The plan of salvation is about what God has done to provide eternal life for all who will seek it. The plan is simply this: Jesus Christ came to save sinners (Lk. 19:10). That is the essence of God’s great work of saving those who are lost. The Lord Jesus Himself is the answer to a question asked long ago:”What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30-31). And incidentally, that is the most important question anyone can ever ask, because it has to do with his or her eternal destiny. Your destiny and mine.
Some years ago, I heard a simple explanation of the plan of salvation that makes use of the old Bad-News-Good-News formula. Here it is, abridged and adapted a bit. I trust it will be of help to you.
The penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” By sinning, we have earned death. That means we deserve to die and be separated forever from a holy God (Jn. 3:36; II Thess. 1:8-9). But now for the good news.
Here is God’s plan of salvation: Jesus Christ died in our place. Romans 5:8 tells us, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (cf. I Cor. 15:3). He took the penalty we deserve for sin, and died in our place. Three days later, He came back to life, proving that sin and death had been conquered. And just as the bad news got worse, the good news gets even better.
We can be saved forever, through faith in Christ. In response to the question posed above, the answer was given, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
Our salvation depends not on how we feel, or on any good works we do, but on what Christ has already done for us. The Apostle Paul wrote to a group of Christians at Ephesus and said, “For by grace [God’s undeserved favour] you have been saved through faith, and that [salvation is] not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
That is a basic look at God’s plan of salvation. Is there anything keeping you from trusting in Christ?
If you have never done so before, you can pray right now and tell God you are trusting in His Son. Just remember, it isn’t a prayer that saves us. It is the work of Christ upon the cross. Prayer is simply how we tell God we accept His gift. Is that what you want to do?
☼ If you have further questions, please let me know. I’ll do my best to be of help to you.