The Alpha Files

What is salvation?

Who has the power to grant it?

Who needs it?

Why is it needed?

What happens to the unsaved person?

What happens to the saved person?

These are excellent questions. I do not profess to have the complete and total answer,

but with the help of others, and the knowledge the Holy Spirit imparts to all who seek, I will

try and lend some insight into these critical, all-important questions.

We see here plainly from the words of the Holy Bible that salvation is attained through faith

in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the Son of the Living God; who came to earth in the

guise of man to make retribution for our sinful ways, and reunite us to our Heavenly Father

with the price being paid in His shed blood. As it says, we are saved by the grace of Almighty

God, given through the Lord Jesus--who offers it to every one and anyone who will take it, then

believe that he is saved, by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as having blood efficacious enough

to atone for all our sins. (Those already committed, and those we have yet to commit; for

salvation does not render us perfect beings while still on earth--but it does mean that we,

as saved Christians, should strive against sin.)

I guess that pretty much answers the question, "Who has the power to grant it?" Obviously,

God granted grace for us through the Lord Jesus Christ--grace in the form of the Power to make

us acceptable, again in His sight. Jesus' blood was made capable of being the most powerful

detergent in the Universe. Man's sins are many, varied, far-reaching, and utterly despicable in

most cases. We have offended time and time again the utter Holiness of the All-High Father.

We have ignored His warnings, and the warnings of His prophets. We have dismissed the

question of sin as pure hogwash in the quest for the lust of living--which at times can get pretty

debauched. We would rather not face the question of salvation because most people feel it

would cramp their lifestyles. Unfortunately, we are willing to trade off an infinity of happiness

reunited with God the Father, through Jesus, for sixty or seventy years of chasing the ever-

elusive dreams and standards of living our lives unhindered by morals, standards, and codes

of any kind.

That sounds real ugly.

Pure illogic.

Since we will not turn away from our doom-ridden ways, Jesus was given a detergent in His

blood--strong enough to wash away the sins of any man--no matter how evil; no matter how many

sins he has committed. No matter what kind. If one day, before it is too late, that man arrives at the

fact that he is a sinner, needing salvation from Jesus, who gives it by way of Grace from God,

and honestly believes in his heart that he needs to be saved, and that Jesus can save him, he will

be saved. No one is exempt from the love of God.

No one.

Jesus loved us enough, knowing that He would be the ultimate sacrifice--no more lambs or

calves--to go to Calvary, and offer up Himself to the Father, so that the Father could again smile

upon us with favor. He didn't have to go--He went because He wanted us to share in all the

joys of heaven, and because He knew we didn't--and don't--know what we are doing.

He went to Calvary a man--although a perfect man. He had to feel all the fears and pains that all

men feel while He was here on Earth--and He chose to do so.

Why did He leave heaven? How could He?

An analogy given by Hal Lindsey, author of "The Late Great Planet Earth," among other great,

God-inspired books, is a good one:

"If you saw a bulldozer approaching an ant colony, knowing they were too small and ignorant to

see or perceive its path, would you warn them? How? Would you try to talk to them? How could

you? You couldn't. But you could is you were an ant yourself. This is one reason why Jesus

became a man."

Every one, since and including Adam, is a sinner. Born into a world of sin, we all need salvation.

Salvation is a gift--it is not something you work for. I believe this is one reason why there aren't

more people confessing their need for salvation--it seems too easy just to ask, meaning intensely

in your heart every word.

We had the Ten Commandments as guidelines for how to be acceptable in the sight of the Lord.

We could have worked for our salvation then. What did we do? Were we successful on our own?

No--we broke every commandment a million times.

Obviously, we are not capable of saving ourselves.

We don't know how to leave our friends' wives--or husbands--alone.

We don't know how not to covet their property.

We don't know how not to get mad, and shoot our fellow man in the head.

We don't know how to cope with life--except with the compensation of lying every five minutes.

We have subscribed to the advantages of the "five finger discount."

We war against our fellow man, and commit all manner of atrocities against those weaker than ourselves.

These are the things that we humans obviously hold dear.

Here are some of the things we don't even understand, let alone try to accomplish:

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Every man on earth needs salvation, whether his ego allows him to acknowledge it or not.

Again, it is a gift. Since we did such a poor job with the commandments, it is obvious to me

that it will have to be a gift.

We continue to be egotistical, though, and refuse so great a gift.

Let's take another analogy: a marathon swimmer takes off from the coast of California to

swim to Hawaii. He swims one-hundred miles, and is exhausted. He is picked up in a boat,

and taken back. Everyone claps him on the back because one-hundred miles out to sea is the

furthest anyone has ever swam. But the fact is, he still didn't make it to Hawaii, even with

mans' greatest effort.

Not even close.

No more can a man "work" his way into heaven than he could swim to Hawaii--or around

the earth, nonstop. It isn't possible.

Someone either books him on a plane, or a boat--or he doesn't go.

Jesus offers us a free flight. He knew, firsthand, that if we had to do it on our own, we'd never

make it.

All we have to do is ask; for most people, this is apparently too difficult a task.

The simplicity of salvation will undoubtedly make some cunning individuals figure, "Hey, if it's this

easy, I'll just wait till I'm ninety, and full of the good, fast life, and then repent." Sounds good in

theory--He would even save you then, if your heart was truly repentant. However, there are three

bad points about living a fast, Godless life, and then repenting:

1. You have to really mean it

2. It has to be an honest admission, not part of some previously arrived-upon, and cleverly-

contrived plan

3. What if you die of a heart attack, or something, today?

You're out of luck.

I wouldn't take the chance; besides, you're toying with salvation and that is not healthy.

As I have pointed out many times in this paper, the Rapture and the Second Advent of Christ

seems to be very near, according to the signs we've been given. Time is running out.

"...But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee..." (Luke 12:20)

"...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (II Corinthians 6:2)

Man is not being victimized. He is endowed with a conscious mind, and the ability to make

decisions. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil,

they developed a conscious knowledge of they should and shouldn't do. You and I know,

intuitively, the things we should and shouldn't do. We choose to sin when we do. We are

sinners. Your ego might not like this, but it is true, and you know it. You may not consciously

decide to sin, but you know you do; it is a fact.

We need salvation, for we cannot save ourselves from the yoke of sin under which we labor.

This is strictly an aside, but I heard Billy Graham on television the other day, and he said

something that intrigued me. A lady asked if he believed in life on other planets, and he said

yes. She then said, "Did Jesus visit and save other planets beside ours?" He said that he didn't

know, naturally, but that he believed that of all the planets with possible life forms, under God,

ours is the only one to have fallen from grace, and thus stands in the way of a perfectly

ordered Universe. Indeed, if one sheep was lost, He would leave the rest of the herd to

danger, and perhaps sacrifice, for the sake of one.

That's intriguing to me. Here is something else that is interesting: upon telling my wife what

he said, she replied, "Maybe he is wrong. Maybe they need salvation too; after all, it is written,

"And other sheep I have, which are not of the fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear

my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (John 10:16)

Interesting conjecture.

It is true that we sin consciously, but it is also true that the temptation of sin is literally too much

--and too varied--to resist. Therefore, knowing again firsthand that we cannot long resist--and

therefore, cannot save ourselves--Jesus brings grace from God, and salvation for those who

believe; accepting by faith that saving grace.

Salvation is needed because without it, there are no futures for any of us worth mentioning. In

fact the prospect of the future without salvation is not only meaningless, but frightening.

Here is an example:

Here you sit, in the deep winter of your years and unhappy. You have decided for yourself to listen,

finally, to the minister who has been trying to win you to Jesus for thirty years (first of all, you're

fortunate it's not too late). You feel in your heart that you are a sinner, and you wish to accept

Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You get on your knees, after more reflection, and earnestly

pray to be saved from your sins. When you get up from your knees, there are a variety of things

that might have happened to you mentally and physically; from a joyous sensation of release, to a

warm glow of contentment, to a feeling of wanting to shout--to nothing at all. No matter what

happens to you physically and mentally, some very definite things have happened spiritually.

1. You are completely justified before God, and forgiven of your sins

2. You are baptized with the Holy Spirit instantaneously. The Spirit's baptizing work places the

believer in Christ (Romans 6:3,4; Galatians 3:27; I Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 2:12)

3. You are regenerated, which yields eternal life and places Christ in the believer (John 17:23;

Colossians 1:27; Revelation 3:20)

4. You are indwelt by the Holy Spirit--He acts as teacher, conscience, guide, etc. This act is also

instantaneous, and forever accomplished. (I Corinthians 6:19,20; Romans 8:11; II Corinthians 5:5;

I John 3:24, 4:13)

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event, whereas the filling with the Holy Spirit is a

potentially continuous process--one which is repeatable, and must be asked for (a matter of will).

5. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit--this and the four other events of salvation occur

simultaneously, and instantaneously. Every child of God has been sealed with the Spirit unto

the time of full redemption and glorification of the body (yes, glorification--we are given new

bodies, eternal and never-aging, never sickly--as only one of the rewards for having faith in the

salvation of Jesus Christ. This occurs before we go into eternity, so we will have to wait awhile.)

(Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; II Corinthians 1:22), and also anointed with the Spirit (II Corinthians 1:21;

I John 3:20, 27) The Spirit, as the indweller, is the seal. The figure of the seal speaks of the stamp

of the divine ownership as a result of the new creation in Christ Jesus, and it is the badge of

eternal security. Those whom God stamps as His own, He pledges to keep as His own.

By regeneration, He gives us His own life. By the Spirit's baptism, He unites us indissolubly and

vitally unto Himself. By the indwelling, He grants us His continual presence. By the sealing, He

stamps us as His very own for all eternity. By the anointing, He consecrates us to a holy life and

service. God's work is always perfect and complete.

Aside from forgiving us of our sins, and making it possible for us to regain God's favor, and thus

become able to enter into heaven, we also become joint-heirs with Christ; for elaboration, ask for

our essay entitled "Inheritors Of The Earth."

We are all familiar with what happens to a person who dies, not having partaken of the blood of

Christ. It is a singularly terrifying event. People have preached to us for a long time concerning Hell,

that place no one knows too much about, and no one wants to visit. There are many theories;

some think the Lake of Fire utterly consumes the victim's soul, and thus he returns to the

nothingness from whence he came, forever separated from God (and no matter how evil we are,

not one of us is, or has ever been separated from God. Even in our vast disbelief, doubt, and sin,

He continues to enable us to draw each breath; somehow, He loves us, even when we refuse to

love, or even acknowledge, Him.) which, considering the glories we cannot imagine resulting from

finally being re-united fully with Him, can be a terrible, terrible state, a Hell unto itself in comparison.

The other theory is the one we are all familiar with: burning in writhing agony forever in the dark,

bottomless pits of some forgotten abyss of brimstone--with an evil, horrifying demon grinning in

delight; to dwell forever in torment in the place created originally for none other than Satan himself.

I don't want to frighten you; don't come to the Lord because you are afraid, but come willingly, with

an open heart and mind, because you believe the Lord Jesus can save you. And He can, and will,

no matter what your crime is. And then He will give you the strength to live a new life--not a sinless

one, but a life that makes your light shine before men, a testimony of the saving power of Christ.

The purpose of this book is to help you make your decision to come to Jesus before it is too late.

The time for His return is near, and we live from one day to the next--in uncertainty of the

continuation of life. Accept Him now, for God's sake--and for yours.

Bearing these things in mind, it is my wish that whoever reads this and the information in this

website will come willingly to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only bearer of salvation, and partake of

His forgiving power; partake freely of the gift given, by the grace of God, and simple in nature. If

you will open your eyes and believe that the Lord can and will save you from the sins that spell

certain death for us all, and grant you everlasting life--that He truly does have victory over

Death, Hell, and the Grave--here is what you should do next:

Get down on your knees, and tell Him so.

You must KNEEL, if you can; lie down on your face, if not. You must be willing to supplicate

yourself before the God Of All Creation.

Don't be ashamed, and this is no time to exercise your ego--go into a closet if you have to,

just do it.

Ego does not apply, because this is no ordinary man to which you kneel--but the Worthy Son

of the Living God--Creator, Designer, Author and Finisher of our faith.

If you can't come "as a little child" to the Father--you cannot come at all.

Discard the shreds of pride and ego that keep you from your knees.

Throw off the procrastination that tells you you can wait till tomorrow.

Defeat the attitude that keeps you from taking this seriously.

Get down on your knees and pray to Him. For the forgiveness of your sins. For the

regeneration of your soul, that might be required of you this day.

Here is a prayer that you can pray:

If you, on your knees, in true repentance, have said this prayer, thanking God for having

heard it, believing fully in your heart that you will be saved from the burden of your sin,

YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED. Maybe no fireworks on this experiential plane of existence, but

don't be dismayed--YOU ARE SAVED, now and forever. If the Lord should come tomorrow,

He would identify you as one of His own, sealed unto Himself.

Rejoice! You have just become a partaker of eternity.

You stand blameless and holy before the Lord God.

You are justified.

You are redeemed.

You are sinless in God's eyes, by virtue of the Lamb Who Is Worthy, Jesus.

Simple, wasn't it?

Jesus meant it to be. He knew it would HAVE to be.

Now go about living your life as one of God's elect, and take the Word to others, so that

they might also be saved.

"...and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely..." (Revelation 22:17)

Rejoice! The angels in heaven shout and rejoice with you, for another precious soul has

been freed from slavery to sin and brought home to the Father!

Maranatha (The Lord Is Coming Soon)!

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