The Need of Salvation

Howdie,

I am writing this post knowing that many people will reject and disregard anything that has to do with the Gospel, and Christianity in general.

Fair enough.

I’m also writing this knowing that many people are curious about the truth, power and reality found in Christ.

Great.

I also write this knowing that there are believers of Christ who are curious to know why salvation is necessary in our walk. Until we understand just how desperate we are for our Saviour, and how evil we truly are at heart, we will never feel the need to be saved in the first place.

Awesome.

This post is relevant to all the above.

However, the primary reason why I write this is because I myself need to be reminded as of the necessity salvation as a believer.

Everyday. Every hour. Every minute.

Without this, my faith has no meaning whatsoever.

You can’t convince someone to buy food unless they’re hungry. In the same way, I can’t live my life as Christian without understanding why it’s necessary.

So here it is.

 

You Are Evil

Bumpy beginning, I know, but that’s the reality.

Whether you volunteer at Salvation Army everyday or live to kill English Bull Dog puppies (cutest puppies in the world really though, search them up) we are all sinners at heart.  (Romans 3:10-18; Romans 5:12; Ecclesiastes 7:20).

There is no one in earth who can ever claim to be sinless (other than Jesus Christ). We have all fallen short of perfection (Romans 3:23). Let’s make this practical. Look at our world today. No one has to teach you to indulge in premarital sex, drunkenness, pornography, hatred, unforgiveness etc. We just do it. It’s natural. We must be disciplined NOT to partake in such things.

Why, you ask?

Because by nature we love doing evil things, so much that we consider it normal in this modern age.

We’ve become slaves to sin in our modern world; (John 8:31-36; Romans 6:16) so lost that we fail to see the wrong in what we do.

 

The Awakening

So far I have accused you of being a murderer. It gets better I promise.

Let’s say, you have been convinced that you want to change your ways. Change the way you walk, talk, dress etc all for the sake of becoming a better person. Moreover, let’s go further and say you even believe in God, knowing that you are deserving of an eternal punishment due to the Adamic curse since the beginning of time.

This is good! Here’s the dilemma. You will fail. Miserably. And it’s one of the saddest things in the world.

In Romans 7:14-24, Apostle Paul speaks about his struggle with sin. He mentions how he doesn’t want to do what is wrong, but rather desires to do what is right. However, he is frustrated about the fact that he does the complete opposite of his desire. You can do everything in your power to live a righteous life, but your effort is futile. Regardless of what you do, you will never be able to resist the urge to fight back when a stranger slaps you across the face rather than turning the other cheek. Despite our good intentions, we are still human and henceforth give into earthly desires. As long as we’re alive, it will get worse.

Even IF you were able to resist these temptations and actually perform good deeds, it’s all filthy in the eyes of God (Isaiah 64:6)

Why? Because nothing that we do can equate to the perfection (in obedience) God requires from his disciples.

God is holy (set apart from all living things). He stands alone in righteousness. Not even a blemish of evil is in him. This is why he requires holy people, (people who are also without a blemish of evil – Matthew 5:48).

But how is this possible after reading Romans 7:21-24?

The Answer

 

“O thank God! [He will!] Through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” [Amplified Version]

Romans 7:25

This is our great and confident hope to our problem.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah. As mentioned earlier, God is holy and he requires Holy people. Not people who are 99.99% holy but people who are 100% perfect, holy and acceptable before his sight (1 Peter 1:15-16; Colossians 3:12).

Even Mother Theresa couldn’t live up to this standard and here’s where Christ comes in.

God being so wise and loving, brought his only son, Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) onto Earth to live a SINLESS life without any blemish of evil to fulfill one great purpose. To become our salvation. He died on the cross and rose from the dead on our behalf, so that ALL who believe in Christ and his resurrection will be saved and fully justified before the eyes of God .

The significance of this sacrifice is indescribable. Not only is God displaying his love, he is also displaying his great justness. God used Christ as point of contact to be punished for ALL the sins of the world.

This means, IF you truly believe in Christ (see “You Might not be a Christian” for a blog post on this topic) God declares you righteous, holy and 100% acceptable.

Not because of your works but ALL because of the works of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). The punishment we are all so deserving of has been paid on the cross. Furthermore, all who accept Christ will be given the power to die to selfish/ sinful desires and submit their lives onto God (Romans 8:2).

Through Christ, we now have the ability to serve God genuinely and overcome our sinful desires through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Although we will struggle while striving to serve God on a daily basis, God will deem us holy & right because of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2; Hebrews 10:10).

Now I want to be very careful about this. First of all, we do not perform good works in order to be saved. We perform good works because we ARE saved.

 

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Second of all, this is not a call to be passive in our faith and sin continuously because of Christ mercies (as many of us do). Such thoughts are fully against the word of God (Romans 2:4; Romans 6:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10).

This is rather a call to be obedient and sacrificial onto God because of his mercies, leading us into a life of repentance (Romans 12:1).

Based on this truth, we are now able to serve God whole heartedly by trusting in Jesus Christ, knowing that your righteousness has nothing to do with you but has everything to do with the finished works of Jesus.

 

Paul’s cry of joy in Romans 7:25 is reflective of the joy we ought to have in Christ knowing that we have been deemed righteous, and given the ability to serve  God through His Spirit. Christ is the only way to redemption and holiness.

 

Trust and believe in him, always…

 

Soli Deo Gloria