Tag: relationship

The Ultimate Purpose of Salvation

Discipleship 1:1

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Okay, I admit it. I’m thinking the first lesson is going to be a no-brainer. Wrong! I don’t know if you’ll get as much out of this as I did, but I hope so.

First, let us pray:

LORD, may we enter this study with open hearts, willing to thwart preconceived notions and beliefs that may be contrary to You and Your word. Where we may have trouble comprehending, help us to understand. Shine Your light upon us, help us to receive all that You have for us. Make us blessable so that we may be a blessing to others. Thank You. Amen.

And so we begin…

The bedrock verse for salvation would be:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NKJV

The thing that sticks out to me, probably most of us, is “not perish”, not spend an eternity in hell. And that is absolutely true! That being said, we’re missing the flip side: everlasting life. Huh? You might say. If we stop at eternal life being the means of being saved from eternal damnation, then we’ve missed the ultimate purpose of salvation.

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus was praying. One of the things He prayed is,

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 NKJV

Know God, Know Jesus, is basically what Jesus was saying. Relationship. He was trying to safeguard us. Why? Because …

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy … John 10:10 NKJV

I was attending a celebration of life recently and the importance of the focus we present to others was driven home to me. The minister drilled the terribleness of hell to the attendees, as I have heard many well meaning believers do. I’ve done it. I agree that there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain, no argument here. But what if instead of magnifying the atrocities of hell, we would give heaven three times the accolades? And what if, especially in the light of our first discipleship lesson, we presented Jesus as the answer to our heartaches here?

As the author pointed out in the study I’m reading, it’s no wonder people put off choosing Jesus when salvation is presented as an escape from hell at our demise. He’s not presented as a viable solution to the here and now problems people are facing. What they need is eternal life and they need it now. They need that intimate relationship with the Savior now so that He can direct them into the abundant life here. Life will not be perfect in this broken world in these aging bodies, but we can have life abundantly. If it were not so, Jesus would not have said it.

“… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 NKJV

And when do we obtain this abundant life?

He who possesses the Son has that life; he who does not possess the Son of God does not have that life. 1 John 5:11-12 AMPC

Abundant life begins when we choose Jesus, it begins here, on planet earth. And what is abundant life? The exact opposite of what the thief came to do.

I want to live the abundant life promised me now. That is part of the reason why I am studying this, so that I can rise above those things that are holding me down and lift others up as well. If you share the same desire, then I hope that you will continue to join me.

I recommend re-reading these posts and meditating on the scriptures presented until the next lesson. According to Romans 12:2 NKJV, let’s,

“… not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Study well, fellow sojourner.

Approved

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“For the law results in (divine) wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression (of it either).” Roman 4:15 Amplified Version

When I was a kid I was exposed to what one might describe as “holiness” or “fire and brimstone” preachers. We had one guy who came for revival on a regular basis that I thoroughly enjoyed. Actually, he kind of put me in mind of a human cartoon character what with being short, balding on top, eyes looking a little googly behind his glasses, and being animated. His voice even sounded cartoon like, what with his southern accent that sometimes sounded as if it was coming out from beneath water. He was engaging and brought humor as well as thought provoking, challenging messages. There was no boredom in the sanctuary when he came to town.

I suppose he did “circuits” when he came to our area but I did not see him outside of our home church, so when the opportunity came to hear him at a camp meeting elsewhere I jumped at the chance. He was still passionate but I came away feeling as though I’d been shot double barrel with condemnation; that hurt. This was not the same humorous, thought provoking evangelist that I revered.

I grew up with a sound, spiritual foundation. I was privileged to sit under phenomenal ministers, worship with congregants who truly loved the LORD, and experienced precious moves of Holy Spirit. Overall, I very much looked forward to attending church. It brought great joy and great examples of people living out their faith in front of me. I would not be the person I am today if it were not for the spiritual upbringing I had for which I am thankful.

This post is not to finger point or gripe but to present a subject that I suspect many people who have grown up on the pew inadvertently wrestle with. I don’t know, maybe this is something all of mankind is prone to, not necessarily those of us who’ve been raised in the church. I just thought maybe more so “religious” — and I’m intentionally casting the net wide with that term — people because the teaching of the Law, and religious rituals, is so prevalent. I welcome your thoughts. Regardless, the quote I’m going to share pertains to our opening scripture and it will make my point plain.

“Those who seek to keep the Law of God for the purpose of being justified in God’s sight will also release the wrath of God in their lives.” ~Andrew Wommack

As an adult, I came to realize that much of the fear I grappled with was because I was performance oriented. I was trying to pacify God and earn His favor and gifts by not sinning, so when I failed, I felt condemned and unworthy. According to Romans 6:14, as a follower of Jesus, I am no longer under the Law, but under grace.

Is that a license to sin? No way! Let’s be mindful of the fact, though, that sin does put space between us and God and gives the devil entry into our lives. But what if we did not let that take precedence in our mind? What if, instead of being consumed with keeping the Law to maintain our relationship with God, we would instead seek to maintain our relationship with God first? We would sin less by virtue of our close proximity to our Creator/Savior. Wouldn’t it be much more liberating to live a life where we are consumed with Love, knowing we’re accepted based on Jesus’ merit instead of our own? I think so. Join me today and ask God if our freedom is being prevented by any legalistic weed that needs uprooted.