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Salvation is the most important discussion that we can have as believers of Christ. How are you saved? Many religious groups are promoting their beliefs in our society, and even with Christianity, not all are on the same page regarding salvation. But as far as Christianity goes, we have an accurate and elaborate guide in understanding this subject of salvation- Jesus Christ Himself.
Not everyone says the same thing about salvation, and so, to clarify this issue in our minds and be on the same page, we will consider what Christ Himself teaches about salvation using his own spoken words. The first thing you must do is come to Christ and seek his salvation since no one else can accomplish this for you. No one else has done for us in regards to salvation what Jesus has done. People have lived exemplary lives, started religions, changed nations, written wise words, but no one has been able to deliver us from the sins of this world by purifying death. No one has resurrected from the dead to verify what He taught us.
No one else has promised his followers a joyful, conscious, certain, eternal life and even performed miracles to confirm His promises.
Salvation is, basically, the work of God that sets us in the right relationship with Christ and also with one another. Romans 1:16-17, the gospel is more than just words- It is God’s power for salvation. Salvation is not for a particular group of people but anyone who wants to be among the people of God by faith. Salvation saves us from broken relationships starting with the healing that reconciles us with God leading to freedom from sins as well as the newness of life that is never limited by death.
We Christians have often limited Paul’s gospel about salvation to something like, ” Believe in Jesus so that you personally can go to heaven when you die.” In fact, this is true, but overall, it is inadequate. This is just a statement that says nothing concerning relationships other than the relationship between you and God, and yet Paul emphasizes the connection among us and between us and the rest of God’s creation.
Paul has a lot to say about life in Jesus, faith, quality of life before and after death, and God’s Kingdom on how we cannot explain it in a single phrase.
Likewise, salvation should not be reduced to a single moment in time. According to Romans 8:24, Pauls says that we “were saved” and from Romans 5:9 that we “will be saved.” From this statement, salvation is an ongoing process and not a one-time event. God interacts with us entirely in human faithfulness and dance of divine grace. The process of being saved features some decisive moments, and the core moments are the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. Romans 5: 10, the death of Christ reconciled us to God, and just like He raised Christ from the dead, He will breathe life into our mortal bodies.
We Christians make a mistake when we consider the first time we said that we believe in Jesus Christ as the decisive moment in our salvation. The book of Romans does not spread the gospel of salvation as if it happened to us in the past, and it is now in storage until Jesus returns. Paul only uses the past tense to explain the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When it comes to salvation, he speaks of an ongoing process in the present or future tenses.
Romans 10:10, one believes with the heart and confesses with the mouth and not “believed” or “confessed.” Romans 10:13, salvation was not given to us; instead, it is always given to us.
If we do not accept to be saved, the Bible promises us of hell- a place of sorrow and torment. The Bible clearly teaches that a hell is a real place for the wicked. It is a place of infinite and eternal death due to our sins. Jesus Christ describes “Gehenna” as a place where the fire is not quenched, and worms do not die. Mark 9:44, 46, 48. He speaks several times about gnashing teeth and weeping for those who will be “cast into outer darkness.” Mathew 8:12. In fact, Christ talked about hell more than anyone else in the Bible. Some try to avoid the idea of hell by believing that God is a God of love and that He will not let any of us perish. They believe that a loving God will never send His people to horrible hell, but the truth is that God is a just God, Romans 1:20.
The good thing is that God has given us the chance to redeem ourselves from sins, and right now, we are still experiencing His blessings. Even if you are sick, or you think your life is less than ideal, or you are suffering in some way, remember you woke up this morning with a blessing of breath in your lungs. He ensures that your needs are met. If we agree to be Saved by God, we have been promised eternal life full of happiness, love, and joy. On the contrary, sinners have been promised eternal suffering and torment.
In Revelation 22:7, we learn that Jesus Christ is coming soon and that the blessed keep the prophecy of revelation. The lord emphasizes how we should live in light of the reality of His second coming and not trying to time His coming. His coming will be the perfect coming, and since we do not know the hour or the minute, the best thing as Christians is always to seek salvation. If we knew how soon His coming would be, there would be that extra motivation to get our spiritual life in order and start following His commands.
If we knew that He is not coming soon, then there would be no urgency, and we would take it easy and do our things. Therefore, Christ left a perfect message about His coming so that we will always be prepared and work hard towards improving on our salvation each day.
Originally posted 2021-10-14 05:44:00.
