August 8th, 2023
A couple of weeks ago, I listed many of the powerful truths that God’s word says about us. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! We are a people for His own possession, created for good works! We are the light in darkness! When we truly believe what God believes about us, it will absolutely change our lives. With that in mind, I want to spend some time digging into some of those truths individually, starting with salvation itself. Ephesians 2:8 says,
“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
If you’ve accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, you are forgiven and saved. So, what does that mean exactly? You might say it’s the prayer to accept Jesus into your heart. You might say it’s being forgiven so you can go to heaven. You might say that it’s converting to Christianity. Salvation is all of that, but that’s not all it is. See, the word for saved in the Bible’s original language encompasses everything that Jesus died for – our souls, but also our healing, our protection, and our freedom. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).
Salvation is liberation from sin; it’s healing from sickness; and it’s freedom from every form of mental and emotional captivity. Salvation is the process by which we are grafted into the family of God. We who were once in darkness are now light in Jesus. Ephesians 2:12-13 expresses it beautifully:
“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Salvation doesn’t just stop when we say a prayer. Philippians 2:12 exhorts us to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling.” We are born again when we’re saved and it’s from that point that we grow and change into what God created us to be. 1 Peter 2:2 says,
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—”
That growth and transformation is only possible through the power of His word by the Holy Spirit!
Ephesians 5:25-27 says,
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
When you’re born again, you’re cleansed by the blood of Jesus, but from that point, there is more. The call of the child of God is to look like Jesus; to think like Jesus; to see like Jesus; and to live like Jesus. We have to grow up in Him! Titus 3:5-7 says,
“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Read that again! He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. We have to be regenerated and renewed and that’s not something we can do for ourselves. It’s a process of spending time with Him in His word, in prayer, and in fellowship with the body of Christ. This is how we become less and less like our old selves and more and more like our Savior. It’s not by works, but by His power! No amount of works could ever be enough to be worthy of His forgiveness, but He loved us enough to send Jesus, so we could live like Him.
The gospel is so much more than a prayer. It’s the power to live exactly like the Word of God says we can, by His grace. When the Moravian missionaries sold themselves into slavery to reach the lost in the West Indies, it’s recorded that they cried out “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.”
What is the reward of Jesus’ suffering?
Are the lives we’re living reflective of the sacrifice He made for us? The truth is He would have given Himself just for you. He made it so clear over and over again that He loves the one. The Prodigal Son. The lost coin out of ten. The lost sheep out of a hundred. God longs for every single one of us, because we’re His children.
So, what is the reward of Jesus’ suffering? It’s us—and not us separately. Jesus isn’t coming back for a collection of souls that have just said a prayer to get into heaven and then been stored up in a church pew. He’s coming back for us, together, His church — a unified, empowered, pure and spotless bride waiting for Him with bated breath.
The cry of my heart this week has been for more. I want to live my life with the passion that Jesus did. Don’t you? Don’t you want to live like God says you can live? Don’t you want to know Him the way the word of God says you can? Don’t you want to see the things Jesus promised you could see? He’s made a way and all you have to do is believe Him and obey.
There’s a song that has been an anthem in my heart for years and it goes like this:
That my feet would walk as Jesus walked,
That my eyes would see as Jesus saw
That my heart would love as Jesus loves
That my ears would hear the call.
It seems so simple, but that’s the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ! We are redeemed from the power of sin and death; born again into a royal family; and empowered to walk like Jesus here and now! That’s salvation.
“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”
If you’ve accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, you are forgiven and saved. So, what does that mean exactly? You might say it’s the prayer to accept Jesus into your heart. You might say it’s being forgiven so you can go to heaven. You might say that it’s converting to Christianity. Salvation is all of that, but that’s not all it is. See, the word for saved in the Bible’s original language encompasses everything that Jesus died for – our souls, but also our healing, our protection, and our freedom. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).
Salvation is liberation from sin; it’s healing from sickness; and it’s freedom from every form of mental and emotional captivity. Salvation is the process by which we are grafted into the family of God. We who were once in darkness are now light in Jesus. Ephesians 2:12-13 expresses it beautifully:
“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Salvation doesn’t just stop when we say a prayer. Philippians 2:12 exhorts us to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling.” We are born again when we’re saved and it’s from that point that we grow and change into what God created us to be. 1 Peter 2:2 says,
“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—”
That growth and transformation is only possible through the power of His word by the Holy Spirit!
Ephesians 5:25-27 says,
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
When you’re born again, you’re cleansed by the blood of Jesus, but from that point, there is more. The call of the child of God is to look like Jesus; to think like Jesus; to see like Jesus; and to live like Jesus. We have to grow up in Him! Titus 3:5-7 says,
“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Read that again! He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. We have to be regenerated and renewed and that’s not something we can do for ourselves. It’s a process of spending time with Him in His word, in prayer, and in fellowship with the body of Christ. This is how we become less and less like our old selves and more and more like our Savior. It’s not by works, but by His power! No amount of works could ever be enough to be worthy of His forgiveness, but He loved us enough to send Jesus, so we could live like Him.
The gospel is so much more than a prayer. It’s the power to live exactly like the Word of God says we can, by His grace. When the Moravian missionaries sold themselves into slavery to reach the lost in the West Indies, it’s recorded that they cried out “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.”
What is the reward of Jesus’ suffering?
Are the lives we’re living reflective of the sacrifice He made for us? The truth is He would have given Himself just for you. He made it so clear over and over again that He loves the one. The Prodigal Son. The lost coin out of ten. The lost sheep out of a hundred. God longs for every single one of us, because we’re His children.
So, what is the reward of Jesus’ suffering? It’s us—and not us separately. Jesus isn’t coming back for a collection of souls that have just said a prayer to get into heaven and then been stored up in a church pew. He’s coming back for us, together, His church — a unified, empowered, pure and spotless bride waiting for Him with bated breath.
The cry of my heart this week has been for more. I want to live my life with the passion that Jesus did. Don’t you? Don’t you want to live like God says you can live? Don’t you want to know Him the way the word of God says you can? Don’t you want to see the things Jesus promised you could see? He’s made a way and all you have to do is believe Him and obey.
There’s a song that has been an anthem in my heart for years and it goes like this:
That my feet would walk as Jesus walked,
That my eyes would see as Jesus saw
That my heart would love as Jesus loves
That my ears would hear the call.
It seems so simple, but that’s the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ! We are redeemed from the power of sin and death; born again into a royal family; and empowered to walk like Jesus here and now! That’s salvation.
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