The document provides teachings on the steps to salvation according to Jesus. It explains that salvation comes through God's grace by recognizing our sinful nature, repenting of sins, having faith in Jesus through accepting his righteousness, and following him. While humans can recognize their sins and repent, it is God who gives the faith to believe and enables repentance. True faith is not just mental belief but a personal trust in Jesus as savior. The righteousness received through faith in Christ covers believers, allowing them to enter God's kingdom. Ongoing salvation requires abiding in Jesus' teachings and being his disciples by living according to the Bible and sharing him with others. Salvation is solely a gift from God and cannot be earned or deserved through
2. Key Text
“ ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life’ ”
John 3:14, 15
3. As the Israelites were being
bitten by snakes in the
desert, God instructed
Moses to make a bronze
one and place it on a pole
so that whoever was bitten
could look at it and be
saved.
What healing properties can
a bronze snake have?
None.
Healing came only from
God. By looking at the
bronze statue, however, the
Israelites demonstrated
their faith in God as their
only hope of life and
salvation.
4. The Lord wanted
to teach them a
spiritual lesson.
He transformed a
symbol of death
into a symbol of
life. That bronze
serpent was a
symbol of Christ,
who became the
Bearer of our sins
in order to save
us. By faith we can
all look to Christ
lifted up on the
cross and find a
cure from the
deadly sting of the
old serpent, Satan.
Otherwise, we are
fated to die in our
sins. The Word of
God expresses
what should be
painfully obvious:
as human beings,
we are sinners in
need of grace. That
grace has been
offered to us in
Christ Jesus.
This week we will
look at Jesus’
teachings
regarding the
simple practical
steps needed for
salvation.
5. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
The salvation Jesus fulfilled at the cross is
available to us under certain condition.
Which are the steps to be saved?
1. Recognizing my need.
2. Repenting.
3. Believing in Jesus.
4. Accepting Jesus’ righteousness.
5. Following Jesus.
6. “And when He [the Helper] has come, He will convict the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John
16:8)
Jesus was accused of relating to sinners. Jesus replied, “Those who are well have no
need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners, to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)
We look for a doctor when we are sick. In the same way, we look for salvation only if
we feel sinners.
The Holy Spirit works in our conscience to
make us aware of our sins. He generates a
deep feel of guilt. That guilt makes us long
for a Savior.
If we don’t obey Him, we harden our heart
against the Holy Spirit. We then stop
hearing His voice little by little.
7. Which of all
these leaders
is perfect and
has no need
for a Savior?
Which?
8. Reflection:
Though guilt is often a bad
thing, in what ways has the
Holy Spirit been able to use
guilt to your own spiritual
advantage?
9. “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38)
True repentance involves three main steps:
1. Recognizing we have sinned.
2. Feeling shame of having done so.
3. Sincerely wanting to not sin anymore.
“We do not repent in order that God may love us,
but He reveals to us His love in order that we may
repent.”
We have a natural tendency to try to excuse our
sins; not to regret them. Repentance is a gift from
God, actually (Romans 2:4).
E.G.W. (Christ’s Object Lessons, pg. 189)
Recognizing our sins is not enough to be saved.
Repentance must follow.
Jesus said, “Unless you repent you will all
likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)
10. We can see the impo-
tance of repentance by
the fact that John the
Baptist and Jesus
began their ministry by
preaching,“ ‘Repent,
for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand!’ ”
(Matt. 3:2, 4:17, NKJV).
Later, when Jesus sent
the Twelve on their first
missionary trip, they
went out, preaching
“that people should
repent” (Mark 6:12,
NKJV). And after Pente-
cost, Peter exhorted the
crowd to do the same
(Acts 2:38, 3:19).
11. Look at the
strong words
Jesus used to
emphasize the
universal need
for repentance
in order to be
saved. What
message is He
giving us
here? See
Luke 13:1–5.
Jesus affirmed the sinfulness of all people. Therefore, He
urged His hearers: “ ‘Unless you repent you will all like-
wise perish’ ” (vs. 5, NKJV). Without repentance, redemp-
tion is impossible, because the absence of repentance
demonstrates that people refuse to surrender to the Lord.
12. Now, we have been told
“the goodness of God
leads you to repentance”
Rom. 2:4,
What does that mean? A
block of ice can be broken
into small pieces, but the
resulting pieces will still be
ice. That same block of ice
can be placed next to a
heater, and it will melt away
into water.
The ice of our pride can be thawed only if we are exposed to the warmth
of God’s goodness and love. Thus, how crucial for us to dwell, as much
as we can, on all the evidences we have been given of God’s love for
us. “We do not repent in order that God may love us, but He reveals to
us His love in order that we may repent.”—
13. Reflection:
What are the evidences of God’s love?
What have you seen and experienced and
learned that gives you powerful reasons to
trust in His goodness?
Why is it so important always to dwell on
those reasons, especially in bad times?
14. “So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,
you and your household.’” (Acts 16:31)
Recognizing the sin and repenting are essential
steps, but they can’t save anyone.
We must have faith and totally believe in Jesus
and His sacrifice for us.
The saving power of faith comes from the God
we believe, not from the believer.
That is also a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8)
15. According to Jesus, what does it mean “to believe”? It is more than a
vague feeling that something will just happen. It is more than a mental
exercise. Saving faith is not devoid of content. On the contrary, faith
has a definite object: Jesus Christ. Faith is believing not only in some-
thing but, especially, in Someone. Faith is trusting in Jesus and His
death for us. Believing in Jesus means knowing Him, understanding
who He is (John 6:69), and receiving Him personally (John 1:12).
16. God so loved the world that He gave us Jesus, so that all who
truly believe in Him will have eternal life. His death does not
mean that everyone will be saved, however. We have to be
covered by His righteousness. By believing in Him, we have
righteousness, we have assurance, and we have the great
promise that He will raise us up at the last day (John 6:40).
17. To a woman who
had lived a sinful
life, Jesus
assured her:
“ ‘Your sins are
forgiven. . . . Your
faith has saved
you’ ” (Luke 7:48,
50, NKJV). What
does that mean?
Does our faith
save us?
According to the Gospels, when Jesus healed some people, He said to
them: “ ‘Your faith has made you well’ ” (Matt. 9:22, Mark 10:52, Luke
17:19, NKJV). By saying these words, He was not assigning any healing
power to their faith. Their faith was just a complete trust in Jesus’ power
to heal them. The power of faith does not come from the person who
believes but from the God in whom that person believes.
18. “A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him
merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring
healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation
is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He
who waits for entire knowledge before he will
exercise faith, cannot receive blessing from God. It
is not enough to believe about Christ; we must
believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is
that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour;
which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many
hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a
transaction by which those who receive Christ join
themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine
faith is life. A living faith means an increase of
vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes
a conquering power.”
E.G.W. (The Desire of Ages, cp. 36, pg. 347)
19. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have
on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without
a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants,
‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 22:11-13)
We cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven
without the right garment. What is that
garment?
Isaiah said, “He [God] has clothed me
with the garments of salvation, He has
covered me with the robe of
righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:10)
We are spiritually naked. Putting
salvation on means to accept Jesus’
righteousness instead of our own.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
20. “Then Jesus said to those Jews who
believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word,
you are My disciples indeed.’” (John 8:31)
We’ve followed the right steps and now we are
saved.
Nevertheless, the path does not end here. Jesus
asked those who believed in Him two more things:
1. Remaining in His Word.
Living according to the “sound
doctrine” that is found in the
Bible (Titus 2:1)
2. Being His disciples.
Following Jesus’ example,
loving Him above all things and
talking about Him to others (1
John 2:6; Matthew 10:37;
Matthew 28:19-20)
21. Recognizing my
need.
•God convicts us of
sin (John 16:8).
Repenting.
•God leads us to
repentance
(Romans 2:4).
Believing in
Jesus.
•God gives the
faith to believe
(Ephesians 2:8).
Accepting
Jesus’
righteousness.
•God clothes us
with His
righteousness
(Isaiah 61:10).
Following
Jesus.
•God prepares the
good works we
follow
(Ephesians 2:10).
There’s absolutely nothing we
can do to gain, pay or deserve
salvation. Everything is in God’s
hands.
“for it is God who works in you both
to will and to do for His good
pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
22. “The humble and broken
heart, subdued by genuine
repentance, will appreciate
something of the love of
God and the cost of
Calvary; and as a son
confesses to a loving father,
so will the truly penitent
bring all his sins before
God. And it is written, ‘If we
confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all
unrighteousness.’
1 John 1:9.”