Salvation
The Beginning of a Walk With God
We talk about getting "saved" at a lot in churches. Ever asked what it really means?
Saved is the Greek word "sozo" and it implies that a person is transferred into Life, Blessing, Peace and Righteousness with God. To be SAVED is a Bible term that means to be delivered, set free, and rescued from Sin, Satan, Fear and Death. We are saved from Bondage and Saved to freedom.
A great example of this was in the Old Testament in story form when God led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. If you haven't read this yet, I invite you to start in Exodus and read about Moses and Joshua. Egypt was a place of bondage for the children of Israel and God led them out of bondage and slavery into a land flowing with milk and honey.
Likewise sin and isolation from God is a place of bondage for us individually. God leads us out of bondage through the life giving power of Jesus Christ and leads us into our promise land of blessings.
What We're Saved From
That's a good question that deserves a great answer. The Bible shows us a bunch of things we need to be concerned about. One is death. Without the gift of grace through Christ we are doomed to certain death. Romans 6: 23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Another great thing to be saved from is the influence of darkness and the way that realm affects our lives and everyday decisions. Colosians 1:13 "For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
What Happens to You at Salvation
The Bible says you become a totally new person when you accept Christ as your savior. Here are some of the things that transpire when you welcome God into your life...
You get blessed with the same blessings that belong to Jesus. Ephesians 1: 3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..."
You receive a complete forgiveness of all your sin. Ephesians 1: 7 "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."
You receive the affirming of the Spirit of God letting you know you've joined God's family. Ephesians 1: 13 "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."
You are given a relationship of power and friendship so that you can approach God with your prayers and fellowship. Ephesians 2: 6 "...and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
You are brought into the covenant of great promises. Ephesians 2: 12 "remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
All of the above and much more happens to you at SALVATION. You'll be spending the rest of your life discovering how awesome it is to be a Christian!
Salvation Includes Many Other Benefits
Physical healing of the body. I Peter 2: 24 "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
The blessing of physical and natural prosperity III John 2 "Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers."
Rightstanding with God even though you aren't perfect: II Corinthians 5: 21 "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Dominion over darkness and the power of Satan: Romans 5: 17 "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."
Adoption into God's family: Romans 8: 15 "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God..."
How You Know You Are Saved
SALVATION is initiated when you make a covenant with God and break all covenants with sin and Satan. Think of it like making a covenant with a friend.
Covenants have been the foundation of all contracts and agreements since the beginning of mankind. God is a person, though spiritual, and desires relationship with us. Marriage is our best picture of a covenant relationship and a good picture of what it's like to have a covenant with God. Salvation is the result of having a covenant with God.
In a marriage there are the two steps in making the marriage covenant.
One step is heart felt faith. You must believe in the pledge of the other person and be willing to pledge your life to them fully. Marriage is a pledge of giving your life to another person. There can't be any doubt that they love you and you love them. You are willing to give them your resources, your love, your protection and everything. In exchange they are willing to give you the same.
In the case of salvation you are getting "married" to God. Therefore, you stand to benefit the most from this covenant. Jesus is the wealthy husband in this covenant picture. Jesus is willing to represent you before Father with His sacrificial death on your behalf. He is willing to plead your case and be your intercessor if you are willing. He is willing to defend you. He is willing to grant you all His victory over Satan and His righteous relationship with God the Father.
Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that He died on your behalf and paid the penalty that you deserved to pay? If you believe fully in what Jesus has done for you, then you have fulfilled step one for salvation.
The second step to a covenant is the confession of the Covenant. In every marriage there is the section where each partner says "I do". Then following the "I do" there is the section where each partner states their "vows". The "vows" are the promise to enter the covenant, to exchange their lives for the other person with certain terms. In wedding tradition the "weaker vessel" takes the name of the "stronger" and agrees to "submit" to them. Likewise in the covenant of Salvation you must state your decision to follow Jesus, submit to Jesus, trust Jesus, rely upon Jesus and give your life over to Jesus. He is your spiritual husband. You then take His name "Christian".
In Romans Paul touches on this heart felt faith and confession of the mouth: Romans 10:9-11 "...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
If you take these two steps you have entered into the Salvation covenant. This is just the beginning of the New Creation Life. There's much more for you, but you've begun and upon this beginning the Life of God will start making you alive on the inside.
