To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 15:12:36 -0500
Subject: HF038 - Our Salvation in Jesus
Hebraics,
This is Bible study HF038 - Our Salvation in Jesus. In this study
we will look at the salvation processes of God.
Just prior to His ascension, Jesus told the apostles that he would
be with them always, even to the end of the age. This truth that is
to be given to all who believe in Jesus Christ throughout the age.
This helps us understand what it means when it says that Jesus is
the author and finisher of our faith.
Let's begin with the opening of the heart to faith in Jesus. It was the
Sabbath, and Paul was speaking to a group of women at the riverside in
Philippi. It says, "A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a
seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening; and the Lord
opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." (Acts 16:14)
Here we have a picture of the working of salvation. Salvation is an
issue of the heart, and not simply of the emotions, or the mind.
This doesn't discount the emotions or the mind. The Holy Spirit
reaches for the heart by first appealing to the mind. The word
'conviction' in the Greek language carries the thought of a moral
conquest of the mind.
As a proselyte to the Jewish faith, Lydia's devotion to the God of
Israel was true. Lydia was well acquainted with the Messianic
promises. As she listened intently to Paul's message about
Jesus, her thoughts were arrested. Then something began to stir
within her heart. It dawned on her that Jesus was truly the Messiah
of Israel! She was convinced. Lydia believed.
Paul explains, "With the heart a person believes, resulting in
righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation." (Romans 10:10)
What was it that Lydia believed? She believed in the heavenly
message. The gospel is a throne message. It is the message of
God's redemption that has been provided for all who will receive
Jesus Christ. But the awesomeness of the throne message is that
it actually carries in it the power of new life. Lydia heard. She
believed. She confessed. The power of new life was released in her
spirit. Lydia was born of the Spirit. The new birth is a birth from
above.
The apostle explains this working of salvation when writing the
Thessalonian believers. Paul said, "For this reason we also
constantly thank God that when you received the word of God
which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men,
but for what it really is, the word of God, *which also performs its work
in you who believe.* (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
Notice Paul says that God's word, that is, the gospel of Jesus
Christ, does a work in the heart of a believer. The work is the work of
life interchange. The born again person actually becomes a new creature.
But the person is not born of their own will. It is a birth from above.
All the person can do is 'believe' the message. It is at the point of
'believing' that the seed of salvation enters the human heart.
John said, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His
name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the
will of man, but of God." (John 1:12,13) Salvation is of God, from alpha
to omega. As it is written, "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which
we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing
of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5)
The way a person became an identifiable believer in the early
Church was to be joined to a company of believers. But the
distinguishing trait of the believer was the confession of Jesus
Christ. Early Christians were often referred to as the 'people of the
great confession.' Lydia became a confessor. She said, "If you have judged
me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So we have the
beginning of the Church in Philippi.
Here we have the mystery our salvation. At some point in time, we
heard something about Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit brought us
under the sway of the message. The opening of the heart is a work
of the Holy Spirit. God designed the gospel to carry the light and
the power of redemption. We said in our heart, "I believe in Jesus
Christ." Soon the confession reaches our lips. The Bible calls this
"the fruit of our lips that give thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15)
The ancients knew that the true things of God could only be
received at the Lord's hand. For this reason David prayed, "Open
my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law."
(Psalm 119:18) In another place it says, "Light is sown like seed
for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart." (Psalm
97:11)
However, we must not be left thinking that the Lord only opens the
hearts of those who are already seeking Him. If that were the case,
perhaps not so many would get saved. No, the gospel message is
much more powerful than that. It can arrest the attention of a
person who is seemingly disinterested.
This working power of the gospel is set forth by the prophet Isaiah. The
Lord said, "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for
Me; I permitted Myself to be found to those who did not seek Me. I said,
'Here am I, here am I,' to a nation which did not call on My name."
(Isaiah 65:1)
In dealing with the working of salvation, we need to also keep in
mind that the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Spirit of Christ in the
New Testament. There is a reason for this. When the Holy Spirit enters the
human heart, the Spirit comes as the Spirit of the ascended and glorified
Jesus Christ. No one in the Old Testament ever had this experience.
Now we need to see how the Holy Spirit is intimately involved in the
believers life, from the very beginning of our journey of faith, to our
final presentation in heaven.
Our birth from above is compared to the 'Abba, Father,' words of
Jesus in the garden. As Jesus looked to the horror of sin being
placed on Him, He prayed, "Abba! Father! All things are possible
for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not as I will, but what You
will." (Mark 14:36)
Paul explains that it is this very cry of sonship that is made part of our
birthing from above. He said, "For you have not received a spirit of
slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption
as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!'" (Romans 8:15) In his letter
to the Galatian Churches, Paul explains this cry as the Spirit of Christ
entering our heart. From that moment on the believer has within himself a
conscious relationship with God.
Paul explains this further. In our birth from above, the Holy Spirit
places a seal upon the heart, and in this process of sealing the believer,
the Spirit Himself enters into the heart, signifying that the believer is
a possession of God. While the seal signifies completed redemption, the
indwelling signifies the 'Presence.'
The apostle summarizes this possession and presence this way:
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the
gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him
with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the
praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:13,14)
There is a song of yesteryear that said, 'Signed, sealed, and
delivered, a message containing my heart.' That song carries the
idea of our salvation in Christ. In our salvation experience, the
inscribing of God is a continuum. This is why Paul said that the
believer in Jesus Christ actually becomes a letter from God. He
said, "Being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for
by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of hte living God, not on
tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." (2 Corinthians 3:3)
Throughout our entire Christian walk, the Holy Spirit is inscribing
the wonders of Jesus into our heart. The apostle said that all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. Jesus
said that the Holy Spirit will take the things that are His, and show them
to us. It might be said that the whole of the Christian walk is an
encapsulation of Jesus. We are discovering Jesus more and more.
So here we have the seal of possession, and the inscribing work of
the Holy Spirit. What then of the Presence? Every true born child of God
carries in their heart a consciousness of the presence of Jesus Christ.
This is what Paul meant when he said the Spirit "is given as a pledge of
our inheritance." The Spirit indwelling the heart is like saying that we
believers carry in our hearts the atmosphere of heaven. We know something
about heaven already. We know that heaven is all about Jesus.
Peter explains this aspect well enough. He says, "And though you
have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him
now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible
and full of glory." (1 Peter 1:8) No person can love Jesus until the love
of God has been poured out in their hearts. This love for Jesus is an
outflow of the Holy Spirit.
This Presence in our hearts is also called the testimony, or, the
witness. The Holy Spirit testifies throughout our life that we belong to
Jesus. Even in those times when we get encumbered with life, and are
seemingly distant from God, the Holy Spirit will at some point bring forth
the testimony. Paul said, "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit
that we are children of God." (Romans 8:16)
And so we see how great is our salvation. Salvation is not pointing
back to a time when we signed a membership card, or knelt at an
altar, or was baptized. All those things are well and good. But
salvation is a present possession. I am saved now. I enjoy Jesus
now. I love Jesus now. But we cannot generate these feelings of
salvation on my own. It is the Spirit of Jesus who does all these
things.
So, when the believer is undone, depressed, worried, struggling
with a problem, concerned about the future, what was it that
caused the believer to start humming? Where did that song come
from that arose from within? What happened to the problem? One
moment all the thoughts were clouded with worry. Next thing, the
believer is singing. What is this?
What happened was the working of salvation. When Jesus said He
would be with us always, even to the end of the age, this is what
He meant. Where it says that Jesus is the author and finisher of
our faith, this is what it means.
As for the song, the writer says of Jesus, "I will proclaim Your
name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing
your praise." (Hebrews 2:12) These songs that arise, are called
songs of deliverance.
You see the word salvation does not simply mean 'go to heaven.'
Certainly we are going to heaven. But 'soteria' means preservation
and deliverance. The Psalmist said, "You are my hiding place; You
preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of
deliverance." (Psalm 32:7)
Well, Lydia became a confessor. The eunuch in the desert became
a confessor. After he was baptized, it says, "[The eunuch] went on
his way rejoicing." (Acts 8:39) The Philippian jailer became a
confessor. It says of him, "He brought them into his house and set
food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with
his whole household." (Acts 16:34)
What was it the Philippian jailer did that made him so happy? He
heard a message. He was about to kill himself, thinking that Paul
and all the prisoners has escaped. When Paul stopped him, the
jailer could not contain himself. He cried out, "Sirs, what must I do to
be saved?" What was the response? Paul said, "Believe in the Lord
Jesus,
and you will be saved, you and your household."
Let me conclude this portion of the study with a quote from a
Reform Jewish Rabbi, concerning Jesus. He says,
"Scores of men have believed themselves to be the Messiah and
have convinced many of their contemporaries, but those who
believed Jesus to be the Messiah have built a great church upon
the rock of their belief. He is still the living comrade of countless
lives. No Moslem ever sings, 'Mohammed, lover of my soul', nor does any
Jew say of Moses, the Teacher, 'I need thee every hour.'"
Think about it.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)