- deliverance from the power and effects of sin (webster)
- salvation in christianity - is the saving of human beings from death and separation from God - by Christ's death and resurrection
by receiving salvation - there’s A new creation. A fresh start.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17
For all of us who have ever wished we could start over, this is good news.
However, before we can really appreciate this good news, we need to understand exactly why we need to start over. Why do we need to become a new creation? Why do we need salvation?
THE PROBLEM - SEPARATION BECAUSE OF OUR SIN
Backstory - sin in Genesis
Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”
And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”
Genesis 3:14-19 NLT
There is an immeasurable gap separating God and man. The cause of this eternal separation between God and man is sin.
Have you ever felt distant from God? We all have. Feeling far from God is very common. Many who sense this vast separation suppose that if they meditate harder, learn more about their religion, or just step into a religious sanctuary, they would be closer to God. But since our separation from God is not physical or intellectual, neither meditation nor knowledge can bring us any closer to God. What causes the separation between God and man?
Behold , the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Isaiah 59:1-2
** iniquities = immorality
The separation between God and man is a moral separation. God is holy; man is not. God is good; man is not. God is just; man is not. All men have sinned; therefore, all are eternally separated from God. All will suffer the consequences of sin, which is eternal death.
... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
THE SOLUTION - GOD’S SACRIFICE AND SUBSTITUTION
The justice of God demands a sacrifice for man’s sin. Jesus Christ became that sacrifice and paid the penalty for our sin at the cross.
Since God is holy, righteous and just, He could not allow sin to go unpunished. Since He is loving and compassionate, He did not want all of mankind to be eternally separated from Him. The divine solution to this problem was for Jesus, God’s only Son, to become the sacrifice for sin.
... for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Hebrews 9:26-28
What exactly happened on the cross? Through His death on the cross, Jesus took our place and our punishment. He exchanged His righteousness for our sin. He took our curse and gave us His blessings. Because of His sinless life, Jesus was the only one qualified to pay the penalty for man’s sin and to bridge the gap between god and man.
God made Him(Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him(Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”
Galatians 3:13
Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
1 Peter 3:18 (NLT)
THE RESULT - OUR SALVATION AND RECONCILIATION
Christ died on the cross so that we could receive forgiveness of our sins, be reconciled to God, and have eternal life.
We have all sinned against a holy and righteous God. The penalty for sin is eternal separation from God in hell. God is just and must punish sin. He is also loving and does not want us to go to hell forever. Therefore, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for sin by dying on the cross. Because of His sinless life, death could not hold Jesus in the grave. He was raised from the dead after 3 days and 3 nights. In Christ, we experience forgiveness for our sins and eternal life. In Him we are restored to right standing before God and given a new life as His children.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ...
Ephesians 1:7
But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13
Salvation is found in Jesus alone. He died and rose again so we could receive forgiveness of sins, be restored to a relationship with God, and have eternal life.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
THE RESPONSE - RECEIVE GOD’S GIFT BY FAITH
We receive salvation when we stop trusting in ourselves and put our trust in what Christ did for us.
Our salvation is a result of God’s grace. It is based on what Jesus did for us on the cross. It has nothing to do with what we do for Him or how good we are. We cannot save ourselves or earn God’s approval through the good works we do. We are saved by God’s grace when we realize our need for a Saviour, putting our trust in Him alone for salvation.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Even though our salvation cost Him so much, He gives us His grace for free.
** Grace = God’s mercy, God’s favor
** GRACE is the help given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not necessarily because of anything we have done to earn it.
It is when we put our full trust in Jesus and ask Him to be our Lord and Savior that we receive this gift of salvation.
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Romans 10:9-10
PERSONAL APPLICATION
• Have you stopped trusting in yourself and started trusting in Christ alone for salvation?
• Have you turned away from all known sin?
• Have you confessed Jesus as the Lord and Master of your life?
• Are you willing to follow and obey Him for the rest of your life?
PRAYER FOR SALVATION
Heavenly Father ... I acknowledge that the separation between us ... is because of my sin ... I confess that I have sinned ... and have fallen far short of Your glory ... I thank You that You sent Your Son, Jesus ... to pay the penalty for my sin... I believe that He died on the cross for me ... I believe that You raised Him from the dead ... I am sorry for my sins ... and I ask You to forgive and cleanse me ... I want to turn away from everything the Bible calls sin ... and receive Jesus as my Lord, Master, and Saviour ... help me to love, serve, and obey You ... for the rest of my life ... in Jesus’ name ...Amen!
A NEW LIFE
If you have sincerely prayed that prayer, the Bible promises that the old has gone and the new has come! The next six lessons will introduce you to some of the new things that have come.
It is important to understand that you are created with three different parts. You are body, soul and spirit. Your body consists of five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Your body connects you to the physical world, but your five senses are also a doorway to your soul and spirit. Your soul connects you to the human world and it defines who you are as a person and connects you to other persons. Your soul is eternal and will continue after you die. Your soul consists of your mind, will and emotions. Your spirit is also a nonphysical part of your being, believed to also live on after death. Your spirit was created as the receiver and image bearer of God. When you are born again, your spirit is reborn and renewed to become the image bearer of Christ in us.
Thereafter your soul—mind, will and emotions—are being saved and renewed daily as you allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to transform and heal your mind, will and emotions of all past sin, hurts, lies and bad experiences.
The following seven lessons will help you to understand how God transforms your life so that your will, your mind and your emotions will enjoy, love and obey Him completely.
** for humans to have the conscious recognition of their being in the image of God means that they are the creature throught whom God's plans and purposes can be made known and actualized
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