Read an Excerpt
The Christian Life Series
By Rayola Kelley AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2013 Rayola Kelley
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4817-4455-3
CHAPTER 1
A MATTER OF SALVATION
INTRODUCTION
One of the most confusing matters in relationship to the kingdom of God is salvation. Although the plan of salvation is clearly laid out in the Bible, it is surrounded by diverse variables that can cause confusion as to what it means to be truly saved. In fact, this issue regularly comes up in discussions when I have had to contend with those who are struggling with the validity of their Christian life and testimony.
Admittedly, I struggled with this matter in the past. I have questioned the legitimacy of my salvation when I found myself entangled in the destructive ways of sin. In my struggle I discovered how sin robs a believer of his or her joy of salvation, kills the power of his or her testimony to stand steadfast in such salvation, and destroys the hope of finishing the spiritual course to know the fruition of salvation. King David said it best in Psalm 51:10-12 in his prayer of repentance, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a free spirit."
As I watch the matter of salvation become even more shrouded by a "modern watered-down" version of the Christian life, I feel the need to clarify what it means to be saved. My goal for this presentation is to honestly address this issue with the intent of bringing people back to the center of what has been clearly established in the Word of God.
The Bible assures us that we can know whether we are saved or not. If the issue is not clear it is not because the criterion for salvation is illusive, but that something such as sin is causing confusion about this matter.
It is vital that we come back to the simplicity of the Bible and allow it to clear up any questions or uncertainty about this subject. If there is something causing doubt in our minds about our personal salvation, then we must allow the Word of God to reveal what we must do to dash such doubts in our lives. After all, we cannot afford to enter into eternity without this matter being settled once and for all!
WHAT IS SALVATION?
As a Christian it is not unusual to take the matter of salvation for granted. Since it is not abnormal for each of us as Christians to be surrounded by references, sermons, and teachings on salvation, we assume this matter has been settled. However, as I contend with people in the Christian realm, such assumptions prove to be sick presumptions. Presumption on these people's part amounts to wishful thinking that all is well with their spiritual lives, when in reality there are indications that something is really amiss. Such inconsistencies in people's lives can and will often create doubt in their own minds as to the credibility of their salvation.
Let us begin with the meaning of salvation. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance identifies "salvation" as being an act that has happened (rescued), is happening (need help for the sake of preservation), or will happen in the future (coming to a place of safety). It entails deliverance from something that is destructive, as well as deliverance to something such as a state or place that will result in safety, healing, and protection, ultimately producing well-being or spiritual wholeness.
Clearly, salvation occurs because someone is in some type of danger. A good example of salvation would be a person who is in the ocean and is aware that he or she is about to drown or to be attacked by a shark. Such a person is in danger of losing his or her quality of life or the essence of it altogether. Clearly, such a person has no means to save him or herself; therefore, any deliverance must come from outside of the individual. Such deliverance will also come from above. After all, how can one save a person if he or she is in the same situation? Someone must reach down from a stable place of safety in order for the person to be lifted up and out of present danger.
One of the problems that people have is understanding what they need to be saved from. Some people are actually looking for relief from certain uncomfortable situations in their lives, but they do not see that they are in any real danger. In such cases a person really wants relief from an unpleasant situation, and not true deliverance.
This brings us to what we need to be delivered from. Most Christians know the answer to this question but they fail to understand in what way they need to be delivered. We know that because of our fallen condition of sin and death, Jesus came to deliver us from the dictates of sin and the claims of death upon our souls. However, most people associate their spiritual problems with the happenings taking place in their environment. Due to a gospel that has often been adjusted to attract people to be saved from unpleasant circumstances in order to experience a self-serving life, people seek Jesus for relief and not deliverance. They seek Jesus out to save them in their sin by alleviating the tormenting, vain fruits of it, but they do not have any desire or recognize the need to be delivered from the entanglement of sin and its fruit of death.
Since people are looking for relief, rather than deliverance, they often become disillusioned in their Christian life. The harsh reality is that any relief from the tormenting ways of sin will only prove at best to be temporary. Even though sin may not appear to be destructive, it harbors the fruit of death. A good example of how deceptive sin is can be found in the Garden of Eden.
The tree of knowledge of good and evil looked pleasant to the eyes, while the serpent claimed it offered incredible possibilities. It all looked harmless enough, but the deadly power was not in considering the tree and its fruit, it rested in partaking of the fruit. Granted, its physical attraction was a tempting lure and its possibilities caught the attention of the imagination of the heart, but none of these carried death. It was partaking of the fruit that allowed death to enter into the human race.
Sin can prove to be an attractive, tempting lure for us to justify partaking of its deadly fruit. The vain imagination of a prideful heart can justify such actions at the prospect of what it might gain in the end. However, both serve as points of temptation. James 1:14-15 explains how it works, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
When Jesus walked on this earth, He clarified the extent and entangling ways of sin when He stated that if a man looked upon a woman to lust after her, he would be committing adultery. The truth is the fruit of death begins when a person starts to covet in his or her heart that which he or she has no right to possess. Such covetousness is a form of idolatry, which is a type of spiritual agreement that is considered fornication or harlotry.
Spiritual fornication occurs when the soul is ready to come into agreement with the unholy by first toying with it with the eyes or imagination. Since the person's imagination is already stirred up, he or she will trespass into forbidden areas to consider the possibilities of the pleasure such fruit will add to his or her life. Once the person actually partakes of the forbidden fruit, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, aspects of death begin to work within his or her soul. It not only brings a separation from that which constitutes life, but it will separate the individual from the author of life, the Lord.
Jesus did not die on the cross to save us in sin, but He died so we could be saved from the consequences of sin, that of death and separation from God. He did not die so that we could partake of sin and live in it, forever tormented by the vanity and useless of it all; rather, He died so we could have eternal life and partake of heavenly fruit.
Sadly, people want the right to partake of different aspects of sin without paying the ultimate consequences. They want to put a band-aid on the real problem instead of submitting to major surgery that entails dealing with the spiritual cancer of the soul. They do not want to agree with God's evaluation of it that every aspect of sin will result in death. Clearly, our natural tendency is to give way to deception about its deadly sting, while living in denial that once sin injects its deadly ways into a matter, spiritual death is inevitable unless we honestly confront it in our lives.
Unless people realize the urgency of their spiritual condition, they will not see the need to be delivered from their fallen state of death or the unmerciful dictator of sin. We all need to be rescued from sin's claims on us, saved from its present working in our lives, and saved from its future judgment of spiritual death and damnation upon our souls.
God has clearly made the first move to save us, but we must embrace His attempt to save us. We must locate the life-saver that was provided by heaven. We must reach up and grab hold of the hand of mercy and compassion that is reaching down, and allow ourselves to be lifted above the tumultuous waters of the world.
At this point it would behoove us to understand what God had to do to save us. Perhaps if we come to terms with this, we can also come to terms with what it means for us to be saved from damnation.
REDEMPTION
Redemption is an incredible word. Unless we understand it, we will not recognize the mercy that has been extended to us or the grace that has been made available. Since redemption has been interchanged with salvation in some languages we need to understand the concept of redemption. Redemption and salvation are two distinct acts. Granted, they may point to liberty or a different existence, but their actual acts are not the same.
As previously pointed out salvation points to being delivered, rescued, or spared from some type of state of ruin or destruction, whether it is physical or spiritual. "Redemption" points to the act of something being bought back or ransomed from that which has improperly taken possession of it. Such possession points to captivity or enslavement.
It is important to point out that in redemption someone must actually take responsibility for what it is being redeemed. For example, the one who pays the ransom for someone is willing to take full responsibility for that person's welfare.
To buy or ransom something back from some form of captivity is one aspect of redemption. However, there is another important facet of it. A person is redeemed with the intent of restoring him or her back to his or her original inheritance, lifestyle, or purpose.
An example of people being redeemed are the children of Israel. They were unfairly taken into slavery by Egypt. Their slavery lasted for over 400 years. After crying to heaven in their unbearable bondage, God stepped on the scene to redeem them from their tyrannical captivity.
Before God could redeem the people of Israel, He had to send a leader in who would lead them away from their bondage into the inheritance that God had promised to their great patriarch, Abraham. Once again we must be reminded that deliverance is not the same as redemption. God would first have to redeem the people before He could deliver them into the capable leadership of Moses. Moses in turn would lead the children of Israel to their promised inheritance.
Redemption involves some type of exchange for a ransom. God had to ransom all the children of Israel. What would it cost God to ransom His people from the tyranny of Pharaoh?
The first step towards setting the people of Israel free was negotiation. The Lord sent Moses to the court of Pharaoh. On His behalf, Moses set forth the conditions to secure the ransom of the descendants of Abraham. These conditions began with a declaration, "Let my people go." The Lord was laying claim to the people of Israel.
The Lord's claim on Israel is very important. He was declaring that these people did not rightly belong to Egypt. It was at this point that the Lord was declaring His full ownership for them, and that He was about to take complete responsibility for them. Regardless of their slavery, the people did not belong to Pharaoh or Egypt. They had been unjustly taken into bondage; therefore, they had to be set free to be restored to their inheritance.
The Lord's claim of ownership also brought the matter into the realm of legality. Since the people of Israel belonged to Him, He did not have to purchase them to claim such ownership. Granted, He would have to take steps to ransom them in some way from captivity, but not necessarily purchase them.
The concept of redemption works from both angles. It can involve the purchasing of something that is valuable from a store or its original owner, or it might entail paying a ransom for something that has been stolen and taken into captivity. Regardless of the angle you approach this subject, redemption entails taking ownership.
As we follow the negotiations taking place between Pharaoh and Moses in regard to the children of Israel, we must realize that God was their original owner. He never sold them into bondage. It was the first man, Adam, who sold all mankind into various bondages of slavery. God had to reclaim and release the people of Israel. In the end, His intervention would humble the powerless gods of Egypt. It would also cost the lives of innocent lambs, along with the first born of the males among every household and flocks of Egypt. The price would ultimately prove to be very high for the Egyptians, not God.
The Lord did redeem or ransom His people in an unusual, but miraculous way. Egypt had no claims on them; therefore, it could not rightfully hold onto them. After losing the first born son of every household, the Egyptians were ready to pay the children of Israel to leave with the spoils of their personal abundance to avoid greater loss.
The children of Israel could not redeem or deliver themselves from Egypt. It took the outside intervention of God to unlock the chains of slavery, and lead them away from the entanglements of it.
Like the children of Israel during this period of time, everyone has been born into captivity to the tyrannical dictates of sin. The negotiation for our release occurred before the foundation of this world was ever laid. Who would pay the price and take personal responsibility for our release and well-being? It is interesting to understand that the payment was officially revealed on Mount Sinai as to what would be required to ransom us. The Holy Law of God that was given to Moses on Mount Sinai was what revealed the payment that had to be made to release each of us from the tyranny of sin and the claims of death. It declared that the only way that we could be redeemed was through sacrifice that would result in the death of that which was innocent, pure, and without blemish.
The Law pronounced that the wages for our sin was spiritual death or separation from God. This sentence may not be immediately carried out, but each of us were born under this death penalty. When people pass from this world into eternity, lost souls will begin to pay these wages in hell.
The Law also revealed that man had to be redeemed in another way to be identified with his earthly inheritance. He had to be redeemed or properly purchase from his true owner. We see how this redemption was to take place in Exodus 30:11-16.
When a census was taken in Israel, the people had to be redeemed back from the Lord with a half of a shekel. Clearly, in redemption the same price had to be paid for those being purchased. It did not matter how rich or poor a person was, he or she stood equal as to the price that had to be paid to his or her owner. It was at this time that the people of Israel were reminded of their true owner.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Christian Life Series by Rayola Kelley. Copyright © 2013 Rayola Kelley. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
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