Salvation: Do We Need It In Our Times? – Part B

 

Link to Part A: https://lychnos.org/salvation-do-we-need-it-in-our-times-part-a/

 

Salvation is the greatest gift of God to man, and this became a reality through Jesus Christ. His sacrifice liberates man from the tyranny of sin, the main instrument of the Devil, which degrades the human person spiritually, and afterwards bodily, leading to Death first of the soul and then of the body.

Since man was created by God with the potential of living eternally, but lost this potential after his Fall, he can no longer attain Salvation, as he no longer has the support of God. And yet, Salvation has become possible through Jesus Christ, our Mediator with God. The problem that this enormous and eternal gift is hardly understood and accepted by many people, is due to their ignorance of the information contained in the Bible.

How does Jesus Christ save us?

  1. We can all attain Salvation – if we accept that Jesus Christ sacrificed His life for us, despite the fact we were His enemies because of our sins. Jesus reconciled us to God the Father, according to the Apostle Paul – “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing (considering) the trespasses of men to Him” (2 Cor 5:19). This implies that we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and repent for our sins.
  2. Jesus Christ saved us – by teaching us the truth about God. Until Jesus made the revelation that God is Love, all people were afraid of God, as they had come to view Him, through their ignorance, as a vindictive God. And yet, “Christ was the true Light, which gives light to every man coming into the World” (John 1:9).
  3. Jesus Christ paid with His own blood the ransom for our sins – Willingly He had done everything throughout His life. The sacrifice of His life, was an offering of thanks (ευχαριστία) to God for the completion of the task of saving man, and NOT as the Western Christians believe, for the satisfaction of God. Christ sacrificed Himself out of pure love, unconditional love, unlimited love, suffering love. Real love is not a subjective feeling, but is created, and changes me and the other person, as I am changed by the love of Jesus Christ.
  4. Jesus Christ, the Substitute Offering – John the Baptist had said: “Behold! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world ” (John 1:29). Instead of me paying for my sins, Christ did that for me! – by ascending and dying on the Cross, if in fact, I truly believe in Him.
  5. Christ was the Victor on the Cross – When Jesus saw that all the prophecies were fulfilled, His work had been completed to the full, everything He had to suffer He did suffer, and the Salvation of men had been fully secured, He then cried: It is Finished – Everything has been completed, it has been fulfilled.

 

After all that, what can we say? Salvation is an organic change in us (2 Pet 1:4), by healing our illnesses, our wounds, our brokenness, our loneliness. It does change our inner and outer world. We become new people.

However, it cannot be an isolated personal event. It is a Social event, taking place inside the Church, with the Grace of the Sacraments and the help of the Holy Spirit.

Now, can one ever say – I am saved? NO. Because Salvation is not a matter of a momentary decision, a decision of a point in time. It is a matter of a lifetime struggle.

But one can say, with the mercy of God, I hope that I am on the road to be saved!

Do any of you have a better answer?

 

Source: Lychnos August / September 2017