Salvation
Salvation
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
In this world, most people instinctively know there are serious problems that plague mankind. This observation rings true no matter what political stripe, religious, or non-religious affiliations people may embrace. One can be a conservative, liberal, Christian, or an atheist and yet still know something is terribly amiss in this world. We can all list a long litany of woe that plagues the sons of men.
Two questions should emerge from this tragic predicament. First, what is the true source of our problems? Second, based upon that evaluation, what is the correct solution? All good doctors know the key to their success in healing people is through correctly diagnosing their illnesses. Through a series of tests, doctors rule out possibilities in the hopes they can trace the true source of what ails their patients.
Commonsense tells us without the correct diagnosis; it does not make a difference what cure a doctor may prescribe. It will never bring the desired results. In fact, in some cases, the cure can be worse than the disease.
Apart from God and His inspired, infallible, immutable, and inerrant Word, man has one diagnosis of what is wrong with the world. The God of the Bible, however, has a completely different one. Humanists believe man is inherently good; it’s just his environment that is toxic. Based upon that analysis, man sets out to save himself. Typically, humanistic salvation comes through law, (government policy and programs) education, money, science, and technology.
Whenever serious problems emerge, the world’s mantra is “more money, more education, and more government programs.” Do these pursuits solve humanity’s deep seated problems? America has spent trillions of dollars and plunged our nation into massive debt pursuing this course. Yet, we still foolishly insist these worn out solutions solve our troubles and man can move on to perfection. In and of themselves, money, education, science, and technology are not inherently evil. As a source of man’s salvation, however, they woefully miss the mark.
Whereas the world places our problems outside of mankind, God places the source of man’s trouble within us. Mark 7:21-23 states, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
It is critically important to recognize where Jesus places the ultimate source of man’s woes. It comes from within us. Man can change genders, spouses, children, churches, locations, friends, and jobs, but do these changes, in and of themselves, solve man’s inherent problems? The self-evident answer is no. Wherever man goes, his inherent problem goes with him.
Man can run, but not hide. The same brick wall awaits all those who think they can prune the fruit of their lives, while ignoring the root of their lives. This is why no outward manipulations that can ultimately deliver us from what inwardly stalks us. We will merely face the same dilemmas over and over again.
The painful reality comes down to the fact that there is a sinful nature that rages within all of us. Thus, our greatest deliverance is to be set free from the hellish selfishness that enslaves us, hurts us, and harms others.
The Salvation of the Lord
Based upon God’s diagnosis, there are several word/pictures that reveal the great salvation offered to us by our great God and King, the Lord Jesus Christ. First, it would be fitting to define the word salvation Biblically. It means to deliver from evil, both temporal and eternal deliverance. Salvation also means preservation from danger. The Apostle Paul declared, “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10).
Four Word/Pictures of Salvation
Justification: Romans 5:1 states, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This legal terminology paints for us a picture of a court trial. Justification is a legal, judicial term.
All of mankind will one day stand before a righteous, just Judge who is not of human origin. All of us will have to stand before God’s bar of eternal justice and give an account for every thought, word, and deed that we committed in this life.
To the chagrin of many, this Judge cannot be bribed. He will not be swayed by our poverty nor enticed by our riches. Sadly, even before He officially declares our guilt, our own conscience will scream the verdict that will echo throughout eternity.
As this picture of a court trial progresses, know for certain, this righteous Judge will officially find unrepentant men guilty and pass sentence. The sentence is death, eternal death that casts sinners into God’s eternal prison called hell. This is the bad news, but wait; there is also good news in this courtroom drama. There is still hope, a living hope.
Guilty sinners can be justified. The Holy God of the Bible can legally dismiss our case and pardon guilty sinners. How is this possible? Instead of allowing us to be hauled away to suffer eternal damnation, this righteous, just, Judge became our substitute on a cruel cross. He fulfilled God’s righteous demands, died in our stead, and was raised again to offer those who believe on Him newness of life. Romans 4:25 states, “Who (Speaking of Jesus) was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.”
Redemption: John 8:34-36, states, “Jesus answered them, ‘most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”
As we examine these words by our Lord, picture a slave block. A dark place where precious human beings made in the image of God are bought and sold based upon the lustful whims of slave masters. As human beings, we must come to grips with certain realities. The fact remains that our souls have been bought and sold on this slave block countless times due to the enticing nature of sin. But there is One, according to the book of Isaiah that can break the chains. Isaiah 45:2 proclaims, “I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.”
God’s redemption sets the captive free. Jesus quoting from the book of Isaiah declared these soul-liberating words:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
If we yield our members to sin, we become sin’s slave. The Apostle Paul taught at length on this Biblical concept in Romans 6. If the Son, however, sets us free, we are free indeed (John 8:36). Jesus not only atoned for our sins, but has the authority to forgive our sins and destroy its power to dominate us (Romans 6:14).
Propitiation: 1 John 2:2, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross appeased the wrath of God that was against us and satisfied His just nature. John 3:36 declares, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Though God is love, he hates sin and will not abide it (Proverbs 6:16-19). This places sinful man in a precarious and dangerous predicament. How can a Holy God who hates sin establish a relationship with sinful man? It was through the bloody, cruel cross, God took our sin, disobedience, moral failures, and transgressions and all its misery and thrust them upon Jesus. This satisfied God’s justice and appeased His anger. Jesus became sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). This great exchange unleashed God’s mercy to guilty sinners like you and me who repent and trust Christ for the salvation of our souls.
Jesus paid a debt, He did not owe. We owed a debt, we could not pay. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, (Romans 5:6) the just for the unjust and now we can have peace with God (1 Peter 3:18). Since God’s anger has been appeased, the glorious ministry of reconciliation can go forth in Jesus’ name!
2 Corinthians 5:19, 20 declares, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”
Reconciliation: Picture if you will, a broken, hostile relationship miraculously restored. This aptly describes one aspect of God’s salvation, which is reconciliation. The premier example of this heart-wrenching plight is discovered in the parable of the Prodigal Son.
In Luke 15, Jesus vividly portrayed the quandary of a young son when he abandoned his father’s house for the pleasures of this world. He squandered all that he had on riotous living and was reduced to a pig’s sty existence. He finally came to himself and decided to go back home. This time, however, not as a son, but as a servant. Thankfully, he was willing to confess his great sin against God and his family.
The father, as was his practice, was looking out on the horizon waiting for the day his wayward son might return home. One day it happened. Instead of berating his son for all his wicked, foolish decisions that brought calamity upon his life, God Word states:
But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’ (Luke 15:20-24).
This article was written in an attempt to present the Gospel of the Kingdom that has the power to save your eternal soul. I pray through my feeble attempts the Lord will make His appeal known, “Be reconciled to God.” The Bible warns, “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Hebrews 3:15).
Through Christ, God can save you, justify you, redeem you, and reconcile you back to Himself. He can remove all hostility that exists between you and Him. When the first converts to Christianity heard the same challenge to acknowledge the Lord’s salvation, God’s Word states:
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37, 38).
If you desire God’s salvation, this is the way (Isaiah 30:21). Today can be the day of your redemption (2 Corinthians 6:2). Call upon the Lord, repent of your sin, acknowledge the truth (God, you are right in Your assessment of me and I’m wrong), be baptized, and receive the power of the Holy Spirit to transform your life in Jesus’ name (Titus 3:5)!
