In the Christian life, everything depends upon the word of God and its power in our lives. The word of God is living and powerful in the lives of the genuine followers of Christ. Christians who study their Bibles with the sincere desire to know Christ will soon start reflecting His character, sharing His love with others. As we give ourselves in loving service to those around us and in witnessing to His salvation, His constant presence with us through the Spirit transforms every moment and every task into a spiritual experience. Why is it necessary to open the Scriptures before people? What do we find in there? Well, when we start reading the Bible we are not the same; something happens in our life when we first discover our true condition. This happened with me and I believe it can happen with any sincere soul who wants to be saved.

What is our condition, according to the Scriptures? How does the Bible describe us because of sin? What are the wages of sin? Can anyone be indifferent or neutral? The great apostle Paul writes in his epistle to the Romans the following words: “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They have all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10–12. And further on the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” The word of God tells us in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death.” By God’s help, in this study I would like to find together answers and meanings to these questions which will motivate us to take a stand in favour of the truth and the truth alone, because only when we understand all the truth will we be mature in faith and strongly anchored in Jesus, our Saviour and Lord.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “I die daily.” Is this yours and my experience also? Every Christian needs to die daily. Did you die to self this very day as you read these words? Are you converted anew in this new day of grace? Listen to what the pen of inspiration wrote regarding this issue. “Genuine conversion is needed, not once in years, but daily. This conversion brings man into a new relation with God. Old things, his natural passions and hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong, pass away, and he is renewed and sanctified. But this work must be continual; for as long as Satan exists, he will make an effort to carry on his work. He who strives to serve God will encounter a strong undercurrent of wrong. His heart needs to be barricaded by constant watchfulness and prayer, or else the embankment will give way; and like a millstream, the undercurrent of wrong will sweep away the safeguard. No renewed heart can be kept in a condition of sweetness without the daily application of the salt of the Word. Divine grace must be received daily, or no man will stay converted.” –Our High Calling, p. 215

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, time is very important and, most of all, this very time in which we are living. There is a judgment right now taking place up in heaven in the Most Holy place where our Saviour, Jesus Christ still pleads in our behalf with His blood that was shed on the cross. Since I became a Christian and received Jesus as my personal Redeemer and Lord, I have had a passion for Him and His word, the Bible. This passion is the plan of salvation, namely, “Why did Jesus die for me?”

Many people in the world today do not recognize or receive Jesus as their Lord just because they do not study the Bible for themselves, which is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe in it. There are many excuses; some might say that I am too young, or too old, to study the Bible. Others might say, well, it was easy for Jesus to come and live a perfect life because He was God. Can anyone ever say that? Do you want to know how much yours and my salvation cost? Come with me to the Bible—for instance, let us read Isaiah 53:3–8, “He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken.”

Did you notice the words used here by the prophet Isaiah, such as “despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, stricken, smitten and afflicted by God, wounded, bruised for our iniquities, cut off from the land of the living” and so forth, my friends? For whom did Jesus suffer all these terrible things? I believe, for us, for our sake He took upon Himself all these sufferings, my friends.

Pain and suffering afflict every human life. Physical, mental, and emotional traumas are universal. However, human suffering has no expiatory or meritorious value. The Bible teaches that no amount or intensity of human suffering can atone for sin. The suffering of Jesus Christ alone is sufficient. Jesus did all these for you and me, my friend, because He loves us so much and He wants us to be with Him in paradise throughout all eternity. He gave His life willingly to atone for your sin and mine. Even then, when on the cross He felt separated from His Father forever because of the enormity of sin laid upon Him, when He said (Matthew 27:46) “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”, He did it for you and me because of His passion and amazing love for sinners.

How are we saved? Shall I do something in order to be saved? In this study I want you to remember a particular case in the Bible of someone who had the opportunity to be saved but he lost it. Could it be possible to lose salvation although we may believe that Jesus died on the cross for us? Could it be possible to say what Felix, a Roman procurator said when the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit reasoned with him about righteousness, self-control and judgment said; “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you?” Did Felix have the opportunity to be saved?

I remember while I was working in Romania as a Gospel Worker how one of my Bible students, after receiving all 30 Bible studies which were written by Brother Gerhard Hunger, after a long period of study together, while I was making an appeal for commitment to him to surrender completely and give his heart to Jesus through baptism he said: “now I know everything about the Sabbath and Sunday law, but Nicholas do you know what I am going to do when that time will come?” I said, “what?” He said, “I will keep Sabbath, I will give up smoking, drinking and all of these things. . . . I will be like you, keeping and doing God’s will.” Of course I knew who was behind those words that made him so sure of his salvation—although the plan of salvation and its requirements were presented to him. Like Felix, in other words, he told me: “Nicholas, go away for now, when I will find a convenient time I will call you back.” In fact, whom are they rejecting? Jesus and His salvation.

Modern-day Felixes treat the Gospel with the same indifference, my friends, and, on this occasion I want to make a fervent appeal to you: do not do that. The fact is that Felix never called Paul back to talk about salvation. It is one thing is to say “no” to a friend, though he has good intentions, and another thing is to say “no” to God and His Son, who was sacrificed on the cross for our sins. So, we have learned three important things in this study, namely: When is the time to accept the Lord Jesus as our personal Saviour and Redeemer? After I received Him—what is next? Can we say once saved, saved forever? If there is no such a gospel, where did people get it from and what is the danger in it?

Brothers and sisters, beloved friends, many tragedies could have been averted if someone had acted in time. Many lives could be spared if some would recognize that time doesn’t extend beyond its allotment in God’s order. The Apostle Paul clearly understood the value of time and its importance to the soul of lost sinners. He says, “Behold, now is the accepted time.” Not tomorrow, not next week, not even within the next hour. “Now” means immediately.

Permit me then to consider with you the urgency of God’s time. You are in danger of going to perdition, of missing God’s favour and His loving invitation to come to Him. Listen to His Word, “To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7. When God says “now,” He means now!  The Psalmist David said, “Remember how short my time is.” Psalm 89:47. Throughout the Bible we find time in relationship with people’s salvation. For example, if we think of Noah’s time, there was a time allotted to them in which they had to decide either for or against God. Sodom and Gomorrah had a time of probation. The city of Nineveh and its inhabitants, the Jewish nation had a time of probation. What about us? Christians today? Is there any place in the Scriptures where God calls us to take a stand and make up our minds for Christ?

The Three Angel’s messages in Revelation 14:6–11 is our solemn message for this end-time that we are living in. It is crucial that you accept God’s offer of salvation now. Eternal life is graciously offered to you now. You must accept God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as your Saviour now–you do not know what will happen tomorrow.

I remember there was a lady back in Romania while I worked for the Romanian Field, in a place called Moreni Dambovita. I contacted her in my canvassing work; she was very sick, though just 40 years old. Her husband didn’t look after her because of her sickness. She weighed almost 200 kg and her cholesterol level was almost 400 mg/dL (normal is below 200 mg/dL). As I stood in front of the door, ringing the bell, a voice was heard inviting me to come in. As I entered in, this woman was sitting on her couch, looking at me and imploring me for help. I sat down and we started talking about Jesus and His love for us. I shared with her some health counsels regarding the importance of diet. The next day I brought her a Bible with big letters and with the words of Jesus in red. She loved that Bible so much, and whenever I was invited to come to her place she called me “brother in Christ.” It was only one week or about ten days later that I had the opportunity to go to her place and open God’s word with her and pray for her. After that, the next time I went to her place, while I was ringing the bell her neighbour told me that she had died. In that very moment I understood once again how important the work is that God has entrusted me with, in terms of people’s salvation. There is no time for delay. Today is the day of salvation.

God needs only one second in order to justify the repentant sinner; this is what we call justification. But He needs the rest of one’s life in order to sanctify the sinner and prepare him or her for Eternity. Sanctification, my friends, is the second step that God performs in the life of a repentant sinner, and it starts the very moment you receive Jesus as your personal Saviour, making your covenant with Him through baptism by immersion. True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the will of God. We are to be sanctified to God through obedience to the truth. Our conscience must be purged from dead works to serve the living God. The pen of inspiration puts it in this way:

“True sanctification is an entire conformity to the will of God. Rebellious thoughts and feelings are overcome, and the voice of Jesus awakens a new life, which pervades the entire being. Those who are truly sanctified will not set up their own opinion as a standard of right and wrong. . . . True sanctification is a daily work, continuing as long as life shall last.” –Reflecting Christ, p. 80

Another important quotation from the Spirit of Prophecy: “Sanctification is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble, intermittent efforts. It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stern conflict, that we shall overcome. We know not one day how strong will be our conflict the next. So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 560

Many times we have heard and continue hearing these words, “Once saved, saved forever,” no matter what your life is; no matter what you are doing—the way you live, the way you eat, or the way you think—what does matter is only these simple words—“just believe” in God. But, my friends, is this sufficient for our salvation? The Bible says that even demons believe and tremble—but are they saved? I don’t think so; this is a false gospel, and those who teach people according to this false doctrine put themselves in a dangerous place.

My friend, there is only one truth that leads us to salvation; there is only one Gospel and this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the good news in the Bible. We are saved by grace and grace alone, no one of us can add something to this Gospel in order to be saved. Paul makes that crystal clear in Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace are ye saved through faith.” So, our faith in Christ makes us able to follow Jesus and then do the good works which are the result of the Holy Spirit working in us.

Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” This is a promise made by Jesus Himself; He wants us to live for Him and represent His character in this last generation of the 21st century. God calls His people to surrender themselves thoroughly to Him—giving a good example in terms of what Christianity is all about. Just as genuine love is a principle, a genuine follower of Christ is a testimony of what a man or woman might become in Christ, a new creature, born again in God’s kingdom.

Is there any danger in having this false concept regarding salvation, namely, “once saved, saved forever?” Yes, there is a danger you must be aware of, because following this false gospel gives a license to sin to those who are not willing to live according to the Bible standard. The kingdom of God is at hand; our message must be given clearly that anyone who desires salvation may know well what God’s will is. I encourage you to take your salvation seriously and the salvation of others around you. Let us make new promises to the Lord, coming before Him with new desires according to His will, because the only safety is in His presence, studying His living and powerful Word. Remember, you and I are not alone in this battle. We have the One who overcame Satan and his angels many times in heaven and on this earth. Satan lost the battle forever; he is a defeated foe, and anyone of us, by the blood of the Lamb, can overcome Satan and his temptations.

Let us hold fast our faith in Christ because He will come soon, my brothers and sisters. Every morning we have a new opportunity to express our gratitude and faithfulness to God. We were helpless sinners and He looked for us; we were disobedient and He forgave us; we offended Him and He offered us His love. He offers to declare us righteous even though we are guilty. He does all this through His grace. How many reasons there are for us to love Him and give Him our hearts, my friends! The question is: Are we ready to give up everything for Christ? May God bless us richly!

In Christ,

Nicholas Anca