JESUS AND SALVATION
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS OWN SON JESUS TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT LOVE GOD TO BECOME THE CHILDREN OF GOD FOREVER
There is a myth believed by many that “we are all God’s children” (believers and non-believers alike). While it’s true that we are all descendants of Adam and Eve who were created by God, the right to be called the children of God is reserved for those who are born again of God. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” John 1:12-13
There is a second myth that people are born spiritually or morally neutral, reach some age of accountability and then choose one kingdom (religion or philosophy) or another, hell being the consequence of a bad choice or failure to make the right choice. This also is untrue. Every person on earth is born, by virtue of their sinful nature, under the influence of Satan‘s kingdom and will stay that way forever unless they are born again out of it. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Col 1:13
All humans are totally incapable of pleasing God because their allegiance, or what they truly live for, is not to God. The Bible calls it our sin nature. God could have chosen to leave man in this hopeless situation, but he didn’t! Right in the Garden of Eden, following the fall of man God said that he would provide a way, a Messiah, a Savior who would break the power of sin and Satan’s hold over the lives of mankind.
God being perfect cannot just wink at sin, but he also knows that no human can ever be perfectly sinless. Therefore, the nation of Israel was required by God to offer animal sacrifices to demonstrate their sorrow over sin. The animal sacrificed symbolically took the place of the person making the sacrifice. The animal's death was an atonement or substitution for a person’s sin. Animal sacrifice was to be a temporary practice, looking forward to the day when God sent the Messiah who would offer the perfect and final sacrifice for all humans who truly believed.
Out of his great love for us even though we did not love him, God the Father sent his perfect, sinless son, Jesus Christ, who was both God and man, to die on the cross sacrificially in our place. Jesus did not come into existence at Christmas, but pre-existed in his “god form” from all eternity. The evidence of Christ’s power and authority over sin and death was his resurrection from the dead. In affect, Jesus said, “See, death has no power over me and I promise the same to you who believe in me.” With Jesus came hope – our rescuer had come! When Christ died, he paid the price God required for sin – which we call the atonement or the transaction. This gift of salvation is available to anyone, regardless of how terrible their sins. Jesus desperately longs to forgive anyone who is serious about their sins and desires to live for God.
However, even though the Bible says that Jesus died for the sins of the world, unless a person personally and individually accepts God’s gift, as a practical matter, Christ’s sacrifice does them no good. So then, what does it mean to accept the gift, or to “accept Christ”? Generally, it begins with a growing confidence that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the claims of the gospel feel too certain to be denied. Accompanying that is a realization that without him, one is lost, unforgiven and separated from the love of the Father.
Ultimately, Jesus is spoken to, embraced personally and a person is “born again”. The first evidences of this new life is often an overwhelming disgust with sin in our life, our desire to do better, accompanied by the surprise of an incredible peace, because all is now right between the Father and ourselves. Being born again means our old sinful spirit, which was “dead to sin” (Rom. 6:11) is transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit – the transformation. Spiritually, we are a brand new people – we are God’s spiritual children possessing his spiritual DNA.
In summary, salvation or being born again has two critical components – the transaction (Christ died or atoned for my sins) and the transformation (I become a new person spiritually).
While it is true that all sins prior to salvation are forgiven completely and will never be held against us, there still may be consequences in this life and the next for sinful or unwise choices we make after we are saved, because we now know better. A “born again” adulterer may still lose his/her marriage as well as some rewards in heaven. (See the Appendix in Meta Concept #8.)
What does it mean to be “saved”?
- We are saved, or rescued, from the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s kingdom), into the kingdom of light (Christ’s kingdom, the kingdom of God). While Satan continues to influence us as long as we live on earth, he no longer has power over us because the power and authority of Christ now lives in us through the Holy Spirit.
- We are saved from the bondage we had to our old sin nature that kept us separated
from God and ignorant of God’s truth. The Holy Spirit now enables believers to have a relationship and fellowship with God and to understand the Bible in a way we could not before.
- We are saved from serving our own interests only to serve God’s that is to be an influence for Christ in this world, and to glorify him forever. For the first time we have a God-centered purpose for living.
- We are saved from eternal death (hell) after our physical death, and we will live and work with Christ forever. That’s why those who remain in Satan’s kingdom in this life and the next are called the “lost” in the Bible.
Jesus is called our Redeemer, because he came to redeem, or liberate that which had been lost in the fall. Those whom he redeems are called to be part of the redemptive purpose of God for all things – returning all things back to God. This means bringing the knowledge of God and the love of Jesus to the people, institutions and world systems, which are still ignorant of him. When Jesus returns again, all things including nature itself will be redeemed fully by him and God’s redemptive plan will be complete.
Jesus also established the church, his believers on earth, made up of all races, all social and economic groups, men and women, – all equal before God. The church is responsible, under Christ for introducing people to Jesus and teaching them to obey everything he taught. Therefore, a “true follower of Jesus” is under the authority of Jesus Christ, to whom God, the Father, has given all authority in heaven and earth.
John 1:12-13; Genesis 3:15; Lev. 5:17-19; Eph. 2:1-5; Rom. 3:23; John 1:29; John 3:3, 5, 6, 16; Rom. 1:2-6; Rom. 5:6-8; Rom.10:9; John 14:6; I John 1:9; Col. 1:13; II Cor. 5:17; Titus 3:5; Col. 3:10; I Thess. 5:23; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Matt. 28:18-20; Rev. 5:9-10