The Majestic Mystery of Great Salvation
Bishop Lalachan Abraham
Open your Bible to the book of Hebrews, and I would like for you to follow with me as I read from chapter 2: verse 1 to 4, that we might have the scriptural understanding of the Majestic Mystery of “GREAT SALVATION”.
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
The Bible contains many questions which causes its readers to stop and to consider their meaning, in the light of divine revelation. Without a doubt, one of the most important question we all must answer in view of the immeasurable eternity that lies ahead and especially directed to those who have heard the Gospel, but have yet to accept God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as their personal Saviour. The question is, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" Whether we realize it or not, when we die and leave this scene of time and space, our soul immediately goes to either Heaven or Hell, and there is absolutely no other place in between. Therefore, this very important question concerns us, because without God’s "great salvation", through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, it will be impossible to approach with favor into the presence of Almighty God.
What is it from which we are saved? It is the wrath of God that every sinner deserves. Bible says “In Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us” (Eph. 1:7-8; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:21-26; 5:6-8; 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus Christ revealed God’s great plan of salvation. The great salvation is about the great Savior (Lk. 2:30; Jn. 4:22, 42; 14:6; Acts 4:12). Salvation is synonymous with the Savior. God spent at least four thousand years preparing the world for Christ’s arrival by using the nation of Israel as his special instrument and by speaking through the prophets. When Christ was on earth, he spoke clearly and boldly about his identity. He radiated God’s glory and character. He commanded men to embrace him as their Lord and savior. His crucifixion sent shock waves throughout history. His resurrection vindicated his claims to divinity and kingship. The signs, wonders, and miracles God has worked through history substantiates that Jesus is the way, truth, and life. No one can come to the Father except through him. If we look, we have all the confirmation we need that Jesus is God’s chosen vessel of salvation to all who believe. There is no other alternative, no other means, no other plan. Our salvation is given to those who excessively embrace Christ. "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”(Acts 13:38)
What is the Meaning and Scope of Biblical Salvation?
The Bible speaks, of God’s gracious plan to provide a solution to man’s problem. We call it salvation or Soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, must be the grandest theme in the Scriptures. It embraces all of time as well as eternity past and future. It relates in one way or another to all of mankind, without exception. It even has implication in the sphere of the angels. It is the theme of both the Old and New Testaments. It is personal, national, and celestial. And it centers on the greatest Person, our Lord Jesus Christ. The word “salvation” is the translation of the Greek word soteria which is derived from the word soter meaning “savior.” The word “salvation” communicates the thought of deliverance, safety, preservation, soundness, restoration, and healing. In theology, however, its major use is to denote a work of God on behalf of men, and as such it is a major doctrine of the Bible which includes redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, conviction, repentance, faith, regeneration, forgiveness, justification, adoption, sanctification, preservation, and glorification. On the one hand, salvation is described as the work of God rescuing man from his lost estate. On the other hand salvation describes the estate of a man who has been saved and who is vitally renewed and made a partaker of the inheritance of the saints. According to the broadest meaning as used in Scripture, the term salvation encompasses the total work of God by which He seeks to rescue man from the ruin, doom, death and power of sin and bestows upon him the wealth of His grace encompassing eternal life, provision for abundant life now, and eternal glory (Eph. 1:3-8; 2:4-10; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; John 3:16, 36; 10:10).
Bible says “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."(Acts 4:12)
The Christian faith is not a philosophy of life, it is a salvation, a way of deliverance, a means appointed by God by which men and women may come to know salvation in their own lives: peace of conscience, joy of the Holy Spirit, assurance of son-ship, adoption into God’s family, the glorious hope of entering into heaven through Christ our Lord. So this is not simply ’a salvation’ but ’a great and magnificent salvation’. There were signs given by God of the greatness of the salvation that is offered to us in the Gospel. The plan of salvation is finished on the cross of Calvary; the gospel message is complete; atonement has been made for our sins, and the Lord has returned to Heaven. The offer of salvation is now made to all men. There is a way of escape from sin, condemnation, death, hell and judgment. It is after this completion of God’s final gospel handiwork that the vital question is asked: "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation? When God has done His best and we reject it, refuse it, pass it by, there is no other way, no other hope, no other alternative, no other appeal.
God in His foreknowledge looked down and saw the fall of man. In eternity’s council, Jesus volunteered to leave Heaven and come to earth to become a man, to fulfill the law, to go to Calvary and pay the penalty for our sin, and to rise again from death for our justification three days later, to ascend to the right hand of the Father as our advocate, to prepare for us a home in Heaven and come and receive us unto Himself and take us to Heaven forever.
How great is this salvation? So great that God did become flesh and fled to a virgin’s womb. How great is this salvation? So great that He was born in Bethlehem’s manger, angels announced His coming, shepherds came to worship Him and wise men brought Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Bible says “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9). Though Christ was rich, for our sakes, He became poor. What a beautiful and magnificent statement, The Infinite became an infant .The Lord Jesus Christ was eternally rich, glorious, and exalted; but "though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor."
How great is this salvation?"All things were made by Him" (Jn. 1:3) and, as to the Creator of the worlds, all belonged to Him. All the holy creation magnified Him. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (Col. 1:16).Thus we see that all things on earth and all in heaven belonged to Christ. All things subjected to Him and praised Him. Yet the love of creation is by far imperfect in comparison with the surpassing love of God the Father. The Son, Jesus Christ, was the constant object of the Father’s bottomless love. And this constituted the biggest treasure of His soul. He repeatedly said: ““As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. … ” (Jn. 15:9).But somehow, looking at one of the dearest creations, the man, He saw that the man was speedily distancing from God the Father, which He no longer can get into the glorious heaven. Sin completely separated man from God. There was only one way left to reconciliation. And He, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, King of kings, Son of Eternity, to whom all things belonged, decided to become poor for our sake.
Why this salvation was so great is because of the greatness of the One who brought it to us. Because of the greatness of the price paid for our salvation. The price paid for our salvation is nothing less than the blood and death and agony of the everlasting Son of God. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation"? This is the momentous question which the Bible puts to you and me. If anything can call ‘great’ in this world, it is the salvation of Jesus Christ our holy Lord and Saviour.
Salvation in Christ, which begins in eternity past according to the predetermined plan of God and extends into the eternal future, has three observable phases in the Bible. First Phase is the past tense of salvation—saved from sin’s penalty. “So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25). And second Phase is the present tense of salvation and has to do with present deliverance over the reigning power of sin or the carnal nature’s power in the lives of believers. “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now lives in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”(Galatians 2:20) and Third and last Phase is the future tense of salvation which refers to the future deliverance all believers in Christ will experience through a glorified resurrected body. It contemplates that, though once and for all saved from the penalty of sin and while now being delivered from the power of sin, the believer in Christ will yet be saved into full conformity to Jesus Christ. “Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
God wants us to have more than an intellectual understanding of the principles of His kingdom and more than a mere awareness of His existence. His desire for man is that he might enter into a very personal and intimate relationship with his God. Beyond the shores of time and the kingdoms of this world there is a kingdom called the Heaven? It is the place where God has His great white throne, around which the angels play upon their golden harps and shout, “praise, and glory, and wisdom, and thanks and honor, and power, and strength, be to our God forever and ever.”(Revelation 7:12). The life beyond death depends on the life here. If we live in humble obedience to God on earth then we will be with Him forever in that celestial holy city of Heaven.
Why Our Heart is Restless ?
”For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5)
One of the most famous autobiography’s in the world, St. Augustine’s Confessions, begins in this way: “Great art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised . . . Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee” . Though written nearly 1,600 years ago, it still remains one of the most widely read religious works in the world. It offers keen insights into a sharp understanding of the human heart. The human soul, in all its mystery, experiences restlessness because it is alienated from the ground of its being, with God. Thus God, in his affection for us, calls us to abandon our wanderings, to stop pursuing other affections, to give up our hope in ourselves, and find peace in him. To find rest, one must ground one’s affections in God. In other words Salvation needs grounding in God and anywhere else, even in the life of the redeemed person, is unreliable
Therefore the key to excellence of life is to be centered on God’s principles. We’re not in control; God is in control. We’re arrogant when we think we are in control. Yes, we may control our actions, but not the consequences of our actions. Those are controlled by God’s eternal laws. You can make your own choice, because God has given you free will. But He has also given you a specific, custom-fitted plan for your lives. His plan for your life is different than His plan for mine. In this exciting journey, you will learn to see life from a different perspective.
God’s will is for every man to come to the knowledge of the truth. If a person wants to be saved, he must know the truth on how he can be saved. What is this truth that all men should know in order to be saved? God is the ultimate being in existence, perfect in power, love, and character. Since God wanted to share His love with others, He created the angels and human beings—spiritual creatures who can relate to Him. Because God is love, He wants us to love Him and love other people. Scripture reveals that we are descended from Adam and Eve and their extended family. That family relationship—our becoming children of God the Father —is the heart and core of God’s incredible plan for humanity! We have the priceless opportunity to be a part of that family, the family of God!
In the most-famous quotation from the Confessions, Augustine states his grand themes: “Great are you, O Lord, and exceedingly worthy of praise; our power is immense, and your wisdom beyond reckoning. And so we men, who are a due part of your creation, long to praise you – we also carry our mortality about with us, carry the evidence of our sin and with it the proof that you thwart the proud. You arouse us so that praising you may bring us joy, because you have made us and drawn us to yourself, and our heart is unquiet until it rests in you.”
To be continued….
