Revelation 15 Lesson

As we near the end of the Book of Revelation, we are also nearing the end of the seven-year period known as The Great Tribulation. 

In Chapter 15, we see two remarkable events taking place:

1. God’s wrath is carried out by seven angels over all those who are going to Hell, 
2. God’s grace and mercy are poured out over those who are going to Heaven.

Given the choice, all of us would hope to be in the group that is going to Heaven.

But what do we need to do to be placed in that group?

What must we do to be saved?

That is a question that has been discussed and debated for more than two thousand years! As always, our perfect source to learn the truth is the Bible.

FIVE MATTERS OF SALVATION

Different denominations have differing opinions about what is necessary to go to Heaven.

In the end, what matters is what God says is important through His inspired Word. In today’s lesson, we will highlight five things the Bible teaches us that are necessary for salvation.

1. Believe in Jesus. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” – Acts 16:31, 
2. Confess our belief in Him. “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” – Romans 10:10, 
3. Repent (turn away from) of our sins. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:3, 
4. Be baptized. “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ .” – 1 Peter 3:21 and “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 16:16, 
5. Obey God’s commandments. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” – Mathew 7:21. 

A CALL TO ACTION! 

None of us are promised another day.  Therefore, the time to act is now!  If there are any items in the above list that we have not completed, we must act with a sense of urgency!

Jesus warned us not to delay getting right with God in the following scripture:

• “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.” – Mathew 24:42-44.

TAKING A SPIRITUAL INVENTORY 

Once we have satisfied these requirements, the next thing we need to do is to take a spiritual inventory.

Self-examination is an important step that each of us must take to determine if we are right with God. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he wrote:

• “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! - 2 Corinthians 13:5.

One of the ways that we can do this is to evaluate our lives with respect to the nine fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians about The Fruit of the Spirit.  In his letter, he outlined nine “fruits” that one should produce if the Spirit is active in their life.

1. Love,
2. Joy,
3. Peace,
4. Patience,
5. Kindness,
6. Goodness,
7. Faithfulness,
8. Gentleness,
9. And self-control.

Taking a spiritual inventory is a productive exercise.  It is perfectly acceptable, for example, to recognize that we have not been very patient lately.  It is only through self-examination that we can identify which areas of our spiritual life need attention.

There is a wise saying, “You cannot manage a secret.” 

Once we identify the area or areas that need some work, we should ask ourselves how we can improve.  Whatever areas we are struggling with, Jesus can help us!

• “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13. 

CONCLUSION

The Hebrew writer tells us that:

• “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” - Hebrews 9:27.

Knowing that the Day of Judgment is coming at a time that we do not expect (Mathew 25:13) we need to make sure that we are doing everything the Bible tells us to do to be saved.  According to the Bible, there are five things that we must do to be saved:

1. Believe in Jesus. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” – Acts 16:31, 
2. Confess our belief in Him. “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” – Romans 10:10, 
3. Repent (turn away from) of our sins. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:3, 
4. Be baptized. “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ .” – 1 Peter 3:21 and “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 16:16, 
5. Obey God’s commandments. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” – Mathew 7:21. 

In addition to these five things, we also need to take our spiritual inventory to identify areas of deficiency that need our attention. 

We will conclude today’s lesson with the following scripture from The Apostle Paul.  These are the same words that we hope to be able to say at the end of our lives:

• “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4:7-8.