For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. This is the essence of salvation. God gave us Jesus and this resulted in
His death on the cross. He had to take our place, punished for the
offence He didn't commit to save us from sin and its consequences. He came to gave us life too and to have life more abundantly.
(John 10:10)
What does it mean to be saved?
In Matthew 1:21, we read that Mary was prophesied to birth Jesus who shall SAVE people from their sins. The Greek word for save there is
"sōzō" and it means, "to deliver, protect, heal, preserve, make
whole". That's exactly what Jesus came to do. Jesus permitted the stripes, nails, cross,
crown of thorns, etc to get us saved. He allowed all that for us to
have deliverance, healing, prosperity, protection, etc.
Scriptures also confirm this in Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24, and 2 Corinthians 8:9, alike. For us to have these things plus
the kingdom of God and the very life of God, He became obedient unto
death, even to the shameful death of the cross, dying with thieves.
Philippians 2:8, "And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross." As Romans 4:25 puts it, Jesus was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification. By this, He has given the whole world salvation. How then do we receive it?
Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."10, "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." This makes it simple. By confessing with the mouth Lord
Jesus and believing in the heart that God has raised Him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED! That is God's template!
In Romans 4:24-25, "But for us also, to
whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."
Before these two verses, Apostle
Paul was talking about Father Abraham. He was explaining how
righteousness was imputed on Abraham because he believed in God (Romans 4:17-23) Apostle Paul also wrote, "But for us
also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up
Jesus our Lord from the dead". Righteousness would be imputed on us if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. This is certain because righteousness is about believing in God who has raised Jesus from the dead. God has made us righteous and
given us the benefits of righteousness (healing, deliverance, etc)
through Christ by faith which is a gift. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8 that we are
saved by grace through faith and not by ourselves because it is the gift of
God. Verse 9 also says that salvation is not of works, lest any man should boast.
God has given us health, riches, etc, but some Christians look like the opposite. This leads to the question of seeing and receiving what Jesus has done. How can we make activate all the benefits in Christ? That the participation of my
belief in Christ may become powerful by the acknowledging i.e full
discernment of every good thing I have in Christ Jesus (Philemon 1:6). Refusing to acknowledge what you have will make it powerless and ineffective. The power of the message of the
cross can only manifest when we know and accept what Jesus has done. However, we can't accept what we
don't know. No wonder why Apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of the
Ephesians (Christians at large) to be enlightened:
Ephesians 1:17 That the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 1:18 The eyes of
your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope
of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in
the saints, 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to
us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 1:20
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set
him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. He understands what knowledge brings to us, likewise the lack of it.
Hosea 4:6 says "My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I
will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou
hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
We have to know and ACCEPT what He has done. Accepting the essence of the cross
is more like standing on the good things in us in Christ.
It is about fighting the good fight of faith and following the instructions our faith gives in light of God's word.
Our faith tells us not fear, that we should be bold and courageous. Let's be consumed in His word, for it is our life. His word is the only
reality we should live on and not that of the world, because we are Saved by Nail!
How deep the Father's love for us;
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to Glory
Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking Voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath had brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
If you sing this hymn with all consciousness, taking deep notes of the light in the lyrics, this may be the only part of this article you'd need before you see God's light flood your heart.
First, the body of Christ has underestimated the value of John 3:16. Beyond what we see in this verse, is a story of everything that has ever happened and that would ever happen. It's quite funny that believers have instead taken sides to interpreting the concept of salvation. This was never meant to be.
Of a truth, the fulfilment of scriptures as regards the salvation of the world was meant to come through a process. Have you ever thought why there were no alternatives to the cross? Yes, Jesus is the WAY. But were there no other means other than crucifixion? The essence of salvation was recovery and for Jesus, you can't give what you do not have. He has life and wanted to give us that life. This was where it began - since man had *died* in the beginning through the first Adam. Now, you can only truly receive the life Christ offers in the *depth of your understanding* of what He has done to give the life. That's not only the essence of John 3:16, but the revelation to the composer of the hymn I sent earlier.
This depth of understanding too is why salvation has two basic processes- believing and confessing. At the point of salvation, there is supposed to be so much light that brings the understanding. Only then can a man claim to be saved.
The church of God is His bride. Every good and fertile bride conceives after consummation of marriage. In the same way, it is expected that when we become members of this body of Christ, we should reproduce alike. This is why we can preach and tell the world of the life we have received, inviting them to the same light. So, when scriptures say *there is joy in heaven over sinners who repent*, it is in similitude with what we do here on earth when a new child (a christian) is born (comes to Christ's fold) and the family celebrates.
As I round up now, I'd like you again to go back to the hymn and sing with a better understanding. Engage in deep meditation as regards the hymn and you'd receive clarity over these things.
The subject of salvation is better experienced. Each day, you can only tell a bit of what God teaches. He reveals a deeper side about Himself to us.
The way the devil robs sons and daughters of the consciousness of sonship is through his same old tactics - lies. He constantly tries to feed believers with the lie that we have not been forgiven once and for all. He lies that God is constantly mad at you and that God needs oerfection before you can access the inheritance in Christ. The devil also lies that we are not good enough because of our struggles and weakness. By telling these lies, the devil just brings the subtle art of guilt and condemnation to us whenever we subscribe to his lies.
If at one time or the other, you made confessions to become born again or you are still struggling with sin, cry out to God as you read this; not for forgiveness of sins, but for a true experience of salvation. If you experience true salvation and see so much light, (in Theophilus Sunday's words), it would not be hard for you to sin. Instead, you will look for the ability to sin and you would not find it.
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