Salvation
“This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”
God wants you to know him, not just to know about him. When God created our first ancestors—Adam and Eve—they enjoyed perfect fellowship with him. But their sin in the Garden changed everything. Suddenly four key relationships were broken:
our relationship with God
our relationship with self
our relationship with other people
our relationship with the rest of Creation
Everything changed. Perfection was lost, resulting in death—that is, separation from Life. And humans were left with no way to repair the damage.
Until God came for us in the person of Jesus.
Jesus lived both as God and as the perfect human. He laid down his life as a sacrifice for every person and then was raised to life again. By that sacrifice and resurrection, every person can once again know God and enjoy everlasting life with him. Our rescue. Jesus’ followers receive our rescue by surrendering control of our life to him, purposing to obey his commands, and trusting him for our salvation and future.
Those who sincerely take that step receive:
forgiveness of their sins
restored relationship with God, self, others, and Creation
eternal life
the Holy Spirit to guide them
a new identity
a new family and home culture
How about you?
Can you accept . . .
that the purpose of your life is to glorify God and to fully find your joy and well-being in him?
that you were made for a love relationship with God the Father?
that sin broke that relationship and that the consequence of sin is disunity with God and death?
that Jesus is God, that he is alive, that he is the clearest picture to us of what God is like, and that the Scriptures point to him?
that only the gift of Christ's death and resurrection makes relationship with the Father possible again, leading to everlasting life for those who place their faith in Jesus?
that you have accepted this gift by surrendering control of your life and handing it to Jesus?
that you have been given a new identity and a new way of living that should be increasingly obvious to others around you?
that every person has incalculable value in God’s eyes and that your call is to love them and to serve them?
that you are meant to be an active part of the body of Christ, the Church, and that Jesus is the head of that body?
that you have received the Holy Spirit to guide you and help you, and that your choices, beliefs, and opinions are to be guided by what God reveals in Jesus' life and Scripture?
Talk with someone about this and pray it out with God. Then use the gauges on this site to assess your growth over time.
“Certainly, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Photo | Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664)