Chapter 12 – How to Get Saved

This chapter will be brief, since the Bible already describes salvation by grace through faith far better than I ever could, and I have no wish to restate all of that here. At this time, I merely wish to provide some food for thought to help get you started on your “getting right with God” journey.

First of all, we need to establish why improving our relationship with God is even necessary. The problem all started in the Garden of Eden. I’m sure you have heard the story in its essentials. Satan, a powerful angelic being, tricked Eve into eating forbidden fruit, and her husband, Adam, also partook, probably so that Eve would not have to face God’s judgment all alone. That’s basically it; God established a rule, and man broke that rule. In order to make the God-man relationship right again, God requires a blood sacrifice. Now, you can object to this fact, and say that you are not interested in worshiping a God that condones killing and the spilling of innocent blood, but the facts are, nevertheless, the facts. When you make your own Universe, then you can set your own rules. In the meantime, we must play by God’s rules. After Adam and Eve’s sin, God provided them with coats of animal skins with which to cover their nakedness and provide protection from the elements. That was the first blood sacrifice.

Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden for their transgression, and what we might call “human history” began. Note that Adam and Eve were physically immortal in the Garden of Eden, before their sin. We can only speculate on what the conditions on the surface of the Earth were like then. With time, the human population grew, since close proximity to the era of immortality and human physical perfection removed any genetic prohibitions against procreation between close relatives. Dark spiritual forces again invaded the Earth, just as in the Garden, but this time the fallen angels actually mated with human women. The resulting hybrid offspring were superior to mortal man in every respect, which is not surprising, given their angelic ancestry. These superbeings led mankind into a spiritual dark age, where evil and unspeakable acts of every kind abounded. God regretted making man, and sent the Great Flood to rid the Earth of the pestilence of man who, thanks to the influence of the fallen angels, was now no longer fully human.

Eight people, Noah and his family, somehow resisted the influence of the dark powers, probably through the grace of God, and remained genetically pure. God instructed them to build a great sea-going vessel, the ark, and sealed them within it, along with specimens of animals of all kinds. The rains came, water gushed up from beneath the ground, and the entire world was covered with water. All human beings drowned, save for Noah and his family, and the animals on the ark, of course. Eventually, the waters receded, the dry land returned, and the ark came to rest on a high mountain. Human history began anew, and all human beings living today are descended from the eight souls aboard Noah’s ark.

Once again, evil grew among the civilizations of man, and God sent prophets and lawgivers and judges to restore some semblance of order and goodness. God chose the Jews as His special people, and sent the Law to govern their dealings with Him and with each other. Still, evil was too attractive for man, and even the Jews repeatedly turned their backs on God. Through elaborate animal sacrifices, the Jews maintained their standing with God, but with time the rituals became hollow and devoid of meaning, and even the Jewish religious leaders twisted the Law to suit their own evil purposes. Finally, in the fullness of time, God sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, born of a virgin, at once fully man and fully God, to provide the ultimate blood sacrifice on a Roman cross. No longer would animal sacrifice be required to pay the penalty for sin. No longer would God deal with man collectively, through the agency of nation-states or nationalities. Instead, salvation was offered freely to every individual person, and whosoever accepted the gift of Jesus’ atoning blood could look forward to an eternal afterlife of endless blessings in Heaven with God.

This is where we find ourselves today. Each person must decide to accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for their sins, or to reject it. Heaven awaits those who choose the former, while Hell is reserved for those who choose the latter, or who choose to do nothing, or who choose not to choose. The choice is yours.

You can say a simple prayer right now to tell God of your wishes regarding these matters. You could say something like this, using that inner voice of yours that we all have inside of our heads:

Dear God, dear Jesus, dear Lord, please forgive me of my many sins. Help me to live a life according to Your teachings. I now accept the gift of Your sacrifice on the cross. Your precious blood washes me clean, and I now stand blameless and sinless before God. Please take me to where You are now when I die, so that I may worship and serve You forever and ever. Amen.

That’s all it takes. After all, being weak and feeble and foolish humans, what more could we do?

Psalm 103:14-16 King James Version (KJV)

For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.

For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.

Romans 10:13 King James Version (KJV)

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

To those who say that the Bible isn’t real, and that there is no need to consider it at all, I now provide two counter arguments.

Generally speaking, most people with no interest in what the Bible has to say do accept MSS. However, in that case, a problem presents itself, that being the findings of the M-M experiment, in which the Earth was shown to not be in orbit around the Sun. What Holy Book has been saying that very thing all along? The Bible, of course (see the Book of Joshua, Chapter 10). As you can see, the Bible leads one to science, and vice versa.

Still, many people “save” MSS by saying that I am misunderstanding the M-M experiment, and that Relativity explains why the M-M experiment failed to detect the very motion that it set out to observe. At this point, it is common for people to become quite smug about the apparently advanced state of MSS, and quite satisfied that the Bible is an ancient book fraught with errors, and that only primitive, backward Christians could possibly believe in it. In this case, another problem presents itself, that being the conservation of matter and energy. This is a basic tenet of MSS, and so, if you believe in the M-M experiment, and in Relativity, then you must also believe in this most fundamental of the physical conservation laws. However, when people die, the energy that they had in life disappears. Where does it go? If you believe in MSS, then it must go somewhere, since energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in form. Of course, the Bible provides the answer to this question: your soul (energy) goes to Heaven or Hell, while your body (matter) remains behind in the here and now. There have been so many accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs) that it is really no longer possible to deny the existence of an afterlife. Some people have even had NDEs in which they visited Hell for a short time, before being brought back to life by the miracles of modern medicine. Obviously, the unpleasant NDEs are far outnumbered by the pleasant ones, since few want to admit that they were judged by God and found wanting. Nevertheless, the main point is clear. One cannot “cherry pick” one’s facts and still be honest about one’s beliefs. If you believe in MSS, then you must confront the Bible. To do anything less would be to live in a delusional world of one’s own making where only the “palatable” facts are allowed free reign.

So you see, in the spiritual world, “narrow is the way, and few are they that find it”,

Matthew 7:14 King James Version (KJV)

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

but in the secular world, all worldview roads lead back to the Bible. You really can’t hide your head in the sand and simply say God and Jesus and the Bible don’t matter. If you believe in MSS, then you must consider what the Bible has to say, both about the Universe and about your eternal soul. If you say that you hate science as well as the Bible, then you believe in nothing, including yourself. In that case, how do you account for your existence? Once again, you are confronted with the need to come up with some kind of story (a science, in other words [not a séance!]) to explain the world in which you find yourself, and, once again, you are brought back to the Bible, which is the ultimate source of all of the science that we have. For example, the Gulf Stream ocean current, first brought to light in the Bible in Psalm 8:8, written down around 1,000 B.C.,

Psalm 8:8 King James Version (KJV)

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

now accepted by everyone as settled science, was not discovered until 1512, and not mapped until 1769! Why? Because of our innate blindness to the truth if that truth comes from God. Still not convinced that the Bible contains all of our most precious scientific advancements, long before man even knew that he needed them? Then consider the case of the transistor, that electronic workhorse of modern civilization. Its operating principle, in which a tiny electrical current controls a much larger one, is found in James 3:4:

James 3:4 King James Version (KJV)

Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

One wonders where our civilization would be right now in a technological sense if we had ceaselessly scoured the Bible for scientific truths from the very beginning.

We could sum it all up like this: Most people don’t care about religion, but they do accept science. However, if the Bible is right about science, and the M-M experiment says that it is, then maybe you should listen to what the Bible says about religion.

As Christians, we need to align our thinking with the Bible. If our thinking deviates from the Biblical pattern, then we need to change our thinking until complete alignment is achieved. If we regard the Bible as God’s Word, and our final authority for faith and practice, what other conclusion is possible? Some have said it this way: Life is not about us, it’s about Him.

For the secular, unsaved crowd, you owe to yourself to at least consider the issues presented in this book. The fate of your eternal soul may depend upon it. Don’t be so quick to say that the so-called experts have already figured everything out, and that the only choice left is to believe them. Think for yourself, put aside preconceived notions, clear the intellectual decks, so to speak, and you may just find that the Universe is different than you have been told, and that the Bible was describing it correctly all along.

Christians should believe the Bible, trust it, and do what it says. Otherwise, in what way are we Christians? Yes, society will be against us, but such has been the state of Christianity since the time of the apostles. We are not asked by God to conform to society, but to obey Him. Which path will you choose? If God says in His Word that the Sun orbits the Earth daily, shouldn’t we believe that, especially if we call ourselves Christians? Should we believe all of the Bible, some of the Bible, or none of the Bible? In my opinion, Christians should believe all of it, and stop cherry-picking our facts. We owe Jesus at least that much for dying on the cross, saving us from our sins, and freely offering us eternal life.

As for the nonbelieving, secular crowd, you owe it to yourself to at least investigate the issues brought up by this book. Please don’t simply go along with the crowd that says that MSS is settled science. You have a brain, and your own thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Use them! Start doing some investigating of your own. Start figuring out what you believe, and what you can accept. Learn some basic math, and try some simple experiments. Is it reasonable to you that MSS says that the North Star remains perfectly aligned with the Earth’s North Pole at all times, even though we are spinning at 1,000 miles per hour, revolving around the Sun at 67,000 miles per hour, orbiting the giant black hole at the center of the Galaxy at 430,000 miles per hour, and traveling through the Universe with the Galaxy at the speed of light? Or, is the Earth the priceless jewel of the Cosmos, and the entire natural world must pay obeisance to it? Each person will have to decide for themselves. Be aware, though, that the meaning of life, and the true purpose of our existence, have both been revealed by the Bible in general and by Jesus in particular. First, each person is here to make a decision for Christ – yea or nay. If yea, then one should live for Him (Jesus has already done all of the dying) in a life-long effort to follow His teachings by relying upon His strength to the greatest extent possible, all the while knowing that Jesus can forgive anything (except refusing to accept His sacrifice). After all, He is God, and He knows our frailties because He became one of us for a time.

Now that you are saved, and have done your part by accepting His gift-wrapped and blood-drenched present especially for you, you might be wondering what you should do now. Well, you probably shouldn’t run out and start telling people that the Sun orbits the Earth! They are liable to look at you funny, and dismiss anything else that you might have to say. Most people aren’t ready for that level of truthfulness, at least not right away. Instead, start going to a Bible-believing church, read the Bible, pray, give, clean up your life, find out what God wants you to do. Who knows, maybe He wants you to write a book like this one, exposing the folly of some other aspect of human endeavor (art, politics, music, economics, psychology, the list is endless). I chose astronomy and space science, because I’m interested in those things. You can pick what you like to write about. Perhaps someone will get saved after reading your words, just as it is my hope that you will get saved after reading mine.

Day by day
Day by day
Oh, Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see Thee more clearly
Love Thee more dearly
Follow Thee more nearly
Day by day

                                                – from the Broadway musical Godspell

Matthew 28:18-20 King James Version (KJV)

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

James 1:17 King James Version (KJV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

2 Corinthians 5:17 King James Version (KJV)

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Micah 6:8 King James Version (KJV)

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

1 Corinthians 2:9 King James Version (KJV)

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.

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