plan of salvation for mankind. 

Repent. 

~Acts 20:21b “Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

“Repentance is a turning from sin, a loathing [hating] of it…Repentance is also a sense of shame for having lived in it, and a longing to avoid it. It is a change of the mind with regard to sin” (Charles Spurgeon). Jesus Christ said in Luke 13:3b, “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Without repentance, one will perish in the Lake of Fire (Hell) for all of eternity. But what is repentance? First, you must realize what repentance requires. Luke 5:32 says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” This verse shows that Christ did not die on the cross to call those who view themselves as good people to repent, but those who admit themselves to be sinners. Luke 5:32 clearly shows that repentance requires humility. Humility is a truthful view of oneself: a guilty, rebellious sinner. Repentance is divided into 2 parts: 1st in salvation and 2nd for growth and obedience after salvation. The first part is “to turn to God in surrender to His authority; it is a change of mind toward God that results in a change of life” (David Cloud, Way of Life Believer’s Bible Dictionary, pg.308). This repentance is a turning from the old way of life (serving sin) and turning to the new way of life (serving God). This first part of repentance is not a work, but a heart condition (Ephesians 2:8); it will result in an obedient life to God after salvation. Jesus began His earthly ministry by preaching repentance in Matthew 4:17: “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Acts 5:31 says, “Him [Jesus Christ] hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance ..., and forgiveness of sins.” This verse shows that salvation includes man repenting of his sins and God forgiving his sins. The second part of repentance is continual in the Christian life. As was seen earlier in I John, every human sins, including Christians. Therefore, repentance is also required in the daily Christian life. 

Believe. 

~Romans 10:9 “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.”

In John 3:18, the Bible says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God [Jesus Christ].” One is condemned if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and His Gospel. Believing 1st in the Gospel and 2nd what the Gospel does for man is required to obtain salvation from God. Ephesians 2:8a says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith....” Faith here is translated as “belief.” Hebrews 11:6 beautifully shows that belief and faith are the same thing: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God [he that gets saved] must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” James 2:14,17 says, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?... Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Faith is “proven” to be true by works (fruit) after salvation. As we see in Acts 20:21b, we are to have repentance (a turning from sin to God) and faith (assurance [confidence] in the Gospel), “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Confess. 

~I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

For salvation, there must be confession (acknowledgment) of 2 things: 

1. Confession of your sins. This is private confessing of your sin to God: realizing and professing that you are a sinner that displeases God. 

2. Confession of Jesus Christ’s identity. Romans 10:9-10 says, “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.” I John 4:15 says, “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” This is a public confessing that Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life, that He is the Son of God, and that He is God incarnated in human form. Incarnate is “the act of assuming flesh, or of taking a human body, and the nature of man...God was incarnated in human form” (Cloud, Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity, pg.311). I Timothy 3:16b says, “God was manifest (shown forth or displayed) in the flesh...” Therefore, Jesus is God. 

Philippians 2:11 states, “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Lord in this verse is translated “master, supreme in authority, controller.” This is not implying that Christ literally controls the believer’s life; but it does imply that the saved person will be spiritually willing and wanting to hand over the control of his life to God. The believer genuinely wants to do what God commands. 

Call. 

~Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

“The sinner must ‘call on the name of the Lord’ Jesus...out of the absolute desperation and hopelessness, to save his wretched soul from eternal separation from God in the torments of Hell...” (Lance Ketchum, Saving Faith). When that you call upon God, (after repenting, confessing, and believing) He will save you from eternal separation from Himself! John 10:28 says, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” This verse also teaches that when one is saved, nothing can be done to take away their salvation! When one calls on the Lord to be saved, he receives eternal salvation that can never be lost. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Calling out to God is receiving His free gift of eternal life! If you have turned from the world to God (repentance), have faith in all that the Bible says (belief), and have professed the identity of Christ and man (confession), you can call on God to save you right now!

*Pray to God, tell Him these things and call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!!

It is not words that save anybody, but a genuine heart that believes what the Word of God says. 

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