King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Who Shall Be Saved
Date: Wednesday October 12, 2011
Chapters: Matthew 27-28
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-12

Hello My Friend/Guest,

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:..But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me...But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain...But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept...For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” - I Corinthians 15:1-4,10,13,14,20.22.

It is only by the grace of God that we can say a prayer and instantly be given the gift of eternal life. Many religions teach that Jesus was just a good man or like a prophet, some even say that He did die for us, but that He could not have risen. These are incorrect. It is important that we believe that Jesus needed to be the sinless sacrifice, it is important to believe that Jesus was buried for three days and three nights in the tomb, it is important to believe that Jesus came back to life on the third day. Why is it important? If we do not believe in these things, if we doubt any of them, then our faith and our hope for eternal life in heaven with Jesus is all in vain, meaning, it is worthless and will never happen. Many will discredit the Savior, but those who see past the surface, those who believe the truth, and receive it by faith, they are the ones who shall be made alive, who shall be saved.

Many people followed Jesus the entire time He was walking the earth in the flesh. Did they are believe in Him? No. Even one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, spent over three years telling people about Jesus, but never believed in Him. After they captured Jesus, Judas realized that he made a big mistake in having Jesus turned in and went to return the money that the chief priests and elders paid him. “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.” - Matthew 27:3-10.

Judas, like many others, thought that what he did was just unforgivable and that even God would not forgive him. He tried to justify himself by killing himself, but all that did was send him to hell, had Judas repented to God, meaning confessed that he believed in Jesus and that He would save him, then he would have seen Jesus in heaven shortly after. No matter what we have done, we are forgiven when we ask God to forgive us, even if we are saved and commit the worst act ever we are forgiven. Before the Apostle Paul was saved and became the greatest evangelist of all time, he persecuted Christians and had them killed. We are saved by believing in and receiving Christ not by our works of righteousness. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” - Titus 3:5-7.

Now, since the religious leaders could not enforce the death penalty on Jesus themselves they sent Him to the governor. Standing before the governor as thousands of people hooted and hollered, Jesus did not plead His case, but awaiting His judgment. Since it was a feast day, the Roman governor would pardon a prisoner, one that the people agreed on to be released. He brought out a ruthless prisoner called Barabbas. Pilate just knew that the people would pardon Christ over Barabbas because he was a murderer of the worst degree, but instead the people cried out to pardon Barabbas instead.

“Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him...But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.”- Matthew 27:15-18,20-24.

Pontius Pilate, seeing the madness that was taking place, wanted nothing to do with what was happening, and in public, washed his hands before the mob as to say, it is out of my hands and handed Jesus over to the mob, which then lead to His crucifixion. Many people today think that it was Pontius Pilate who had Jesus crucified, or question why he did hand Jesus over in them when he had the power to stop it. I believe that had Pilate pardoned Jesus they would have came after him, as well as Jesus and everyone else that sided with Him. Remember, the religious leaders were the ones who created such an uproar and got the majority of the people to side against Jesus. So, if thousands of people were yelling crucify Him, you could imagine their reaction had he pardoned Him, besides the Scriptures were being fulfilled. “For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead:” - Acts 13:27-30.

Jesus was beaten, mocked, and spit on before He was hung on a tree until He died as His earthly family and other believers watched. He suffered a great deal of humiliation and pain for all of us, but He endured it all and prevailed as He resurrected three days later. “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men...Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.” -Matthew 28:1-4,11-15.

Although many saw Him after the resurrection, the religious leaders still tried to discredit Jesus and still do today. We can choose what we believe and while seeing is believing, some of the greatest miracles are the things we cannot see and believe. Those who believe will see Jesus one day, those who do not receive the fate of Judas. The whole thing comes down to this, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” -Romans 10:9-13.

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
I understand that not by my works of righteousness I am saved, but by my believing in what Your Son did for me and receiving Him as my Savior I am saved. I am trusting only in You Jesus to keep me out of hell and I know that no matter what I have done or will do I am forgiven and that You will never leave nor forsake me. To show my appreciation and love for You I want to live my life with You in it. Lead me and guide me in Your will and Your way, help me to be a witness and a testimony to the amazing life that I now live. I love You, Lord and pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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