Salvation

By Kyle Blackwell

In order to explore the simple, yet complex, subject of salvation, I’d like to first examine what it is not. To be sealed with Holy Spirit does not mean you once said a prayer, or that you asked Jesus into your heart at one point in your life. Biblically speaking, we do not invite Christ, He does the inviting. Although, when faced with the question of whether or not a wayward, backslidden church member is going to Heaven when they die, many preachers will refer back to the time when the attendee prayed a prayer some odd years ago, and they meant it. Nowhere in the Bible does it say praying a prayer, and meaning it, will seal your spot in Heaven (quote Romans 10:9 to me, but if your heart truly believes that Jesus is Lord, you will leave your old nature behind, for you are now a new creation). No, that is a heresy that comes straight from the devil. Of course, if satan is a master of anything, it would be that he is best at taking something holy and twisting into a trap set for total damnation.

When Paul first wrote to the Corinthians, he blasted all the evil practices that were being allowed in the church. There was never a time mentioned where Paul said to  the church of Corinth that the ones committing evil practices were just christians who were backsliding. No! In chapter 5, verses 1 through 5, he demands the one committing adultery with their father’s wife be cast out of the church. This is called church discipline, and it is designed to be made public. Church discipline is a gift from God, and is a practice meant to force members to examine themselves in order to see if they are in the faith. Case in point, 2 Corinthians 2:4-8 points out the fact that the man mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 needs to be granted forgiveness and accepted back into the church with open arms after he has already proved his repentance.

At the pool of Bethesda, there was a man waiting at the steps for the angel, who came once a day to stir the water in order to heal him of his invalid state. Jesus asked in John chapter 5, “Do you want to be healed?” The guy told Jesus he was unable to be healed since there was only one healing a day, and others would beat him to the water, and nobody would help him reach the pool. Jesus commanded, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk”.  I just love how the man’s testimony relates to the spiritual words that Jesus spoke. Many are down on their luck and paralyzed by their sins. The reason God sent His son, Jesus Christ, was to save us from our own sin. This man, who was plagued for a span of 38 years, put his trust in Christ, which is why he was saved from his old life. Jesus never has the man say the sinners prayer or anything of the likeness. He simply said, “Get up, take up your mat, and walk”.  As a Hebrew, the invalid knew exactly what Jesus was asking of him.  The last thing Jesus said a few hours later was, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” I’ll just leave this one for a later article.

True salvation is not just an emotional feeling you are able to remember at one point in your life. Total surrender is what Jesus wants. He wants a relationship with us. There is a false gospel, which is really no gospel at all, that says you can live your life however you want. And as long as you once asked Jesus into your heart, there is a ticket to Heaven that is punched for your eternal security. These false teachers preach that your sins are forgiven, but the Bible states that there must be evidence of repentance, which means to turn away from evil practices, after we ask forgiveness from God for our sins. When professing to king Agrippa his mission from God, Paul says this:

Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. -Acts‬ ‭26‬:‭19‬-‭20‬

This one may be hard for those who are pedaling the sinners prayer as being a one and done act of obedience, but it really is simple to explain. We are designed to be perfect, but God gave us a simple thing called free will. We chose to sin. Because of that sin, we are separated from God. Thankfully, God made a way for us to be brought back into His Kingdom. So, God sent His son, who was both 100% man and 100% God, to visit this wretched world. This man lived a sinless life. While on Earth, He explained the Old Testament teachings in ways they have never been taught before. He was bold enough to tell the Israelites that there will be others besides them who will share in the inheritance of God’s Kingdom. This, along with the fact that He was claiming to be the Son of God (and the ones hearing this took that to mean He was also declaring Himself to be God), eventually lead them to plot Jesus’ crucifixion.

Once crucified, He bore the sins of His people and became sin. Notice, this does not mean that Jesus became sinful, but that He took on our sin, nailing them all to the tree. That being said, the ones who are called according to His purpose can live freely, knowing that they are not living in their own righteousness, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

My Savior laid His life down for a sinner like me. I was the worst of all. Before I truly had a relationship with Christ, I would compare myself to others and view the other party as lesser. I had the audacity to think my evil ways were not as bad when weighed against the rest of the world’s wrong doings, which was living in the Law . In reality, I was basing my salvation on a prayer that I said around 10 years of age. That prayer was my ticket into Heaven as if it were Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and I had the golden ticket.

This ticket to Heaven, however, is not what salvation is about. Heaven is just a bonus. My love, joy, peace and all the other fruits come from my relationship with Christ. If all you think about is the fact that you are not going to hell when you die, then there is a major part that you are missing, and you very well may be going to a place you do not want to visit.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” -Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬-‭23‬

In the Greek language, when words are repeated, they were intended to be of great emphasis, because they did not have the types of punctuation as we have nowadays. The one crying out “Lord” was yelling, begging Him for mercy. Did I not do all these wonderful things in your name? Jesus is saying that the ones who are living in sin, even though they go to church and said a prayer believing that Jesus died for their sins, are not welcome into Heaven. James speaks of this when he states that even the demons believe and they tremble (James 2:19). Then in verse 23 of Matthew 7, when Jesus says, “I never knew you, depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” Did you catch that? Jesus said “I never knew you”. Your heart was not right from the beginning, just like my heart was not right at ten years old. My actions and deeds were not good enough. Truth is, I was living a hypocritical life as a Pharisee. It is not about whether or not you know Jesus. Does He know you?

Now, does this mean one living with Holy Spirit in their heart will be perfect from the first day of their walk with Christ? No, read the book of 1 John and it is evident that those who say they are without sin, they are also without Christ. I will not reach sanctification until the day I’m lifted through those pearly gates.

It is important to mention that I do not mind people saying the sinner’s prayer. However, we must not base our salvation on a prayer, but we need to test our salvation by our actions and deeds. Is this works that I’m speaking of? Absolutely not! I am talking about an evidence that God’s Holy Spirit dwells within us. Do we possess the fruits of the Spirit which can be found in Galatians 5:22-23? Is there love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control present in our hearts?  Jesus said you will know false prophets by their fruit (Matthew 7:16). He also said if you love Him, you will obey His commands (John 14:15). Yes, this means the Old Testament teachings as well, but not all as there are a small amount of laws which were specific for the times, for example, women were not allowed to attend services if they were on their period. This protected from disease of that time due to the available cleaning practices (this is my theory).

This all sounds complex but it is simple to understand. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world. This is the ultimate act of Love. It all seems kind of reckless how He distributes out His Love to whom commit such heinous acts of evil. In reality, in order to understand His Love, we must know that even the best of our good deeds are filthy rags to the one and true God. Therefore, no matter if you have lusted after one individual, or you have raped someone, you are wretched in the sight of God. No matter if you have cheated on a test or committed armed robbery, you are not fit for the Kingdom of God. No matter if you have gossiped about someone, or killed someone, you are unwelcome in Heaven. No matter how you view your sins, you are no more equipped for Heaven than anyone else in the world. The Good News is that Jesus died for the sins of the world (John 3:16). And all you have to do is surrender your life to Him by Faith.

Right now, it may sound like you will miss out on so much worldly fun. Truth is, Jesus brings a peace that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7). I now have a joy that I never experienced prior to Jesus. Holy Spirit gave me a hate for the things of my old life, and a Love to follow the teachings of Christ.

Put down the bottle. Do away with pornography. Flee from that adulterous relationship. Leave the drugs in the past. Follow Jesus, and repent; your life will never be the same.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge -Hosea 4:6