ServantForLife

A People to be Saved

Who are these people that need to be saved?  Why did Christ need to be sacrificed on a cross as atonement for sins for believers to be saved?  To answer these questions a person is forced to look back to the Old Testament.  In fact, one needs to go back to the very first book of the Bible.

Separation From God

Genesis chapter three describes the origin of sin.  “Sin is about the breaking of a right relationship between the height of God’s creation – humanity – and the Creator” (McGrath & Packer, 2005, p. 170).  God had given Adam and Eve only one rule: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Genesis 2:17a, ESV).  This rule was then broken by both Adam and Eve who ate of the tree.  After that, Adam, Eve, and all of their descendants have suffered that affliction of a sinful nature.

Moving forward to the New Testament we see our identity because of sin.   Romans tell us that: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  We find the consequences of our sin in Ephesians 2:1, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.”  It can be seen here that the price of our sin is death and in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 it tells us about mankind’s eternal separation from God.  We can see that the human race was in desperate need of a savior.

The One who Saves

God, in is omniscience, had a plan.  He knew that His creation would need saving and redemption.  His plan was brought to fruition in the virgin birth, the life, the death on the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ His Son.  “For God so loved that world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-13).  God became man and died on the cross bearing the weight of sin.  The one who was utterly blameless died a sinners death.  Christ rose back to life showing that He could conquer sin.  By conquering death and it’s sting (1 Corinthians 15:55), He showed His power over sin and His capability and authority to forgive it.  This is the One who has come to save the world.

Grace

Grace is the: “Undeserved acceptance and love received from another” (Brand, Draper, &England, 2003, p. 678).  The only way that humanity can be saved is by God extending us grace.  This means that He takes care of our brokenness and sin through His death on the cross.  Christ took on the punishment we deserve.  Think of it this way, if a friend borrows your car and breaks it but you don’t make them pay for the repairs and take care of it yourself, you are extending grace to your friend.  Through Christ, God extends us grace. “By grace we have been saved” (Ephesians 2:8a).  The question then becomes how does a person can earn or receive this grace that God has extended?

Faith

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).  Humanity can be save through faith.  The question then becomes: faith in what?  Galatians 2:16a gives us the answer: “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”  It is by faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, believing that He died for their sins, and repenting (Acts 2:8), that a person can receive grace.  When an individual is justified by grace through faith, they are born into a new life.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).