by Wylie Fulton

Dear Friend and Fellow-Traveler,

Once more it has pleased the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — even the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ — that I come to you in a letter. And I am inclined to write on the salvation of your soul, and nothing else. You see, the greatest thing that can ever happen to an individual is to be called by God’s grace into the fellowship of Christ; nothing can ever eclipse the knowledge of the Saviour! Salvation means your deliverance from the just condemnation of Hell and being brought to know Christ and ultimately to an eternal home in Heaven. Salvation means that God has called you, separated you, saved you and made you righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation means that God did it when you could not, and indeed would not, do it for yourself. Salvation means that you have been an object of God’s love and compassion from before the foundation of the world.

Salvation means that long before you were born:

1. Your name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Revelation 17:8.

2. The immutable God had purposed, for reasons known only to Himself, to save you. Romans 8:29.

3. God loved you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3.

4. When the Baby Jesus was born into the world, He was God’s salvation for you. Luke

5. When Christ lived a perfect life and fulfilled all righteousness, it was for you.

6. Dying on the Cross, paying sin’s debt, your name was indelibly stamped on Christ’s hands and heart.

7. When Christ ascended to Heaven, He went there to intercede for you.

8. The Holy Spirit was assigned a job to do, and that was to reach you, regenerate you, plant faith and repentance in your heart, and bring you to the knowledge of Christ.

9. The angels of God were assigned a mission to watch over and minister unto you.

10. Christ went back to Heaven to prepare a place for you!

And there is more, so much more. One can never exhaust the unsearchable riches that are stored up for God’s elect in Christ the Lord. And remember, all of this was on purpose, by God’s eternal decree, and limited to those whom He chose to salvation.

Salvation means that during your lifetime:

1. The angels of God have ministered unto you, behind the scenes, protecting you, preserving you, keeping you for the hour when you would come to know God’s salvation.

2. The Holy Spirit has already singled you out and laid hold of your heart (or will, sometime before you die).

3. God will grant you repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; He will also give you saving faith.

4. God’s grace will keep you, preserve you, make you secure in Christ, so that you will not fall away.

5. The joy of the Lord and some knowledge of sins forgiven will become real to your heart.

Salvation means that when you come to die:

1. The angels of God will hover around you.

2. You will know that “Jesus led me all the way.”

3. You are going out to meet HIM.

4. There will be peace in the valley for you.

5. Even if you die in the dark, God’s Spirit is with you and you will be ushered into the presence of the LORD. “Absent from the body, present with the LORD.” “Salvation belongeth unto the LORD” Psalm 3:8.

And so, do you see why the personal experience of salvation is so great, and why your soul’s well-wisher cannot take this for granted in either your case or my own? Do you understand why I am always asking, “Do you know the LORD?” I do not inquire as to what church you attend or desire to attend. What your views on lesser matters might be is of no immediate concern to me. There is “none other name under Heaven whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and so I would set HIM before you, that we might have a time of heart-searching together. Do you know HIM? Do I? Little difference is made over the matter of my denominational preference; little difference does it matter whether I be premillennial or postmillennial. What are the consequences if I have the matters of baptism and the communion table all worked out? These things do not save! I must KNOW the Lord Jesus Christ, for in His great prayer to the Father He enunciated the importance of such knowledge when He said: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3). If you would have all that there is in SALVATION — if you would be partaker of what it means (1.) before your birth, (2.) during your lifetime, and (3.) at death — then all is wrapped up in the one point:

A PERSONAL, PRAYING, LIVING, ACTIVE, ENJOYABLE, RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. WE KNOW THE FATHER IF WE KNOW HIM. WE DON’T KNOW GOD THE FATHER IF WE DON’T KNOW CHRIST THE SAVIOUR.

I bid you consider these things well, and may the Holy Ghost of God add His blessing, empowering His own truth in your heart and life, as it pleases Him. To God be the glory!

A sincere well-wisher,

Wylie W. Fulton

Author

Wylie Fulton is a Christian author and webmaster. You can visit his website at: http://fountainsofgrace.blogspot.com.

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