Salvation > God's Plan For Your Life (You Are Here)

 God’s Plan for YOUR life

I. What this New Conception of God Will Mean to You

The idea that the Godhead consists of three separate and distinct persons, each with a personal spirit body, a personal soul, and a personal spirit will mean much to you as you learn to know and love God and follow the divine plan for your life. At least, this conception of God will make the whole Godhead comprehensible to you. It will no longer be a mystery beyond all possible understanding as you have perhaps been taught.

Because God the Father is a person He expects you to respect Him as you would any other great personage and as you should the Sovereign Moral Governor of all free moral agents. God has a personal plan for your life that will fit perfectly into His larger plan for man. In other words, He has invited and has made it possible for you, each of you, to have a personal part in the fulfillment of His plan for man. You should enter wholeheartedly into cooperation with God’s plan for your life. God’s plan is a mutual one for the best and highest good of all creation. He wants to take you into partnership for eternity. As Paul expressed it, "workers together with him" (2 Cor. 6:1). This should be the thrill of your life. You should count it the greatest honor ever bestowed upon you to have a part with Him to bring about the highest good of the universe. You should hunger daily to know Him better as a person and to know His plan, so that you may become an integral part of God and His program.

The plan of God for man includes both the means and the ends, prayer and its answer, and the labor and its fruit. There is a single plan which embraces all things for the good of all creation. It is a part of the perfection of God that He would have a plan for man and the best plan possible. This plan is already predestinated according to the eternal purpose of Him that works all things after the pleasure of His own will (Isa. 46:10-11; Dan. 4:35; Eph. 1:3-11; 2:10; 3:10-11).

This personal concept of God will enable you to work with God as a person, pray to Him as you would talk to any person in whom you put trust and confidence, and obey Him in all things, realizing that everything is done in the presence of God. As you continue these lessons the plan of God will be unfolded to you, and you will get to know God in a real, personal way. As you conform to the plan, you will get to know the power of God and learn how to use it to get the many blessings of this life for yourself and for others. God’s plan will become a personal part of your life as you seek to know and follow it. God will become the best friend to you and a personal Father and Partner in your everyday affairs. You will come to know the glory and the blessing of a secret relation with God such as few men know.

II. All Men Are Sinners

The first thing to do in getting acquainted with God is to know yourself and your relation to God as well as to know what you can receive from Him. The Bible declares that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). If you have not yet realized your condition of sinfulness, or if you have been deceived by false religions into believing that you are not a sinner, the thing to do is to throw overboard this false religion. You know that you have sinned and have been condemned in your own conscience for many acts you have committed in life. The Bible makes it clear that "sin is transgression of the law" (1 Jn. 3:4) and that "all unrighteousness is sin" (1 Jn. 5:17).

Anything that the Bible forbids is sinful. Lists of sins that damn the soul are plainly recorded, so there can be no excuse for not knowing what the will of God is concerning sin. In Mk. 7:21-23 we read, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man."

In Rom. 1:29-32 we read of other sins that condemn men before God: "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventers of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

Again we read, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

Paul, in Gal. 5:19-21, gives another catalog of sins that will damn the soul: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness revellings and such like ... they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."

All these Scriptures prove beyond doubt that God condemns all men as sinners, for all men outside of Christ commit in varying degrees some of these sins. If any man has committed one of these sins at any time in his life, he has incurred the death penalty, and he must accept Jesus Christ as a personal Savior or be eternally condemned and lost, according to Scripture, which says "The soul that sinneth, it shall die," and "they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Ezek. 18:4; Gal. 5:21; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).

III. The Key That Unlocks All Promises

Jesus taught that a man "Must be born again" and "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God .... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God .... Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven .... Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Jn. 3:1-8; Mt. 18:3; Lk. 13:1-5).

The new birth is a necessity to being saved and to having the right relationship to God so that one can claim the benefits of the Bible. The new birth is not confirmation, church membership, water baptism, taking the sacrament, observing religious duties, an intellectual reception of Christianity, orthodoxy of faith, going to church, saying prayers, reading the Bible, memorizing creeds, being moral, being cultured or refined, doing good deeds or doing your best, being as good as the next fellow, or any of the other things that men are trusting in to save them.

Neither is the new birth brought about by these things. Nicodemus, whom Jesus addressed concerning the new birth, had most of these qualifications, but Jesus said to him "Ye must be born again." The thief on the cross and many others whom Jesus forgave while on earth were saved without these things. They simply did the one necessary thing—became "converted" and "born again" by accepting Jesus Christ as a personal Savior and by repenting and turning to God with the whole heart as a little child, as proved in Mt. 9:1-7; Lk. 7:48-50; 18:9-14; 23:43; Jn. 8:1-10; Acts 3:19; 8:36-37; 16:31.

Every man who is born again will automatically have the above external evidences of a good life by virtue of the new birth, but there are millions, it is sad to say, that are trusting these things to save them, and they really believe that these things are the evidences of a right relationship with God. Millions will die and be lost without the new birth because they have been misled concerning the experience of being born again. There is no excuse for men being deceived if they will read their own Bibles instead of listening to some religious teachers.

It is all-important that we pay personal attention to our eternal welfare and not trust the best of men. If we permit men to mislead us in eternal matters and are lost, it will be too late then personally to see after our welfare; so let us do it now. Don’t take the attitude that you cannot be deceived and that your church is the only right one and cannot mislead you. This may be true, but it would be wise for you to make sure of it by going to the Bible yourself and seeing with your own eyes and knowing from your own heart that you are right with God and that you have had the real new birth and that you are living right with God every day.

There is no use fooling yourself. That will not get you anywhere. You are either born again or you are not. You are either really saved, or you are being deceived into thinking that you are, and you are lost. If you are not getting answers to your prayers, it is either that you are not saved, or you are doubting God. If your obstacle is doubt, then you should quit it. If it is not doubt, then it will pay you to examine yourself and see if you are really right with God. He is obligated to answer you if you are His child. If you have once been saved, it may be that you have become cold in your experience and need reconsecration to God. You know your own life and true relationship to God; so get the fact settled that you are a genuinely saved person and in present contact with God, and then you will be in the right position to get what God has promised.

Culture, refinement, and outward correctness of life in the church or out of it will not take the place of the new birth. The trouble is in the heart (Mk. 7:18-23), and merely to reform the outward life will not save you.

An artist could put a coating of wax and the most beautiful colors on the outside of a rotten apple, but it would still be rotten at heart. One bite into it would be a bite into decay. The fact is that out of Christ every man is rotten in the heart, and mere culture, refinement, outward respectability, morality, and outward correctness of life are simply artificial and the practice of hypocrites who, like whited sepulchres, make clean the outside; but within are full of extortion and excess—"dead men’s bones, and all uncleanness" (Mt. 23:25-28).

IV. The Evidences of the New Birth

1.  You will be changed down in the depths of your being and be made a new creature: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17-18). If you have never been changed like this, then it is certain that you have never been born again.

            2.  You will have the witness of the Spirit in your life that you are a child of God: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:14-16).

            3.  You will have freedom from condemnation and from the law of sin and death and you will live and walk in the Spirit: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death ... That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit ... And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness’ (Rom. 8:1-13; Gal. 5:16-26).

            4.  You will be cleansed from all sin and delivered from the power and dominion of sin as well as from the love of sin. "He shall save his people from their sins" (Mt. 1:21); "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin .... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:7-9).

            5.  You will be free from sin. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free .... If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (Jn. 8:31-36); "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? .... our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin ... reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin .... sin shall not have dominion over you .... Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? .... ye were the servants of sin .... being made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness .... even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness .... but now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (Rom. 6:1-23); "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:1-4); "everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him ... he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil .... whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin .... whosoever is born of God overcometh the world .... whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (1 Jn. 2:29; 3:7-10; 5:1-4, 18).

Many other Scriptures say that when one is born again and in Christ he receives power to become a son of God (Jn. 1:12); he has crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (Gal. 5:24); his sins are blotted out (Acts 3:19); he is washed, sanctified, and justified (1 Cor. 6:9-11, Rev. 1:5)—he has turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to the power of God (Acts 26:18); he has salvation (Rom. 1:16; 2 Thess. 2:13); he is created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:22-24); He is God’s elect (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:2-4; Col. 3:12); and he departs from all iniquity (2 Tim. 2:4, 19-22).

I am fully aware that literally thousands of religious teachers are constantly saying that no man can live free from sin and that we sin every day and that there is no man that does not sin. One can see that this teaching is entirely out of harmony with the Bible by reading the above Scriptures. If these men sin every day, then they are sinners every day and there is no time that they are not sinners. If they are sinners all the time, then there is no time they are not under the death penalty of the broken law, and they will be sent to Hell as sinners to pay the death penalty. Christ means nothing to them if they are sinners and if they cannot be saved from sin.

It is time that you wake up and stop listening to such men and begin to read the Bible and obey it. Naturally, no man that does not believe in salvation from sin can ever get saved from sin. If Christ came to save us from our sins and He cannot do it then He has failed in His mission. If the New Testament teaches freedom from sin, then it is either the truth or a lie. If it is a lie, then we might as well throw the whole Bible away and have nothing to do with religion. Christianity, in that case, is a mere sham and a false religion, teaching something that is not true. If salvation through Christ is true, however, then these modern teachers of religion are false and no man can safely believe them, or even listen to them deny the truths of the Bible.

Do not let men deceive you into thinking that there is no such thing as a clean, holy, and victorious life in Christ secure from sin, the flesh, the world, and the devil. If you are not saved from these things you are not saved from Hell, according to the Scriptures under Point II above. There may not be such a life as far as these teachers are concerned and as far as they know. Either they do not know the Bible and they do not have biblical experiences, or they are plain rebels against truth and refuse to get such blessings. In either case, you should not listen to them concerning such an important thing as your eternal welfare. Why not listen to the Scripture instead? It will not deceive you. It will always tell you the truth, as you can see from the facts stated above.

If you want biblical experiences, if you want faith in God, answers to prayer, prosperity, healing and health, and happiness in God, you will have to conform to God and His word as you receive it. It is not a question of deciding between what we say or what others say; it is the question of what you can plainly read in your own Bible. That and that alone you will have to give an account for; so do not permit any man to lead you astray. Let men brand you as old fashioned or what they want to, but if you will follow the Bible, it will pay you great dividends and benefits untold in this life and in the life to come. You are the one who desires such benefits, and you are the one that must see to it that you cooperate with God and His Word to get such blessings. Man is not going to give you such blessings, but man can hinder you from getting them from God if you permit him to cause you to fail God and His Word.

 V. What the New Birth Is and How It Is Received

The new birth is a new creation from above, the direct operation of the Word of God and the Spirit of God upon your life, changing you completely when you truly repent and turn to God. This is brought about in the following manner: first, recognize that you are a sinner and lost, without God and without hope; second, admit that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from sin by His own precious blood; third, come to God repenting of your sins and turning away from all sin, pleading the merits of the blood of Christ in the name of Jesus Christ, and you shall be born again; that is, the Holy Spirit will then definitely make you a new creature, cleansing you from all sin by the authority of the Word of God and by the blood of Christ that was shed to atone for your sins; and fourth, you must believe from the heart when you confess with the mouth that God does forgive you of your sins and that He does cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Scriptures for your authority to confess and believe are the following: "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (Jn. 1:12-13); "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (Jn. 6:37); "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (Jn. 3:14-21, 36; 5:24); "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 ... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom. 1:16 through Rom. 10:9-13); "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 2:38-39; 3:19; 16:31); "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" (Eph. 2:1-10); "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:9).

The new birth is not a coming into existence of the body, soul, and spirit; it is simply the cleansing of his body, soul, and spirit from all sin by grace through faith in the precious blood of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:25), by the Word of God (Jn. 3:5; 15:3; Eph. 5:26, Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23), and by the direct power of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; 12:13; Tit. 3:5). It is the new creature experience of a person being renewed in righteousness and true holiness (2 Cor. 5:17-18; Gal. 5:24; Eph. 4:24). It is the blotting out of all sins that have separated a man from God (Isa. 59:2; Acts 3:19; 1 Jn. 1:7, 9; 2:29; 3:6-10; 5:1-4, 18). It is genuine conversion from death to life and from the power of Satan to the power of God (Mt. 18:3; Acts 3:19; 26:18; Jas. 5:19-20). It is the adoption of a person of the family of Adam and the family of Satan into the family of God (Rom. 8:14-16; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 1:5; 3:14-15; 1 Jn. 3:8-10). To compare the new birth with physical conception, begetting, birth, and human existence leads to too many false ideas, for the two births and two lives are not parallel at all.

1.   One does not exist as a human being before his natural birth; he truly must be in existence before he can be born again.

2.   One does not choose his natural birth, his parents, or environment; but he must choose the new birth and all the consecrations of Christian living (Jn. 3:16; Rev. 22:17).

3.   One does not repent in order to become a human being by natural birth; but he must repent and obey the gospel daily to be a child of God (Mk. 1:15; 16:16; Lk 13:1-5; Acts 2:38).

4.   The first experience is the actual coming into existence of a new body, soul, and spirit—a new person; whereas, the other is merely the reconciliation of such a person to God (2 Cor. 5:17-21).

5.   The former is a literal, actual conception and birth to become a human being; the latter is simply an adoption of a human being into the family of God (Rom. 8:14-16; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 1:5; 3:14-15; 1 Jn. 3:8-10).

6.   The one is coming into existence as an unclean sinner; the other is the cleansing of the sinner from all sin and uncleanness (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Jn. 1:7-9; Rev. 1:5; 5:10; 7:14).

7.   A person has no responsibility regarding his natural birth; in the new birth he has personal responsibility in the initial phase as well as in the continued life of daily righteousness and true holiness, which are required (Jn. 6:37; Lk. 9:23; Rom. 6:14-23; 8:12-13 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 10:4-10; 2 Pet. 1:4-10).

VI. What the Water of the New Birth Means

The Word of God is the "water" referred to in Jn. 3:5, as proved in Eph. 5:26; Jn. 6:63; 15:3; 17:17; 1 Pet. 1:23; Jas. 1:18. When one believes the Word of God that he is a sinner, that Christ died to save him from all sin, that if he confesses his sins to God and turns from sin with a whole heart and believes the gospel, he is conforming to the Word, then the Holy Spirit will transform his life by the power of the Word of God and the blood of Christ. The moment one does this he is saved and born again. He must believe it and walk accordingly. He must begin reading the Bible and praying to God. He must begin to walk and live in the Spirit and conform to the Word of God as he receives the light (1 Jn. 1:7; Jn. 8:31-32).

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