The Lamb of the New Covenant, Part III 

What He did ‘To’ us … ‘So that’…We Will Produce Much Fruit for ‘His’ glory

As defined in the prior chapters and posts, the main message of the New Testament is God became man, put on human skin ‘so that’ he could become the Lamb of God ‘so that’ He could die the death that we deserve, pay our sin penalty, provide ‘for’ us forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and eternal life, ‘so that’ He could come to live ‘in’ us and reproduce His ‘character’ ‘in’ us, ‘so that’ we would produce much fruit for His glory.

I write the last post of this series on Good Friday, 2017. I know you agree that what Jesus did ‘for’ us is good news, VERY good news.   It was not good that Jesus suffered, endured pain and agony, and died.  But it was the outcome, the ‘it is finished’ – eternal outcome that His death and resurrection produced for us that is ‘good’, VERY, VERY good!

So, what did the Lamb of God, Jesus, in His death and resurrection do ‘to’ us?

John 14:17,23 NIV  Jesus said when I return to the Father in heaven   “I will give you another counselor (the Spirit of truth)…the world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you….if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  (wow…heaven on earth).

After His death and resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven to sit down at the right hand of God the Father and become our high priest ‘forever’.   When he ascended, He sent (gave) the gift of the Spirit of Truth ‘to’ us.  God the Holy Spirit, the 3^rd person of the trinity (the God-Head), comes to live ‘IN’ us ‘when’ we put our faith in Christ as our Savior.  When we believe that Jesus died for us and we claim Him as Lord and Savior, we become indwelled by the Spirit of God who literally comes to take residence ‘inside’ our being..inside our internal spirit.   That is what Jesus does ‘to’ us.  We become ‘born-anew’.  We become a new creation.   It is a literal spiritual regeneration of the inner spiritual man.

Through His shed blood we have not only been forgiven, we have been ‘redeemed’.  Our debt has been ‘paid-in-full’.  Redemption includes a process where we are ‘regenerated’ and become a ‘new’ creation.  Regeneration is a supernatural-spiritual experience wherein the Holy Spirit of God comes to indwell our bodies, comes to live inside our body in our spirit.  The indwelling, or infusion of God’s Spirit, is a God given experience for all people who have been redeemed.  It is the ‘gift’ from God that unitizes all of the redeemed community into one body.  Scripture refers to this body as ‘the Body of Christ’. All Christians share in the Body of Christ through re-birth/regeneration.  Jesus speaks of this process when he is talking to Nicodemus..Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NIV   The Apostle Paul says  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.  All of this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.”

Being a Christian is having ‘Christ’ live in us ‘so that’ we will be filled to the measure of the fullness of God ‘so that’ we can accomplish His perfect will for our life.

Colossians 1:25-27 NIV:  The Apostle Paul says “I have become its servant (saying he is the servant of the body of Christ..the ‘church’) by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.  To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory.”

Ephesians 3:16,17,19 NIV   The Apostle Paul says “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God…”

The ‘indwelling’ of God’s Spirit inside our being is identified to us in scripture as ‘Christ in you’. God’s purpose for regenerating us is ‘so that’ we can me made into the image of Christ and produce much fruit. We demonstrate our love for God by producing much fruit.   The death of Christ was not just ‘so that’ we could go to heaven.  (although that is a GREAT eternal benefit).  It was ‘so that’ we would demonstrate our love for Him by producing much fruit.

Romans 12:1-2 NIV   The Apostle Paul says   “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” 

In Chapter 2, The Default Program, I explained the ‘sin nature’ and its work ‘inside’ our mind. I explained that its sole objective is to blind us from seeing the truth of God and keep us from being all God intended us to be.   The purpose of regeneration is ‘so that’ Jesus can come to live inside us and give us His power to install His operating software into our internal system so that we will ‘know’ the truth and have power to deal with the ‘sin nature’ ‘so that’ we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds ‘through’ the work and power of the indwelling Spirit.   The objective of Christ coming to live in us is ‘so that’ we can become like Him, ‘so that’ we will produce much fruit and please God the Father with our life.  (I am not saying that good works are what provides our salvation.  No.  I am saying that our production of fruit (good works) demonstrates our love for God.  It is the manifestation and proof of His life in us).

Romans 8:9 NIV:  The Apostle Paul says “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.  And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

Philippians 2:13 NIV   The Apostle Paul says   “…for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV   The Apostle Paul says   “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Romans 8:29 NIV   The Apostle Paul says    “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…”

The longest recorded discourse of Jesus speaking/teaching/praying is recorded in the Gospel of John, chapters 14-17. (Do you get this?…  if this is God, the creator of the universe, giver of eternal life, and He is saying something directly to us…do you think it is optional information?  No..it is imperative instructions for how we are to live.)

John, verses from chapters 14-15 NIV..   Jesus said… 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  14:21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.”  14:23 “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.”  14:24 “He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”  15:10 “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love.”

So…what is He commanding in the context of this passage?   John 15:4-5 NIV/NASB   Jesus said   “Abide in me, and I will abide in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” 

On the occasion of this celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the King of the Universe…if you have not accepted Him into your life as your personal Savior…do so right now.   If you are a Christian, but are not producing fruit, I encourage you to use the occasion of this Easter season to begin to ‘abide’ in Jesus and begin to implement the purpose for why you were created.

We cannot imitate Christ by simply wishing to do so.   We must be indwelled by His Spirit and learn to ‘abide’ with His Spirit in order to become like Him.  It is a learned discipline.  It is spiritual work.  The sin nature will do everything in its power to keep you distracted, comfortable, busy, to keep you from being all you can and should be in Christ.

Abide, be transformed by His Spirit, and let Him conform you to His image.

Jesus did it all for us.  He did it ‘for’ us..and He does it to ‘us’.   Learn to mediate on the holy scriptures (the bible). Discipline yourself and learn to pray.  Spend time ‘abiding’ with Jesus through meditation in His word and in conversation with Him.  Remember to thank Him and give Him praise for what He has done for you and to you.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mjnds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:7

(This post concludes this series.  I realize that the posts are lengthy.  I realize that the experts say to ‘keep written information to concise and short ‘if’ you want a lot of people to read what you write.   I wrote this series because it has been a building-up inside me for years…the learning of…and I have been ‘aching’ to spew it all out :).   I trust that someone out there, even if it is just one, that their life will be changed and they will come to realize what they have in Christ and how to maximize their life for His glory.  I do plan to begin writing ‘little daily meditations’….a verse from scripture, an observation, an application…and a short prayer.  Something someone could read in 2 minutes.  So stay tuned.  Bless you and thank you for following this blog, thus far).

 

The Lamb of the New Covenant   Part II

Justification, through ‘faith’ (through believing in the Lamb of the New Covenant)

Romans 5:12-21 NIV   In the first 5 chapters of Romans, the Apostle Paul has been making the case that ‘sinners’ are made right with God not on the basis of any righteous acts, or within their own sense of doing good, or within any sense of their own inherent righteousness, but on the basis of the righteousness of Christ that is received by ‘faith’ alone.  And here is the explanation as to why Paul says God chose it to work this way:   Paul writes, “12, Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, (Adam) and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.  15, But the gift is not like the trespass.  For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, (Adam) how much more did God’s grace and gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!  16, Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin:  The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.  17, For if, by the trespass of the one man, (Adam) death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  18, Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.  19, For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.  20, The law was added so that the trespass might increase.  But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 3:28 NIV  Paul says   “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

Romans 4:5 NIV   Paul says  “To the man who does not work (try to earn through works) but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Romans 10:4 NIV  Paul says   “Christ is the end of the law ‘so that’ there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV   Paul says   “God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, ‘so that’ in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

God chose to save us ‘through’ Jesus Christ because it correlates with how we became sinners through Adam. Justification to new life correlates with the condemnation to death.   We must understand that we did nothing to inherit the death and condemnation that we received through Adam.   It was imputed to us.   Thus Paul says, in the same way, the ‘justification’ we receive through Jesus, does not come from what we do but from what Jesus did ‘for’ us.  Wow.

One of my favorite people on the planet is my pastor of over 40 years, David N.   When teaching this principle of where we become ‘justified through faith’..and being imputed a position of righteousness before God…I can see David illustrating this principle and holding out his hands in front of the audience..and opening his fingers…and then he crosses his hands to the opposite side of where they were prior…and he says   “The Great SWAP…Jesus pays our debt and dies the death we deserve.…and we get forgiveness and declared righteous.”

And ‘that’ is the true meaning of Easter.   He died for you and me.   God placed on Him our sin and sins.  Jesus paid our debt..died the death we deserved.   He got death, we get forgiveness and eternal life.  God imputes to us a position of ‘righteousness’ based on what Jesus did for us.

Easter means… He is Risen!!!   He is our ‘forever’ risen Christ, the Lamb of God.   He sits at the right hand of God in the throne room in heaven and He promises that He will bring us home to live with Him forever.    If you have not put your faith in Jesus for your ‘salvation’…please do so today.   If you are already a ‘believer’…I encourage you to ‘share’ the good news that He is Risen.

(One final post in this series coming later in the week.   We know what he did ‘for’ us.   And now we will see what he did ‘to’ us. )

The Lamb of the New Covenant     Part II

The Lamb…that Was…that Is…and Forever will be

That Was…

John 1:1-5 NIV   The Apostle John wrote   “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

1 Peter 1:18-20 NIV   The Apostle Peter wrote “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”

Revelation 13:8 NIV   The Apostle John wrote “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.”

Ephesians 1: 4 NIV The Apostle Paul wrote  “For He (God) chose us in Him (Christ Jesus) before the creation of the world.” 

That Is… 

Luke 1:32-33 NIV Luke describes the Angel Gabriel’s message to Mary  “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Luke 2:10-11 NIV Luke describes the angels message to the shepherds “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

John 1:29 NIV John the Baptist announces Jesus to the world  “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

Luke 22:7 NIV   Jesus announces Himself as the Lamb of the New Covenant  “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread (the day in the Passover Celebration Feast when the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed).  Jesus sent Peter and John saying ‘Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.’  Then in vs 20 Jesus and His disciples are setting at the table, they just finished eating, and Jesus introduces the New Covenant…vs 20..He takes the cup of wine and says “This cup is the New Covenant in MY blood.”

Matthew 26:28 gives the same account.  A ‘New” covenant “in MY blood.”

The New Testament declares Jesus as the mediator of a New Covenant:  1 Corinthians 11:25, 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 8:6-13, 9:15, 12:24

1 Corinthians 5:7 NIV   The Apostle Paul wrote  “For Christ our Passover Lamb has been crucified.”

1 Peter 2:24 NIV The Apostle Peter wrote “He (Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness:  by His wounds you have been healed”

1 Peter 3:18 NIV  “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”

Isaiah 53:4-7 NIV “He (Jesus) took our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.  But (the truth is) He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.”

In the Old Covenant, the high priest transferred the sins of the people onto the head of the sacrificial goat.  In the New Covenant, God placed the debt-penalty of our Sin/sins on Jesus. Isaiah 53: 10 says, “it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer.”  Some translations of vs 10 say “it pleased God to bruise Him”.   Jesus was the ‘Lamb of God’…from the beginning.  When John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him…John said, “Look…the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”…and again the next day..John says again, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29 and 36).

That ‘Forever’ Will Be

Luke 1:32-33 NIV Luke describes the Angel Gabriel with a message to Mary  “ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Matthew 28:18 NIV After the resurrection from the grave, Jesus was with the eleven disciples and said  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Hebrews, chapter 7 NIV, Paul says:   vs 17  “Jesus is our Priest ‘forever”.   vs 22  “Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.”  (A covenant that is identified by believing and receiving as opposed to trying to earn and deserve. A covenant of grace, not works.)    vs 24  “But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.”

Ephesians 1:20-22 NIV, Paul says: “God raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills and everything in every way.”

1 Peter 3:22 NIV The Apostle Peter wrote concerning Jesus after His ascension to heaven  “Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Revelation 19: 6-7 NIV The Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation.  In chapter 19, John describes the scene in heaven that occurs at the end of this present age and the consummation of all things and God’s people from all ages are attending the ‘wedding supper of the Lamb’.  “For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”

Jesus was with God from the beginning. Jesus is God the Son, the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world, and He was appointed the Lamb of God ‘before’ the earth was created.  Jesus, Himself, is our ‘forever’ Passover Lamb.  Jesus is the ‘forever’ high priest of the New Covenant.  Jesus is the ‘forever’ innocent 3rd party sacrifice.  Jesus is our ‘forever’ sin-bearer.  The shed blood of Jesus is our Atoning agent that washes away, cancels out, our sin debt before God.  The crucifixion of Jesus the Lamb ‘reconciled’ us to God.  The resurrection from the grave is the proof that God accepted the death and sacrifice of Jesus as full payment for our sins.   And it is in and through the ‘forever’ work that Jesus accomplished for us in His death and resurrection that we ‘now’ have total access to the throne of God as one who has been forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled by our ‘forever’ Lamb of God, Jesus.

Jesus now sits at the right hand of God the Father, in heaven, forever, and if we have accepted Him as our Savior…as our Lamb…we will be with Him in eternity forever.   Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus as your Savior…as your Lamb?

The Lamb of the New Covenant   Part I

1 Peter, 1:18-20, NIV: “ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”

Revelation 13:8, NIV:   “The Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world”

(The following is taken from Answers in Genesis, website, article by Ken Ham, April 2007)

You see, the first book of the Bible relates to us the account of the biological, geological, astronomical, and anthropological history of the universe—and this history is confirmed by observational science in genetics, biology, geology, and astronomy. Because this history as revealed in the Bible is true, then the message of the Christian gospel (concerning salvation from our sin of rebellion in the first man Adam) is true—that the Son of God stepped into history to become one of us and to die (but as a sinless man) on a cross (because death was the penalty for our sin), was raised from the dead (conquering death), and now offers a free gift of salvation (to live with God for eternity in a New Heavens and earth—with no death) to those who will receive it. This is the statement of this Creation Museum.

The Creation Museum’s centerpiece is a walk through the 7 C’s of history: Creation; Corruption; Catastrophe; Confusion; Christ; Cross; Consummation.

Visitors will first walk through the first four C’s, where they not only experience the history of the world concerning creation, the Fall of man, the Flood of Noah’s day, and the Tower of Babel (the giving of different languages that formed different people groups), but are also given numerous answers (using observational science) that confirm this history. Then they are then taken into a special theater for a dramatic presentation of the final 3 C’s.

Recently, I watched the wide-screen video presentation of those last 3C’s, which visitors will soon see when the museum opens May 28. Although it’s only 14 minutes long, this high-quality dramatic presentation is the most powerful visual presentation of the gospel I’ve ever seen. Various actors (including one who appears in a role as a paleontologist in earlier parts of the museum) act out their parts so that everyone in the theater will clearly understand the gospel message based in true history.

At one stage, a woman acting the part of Mary talks about the Jewish sacrificial system. As you watch this presentation, you’ll become so absorbed with it that it will be as if you’re there. Mary says (in a passionate way):

Our sacrifice always had to be perfect—God required it. I have memories as a little girl, when my family would pick our best lamb from the flock. The priest took his knife and … . It always broke my heart, but my parents insisted that all of us were there. They wanted to make sure we each understood how terrible sin is, and just how much it costs to cover it … [In the video, you’ll see Mary and her family watching this beautiful animal—and they see the priest’s knife. The priest holds the lamb up above the altar, and you really sense what Mary and her family must have sensed and experienced as the event broke their hearts.]

One day, after I was engaged to Joseph, I was visited by an angel of God. He told me not to be afraid, and that I was to give birth to a child, and that I should call him Jesus.

I asked how this could be, since I was still a virgin. The angel told me the power of the Most High would overshadow me, and my son would be called the Son of God. Of course, one day I learned that my son would be called something else as well—a lamb.

As I watched this new museum video, a number of things came to my mind that I wanted to share with you this Easter:

1. The first time the gospel was preached was in Genesis 3:15. Right after Adam sinned, which separated himself and all his descendants from our Creator, God revealed He already had a plan to provide a way of salvation for sinners: “ … And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
2. God further illustrated His redemption plan when he made clothing for Adam and Eve from animal skins: “… Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” This was the first blood sacrifice as a covering for their sin—a picture of what was to come in Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, who would die and be raised from the dead to TAKE AWAY our sin. (The first illustration of the principle of an ‘innocent 3^rd party’).

As you contemplate this truth, I want you to think about the fact that, as God killed these animals to cover Adam and Eve, He knew that this would happen to the Son of God one day—in fact, knew this before He had created the universe, before there was time, God had predetermined that the Son of God would become a sacrifice for sin so that those who received the gift of salvation could be saved for eternity.

3. Acts 2:23 states: “… Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain … .”

Revelation 13:8 states: “… And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Think about this: before the universe was created, before time existed, before man was created, God knew that we (in Adam) would sin. He knew we would rebel against our Creator. And in the wisdom and love of God, in eternity, He predetermined a plan so that we could receive a free gift of salvation. In eternity, God planned for the Son of God to step into history to provide the ultimate sacrifice—the sinless Son of God would suffer sin’s penalty of death, be raised from the dead, thus providing a way of salvation. Hebrews 10:10 declares: “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

4. As you think about the fact that in eternity, God had predetermined the Son of God would become a man to die for our sins, also contemplate these things:
5. When God created the heavenly bodies on day four of creation “for signs and for seasons and for days and years,” (Genesis 1:14), He knew that one of the signs would be for the time the Son of God would become a man, born of a Virgin in a town called Bethlehem.
6. When God made the trees (and all plants) on the third day of creation (Genesis 1:11), He knew that a tree would one day be used for the most evil event of history: when evil men would crucify the Son of God. And yet, by God’s foreknowledge and predetermined plan, this event would occur for the salvation of souls.
7. When God made the land animals on day six (Genesis 1:24), he knew that He would soon sacrifice at least one of those animals because of our sin in Adam—and He knew He had predetermined that this would one day happen to the Son of God, so we could receive the free gift of salvation
8. When God cursed the ground and caused thorns and thistles to grow because of sin (Genesis 3:18), contemplate the fact that God knew that one day, thorns would be used to pierce the brow of His Son as He hung on that tree paying the penalty for our sin. “And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head …” (Mark 15:17).

Doesn’t this all want to make you want to fall on your knees and worship our Creator, praise Him, and continually thank Him for the … lamb slain from the foundation of the world?

And for those of you who have not received the free gift of salvation, God’s Word tells you: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”