14. The Good News of Salvation

-

 The Good News of Salvation - 'It's all about 'The Cross'


This is where we get to the ‘nitty gritty’ and what I came to know of and believe in as a Christian.  The Bible tells is that Jesus came to earth, so that we could be saved.

It was God’s plan to restore relationship with Him, that had been broken by the sin of mankind. Through Jesus’ life, His death on the cross and His resurrection He paid the penalty for our sin and enabled us to life forever.

The precious blood of Jesus, shed on the cross washed us clean, so that we are now regarded as being holy. Holy in God’s eyes now, but also holy enough at our death to live with God in His heavenly kingdom forever.
But only to those who acknowledge Christ crucified on their behalf. 

Isaiah 53:6 says 'All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to our way and God has laid on Jesus the sin of us all.
Jesus' complete willingness and obedience to the Father to go through the agony of crucifixion on our behalf is so amazing it is hard to comprehend.

In the book of Corinthians (Cor 15:3,4) it says ‘Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, He was buried and He rose again according to the scriptures’.

The word salvation comes from the word save and has a broader application.

We can relate salvation to the word salvage. Without Jesus in your life, you were destined to go onto the rubbish heap but through His death on the cross you can be rescued from the consequence of sin. Essentially you have become ‘recycled’ and now useful to God and start to see His plan for your life and want to walk in it.

The term save is often used in a more personal way, describing someone who has accepted God’s offer of salvation. It is translated from the Greek word 'sozo', which means to save, rescue, heal and deliver (from sin, from death and sickness).

In Old Testament history, mankind had to have favour and blessing from God through obedience to His laws (for example ‘the Ten Commandments’ given to Moses).

Now through Jesus’ death on the cross on our behalf, we can receive what is described as God’s grace, not earned but given as a free gift.

Grace can be described as undeserved favour, kindness and love, that enables all of humanity to experience salvation and a transformed life.





Popular posts from this blog

1. Prelude - A Pilgrims Progress

-
Image
Prelude Why did I start this blog? Most of you who know us , would also know that for the past 40 years Lyn and I have been Christian believers.  Through that time God has truly blessed us as a family, in our business and kept us in good health. We have tried not to load our beliefs on our friends and family excessively, because we didn't want to spoil the relationships. But as we are getting older the years seem to fly past more quickly and we can see that finish line ahead, so there is a sense of urgency in relating our beliefs, whatever the cost. Ezekiel was an old testament prophet in The Bible and God spoke to him (Ezekiel Chapt 33) and said he is to warn the people of the destruction that is coming. If he doesn't warn them, their blood is on his head, but if he does warn them, their blood is on their own. So I decided it is time to share what The Bible says to be true.  I may lose some friends, but may help save some too. So hopefully I can encourage you to look at the p...
Read more

3. The Ultimate Life Changer

-
Image
  The Ultimate Life Changer reveals Himself I mentioned how the plant world had become a life changing experience. What I didn’t know was that about the same time I was about to have an encounter which was about to change my life forever in a far more dramatic way than horticulture. I was about to get to know the Creator that made all the wonder of nature possible. Some friends that my wife had met through her work environment had decided to move to Sydney. They invited us to a going away barbecue in the Noosa National Park and suggested we could go in the morning to the small Christian church they attended and then go to the lunch after.   That day ended up being the ultimate life changer. We went to church that morning – and then the next Sunday and the next…….
Read more

2. A Life Changing experience

-
Image
A Life Changing experience About 40 years ago, I had a life changing experience – I discovered the world of horticulture. This discovery came from a route of educational and career choices that ultimately led to the occupation of landscaper and finally to the opening of a plant nursery.   I found there was something almost magical in the process of planting a seed that had been sitting dormant and seeing it burst into life. Or cutting a piece off an existing plant, placing it into a potting media and seeing new roots develop and ultimately cloning a new plant. And there was the intricacy and beauty of leaves and flowers. Intricate patterns of leaf veins and their amazing colour palette. Colours that I personally would describe as undesirable in for example an item of clothing or a car, would by contrast look stunning to me in the garden.   You might well ask – what has this got to do with a blog entitled The True Life Giver Read on and I will tell you!!  
Read more