Salvation

Lesson 02

Welcome back, we are talking about the importance of the soul, and knowing for sure we
are going to heaven when we die. Bible salvation involves knowledge of being a true, born
again Christian. We talked about the soul being the real you. The soul is more important
than the body. Your soul loves, it feels sadness, and it is your soul that leaves your body at
death. To be forever in one of two places: heaven or hell. We spoke about a rich man who
died, and the Bible tells us his soul went to hell. In hell, he still sees, he still feels, he still
thinks, and he still remembers his brothers back on Earth, who were not saved and coming
to this awful place. The soul needs to be converted to go to heaven.

There are some people who think you become an angel, or you come back as a ghost, or
you stay dead, or you go into a state of slumbering, and become dormant by not feeling or
thinking until the end of the world. Then God gathers your soul from the body or your soul
from the earth. But the truth is your soul goes to heaven immediately if you have been born
again or converted. We find verses that teach this clearly. The apostle Paul, who was
obviously a born again Christian, went to heaven when He died. In 2 Corinthians 5:6, he
said, “…whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:” Now, where is
the Lord? Well, the Lord is in heaven. Paul is basically saying, while we are at home in the
body (the soul), were absent from the Lord. In verse 8, he said, “…and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” Paul is referring to the soul. He
clearly tells us to be absent from the body, for a Christian, is to be present with the Lord.

In Luke 16, Jesus also spoke of a man by the name of Lazarus, who was a beggar. Jesus said,
“And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s
bosom.” This also speaks of the soul. The angels carried his soul into paradise or what we
know as heaven. In Luke 9:30‐31, Moses and Elijah appeared on the earth, and they talked
about Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary. Elijah had lived 700 years earlier. Moses had
lived 1500 years earlier. In fact, Moses was buried about 75 miles south of there. His body
was still on the earth. But here was his soul. It had been in paradise for 1500 years, and it
appears on earth talking with Jesus Christ. We find another illustration of this in 1 Samuel
28, where the soul of the prophet Samuel is speaking from paradise. There are many
illustrations that tell us when a believer dies, their soul goes to be with the Lord
immediately.

In Revelation 6, there are some people who are put to death during the Tribulation period.
That seven‐year period is yet to come on the earth. There’s going to be this Antichrist, and
he’s going to have many Christians put to death, and we find them immediately in heaven.
John the apostle said, “I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word
of God.” Notice these people were killed on earth but their souls were immediately in
heaven. John, the apostle, sees them in heaven. The souls of these people crying out to God,
saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on
them that dwell on the earth?” They remembered their own death! Because, as I said
earlier, the soul is the real you. I think the story of the thief on the cross is one of the most
overlooked and yet obvious examples. When we die as a Christian, our soul goes to be with
the Lord. Maybe you’re familiar with this story? Of how Jesus Christ was crucified between
two thieves. As he was crucified, both thieves railed on him, which means they mocked
him. Saying, “if you really are the Son of God, why don’t you get us down from the cross
and then we will really believe in you.” But one thief had a change of heart. He said, “Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Verily I say unto thee,
To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” The word “Verily” means for sure or without
question. Both the thief and Jesus died that day and were together in paradise that same
day. The other thief died without Christ and went into torment or hell. So, what happened
to their bodies? Well, they took their bodies down from the cross and probably gave them
back to relatives or threw them in the city dump if nobody claimed them. It did not matter
to that thief who was saved anymore.

In John 5:24, Jesus said, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
Jesus’ point was he who hears his word, and believes God, has everlasting life. Notice he
also said they shall not come into condemnation, which means they do not go to hell or
someplace like purgatory. Notice there are two pathways after death. One unto life
(heaven) and the other unto death (hell). In Philippians 1:23, Paul said he had a desire to
depart from this world, and to be with Christ, which is far better. Paul said this from a
dungeon in Rome. At this point, he was about finished with his ministry. I have visited the
very dungeon they put the Apostle Paul. There, they had to supply their own food. There
was no furnace or air conditioning. It got cold, or it got hot. There were rats, there were
bugs, and there was no bathroom. So, you can imagine what it smelled like. Paul wrote this
epistle to a church many miles away, back in Philippi, northern Greece. And he told them
he (his soul) had a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. Can you see
why he had such a desire to leave this world?

We mentioned in the last lesson how Stephen preached the truth and was stoned to death.
Remember what happened? Stephen called upon the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit or soul.
Stephen went to heaven immediately. Like all born again Christians, he went to heaven.
Often, Jesus was approached by some ministers, some call them clergyman, who were
known as Sadducees. These did not believe in a bodily resurrection or in angels. It’s hard to
believe that they were in the ministry. Of course, Jesus believed in all of that because Christ
preached about all of that. The Sadducees did not like Jesus Christ preaching about the
afterlife. So, they attempted to fool Jesus to make him look bad in front of all the people. In
Luke 20, they created a story about seven brothers who married one at a time. Because in
the Jewish culture, if a Jewish man married a Jewish woman, and that man died, the next
brother would marry that woman. They said, there were the seven brothers, and the first
married this woman, but he died. And so, the second brother married her, but he also died.
The third married her, and he died, and the fourth and the fifth, and the sixth, and the
seventh. They all married her, and they all died.

Eventually, the woman died. The Sadducees asked Jesus, “Therefore in the resurrection
whose wife of them is she? For seven had her to wife.” They thought, we have him here.
How is he going to answer this question? And all Jesus said, simply, is in the next life they
do not marry. They are like angels. Jesus continued with God appearing to Moses at the
burning bush. Moses was tending sheep, and suddenly, God appeared to him in a burning
bush. A voice from the bush said, “I am the Lord God, take off your shoes, for you’re on
holy ground.” God labeled himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus said he is
not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. And then added, “ye therefore do
greatly err.” Jesus implied Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were alive and well in paradise. God
makes it clear in the Bible. If someone has been saved the Bible way, they go straight to
heaven. Their soul goes straight to heaven as soon as their heart stops. That must be
determined before we die. It comes down to what we have done with the soul, because
after we die, there is no change in our destiny. The fact of the matter is whatever condition
we die in is the condition we stay in. Revelation 22:11 says, “He that is unjust, let him be
unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Do you know what the Bible is
saying here? Simply, whatever condition we die in, we remain in for all eternity. Every
person must be very careful to consider what they have done with their soul. Because once
we die, there is no changing our eternity, and eternity is forever.

Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment.” Every single one of us has an appointment with death. We have all made
appointments, but this is one appointment we will not miss. We all have an appointment
“once” to die. You do not die and come back, ever. There is something called reincarnation.
Maybe you have heard about it. It is a false doctrine and religion, but it is taught in many
parts of the world. Reincarnation teaches that you come back as someone else or something
else. And when you live that out, you die again, and you come back again as something
else. It is a cycle, but that is not true. That is something man has taught; not what God
teaches. God says it is appointed unto man “once” to die. And after this, there is judgment.
Either heaven or hell awaits, and that is where we will spend eternity.

Revelation 21 tells us about the nations of them which are saved. They shall walk in the
light of heaven. Notice, the nations of them which are saved are going to walk around
heaven. It does not tell us those who have been baptized, or those who have done good
works, or those who joined a certain church will walk in the light of heaven, but those who
have been saved, their souls have been saved. And we will be talking about that in a later
lesson. But for now, you can know for sure you are going to heaven when you die. 1 John
5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;
that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son
of God.” This is such a wonderful verse.

Take a closer look at it. John the apostle spoke about “These things” he had already
mentioned before this. Things that help Christians know for sure they are going to heaven
when they die. A Christian does not have to guess or worry. Most people are living with an
“I hope so” mentality. In other words, when I die, I hope I go to heaven. The Bible says
these things are written so that you may know that you have eternal life. But it all depends
on what you have done with your soul. Is your soul converted? Do you believe God’s
word? I want to close our lesson one more time with Psalm 19:7, The law of the LORD is
perfect, converting the soul…” The law of the Lord is the Bible. And yes, it is perfect in the
soul’s conversion.

I will leave you with some questions. Have you had a time in your life when you knew
your soul was converted? Do you know how the soul is converted? Do you know what is
involved in the soul’s conversion? We know the Bible is involved, and so on our next
lesson, we will be talking about the Bible. The Bible has a very important part. It is
instrumental in the soul’s conversion. And so, in our next lesson, as we have talked today
about the importance of the soul, we will be talking about the importance of the Bible.
Thank you for your time.