Salvation comes from the word ‘Salvage’ (Gr. word sozo) which is to “cure, recover, remedy” – in other words, simply to bring something back into a state of RESTORATION.
Now Salvation is not something that can be earned or something we can “do”, but something which we “receive” simply through FAITH & REST –
(i) Believing & Confessing what Jesus did for us on the Cross (Rom 10:9), and
(ii) Resting on the Finished Work of Christ (Heb 4:1-3)
Salvation is a state of BEING -
(i) Knowing your Righteousness
- by His Blood & NOT by your own efforts – Gal 5:4) -
In the Old Testament, the burnt offering was made to ‘transfer’ the righteousness of the animal onto the offeror and vice versa, thus giving him or her ‘right standing’ before God (Eg. in Lev 16:15-16)
Likewise Jesus took our place at the Cross once and for all in order for us to have right standing before the Father (Heb 10:11-14)
(ii) Working out of ‘rest’
“work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” as Paul writes in Phil 2:12 is not something you have to DO, but something that God DOES in your life, and this can be found in the next verse, “for it is God who works IN YOU both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Learn how to flow freely with the Holy Spirit, and move TOGETHER with Him as He gently inspires you.
(iii) Position yourself as God leads you in order to experience the ultimate purpose of Salvation = GROWTH
Vertical Growth:
Grow in your relationship with God
Grow in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Loving God wholeheartedly (Mt 22:37)
Horizontal Growth:
When you experience God’s love, you will learn how to love others
When you experience God’s Power, you will know how to Minister to others
Loving People Fervently (Mt 22:39)
So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 16:31
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