homeier@aero.ARPA (Peter Homeier) (09/27/85)
ed from
the walking death that we live.
Who has not felt the tawdriness of life here? Who has not felt sin's sting,
the reproach of his own conscience? Who has not suffered the loneliness of
thinking that there was no one who understood him, no one who would accept
and love him, without judging, exactly as he was?
All of us have felt this, or we are not fully human. It is a tribute to the
kindness of God that He has not just left us here to work things out as best
we can in the smallness of our strength and abilities, but He has provided
a way of escape, that we might be able to come into the fullness of glory He
had always intended for us.
In this article I intend to show some of the deep and powerful significance of
salvation in Christ. It is God bringing light out of darkness, it is hate
being made into love, it is death reborn unto eternal life.
When we sin, as we all do, we commit a crime for which the punishment is death.
"The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) Though that punishment may wait,
it will not be denied. The only way to escape is to accept the free pardon
offered in Jesus, bought by His sufferring and death on the Cross. All of our
deeds are being recorded in heaven, and not only our deeds but our thoughts
and even the hidden intentions of our hearts. When we accept Christ as our
Savior, all of our sins are blotted out of that record, and in place of that,
our names are written into the "Lamb's Book of Life" (Revelation 20:12).
It is written that there will be a terrible day of judgement, when God will
judge the whole earth by His Law. The only ones who will be spared will be
those who have had their names written in the Book of Life. See what the
Bible says about this day:
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were
opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the
dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written
in the books.
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the
dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the
lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15)
But those who have trusted in Jesus will be saved from this eternal death
in the lake of fire. Instead, they will live forever in peace and joy and
fellowship with God Himself, as it is written,
"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and
God Himself will be with them and be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)
So the first and most obvious benefit is that we have changed our eternal
destination from the fires of Hell to the delights and joy of Heaven.
Some people consider Hell to be a myth, a child's tale. I warn you truthfully,
Hell is a frighteningly real place. I earnestly hope that none of those
reading these words may have to find out this from first-hand experience.
Even more solidly real is Heaven, which is where God is. Far from being
boring, Heaven is the most exciting, challenging, dramatic, satisfying, and
wonderful place you can ever be! Heaven is where our creative abilities and
energies will find their complete expression in the most delightful ways,
as we become freed from all our scars and wounds, and become able to reach
our full maximum potential.
Christians have always looked forward with anticipation to their lives in
Heaven. And this is completely valid. However, not all Christians have
realized that the promises of salvation do not just apply to that happy
time, but they are accessable in great measure RIGHT NOW. When Lazarus,
Jesus's friend, died, his sister Martha said to Jesus, "If you had been
here, my brother would not have died. But I know that he will rise at the
ressurection." Jesus stopped her and said, "I AM the ressurection and the
life! He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
Then Jesus proved this by raising Lazarus from the dead, after four days
of his body decaying in the tomb. Even so we as people who believe in Jesus
today can begin to walk in the Kingdom of God now. We can begin to exercise
authority over spiritual darkness. We can pray and change the world around
us. We can be renewed in our hearts, saved from besetting sins, and opened
to truly love those around us. We can begin to experience the glory of
Heaven now, and this will grow as we participate more and more in it.
C. S. Lewis once wrote something like the following: "In the end, those who
find themselves in Hell will say, 'I was always here, even on earth.' and
those who find themselves in Heaven will say, 'I was always here, even on
earth.'." The idea is that we begin to live in Heaven or Hell here,
determined not by what chances overtake us but by the choices that we make
from day to day, whether we will live by God's principles, such as
forgiveness, or whether we will live by Satan's principles, such as bitterness
and hate.
So salvation is much more than just the coming to accept Jesus as your
Lord and Savior. But this is the initial step, the vital gate through
which we must all pass, or else we have not even begun our journey.
Jesus said, "I am the truth, the way, and the life; no man comes unto
the Father but by Me." (John 14:6)
What does happen when we accept Jesus? So many wonderful things that
it is hard to think of all of them.
First, we are forgiven for all our sins; they are paid for by Christ's
sacrifice on the Cross. We are justified before God; it is just as if
we had never sinned. We become born again, recieving a spark of fire
from God's heart into ours, becoming alive not as all men are alive, but
alive with a completely different and higher kind of life. When you
read that we have been given eternal life, this does not only refer to the
fact that we will spend all eternity alive, happy, and in Heaven, but it
also refers to the quality of the life that we live both now and then.
We are declared "saints" in God's eyes; no matter what our sins, He sees
the blood of Christ first and sees us as pure. Jesus becomes our advocate
before the Father; when Satan comes to accuse you before the Father of
all of the sins you have committed, Jesus contends before the Father as your
defense attorney. We ourselves have access to God's throne room. We can
come in prayer before the Father and present our petitions. We can also
just come to praise and love the Father, which nourishes us and delights
Him. We can both know Him and commune with Him. Indeed, it is written
that the Spirit bears witness in our hearts that we have been adopted as
sons and daughters into God's family. Not all men are children of God.
Only those who have been adopted through faith in Jesus are in that warm
brotherhood. But we can rejoice that we are not just hired servants,
serving for a wage, but true children, who are blessed by God and obey
Him out of a freely flowing loving relationship.
And there are many other wonders awaiting us, that we only dimly see now.
But I pray that "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the
hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in
the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who
believe." (Ephesians 1:17-18)
The fundamental basis, the minimum necessary, to be saved is found in
Romans 10:9: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
There are two things therefore, truly believing in the heart, not just the
mind, that Jesus was raised from the dead (as so many witnesses have attested),
and also saying with your mouth that you accept Jesus as your personal Lord
and Master.
If there are any readers of this article who have not been born again (and
you know in your heart if you haven't) then here is a sample prayer for you
to recieve Christ. If you want to be saved, then pray this, or a similar
prayer, and Jesus will come into your heart.
"Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that you
died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite you to come
into my heart and life. I want to trust you as Savior and follow you as
Lord, in the fellowship of your church."
If you have just prayed this and accepted Jesus, congratulations! You have
just been born again into the most joyous, warm, loving family in the universe.
Tell someone else about your decision. Start reading in the Bible to find
out more about God's love. A good place to start is the Gospel of John.
Find a good church that teaches what the Bible says, and start attending.
Pray to God, every day, about everything. He really cares! Don't just
let this be a one-time experience, but follow through, and learn more about
Jesus. Welcome, brother or sister! We've got a nice long time (eternity)
to get to know one another. I'd love to hear from you. If you would
like to mail me a note describing your decision, you can reach me at the
addresses listed below. God bless you and keep you safe in His love and
grace.
In Christ's name,
--
Peter Homeier
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