The Love of God Shown through Salvation

 SALVATION  

Salvation is the act of delivering (or keeping away) from evil or saving from sin. Sin is an act that is against God's will and, therefore, morally wrong.

The English word "redemption" comes from the Latin redemptio (derived from the verb redemere, to buy back) and signifies literally the process of buying back, liberating by payment of a price or ransom. the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. 

Messiah- 1. The promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.  2. a leader or savior of a particular group or cause. 

The Savior

John 3:16-17-For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish but have eternal life. 17. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. V:36-He who believes and trusts in the Son and accepts Him [as Savior] has eternal life [that is, already possesses it]; but he who does not believe the Son and chooses to reject Him, [disobeying Him and denying Him as Savior] will not see [eternal] life, but [instead] the wrath of God hangs over him continually.

Our Savior

Colossians 1:15-20-He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] He is also the head [the life-source and leader] of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will occupy the first place [He will stand supreme and be preeminent] in everything. For it pleased the Father for all the fullness [of deity -the sum total of His essence, all His perfection, powers, and attributes] to dwell [permanently] in Him (the Son), and through [the intervention of] the Son to reconcile all things to Himself, making peace [with believers] through the blood of His cross; through Him, [I say,] whether things on earth or things

My Savior

John 3:16 is a wonderful reminder of why Christ came.  He came to save us.  To redeem us back to righteousness with our heavenly Father.  Sadly, enough there are some saved folks their relationship with Jesus does not get pass the acknowledgement of Jesus as the risen Savior.  He does not become personal as MY Savior.  What do I mean by that?  We have not cultivated an intimate relationship with Jesus.  A relationship where we talk with Him, and we walk with Him and we say that He is my own.  Where we acknowledge Him in all our ways so He can direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6).   Jesus has become so real that He is a part of your everyday life.

In truth, some people will not embrace their salvation to make Jesus their personal savior.  They choose to mask their real self to play saved in certain settings but continue to live in their mess. Jesus came to save you from the life of secrets. His love unmasks those secrets to give you the freedom to be yourself as He sanctifies you.  As He delivers, heals, and transforms you from the inside out. 

Allow the Savior to become your Savior.  Open your heart really to let Him in.  He will not embarrass you.  He will not shame you.  He took on all that on the cross. You do not have to hide behind a mask.  He loves you anyway.  Jesus gave us Holy Spirit to help us walk this salvation out.  Why don't you give Holy Spirit permission to do the work in you so He can do His work through you. 

Examine your walk with Jesus today.  Have you surrendered your life to Him totally? Is He truly LORD of your life? Or do you still have control? Cultivate a closer walk with Jesus.  So close that you sense Him in the room.  Close enough that you feel what He feels. He is the lover of your soul.

Psalm 116 in the Passion Translation gives us a very good description of what the nature of salvation looks like.  The title said it all:

 “I’m Saved”.

1 I am passionately in love with God because he listens to me.

He hears my prayers and answers them.

2 As long as I live, I’ll keep praying to him,

for he stoops down to listen to my heart’s cry.

3 Death once stared me in the face,

and I was close to slipping into its dark shadows.

I was terrified and overcome with sorrow.

4 I cried out to the Lord, God, come and save me!

5 He was so kind, so gracious to me.

Because of his passion toward me,

he made everything right and he restored me.

6 So I’ve learned from my experience

that God protects the vulnerable.

For I was broken and brought low,

but he answered me and came to my rescue!

7 Now I can say to myself and to all,

Relax and rest, be confident and serene,

for the Lord rewards fully those who simply trust in him.

8 God has rescued my soul from death’s fear

and dried my eyes of many tears.

He’s kept my feet firmly on his path

9and strengthened me so that I may please him

and walk before Yahweh in his fields of life.

10-11 Even when it seems I’m surrounded

by many liars and my own fears,

and though I’m hurting in my suffering and trauma,

I still stay faithful to God and speak words of faith.

12 So now, what can I ever give back to God

to repay him for the blessings he’s poured out on me?

13 I will lift up his cup of salvation and praise him extravagantly

for all that he’s done for me.

14 I will fulfill the promise I made to God

in the presence of his gathered people.

15 When one of God’s holy lovers dies,

it is costly to the Lord, touching his heart.

16 Lord, because I am your loving servant,

you have broken open my life and freed me from my chains.

17 Now l worship you passionately and bring to you

my sacrifice of praise, drenched with thanksgiving!

18 I’ll keep my promise to you, God,

in the presence of your gathered people, just like I said I would.

19 I will worship you here in your living presence,

in the temple in Jerusalem.

I will worship and sing hallelujah, for I praise you, Lord!