Salvation is an inside job:

Salvation is an inside job:

Baptism of Jesus

The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11).
What Salvation Is
While the real truth must come from the Bible. The saving of man from the spiritual consequences of sin; especially deliverance from sin and eternal damnation ....
But why would you need to be saved from the spiritual consequences of sin? And why, if you are an immortal soul, do you need preservation from destruction? What has this to do with you?
Romans 3:23 God Almighty, who designed, created, and sustains human life—including yours, says this: "ALL have sinned, and come short of the
According to the Bible, what the "saved" receive as God's gift through Jesus Christ is eternal life. Salvation, then, actually is the receiving of something you don't now have—eternal life. And if that Bible statement is true, then our accusers are false!
His salvation—is also His own love which imparts to you His righteousness! It is no longer just you, in your own power and strength "keeping the commandments"—it is, spiritually speaking, the living Christ IN YOU, keeping His Father's Commandments—even as He kept them by this same divine love even while He was human here on earth! This is God's gift. It is the presence, conditionally, of Eternal Life.
Get it straight! You are now converted—a changed person—for God's Spirit (Ephesians 4:23) produces a renewing of your mind. Your whole concept and direction of life is changed! God's Spirit is His very life imparted to you! You are now a begotten son of God.
1. Salvation like letting someone in the door. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."
Jesus said that salvation is like that. He is out of your life. He is not your Saviour. You have lived without Him. You have never trusted Him. Now you simply say, "Dear Jesus, come in." God says that is salvation.
2. Getting saved is like taking a drink of water. In John 4:14 Jesus said, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." Revelation 22:17, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Now it is very simple to take a drink of water. Some people get so thirsty that when they take a drink of water they go "Whoooo." Some people say, "Ahhh-hh-h." Some just swallow it, and that is it. Now who gets the most water? How it makes you feet doesn't have a thing to do with it! Jesus said getting saved is like taking a drink of water. Are you thirsty?
3. Getting saved is receiving a gift. Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Ephesians 2:8, 9, "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." I give a person a gift. He takes it. Is it his? Absolutely! What if he doesn't feel good? The gift Is still his. What if he doesn't shout? It is still his. What if he doesn't cry? It is still his. It is very simple to accept a gift. All you do is reach out and take it and believe it is yours.
Now salvation is that way, the Bible says. Jesus is God's "unspeakable gift." Eternal life is God's gift to man. Anybody who will say, "I am willing to receive the gift," can very simply receive the gift from God.
4. Getting saved is going through a door. In John 10:9 Jesus said, "I am the door," and in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Is it very complicated to go through a door? No. When I leave the service I most always go through this door. I will walk over there, turn the doorknob, walk through the door, and go down the stairs. Is that very complicated? I probably won't shout. I doubt if I'll cry or holler. I doubt if I'll laugh, but I will go through the door.
Jesus said that on one side is eternal life; on the other side is eternal death. The difference is a door. Everybody in this house this morning who realizes he is unsaved, realizes that Christ will give him eternal life, and will say, "Dear Lord, I do accept You and come through the door of Jesus to salvation"--that minute God makes you His child!
5. Salvation is compared with coming home. This is very interesting. Here is a boy in Luke 15 who decides to leave his father and go to a far country. He takes all of his goods, goes to a far country, gets in trouble, looks for a job, can't find a job, finds a job feeding the hogs out in the hogpen, and finally he starts feeding himself the husks off the corn that the swine would not eat-the cornhusks, if you please. He eats the cornhusks. Finally he says, "The servants back home have more than this. Why, the servants back home have some good bread and potatoes and meat and beans, and here I am eating the cornhusks. I will arise and go to my father." He comes back to the father, and the father receives him.
Salvation is just going home. How many of you ever go home to see your father?
6. Jesus compares salvation with accepting an invitation. Jesus told the parable of a man who "made a great supper and bade many." Jesus says, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Now let me ask you, will he be any more invited either way he answers? Not a bit! The way he would do it matters not; he simply accepts the invitation.
7. He compares salvation with taking a bath. In Titus 3:5 He says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration." In John 13 Jesus said, "You have already bathed once; now wash your feet." Salvation is compared to taking a bath. Remember. Jesus is the One Who bathes you, makes you clean.

9. Salvation is compared to putting money in the bank. 2nd Timothy 1:12b, "I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed (or deposited) unto Him against that day." You take some money and put it in the bank. Now, two fellows go to the bank and each one puts in $100.00. One says, "0 boy! 0 BOY! I saved $100.00.