Everlasting Good News of Yahweh

It is believed by some that all mankind were saved the moment Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) died without them having to repent of their sins or believe the gospel. This is being called “past salvation”. It is believed that the sins of all mankind were blotted out and forgiven at that time. It is also believed that all people were given life at that time.

1) The following verses show when a person is forgiven and their sins blotted out.

Acts 3:19 Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Master;

Yeshua bore our sins, but they are not blotted out until after repentance and conversion (belief). This was written after Yeshua’s death when all sins were supposedly blotted out.

Acts 26:15-18 And I said, Who are you, Master? And he said, I am Yeshua whom you persecute.
But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto you;
Delivering you from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send you,
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Yeshua himself said the Gentiles who Paul was being sent to had not yet received forgiveness of sins. This was written/said after all sins were supposedly forgiven.

Yeshua’s death made a way for the sins of men to be forgiven. Yahweh then offers sinful men that gift. Those who receive the gift through faith/belief receive forgiveness. Those who reject the gift by rejecting Yeshua’s shed blood on their behalf do not receive the gift.

Acts 26:17-18 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto [Elohim](God), that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

They obviously have not received forgiveness of sins, even though Yeshua had already died, because they had not yet believed.

Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins.

Belief must come first followed by remission/forgiveness of sins.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yeshua Messiah for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

No repentance, no remission. No remission, no salvation. Such a person will remain dead in his sins.

Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified [Elohim], saying, Then has [Elohim] also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Repentance is a gift from Yahweh. Without it there is no life (and no salvation).

Colossians 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions…

This verse does not provide a time element of when forgiveness takes place. The Colossians were spiritually dead in sin, yet they were physically alive. After the physically living person heard the gospel and believed, Yahweh blotted out and forgave their sins as all the above references show by providing the missing time element. That forgiveness paved the way for spiritual life with Yeshua.

2) The following verses show when a person is saved.

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 For you, brethren, became followers of the churches of [Elohim] which in Judaea are in Messiah Yeshua: for you also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
Who both killed the Master Yeshua, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not [Elohim], and are contrary to all men:
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, …”

The Jews forbid Paul to speak to the Gentiles so they could hear the gospel for the first time and be saved for the first time.

Acts 16:30-31 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Master Yeshua Messiah, and thou shall be saved, and thy house.

This Gentile unbelieving guard was not yet saved. Paul and Silas did not say, “You have already been saved by Yeshua’s death. Now you can be saved again by believing.” The unbelieving guard needed to first believe in order to be saved for the first time in his life.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of Elohim: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of [Elohim].

Salvation is a gift of Yahweh that only comes “through faith”. It cannot come to an unbelieving, unrepentant, unconverted Gentile who does not even know Yeshua, or even Yahweh for that matter, exists so he can have faith.

Romans 8:9  But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of [Elohim] dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Messiah, he is none of his.

The entire passage, including verses 6-17, are instructive, but this one verse shows that a man cannot be Messiah’s if he does not have his Spirit living within. The fact that unbelieving Gentiles do not have the Spirit can be seen in Cornelius’ conversion.

Acts 10:43-45  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins. While Peter yet spoke these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit.

That is when the Spirit of Messiah came to live within these Gentiles. He was not in them from the moment he died, but from the moment the Spirit was poured out on them.

The following verse is used in opposition to my view:

1 Timothy 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of [Elohim] our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

This was written after Yeshua died and supposedly saved all men. This verse does not say, “Who saved all men”, but “Who will have all men to be saved.” It is Yahweh’s will that all men be saved, but not all men will be saved. Some were ordained to condemnation such as those spoken of in Jude.

3) The following verses show when a person is given spiritual life.

John 3:36  He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of [Elohim] abides on him.

Belief in Yeshua precedes life.

John 11:25 Yeshua said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Belief in Yeshua precedes life.

Acts 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified [Elohim], saying, Then has [Elohim] also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Repentance precedes life. This was written concerning the Holy Spirit coming upon Cornelius and his household. Prior to then, they were not granted repentance and were yet dead in their sins.

1 John 5:11-12  And this is the record, that [Elohim] has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of [Elohim] has not life.

It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Unrepentant, unbelieving, unconverted Gentiles do not have the Son and therefore cannot have life.

Do you have life through Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)? Have your sins been forgiven? Have you been given salvation through belief in the only begotten Son of Yahweh? Your physical life is like a flower that will soon fade away with age or be terminated through some tragedy that can befall you at any moment. Do not delay your belief in Yeshua. Turn to him for forgiveness, salvation and spiritual and eternal life.