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Join me as I do a refresh of basic doctrinal topics of the gospel, these are personal study notes. KJV is used for Bible references. I've added an audio narration for convenience.
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Being saved is as easy as looking

John 3:14-15. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Numbers 21:4-9. And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

  • According to verses, were the children of Israel trusting the LORD and being thankful to Him or were they complaining over their problems? they complained about their problems.
  • How did the LORD judge the people for their lack of faith? fiery serpents came up among the people and bit them.
  • What did the LORD tell Moses to make? a serpent of brass
  • After this was made, what was it to be lifted upon? a pole.
  • What did the people have to do in order to be cured of their snake bites? they were to look upon the serpent of bronze.
  • What happened to those who beheld the serpent of bronze? they lived

Let's see John 3:14-15 again (And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life). All those who beheld the bronze serpent lived. All those who look upon the Son of man lifted up on the cross shall also live. When a man truly gazes upon Calvary's cross with the eyes of faith, he will not perish, but have eternal life.

Isaiah 45:21-22. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

  • The living God says, look unto me and be ye saved. The word look in verse 22 comes from the verb which means to turn, to face someone, and thus the LORD is saying in Isaiah 45:22, face Me, turn your face towards Me.

There's a Hymn by William Ogden which goes:

Life is offered unto you, Hallelujah! Eternal life thy soul shall have,
If you'll only look to Him, Hallelujah! Look to Jesus who alone can save!
Look and live, O sinner live!
Look to Jesus now and live!
Tis recorded in His Word, Hallelujah! It is only that you "look and live."

Clarification:

We have so far learned that being saved is as easy: as opening a door, going through a door, drinking and eating, and now, looking. Let's clarify what we mean.

While God's plan of salvation is in itself simple and clear, a number of difficulties arise on man's side which are impossible for him to overcome ofhimself. Sadly, in many cases sinful man does not want help, but is content to wallow in his sins. The stubborn and wicked refusal of men to believe on Christ and receive God's free gift flows from their condition of total depravity, which was true of all of us (compare John 5:40). Hence, there is the necessity for God to do a work in our hearts, which only He can do by His Spirit. There are many reasons why it is very difficult for sin-enslaved men to be saved, including the following:

  1. It is very difficult for a person to humble himself and acknowledge his utter sinfulness and spiritual bankruptcy (Luke 18:9-14).
  2. Proud man believes that he must do something to earn his salvation, and it is very difficult for him to understand that it is all of grace based on what Christ has done (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5).
  3. Christ taught that it was extremely difficult, yea, impossible, for a rich man to be saved, due to the fact that no one can be saved while trusting anything or anyone other than Christ (Matthew 19:23-26). But what is impossible with men is possible with God (Matthew. 19:26).
  4. Being saved is difficult, because it requires nothing short of a miracle of God. The dead must be given life (Ephesians.2:1-7) ,the blind must be given sight (I Corinthians. 2:14, 2 Corinthians. 4:3-4), and those who are incurably sick must be healed (Jeremiah 17:9, 1 Peter 2:24).
  5. Being saved is difficult because depraved men love their sins and do not want to change their ways (John 3:18-20). But all of these difficulties can be overcome because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe (Romans. 1:16). God is able to do a mighty work in the hearts of sin-blinded and depraved men. Has God opened your eyes to the truth of the gospel? (see Matthew. 16:13- 17, Acts 16:14).