MAN SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH TO BE SAVED

By Jose J. Ventilacion

THE BIBLE TEACHES that God created man to serve and worship Him in accordance with His will. In return, God will grant him salvation. Obviously, God's plan to save man should be known and correctly apprehended. Without the proper knowledge of this plan of salvation man will totally lost instead of gaining God's blessings. Although the desire to be saved is in the heart and mind of many, there is confusion as to how salvation can be obtained.

Various opinions were advanced and presented for this goal to be achieved. A floodgate of opinions coming from theologians, scholars, spiritual gurus, and sometimes even from common people have saturated and confused the minds of those eagerly searching for salvation. Although their intention is for the welfare of their fellowmen, the various prescriptions for salvation have somewhat added insult to injury, as they only complicate the already sad state of uncertainty concerning the method of salvation.

Concerning the divine plan for the salvation of men, the best source of knowledge on how to achieve such grace is God Himself since it was He who created man and planned for his salvation. What does the Bible say concerning God's plan of salvation? Apostle Paul clarified:

"This is good and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth" (I Tim. 2:3-4, Today's English Version).

 God is the One who wants all men to be saved. However, according to His manner of saving man, he must know the truth and not base it on someone's mere opinion or assumption. No matter how nicely presented the idea is but if it runs contrary to the truth, it should not be entertained but rather should be rejected totally.

What is the truth that man should know so that he will be saved? In His mediatory prayer, the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed:

"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17, New International Version).

The truth, which is the word of God, is also the gospel, which is the power of God for the salvation of everyone:

"...Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you ..." (Col. 1:5-6, English Standard Version).

"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes ... ." (Rom. 1:16, NIV)

Anybody who is interested to be saved should not rely on somebody's opinions but should adhere to what the God-appointed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 2:11), has to say about it. The Savior proclaimed:

"... 'In very truth I tell you, I am the door of the sheepfold ... I am the door; anyone who comes into the fold through me will be safe' ..." (John 10:7, 9, Revised English Bible).

Jesus said that He was telling the "very truth"─He is commanding everyone to come into the fold through Him for his salvation.

The fold is also the flock of the sheep (John 10:16). Thus anyone who wants to be saved should enter into the sheepfold or should be in the flock. What is the flock of Christ where those who have entered in Him are found? Apostle Paul stated:

"Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed your overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood." (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation)

The fold which is also the flock into which one must enter to be safe is the Church of Christ. Hence, it is very important for anyone who desires salvation to become a member of the Church of Christ. What if some refuse to follow this instruction? What will surely happen to those who are outside the Church of Christ? Apostle Paul said:

"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? ... God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you.'" (I Cor. 5:12-13, NIV).

The Bible explicitly states the verdict of God on those who are outside the Church of Christ─the wicked─will be judged! Man's refusal to join the Church of Christ is tantamount to being judged by God on the final day of reckoning.

However, those who refuse to accept this truth reason out that they do not need to be in the Church of Christ since they are God-fearing and consider themselves true Christians, because not only do they recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Savior but they serve Him with devotion. These people think that what they have done would be enough for them to merit salvation.

Does the Bible sanction this belief? According to Apostle Paul, what is even better? That you know God or that God knows you?

"But now you know God. Even better, God knows you ... so you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir" (Gal. 4:9, New International Reader's Version; Gal. 4:7, NIV).

Notice that what really matters is not the we simply say that we know and recognize God. What is more important is that God knows or recognizes us as His children. Those whom God knows or recognizes as His children are His heirs or the ones who will inherit His promises. It's only right and logical that He would grant the inheritance to someone whom He knows or to someone whom He has designated as His heir.

The same truth shines when we analyze the statement of the Lord Jesus to those whom He shall rebuff on Judgment Day:

"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,  did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 7:22-23, 21, Ibid.)

What Christ is saying in these verses pertains to what will happen on Judgment Day. It will be a very sad situation for those who think that because they have drove out demons and performed miracles in the name of Christ, their services would give them easy access to heaven. Instead of being rewarded, they shall be driven out by the One whom they have supposedly served. Why? Because they have failed to do the will of God, the Father. This expectation on that day will be its opposite: rejection instead of salvation.

What is the will of God that should be done by those who are expecting to be rewarded with salvation on Judgment Day? Apostle Paul elucidates this:

"And he made known to up the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment─to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ" (Ibid.).

It is God's will that all be brought together under one head, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ. How can this be done? When all of those on earth shall be gathered together in the Church. Why in the Church? Because the Church is headed by Christ and it is His body (Col. 1:18).

The Church headed by Christ was called by the apostles as the Church of Christ:

"The common object of their labor was to bring the Christians maturity, to prepare them for Christian service and the building up of the Church of Christ ..." (Eph. 4:12, Norlie's Simplified New Testament).

Therefore, when all people shall be gathered in the Church of Christ, they have done the will of God. On the other hand, if people are scattered in different churches, then they are not able to do the will of God.

Those who reject the singularity of the one true Church of Christ reason out that the phrase "Church of Christ" is not referring to a single organization headed by Christ but to all Christian professing churches. They aver that these churches are collectively called the "Church of Christ." However, in the light of the Scriptures, this claim is not true since what are many are the parts of the body of Christ:

"You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ" (I Cor. 12:12, The Message).

The term "parts" in this version is rendered as "members" in the New King James Version. Therefore, the members are many while the body or the Church is only one.

Since the Church of Christ is the place where services to God will be acceptable, what does God want us to do so that we will receive life and blessing?

" I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life. Love the LORD your God, obey him and be faithful to him, and then you and your descendants will live long in the land that he promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Deut. 30:19-20, TEV)

God wants all men to live and not to die. For this to happen, man should choose life and blessing, by obeying God and being faithful to Him. What does God want man to obey? His will is for man to be gathered in Christ or in the Church of Christ. God waits for you now to make the right decision: to choose life, by becoming a member of the true Church of Christ, that someday you will be with Him in His eternal kingdom enjoying the promised salvation.

God's Message: September 2011/ Volume 63/ Number 9/ ISSN 0116-1636/ pp. 3-5