The Demonstration of Salvation
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe you are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved,” (Romans 10: 9-10).
These words spoken by Paul are the fundamental blocks to the Christian walk. Firstly, in order to need a Saviour, we obviously need something to be saved from. Sin is the culprit of all transgression and conflicts with even the most basic moral law. It haunts us, tempts us, and may become so ingrained in our lives that we may not even realize the need for a Saviour. So, how does Jesus save us?
As scripture tells us, it is not by our own works that we are free from the bondage of sin. It is imperative to know that Jesus is the only one who can offer true Salvation and freedom through grace. The definition of grace in its original Greek context is the word, “charis,” which means: favour, disposed to, inclined, favourable towards, leaning towards to share benefit. Thus, when Jesus saves us through grace, it is actually undeserved favour. It has nothing to do with our own merit but rather displays the love of Christ for His people. As mentioned in Ephesians,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – this is not from yourselves, it is the gift from God- not by works, so that no one can boast,” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This grace offered to us by Jesus is what defines the Gospel (euaggélion) literally meaning, “God’s Good News.” Halleluiah! Good news indeed.
Jesus has given us new life through Him. The Salvation we inherit grants us full allowance of heaven but also a life here on Earth filled with the manifestations of Salvation. Again, going back to the original Greek context of Salvation; this word can be broken down into several meanings.
Sōzō = Salvation: Safe, rescued, delivered out of danger and into safety.
This word in much of the New Testament scripture takes on different meanings based on the context it was describing, but its overall meaning stayed the same. For example:
Save or Saved
Whole
Healed
Preserved
Well
Through Salvation in Christ we are saved, we are made whole, we are healed, we are preserved, and made well.
Glory to God!
So, we are made right and made into the fullness of Christ. Made without shame or condemnation. It is time to live out the new you and you will begin to see the world differently. Through faith, we believe that Jesus paid the ultimate cost of sin on the cross by taking our penalty. His death and resurrection portray this new life we have in Him by laying to rest our sinful self and rising up into a new and glorious life.
And so, we leave you with this word,
“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead,” (Ephesians 2: 4-5).
