Jesus’s Teachings on Salvation – Gosepl of Matthew
“But He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” 4:4
“Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it has been written, You shall do homage to the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.” 4:10
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has drawn near.” 4:17
“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of Heaven.” 5:20
“But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who abuse you and persecute you, that you may become sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not also the tax collectors so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” 5:44-48
“No one is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. It is not possible to serve God and mammon.” 6:24
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” 6:31-33
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many entering in through it. Because narrow is the gate and distressing is the way which leads unto life, and there are few who find it.” 7:13-14
“A good tree is not able to produce evil fruit, nor is a corrupt tree able to produce excellent fruit. Every tree that does not produce excellent fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore from their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many works of power in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who work out lawlessness!” 7:18-23
“When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 8:10-12
“And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, Son, be of good courage; your sins are forgiven you.” 9:2
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins; then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 9:6
“But when Jesus heard it, He said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” 9:12-13
“And do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who has power to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” 10:28
“But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in Heaven.” 10:33
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life on account of Me will find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” 10:37-42
“And blessed is he who does not stumble because of Me.” 11:6
“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank You, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” 11:25-30
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for a tree is known by its fruit.” 12:33
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” 12:36-37
“He answered and said to them: He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all the stumbling blocks, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold everything he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the rotten away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go forth, separate the wicked from among the righteous, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to them, Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes, Lord. Then He said to them, Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure new and old things.” 13:37-52
“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they revere Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. And when He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 15:8-11
“But He answered and said, Every plant which My Heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch.” 15:13-14
“So Jesus said, Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated into the sewer? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual perversions, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.” 15:16-20
“And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in Heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against It. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be, having been bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be, having been loosed in Heaven.” 16:17-19
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his practice. Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” 16:24-28
“And Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, Truly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of Heaven.” 18:2-3
“So He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He said to Him, Which? Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to Him, All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.” 19:17-21
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, Truly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 19:23-24
“Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” 22:37-40
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and instruct all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” 28:18-20
Summary of Jesus’s teaching on Salvation.
Once again we see the recurrent theme of repentance. Jesus is preaching repentance as is evident in Matthew 4:17 from the time he starts His ministry. Last week I explained what the problems were regarding what the churches nowadays preach verses what the Word of God says. So instead of being redundant on that topic let us move along to Jesus’s mentioning of hell.
Jesus does not only clearly lay out that in order to follow Him you must believe, repent and wholeheartedly follow Him, He also warns of the consequences. The consequences as evident by the gospel books and all throughout the Holy Scriptures is an eternity in hell. There are those nowadays who do not believe in hell, there are some who believe, especially Catholics, in purgatory and others who believe there is a hell but it is only reserved for those who are amongst the most evil of men. It doesn’t matter what any of those people believe. Our faith is based off of the absolute authority of the Holy Scriptures. What the Holy Scriptures claims is fact is indeed fact. The same can be said with easy-believerism vs. what the bible really teaches.
What Matthew gives is a firm warning to those who proclaim the name of Christ, yet are not Christians. It warns Christians to look at the fruit.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many entering in through it. Because narrow is the gate and distressing is the way which leads unto life, and there are few who find it.” 7:13-14
Breaking apart this verse we see there are two paths a man can go on. The correct path has a narrow gate which indicates that masses of people are not passing through it. The way which leads onto life is distressing and finishing up with ‘there are few who find it’.
“For not all those of Israel are Israel.” Romans 9:6b
“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8
“Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many works of power in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who work out lawlessness!” Matthew 7:22-23
This is clearly not just a difference of the sinners vs. the Saved going to on the path to destruction vs. the path to life. What this is talking about is those who name the name of Christ and proclaim to be His followers are indeed NOT!
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15
I will close with repeating what Jesus said to us:
“Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” 22:37-40
