Word of the Week - Salvation
“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast” Ephesians 2:8
My Salvation Experience - The best day of my life to date, was the day I fully surrendered my heart to Jesus and experienced the gift of Salvation. This was the first time in my life at the age of 33 I knew at the depth of my soul that if I died, I would be with Jesus in heaven. The beginning of life as a believer is Salvation in and through Christ Jesus our Savior who according to God’s word came to earth to bring Salvation to mankind. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16
Since our life is a mere vapor compared to eternity, where we spend eternity is a big deal! Regardless of your faith or belief perspective, no one can argue the reality that we are all going to transition from life on earth to somewhere or something else at the end of our lives. There are a few things that are certain in life, and one of those is the fact that we are all going to physically die, it is just a matter of time. This is not a popular topic but it is a reality that we must all face in the journey of life. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens; a time to be born and a time to die” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 That being said, the “Great News” of Jesus Christ is that He came to earth lived, was crucified by death on a cross and rose again with the primary mission of bringing Salvation to all. What is amazing is that He did the hard finishing work and sacrificed all for us, we simply have to believe and receive the “free gift” of Salvation. This is the gospel message, the Good News of our Christian faith.
Based on my experience, I believe the biggest challenge we face in the journey of salvation is our way of thinking. Since we live in a world where we work to produce and “earn our keep”, we tend to believe that God works in a similar way. This is surely what I believed for the first 33 years of my life. This is even how many world religions characterize Salvation, if your good works outweigh your sin then you will be accepted and have your reward. Like a good works/bad behavior continuum where we are just trying to do more good than bad. On the contrary, Jesus makes it very clear throughout His Word that our Salvation is about one thing, the person of Jesus and what He did on the cross. The truth is that we can never be good enough or do enough good works to earn Salvation, it is simply not possible because we are sinful and human. We are born into this world with sin. The amazing news of our faith is that we don’t have to be good enough, we simply have to accept and receive what Christ did for us on the cross and fully surrender and believe by faith and we will have eternal life. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
So, what about good works? As Christians aren’t we supposed to be salt and light to the world and produce fruit of the spirit? Yes, but this fruit is not produced by us it is produced by Christ at work within us. The fruit and good works of a believer are simply a biproduct of believing and knowing Christ. So the work of a believer is to pursue and know Christ through an abiding relationship and He takes care of the rest. “I am the vine and you are the branches, if you abide in me I will abide and you and you will produce much fruit but apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 The really cool thing is that the more we get to know the person of Christ the more we want to love Him by following His commands and loving others. So our motivation to do good works is born out of love and gratitude and not driven by fear, it is simply our response to God’s amazing grace.
Finally, when we trust God by believing in Jesus and become true followers of Christ, we are not just saved but we are fully justified and adopted as co-heirs with Christ. So we are actually part of God’s family and have access to the same powers and privileges of Christ. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by Him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.” Romans 8:14-17. I know this is very hard to believe but it is what God’s word tells us.
I pray the Lord would draw us all to the fullness of Salvation and we would rejoice in our Salvation and share it with others.
Sincerely,
Duane