Tag Archives: salvation

The Path to Salvation — Part 1

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The Bible teaches that God has a plan of salvation for mankind. What does that mean, and why is a plan of salvation necessary? What is it that human beings need to be saved from? If there is a “plan of salvation,” what is it? Are there specific steps to be followed on the path to salvation?

In this article, I want to begin the process of answering these questions, and others, relating to the path leading to salvation for human beings. This article, part one of a series, will address the first two of the following questions relating to salvation:

(1) What is “salvation”?; (2) Are “good” people saved even if they don’t know about Christ, or are unbelievers?; (3) Are infants and babies saved, even though they know nothing of Christ and lack the capacity to choose good or evil?; (4) Does the Bible teach “Universal Salvation”?; (5) Who qualifies you for salvation?; (6) Can one, after making a profession of faith in Christ, and receiving the Holy Spirit, be disqualified from salvation?; (7) Are those who do not attain salvation in this age eternally condemned?; (8) What is the path to salvation?

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Mankind’s Last Best Hope

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In his “Second Annual Message” to Congress of December 1, 1862 President Abraham Lincoln proposed a plan for amendments to the Constitution to end slavery in the United States, with concessions he hoped would bring an end to the Civil War and reconcile the rebel states to the Union. In September of 1862 Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, as an executive order which changed the legal status of enslaved persons in states in rebellion against the United States as of January 1, 1863, giving any enslaved persons in those states the status of free men or women under United States law. The Emancipation Proclamation applied only to slaves living in the rebel states, or serving in any segment of the executive branch of the U.S. government. However, it encouraged or required six states to abolish slavery during the war, including three Confederate states which had largely come under control of the Union army, and three Union border states. It also freed slaves living in other rebel areas which had been occupied by the Union. The plan for the Constitutional amendments proposed in 1862 was never acted on.

The plan was different from the thirteenth Constitutional amendment Lincoln championed in 1864-65 to permanently and immediately end slavery in the United States. By late 1864 the defeat of the Confederacy by Union forces was eminent, negating any rationale for concessions in the ending of slavery for political reasons. The thirteenth amendment was passed by Congress in January 1865, about two and a half months before General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, which effectively ended the Civil War. The thirteenth amendment had been ratified by a sufficient number of states to become law by December 6, 1865.

In his “Second Annual Message,” early in the Civil War, when things weren’t going so well for the Union army (cf. Battle Cry of Freedom, James M. McPherson, pp. 560-561), Lincoln described the United States as “the last, best hope of earth.” William Lee Miller, a professor of ethics, who has taught at several universities, in his book “Lincoln’s Virtues,” states the following concerning the phrase “the last, best hope of earth”:

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Feast of Trumpets: Beginning a New Age

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The festivals God commanded in the Bible and his Sabbaths have prophetic implications which form an outline of God’s plan for mankind, as we’ve discussed in previous articles.

“Then do not let anyone judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or the new moon, or of sabbaths, which are a shadow of coming things, but the body is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17, Green’s Literal Translation).

The word “is” is in italics, because the Greek has no word for “is” in verse 17. It should read, “which are a shadow of coming things [or things to come – KJV], but the body of Christ” (his Church, of which he is the head; Colossians 1:18, 24).

“Shadow,” is translated from the Greek, skia, shadow, sketch, outline. Notice the Sabbaths “Are,” [not were], estin, present indicative. This implies continuing action. The Sabbaths, and the feasts of God, are now and continue to be a shadow of things to come. In other words, they have prophetic significance.

In previous articles we discussed the weekly Sabbath along with the festivals which occur in the early part of the year, namely the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Pentecost.

Now we will proceed to the fall festival season, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets.

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Feast of Unleavened Bread: Putting Sin Out

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About a third of the people in the world claim to be Christian. Yet festivals of the Bible, such as Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread have little or no meaning to most of them. In this article we continue our discussion of how the Bible’s festivals and holy days picture the plan of God with a discussion of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

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Passover: The Meaning Behind Jesus’ Death

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The Passover is about human destiny. It’s about why you exist. It’s about your future, and the future of mankind.

The Passover is also about God’s love. It is about God’s love toward us and about our love toward God, and about the love we may have toward one another through God’s Holy Spirit.

The Passover is the first of seven annual festivals God commands to be kept by his people. Like all of the commanded festivals, there are lessons pertaining to God and our relationship with God to be learned and reminded of in keeping the Passover. To learn the lessons intended by the Passover, it’s important that it be observed at the right time. And it’s even more important that it be observed in the right manner and spirit and with the proper understanding.

In this article I will discuss the Passover, what it means, and how it relates to God’s plan of salvation.

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