By Pastor Greg...
A man was seen walking
through town carrying a laptop, a printer under one arm, a wastebasket under
the other, and a desk strapped to his back.
He was stopped by a policeman and asked
what he was doing. After questioning, he
was arrested for replying, "Impersonating an office, sir!"
*groan*
But, on a more serious note,
I wonder how many people in a church would be arrested for impersonating a
Christian?
Don’t take this the wrong
way. I know some folks come to church
because they are searching for answers or feel remorse; some people are
genuinely looking for forgiveness. But some people think they are a Christian because
they go to church or do religious things.
Unfortunately, impersonating a Christian will not save anyone. And nor will thinking about Jesus.
According to Jesus, a
Christian is someone who has been saved.
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him
will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into
the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him”
[1]
(John 3:16-17).
Most people are familiar
with these words, but what does Salvation mean exactly? From what are we saved? In other occasions, Jesus claimed He came to
set the captives free (Luke 4:18). He
said that He was offering His life as a ransom (Matthew 20:28). If that is true, then who holds us
captive? How do we know that we need to
be saved in the first place?
To understand this idea of
salvation, we first must believe we need
to be saved; we need to admit that we are
captives; we are held hostage.
This is what makes the message of Jesus so important. In Christ, a captive can be set free. But, people don’t like to be reminded they are
held captive by sin. People would rather
hear the message that Jesus loves them; that He doesn’t judge them. And standing on a street corner shouting to
people that they are sinners doesn’t make Christianity all that popular.
However, if you look closely at the Lord’s message from John 3:16-17
Jesus actually implies we are sinners needing to be saved. Did you notice that?
What is it that Jesus said
at the end of John 3:17? Here, Jesus
gives us the central message of Christianity: God sent Jesus into the world,
not to judge, but to save. And, if Jesus came to save, then logically people must need to be rescued, right? Only a hostage needs someone to pay the
ransom to set them free. But, as I said
earlier, people tend to reject the idea that they are captives in need of a
Savior, and they have been pushing back at this idea for centuries.
For example, notice what the
Apostle Paul says to the Christians living in Rome. To convince these skeptics that humanity is
indeed held captive by a sinful nature, Paul describes the symptoms. In Romans 1:25-31 he mentions homosexual
behavior, wickedness, greed, hate, envy, murder, gossip, lying, disobedience,
and many more. Paul covers a lengthy
list of symptoms that indicate sin holds humanity captive. To put it simply,
people cannot help themselves; try as they might, they cannot set themselves
free from the sinful urges within themselves.
Or, as Paul writes later on, “Oh, what a miserable person I
am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?”[2]
(Romans 7:24).
Paul’s lesson to those in
Rome is that, by merely observing human nature, it’s easy to see we are bound
by sin. And there is nothing anyone can
do to break free; we cannot change our DNA.
On our own power, we cannot transform ourselves into the kind of person
who lives an honorable and good life all the time. We try to be on our best behavior, but
something keeps drawing us back to a life that dishonors God. We are slaves to the power within us; our
urges and desires hold us captive. And
we need someone to set us free.
Which is where the promise
of John 3:16 comes into play.
We ARE sinners. We cannot
save ourselves. And it’s a bit
disconcerting when a person feels they are a Christian even though they are
unwilling to admit their sinfulness.
However, because God loves us, He sent Jesus to save us from a life dominated by sin and death.
According to the Lord,
salvation is given to those who believe. Salvation is given to those who accept they
are sinners in need of a Savior. Did you
notice that part of God’s promise? We
need to admit we are sinners held
captive and believe Jesus paid the
ransom for our freedom. His death pays
the ransom, and we believe this by
faith. Still, many refuse to believe they
are captives. Even today, people reject
the idea, just as they did in Paul’s day.
They refuse to admit they are a slave to sin. And because they refuse, they do not receive
God’s offer of salvation. Have you read
what John the Apostle says? He wrote, “If we claim we have
not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in
our hearts” [3]
(1 John 1:10). To receive God’s promise
of salvation, we must admit we are a sinner who needs to
be saved.
However, admitting we are a
sinner is just the first step in being set free. Yes, the Apostle Paul wrote “God saved you by his
grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from
God”[4]
(Ephesians 2:8). And indeed, our salvation is not something we
earn. We are not saved by trying to be
good and act like a Christian. Going to church does not guarantee our
salvation. Neither are we saved by merely believing Jesus is the Son of the living
God. No one is saved just by believing they are a sinner.
There is another step a person must make to receive God’s promise of salvation.
Christ offered His life as a
ransom; His death is on the table – so to speak – free for the taking.
However, we must respond to
this offer. 10 For it is by believing
in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring
your faith that you are saved”[5] says
Paul (Romans 10:10). Jesus implies that
we need to admit our sin and believe He paid the ransom. Paul suggests that we must accept
the sufficiency of Christ’s death and confess
our faith in Jesus. Please notice that
these are action verbs; we are not saved by passively accepting these biblical teachings.
Salvation is much more than
merely knowing we are a sinner; it is much more than
learning the facts about salvation.
God’s promise of salvation is given to those who admit their sin,
confess their sinfulness, believe Jesus is the promised Messiah, accept the
fullness of Christ’s work on the cross, and proclaim what God has done in their
life. This gift of Salvation is not
thrust upon us; rather, it is offered; it
is there for the taking.
We are held captive by a
life of sin and death; we are destined to die.
But God, in His mercy, provided a way for us to escape the punishment
that awaits us. Through Jesus, God is
offering a way for us to be set free.
Salvation means we are no longer destined to die (to die a spiritual
death and to be eternally separated from God).
Through Jesus, we can become the kind of person God intended – where our
life honors the LORD God. But, this
Salvation is something we must reach out and accept. We must admit we need to be saved.
God has made us a promise that “if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” [6]
(1 John 1:9). It’s a beautiful promise,
but we will not receive this unless we first admit we are sinners in need of a
savior.
God’s promise of Salvation
is probably the most significant promise
He has made. Rather than face
condemnation and punishment for our sin, God sent Christ to be our ransom.
Salvation is ours when we confess, accept, believe, repent, and confess. And the Lord breaks the chains of sin and
death that hold us hostage. We are set
free; we are restored and renewed and transformed. We become the person God intended us to be.
That’s what it means to be
saved.
[1]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Jn 3:16–17). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Ro 7:24). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[3] Tyndale House
Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(1 Jn 1:10). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Eph 2:8). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[5]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Ro 10:10). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[6] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(1 Jn 1:9). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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