How Can We Gain the Eternal Salvation That the Returned Lord Brings to Us?

Often telling lies because of vanity.

Living in worldly affairs and not practicing the Lord’s words.

Following worldly trends and falling into temptation.

Shunning the Lord and having no place for Him in my heart.

Living an empty life, feeling helpless and tired.

Who can appreciate this pain?

These words convey the inner voice of many believers in the Lord. Despite having believed in the Lord for many years, we often cannot stop ourselves from sinning and are unable to practice the Lord’s words—this really torments us spiritually. We yearn to escape from the bonds of sin, because God says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8: 34–35). “You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45). Hebrews 10:26–27 say, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

From these words we can see that no unholy person will see the Lord and that all sinners are slaves to sin. If we cannot escape the bondage of sin and be purified, we will be unable to win God’s approval and blessing; this is determined by God’s righteous disposition.

Just how can we rid ourselves of the shackles of sin? In fact, the Lord will bring people eternal salvation upon His return in the last days, just as the Bible records, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). These verses mention “shall He appear the second time without sin to salvation” and “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” This shows that the Lord will perform the work of saving us when He returns in the last days. This is the eternal salvation God has prepared for us. Only by gaining the eternal salvation God bestows upon people in the last days do we have the chance to completely free ourselves from the shackles of sin.

Then how can we gain eternal salvation? In order to attain eternal salvation, we first need to know what the eternal salvation bestowed by the returned Lord is. The Lord Jesus Himself prophesied, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). “He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). From these verses we can see several crucial points: “the Spirit of truth is come,” “He will guide you into all truth,” “Sanctify them through Your truth,” and “judgment must begin at the house of God.” This shows that when the Lord returns in the last days He will express the truth and perform the work of judgment beginning at God’s house, using the truth to judge and purify people. So, only by accepting the eternal salvation God bestows upon people in the last days can we thoroughly cast off the binds of sin, gain purification, and become people who are commended by God.

Now the Lord Jesus has already returned—He is Christ incarnate, Almighty God. Almighty God has expressed millions of words of truth and has done the work of judgment beginning with the house of God to cleanse and save people. This is the eternal salvation God bestows upon us in the last days. Let’s read the words of Almighty God.

Almighty God says, “The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, and how his sinful nature may be extirpated completely and transformed, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within his corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed. This would require man to grasp the path of growth in life, to grasp the way of life, and to grasp the way to change his disposition. Furthermore, it would require man to act in accordance with this path, so that his disposition may gradually be changed and he may live under the shining of the light, so that all that he does may be in accord with the will of God, so that he may cast away his corrupt satanic disposition, and so that he may break free from Satan’s influence of darkness, thereby emerging fully from sin. Only then will man receive complete salvation.”

“And so, now that man has been forgiven of his sins, God has returned to the flesh to lead man into the new age, and begun the work of chastisement and judgment. This work has brought man into a higher realm. All those who submit under His dominion shall enjoy higher truth and receive greater blessings. They shall truly live in the light, and they shall gain the truth, the way, and the life.”

“Christ of the last days uses a variety of truths to teach man, to expose the substance of man, and to dissect the words and deeds of man. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the substance of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, the words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan, and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes over the long term. All these different methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth of which man is utterly bereft. Only methods such as these can be called judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced about God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt essence and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the essence of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him.”

We can understand from Almighty God’s words that though we are pardoned of our sins through our faith in the Lord, our sinful nature still remains. We still often sin and resist God and live in a cycle of sinning and confessing. As we believe in the Lord and follow the Lord, we also often betray the Lord’s teachings. We do things like lie, deceive, engage in intrigue, seek fame and fortune, we give in to vanity and follow evil worldly trends…. In times of bitterness and trial, we often misunderstand and blame God, or even leave and betray God. When God’s work doesn’t accord with our notions, we carelessly judge and condemn God…. Although the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption is done, and our sins are forgiven, and we are no longer cursed for violating God’s laws, and can come before God to pray to Him and enjoy the entirety of God’s grace, the sinful nature inside us still remains. We cannot stop ourselves from sinning and defying and betraying God and are unable to reach a state of complete obedience to God and compatibility with God. We haven’t been truly gained by God and cannot win God’s approval and blessing.

So, in the last days, God has brought people the eternal salvation to completely free us from the shackles of sin and cleanse us. Almighty God, on the foundation of the Lord Jesus’ work of redemption, has expressed the truth and done the work of judgment beginning with the house of God. In this stage of work, God mainly expresses the truth to judge and reveal corrupt mankind’s nature and essence of opposing and rebelling against God. He very incisively exposes various satanic corrupt dispositions within us such as arrogance, conceit, crookedness, deceitfulness, evil, greed, insidiousness, cunning, selfishness, ignobility, and more. By experiencing God’s judgment and chastisement, we see that we are so corrupted by Satan that we have completely lost our human semblance. We utterly lack reverence, obedience and love for God. Though we can expend ourselves and perform our duty for God, we possess so many impurities, and we do these things solely in order to have a good future and destination; this is making bargains with God. When we obtain some results at work, we exalt and show off ourselves to have others look up to us and bring them before us. As soon as we gain a bit of status, we become arrogant, conceited, arbitrary and dictatorial, and refuse to accept others’ correct suggestions. Through God’s judgment, we gradually awaken and come to understand God’s earnest intention in judging us. We start to hate, despise, and curse ourselves, and are no longer willing to live in our corrupt disposition and make ourselves God’s enemies. We set our resolve to practice the truth, live and do things according to God’s words, and seek to fear God and shun evil. When the truth is wrought into us little by little and becomes our life, we gradually become detached from the restraint and bondage of the corrupt flesh, have our corrupt dispositions cleansed and changed, and begin to live out some human likeness. These are the results achieved by God’s work of judgment in the last days.

It is clear that only when we accept the judgment and chastisement of Almighty God’s words in the last days can we fully break free from Satan’s influence and throw off Satan’s corrupt disposition. Then we can live by the truth and by God’s words—this is gaining eternal salvation.

Editor’s Note: After reading this article, “How to Gain Eternal Salvation,” I believe you will now know why the people whose sins are forgiven are always incapable of casting off the bonds of sin, and know the path to gain eternal salvation. If you have any questions or confusion, you’re welcome to message us below or contact us via Live Chat.