Salvation
New life. New beginnings!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
This is great news! However before you can fully appreciate this good news, you need to understand exactly why you needed salvation.
Why do we need Salvation?
Because humans have a problem.
Death, violence, and hatred are the results of rebellion and sin. This has caused an eternal gap between us and God, which explains your sense of separation from God.
People try to bridge this gap by serving harder, praying more, or learning more, hoping they will get closer to God. However, since this separation is not physical or intellectual, there isn't anything we can do to bring us back into God’s family.
“Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear.”
The separation between God and humans is moral. God is holy, pure & good and we are not. All humans have sinned and therefore suffer the consequences of sin, which is eternal death.
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
By nature, we are self-absorbed and rebellious and live in self-destructive ways. Yet, God knows all this and still loves and wants you in His family.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord...”
We started with the question of what God wants and that He wants you to know who you are and why your life has so much value and worth to him.
You exist so for God to delight in you and for you to adore Him. And as His earthly family, he wants you to participate in the family business as his partners.
The Solution
God is holy and just, so He cannot let sin go unpunished. God also hates what sin has done to us. God is dedicated to offering a true and lasting solution to the separation caused by sin.
Therefore Jesus became the solution, opening the way for us to enter into a relationship with God when we place our faith in Jesus and repent from sin.
In Mark 1:15, when Jesus began His earthly ministry, he announced 'The time has come, and the Kingdom of God has come near'. He called for people to 'repent and believe the good news!’.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
What happened on the Cross?
On the cross, Jesus bled and died, taking upon Himself, all the sins of the world so anyone who believes in Him will live. Jesus took the punishment we deserved and exchanged His righteousness for our sins.
He took the curse (death) and gave us His blessings (eternal life). It was because of his sinless and obedient life that Jesus was the only one able to pay the penalty for human sin and bridge that eternal gap between God and humans.
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree””
Why is it called Good News?
What makes this great news, is that it depends on something other than our performance. No one is perfect and is fit to live in God’s family. We have to be made acceptable to God.
The gospel tells us how this happens —God extends the invitation to give you a permanent place in His family. All He asks is that you repent and obey by believing this good news. Our faith in Jesus transfers God’s righteousness to us and He declares us flawless in his eyes.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
The Result
You receive salvation when you stop trusting in yourself and place your trust (faith) in what Jesus did for you, by acknowledging that you cannot save yourself or earn His approval. Instead, you place your hope in God’s way of salvation; as a result, you now belong to God’s family as His earthly child and heavenly family.
Salvation begins when you have, after hearing the gospel, received the gift of righteousness through repentance and faith.
Now that you have begun your journey of living out your new life, it’s important to immerse yourself in a local church community. God created humans to be relational beings, and our needs are fulfilled through maintaining the right relationships with God, ourselves, one another, and creation.
A New Life
If you have sincerely prayed for salvation, the Bible promises that the old has passed away and the new has come. When you follow Jesus, it results in you becoming more like him day by day. Now that is good news!
Personal Application
Do you trust in Jesus more than you trust in yourself for salvation and that what Jesus has done is enough?
Have you confessed Jesus as the Lord and King of your life?
Are you willing to follow and obey him for the rest of your life? What does that look like for you?