The Majestic Mystery of Great Salvation-Part-4
What does it mean to be saved?
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."(Mathew 1:21)
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. Jesus Christ is our living, breathing sign of the immeasurable love that God has had for all of us from the very beginning. Christ is the living promise that we are never ever alone. No matter where we are in life, no matter in what condition we find ourselves, no matter how far we might stray away, or how unfaithful we are, God, the supreme lover, will pursue us in love for eternity! It’s a love that never stops shining. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin.
The word Salvation has become corrupted, as various doctrines of various beliefs defined it differently. Eventually, these different definitions combined, confused and crippled the people. So it’s time we understand this important concept completely, and reach agreement to the basic tenets of Salvation, so our own walk with the Lord and our ministry efforts are fruitful and reveal the wonderful Grace of our LORD God.
The Hebrew word for Salvation that is written in the Old Testament of the Word of God is "Yeshuwah” and means literally "something saved" and abstractly "deliverance".
The Greek word for Salvation that is written in the New Testament of the Word of God is "Soteria" and means literally the act of "physcial and moral rescue.
When I was Nine years old, I almost drowned in a River along with my five year old sister. We were riding in a small wooden boat in front of our house. Earlier my father has warned me that the river is deep and moreover it was the time of flood; “Be very careful otherwise you could drown if we fell in”. Suddenly our boat drifted with the current of water and overturned, though I tried my best to grab my sister and reach out to grab shore, but failed and slowly slide into the water along with my sister .we couldn't swim. I remember going under water twice and was on the way down for the third time. Meanwhile one of my brothers was up on the shore screaming and shouting. My father heard the noise and jumped in to the river and lifted me and my sister out of water and saved our life. As we all know too well, life often confronts us with unexpected or painful circumstances. Sometimes these situations leave us feeling fearful, discouraged, and frustrated. But During such troubling moments, one thing we need is a savior who can jump in to save us. We cannot save ourselves. Titus 3:5, Ephe. 2: 8-9. “We need the saviour -- Jesus Christ, to take away our sins and to bring us to God. (1 Pet. 3:18).
Now With regards to the concept of salvation, there are several underlined facts in the concept of the man. One of the concepts is that he is capable enough to save himself. In other words, he can save himself by his own efforts. Let me make it very clear here that no man is able to save himself. Example -- You may suppose that I had slept and fell into a deep river and I do not know swimming. For some time, I fell in the water and there I attempt to catch my own hair in order to save myself. As you know it is practically impossible for me to catch hold of my own hair and lift myself. In this manner, a miserable man who is sinking in drunkenness, drugs, unrighteousness, superstition, immorality, terrorism, corruption, half truths, wickedness, adultery, idolatry, dead traditions, brainwashing and evil imagination. Man who is sinking in the evil and sinful sea, you cannot save yourself from the trap you are caught in. Now a rat that fell in a trap, how much struggle and efforts it makes even though blood and water come out, it cannot escape from the trap. As a matter of fact, you are by the things that defeats you, and you get defeated and the things that subject your body, mind and soul, you know it well that you are the slave of these things, those things, neither can you save yourself nor you can save by the various efforts of your own body that which is inferior. Jesus Christ, the son of God, loves us and gave Himself up for us, that He might redeem us from all wickedness.(Eph.5:2, Titus 2:14).
Another misconception that people have regarding this experience of salvation that one can save himself by a mediator that stands between God and himself. A majority of people believe that it is possible to receive salvation through a mediator. It should be underlined here that a similar man like you who himself needs salvation, cannot be a mediator for you. Similarly, the so-called religious leaders, founders of religions, social reformers, and philosophers are all sinners in nature and fall short of unworthy to become our mediators. Therefore, the effort of a sinful man to save others becomes futile and useless. Bible declares that “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all men. (1 Tim. 2:5-6).
Another concept that has in the mind of people, religions can provide salvation to a man. Let me make it clear not a single religion can save a man. The plain reason behind it is that the religion itself is a congregation of people who are searching themselves. The representatives of these people themselves attaining various means and ways to achieve salvation, but they couldn’t find. The word religion in its essence sense is opinion about God, man, spiritual reality and the unseen things so on and so forth. If someone says that it is his religion means that is his opinion.
Suppose that I fell into deep waters sinking and dying and all the different religions stand on the bank and start to give me swimming lessons, when flattering into the water while casting a last look to shore for my escape, why should I care for the swimming lessons. My utmost need is a savior -- one who can come down to very place of mine and lifts me up from there and bring me to the shore. No ideology, No philosophy or No principles can bring salvation. World is full of such ideologies, dogmas and philosophies, but only The Bible reveals the truth. One of the main themes that have been dealt with in the Bible is that helpless and discouraged sinner, a miserable and wretched sinner a weak and guilty sinner, can be saved by the grace of God through the living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith in Jesus is the Only Way of Salvation.
Bible declares that “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)
There are many misconceptions concerning Salvation. In our pluralistic society, tolerance is expected, even demanded, and the concept of freedom of expression and freedom of religion (which permits all religions to practice and propagate) is sometimes misinterpreted to mean that all religions are somehow equally one and true. Some may say "I'm basically a good person and I respect all, so I'll go to heaven.” some say, All paths lead to the same God. These are all common rationalizations, but the truth is that all paths do not lead to the same God and salvation.
When Adam and Eve rebelled, man was separated from Heavenly father through sin. God's holiness required Punishment and payment (atonement) for sin, which was (and still is) eternal death. Our death is not sufficient to cover the payment for sin. Only a perfect, spotless sacrifice, offered in just the right way, can pay for our sin. Jesus, the perfect God-man, came to offer the pure, complete and everlasting sacrifice to remove, atone, and make eternal payment for sin.
Therefore the birth of Jesus in a little town of Bethlehem forever changed the history of the world. This was not an ordinary birth! The remarkable signal and subsequent proceedings were the evidence that Jesus Christ is the most unique personality ever lived in all history.
The Old Testament prophets predicted Christ’s coming. The Angel Gabriel announced His arrival. The Angelic host sang a chorus for Him at his birth. The brightest star marked His presence. The Wise men came to worship Him. The Shepherds came to honor Him. The Priests knew from the Scripture that He was coming. Jerusalem was troubled at His coming. Simeon, the just and wise man in the Jerusalem temple took Jesus in his arms and blessed God and said “Lord….my eyes have seen your salvation…which you have prepared before the face of all people. However, His coming into the world was not the beginning of Jesus. He was the word that was in the beginning. He came from eternity. He always was and is eternal God. He came from glory, the glory that was before the world ever was (John 17:5). He temporarily laid aside His glory and took a body, through the Virgin Mary, to live in long enough to die for the sins of the world. C. S. Lewis said it well: "The Son of God became a man that men might become sons of God." God became a man so that you might become God's child.
Salvation is found in no one else (other than Jesus) for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” Although our soul longs for God, our sinful nature rebels at His ways. Part of us yearns for God and part of us reaches for fleshly desires. Our hearts are a battleground of continual conflict. This inner struggle causes tension and excessive strain.
Without God we are “like troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose water cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20)There can be no peace until all of life- mind, body, and spirit- are coordinated by the One who made us and understands us. He is not only master of the world but knows your life and mine from the beginning to the end. He was thinking of us when He came into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79) As the Prince of Peace, He invites you to come to Him. ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). When you come to Him, you will find relief and relaxation in the freedom He gives. Your peace will be as a river. (Isaiah 48:18)- An active, sparkling peace that is refreshing and strong, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 4:7). Will you come to Jesus, casting your burden upon Him? He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you... Let not you heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”(John 14:27).
Jesus: Our Propitiation “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished ” (Romans 3:22-25). The word “propitiation” means “to appease one’s wrath.” “Appeased” means “to make peace with.” Humanity had sinned. God was angered. God’s holiness demanded justice. Humanity could not redeem himself and was at enmity (hostility) with God. Humanity had become the enemy of God because of sin.
Nevertheless, God expressed His love for humanity by coming down to the earth in the form of a man and laying down His own human life in sacrifice to pay for the sins of humanity. Jesus died, was buried and rose again. Christ's blood was applied in Heaven. The father’s anger was APPEASED by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God’s demand for justice had been completely satisfied by the redeeming work of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus had made peace with God the Father possible again for mankind... “Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST” (Romans 5:1). Christ had opened the door for all humanity to be at peace with God the Father through faith in the Son of God.
God’s wrath against our sin is the fundamental problem the gospel addresses. Jesus died on the cross as a propitiation, a sacrifice that turns away God’s wrath (Rom 3:25:1 jn.2:2, 4:10) in order that we would be saved through faith in him.
Jesus said that God "has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him" (John 5:22-23). ““Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. " (John 14:6-7). People who claim that there are other ways to salvation are wrong, " When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Peter told the Jewish leaders, "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). Paul also made it clear when he said that people who did not know Christ were "dead in your transgressions and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). They had no hope, and despite their religious beliefs, they did not have God (verse 12). There is only one Mediator, he said—only one way to get to God (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus was the ransom that everyone needed (1 Timothy 4:10). If there were any other law, or any other path that offered salvation, then God would have done it (Galatians 3:21).
The Bible tells us that sin came into the world when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God's commandment. Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”- and since then only one person was able to claim that he was without sin. The scriptures are very careful to present Jesus as sinless at all times 2 Cor.5:2; 1 Pt. 2:22; 1 Jn.3:5. Bible says in Heb.4:15: "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin."
Scripture also teaches that no amount of human goodness, human works, human morality, or religious activity can gain acceptance with God or get anyone into heaven. The moral men, religious man, immoral and non-religious are all in the same boat. They all fall short of God’s perfect righteousness. After discussing the immoral man, the moral man, and the religious man in Romans 1:18-3:8, the Apostle Paul declares that both Jews and Greeks are under sin, that “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:9-10). No amount of human goodness is as good as God. God is perfect in righteousness. Because of this, No sinner can ever enter God’s holy heaven (Rev.21:27) through our own good works or by trying to be good we cannot take away even one sin (Isa. 64:6). The punishment for sin is the lake of fire, the second death (Hell). Rev.21:8; 20: 11-15 A place of eternal suffering. Mat. 13:41,42.In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. But God loved each of us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear our sin and die in our place. “God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Although we cannot understand how, God said our sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. Jesus became our substitute.
Jesus came to do more than forgive you of your sin, He also came to make you whole. Jesus’ forgiveness shows that He loves you as you are. Jesus’ healing shows He loves you too much to leave you as you are. He wants to make you whole. Jesus said, ”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”(John 14:27) A person may almost be known by the person he admire most and the books he reads. The Bible is the light that shines the image of Christ upon the soul. The way of the Bible is the way of God, and is therefore the true path of life. Our desire and prayer should be, “let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,” (Psa. 90:17). “What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah.6:8).
After acknowledging and confessing of sins the sinner must realize that he needs salvation and Jesus is the only One who can save him. (John 14;6; Acts 4;12).The shedding of blood and sacrifice was legally necessary to atone for man’s sins. God chose crucifixion to break man’s heart over his sin and show the seriousness of his sin. Through the Cross, God is just in that he rightfully discourages sin, but at the same time, he extends the opportunity for mercy and forgiveness.
Jesus came to be the forgiver of your soul and the leader of your life. He can put your life back together. He can help you trust, dream, and love again without fear. He will take you hole-hearted life and turn it into wholehearted passion. Confident hope for eternal life is only found in the One who died and came back from the dead- Jesus. Now he holds the keys of death and can raise you- and those you love- from the dead too! Because of Jesus, our “goodbyes” can be changed to “See you again!”You can experience everlasting life. Jesus is knocking at your heart’s door. He is extending an invitation to you to open your heart and let Him come in. You can open your heart and experience pure Love, Complete forgiveness, Absolute Wholeness, and Everlasting Life.
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?"
The author places a large responsibility upon the reader. He says 'we must pay much closer attention. Now this is a sobering word for the world, because most people do neglect the greatness of salvation. (Hebrews 2:1-4)
The book of Hebrews was written to Hebrew Christians; it was not written to the unsaved. Hence God is talking here about saved people neglecting their own salvation. Salvation from Hell and to eternal life is totally of Christ, but God wants more than our souls rescued; He wants our lives saved.
Salvation;--the very term imports safety or deliverance from great impending evil. If there be no such evil, there is then no meaning to this term--no real salvation. The writer is speaking of the salvation declared in the gospel; and the idea that immediately suggested its greatness is the greatness of its author and revealer. It is because Jesus Christ by whom this gospel came is so great, compared with angels that the writer conceives of this salvation as pre-eminently great and glorious.
What is it really—this great salvation? What he's really saying is: Don't neglect being loved by God. Don't neglect being forgiven and accepted and protected and strengthened and guided by Almighty God. Don't neglect the sacrifice of Christ's life on the cross. Don't neglect the free gift of righteousness imputed by faith. Don't neglect the removal of God's wrath and the reconciled smile of God. Don't neglect the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship and friendship of the living Christ. Don't neglect the radiance of God's glory in the face of Jesus. Don't neglect the free access to the throne of grace. Don't neglect the inexhaustible treasure of God's promises. This is a great salvation. Neglecting it is very evil. We will not neglect our eternal joy in God—which is what salvation is. We will gouge out our eyes rather than be lured away from eternal life.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? There are at least two reasons you might neglect something. One is that it is not really great, and so you neglect it and spend your time and energy on something that you think is really great. The other is that, even though it might be really great, you may not have access to sufficient evidence that it really is great. In the first case, you may know the salvation, but you don't think it is so great. In the second case, you neglect it because you don't know the salvation. How many people do you know who give serious, sustained attention to the salvation accomplished by Christ—who love it, and think about it, and meditate on it, and marvel at it, and feel continual gratitude for it, and commend it to others as valuable, and weave it into all the lesser things of their lives, and set their hopes on it? Do you live this way? Is there a sense of greatness in your mind about your salvation? To neglect our great salvation is to come into judgment and there will be no escape.
There are four stages of witness:"It was at the first spoken through the Lord," it implies that God the Father was the first speaker of this salvation. Then the second witness is the Mediator, the go-between, Christ Jesus. "It was at first spoken through the Lord," that is, through Jesus. This is a reference to the earthly ministry of Jesus as he taught and healed and cast out demons and preached the kingdom of God and died and rose again. So the great salvation was spoken by God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. Therefore whatever stamp God the Father leaves on this testimony bears witness to its divine origin and whatever stamp the Lord Jesus leaves on it bears witness to its endorsement by the Son.
The third witness in the sequence is mentioned "those who heard." Heard what? Heard what was spoken by the Lord. In other words, he is referring to the eyewitnesses, the apostles, those who had spent time with Jesus and heard him teach and heard him tell the storm to be still and heard him command demons to come out of people and heard him stump the Pharisees, and heard him teach the incomparable words of the Sermon on the Mount and heard him interpret the Old Testament, and heard him make stupendous claims about his own resurrection and his purpose to ransom many from sin, and heard him speak from a resurrected body and command them to go and make disciples of all nations.
These were the ones who had come to preach to the readers of this letter. The readers had heard the stories of Jesus from the very mouths of eyewitnesses. They had heard God and they had heard Jesus by hearing the very witnesses who were there when God spoke through his Son, Jesus Christ.
So the great salvation was "confirmed" by these eyewitnesses. Without these witnesses there would be no faith. These witnesses are the indispensable link to the speaking of God the Father and of Jesus Christ. The firmness of our faith rests on these witnesses. Without them there would be no rock to stand on. These are the foundation. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ—but a word mediated by personal eyewitnesses.
The fourth witness in this series is again God himself. The sequence begins with God and ends with God. "God also bearing witness with them [that is, with the eyewitnesses], both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will." God spoke the great salvation into being through Jesus, and now God comes in again to witness to his own word and work.
The way he witnesses is through signs and wonders and miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. In other words, when the apostles came to preach and witness to what they had seen and heard, God enabled them to do miracles and he poured out on the new believers gifts of the Spirit. This was God's added testimony to the message of his great salvation.
Now here's the key question. How do all these witnesses give a firm foundation to our faith in God's great salvation? Two things have to happen to move from skepticism to a well-grounded faith: first, a testimony has to make clear something real—the historical and moral and spiritual quality of the reality has to be portrayed clearly; and second, the mind of the listener has to be careful and clean and humble enough to perceive and embrace what is real. In other words, coming to a valid conviction about truth from a testimony is ultimately the coherence or harmony between the mind's view of trustworthiness on the one hand, and the witness's embodiment and presentation of reality on the other hand.
It is great in its very nature. It is salvation from death in sin.
One of the great facts is given us by human consciousness--that men are dead in sin. Every man knows this. We all know that apart from God's quickening spirit, we have no heart to love God. Each sinner knows that, whatever may be his powers as a moral agent, yet, left to himself, there is in him a moral weakness that effectually shuts him off from salvation, save as God interposes with efficient help. Hence the salvation that meets him in this weakness and turns him effectually to love and to please God, must be intrinsically great.
Again, it is great because it delivers from endless sinning and suffering.
Observe again, this salvation is not merely negative--a salvation from sin and from suffering: it has also a positive side. On this positive side, it includes perfect holiness and endless blessedness. It is not only deliverance from never-ending and ever-accumulating woe;--it is also endless bliss--exceeding in both kind and degree, all we can conceive in this life. This is not the world to realize the full bliss of unalloyed purity. There will be sin around us;--there will yet be some sad traces of it within us. Yet who of us does not sometimes catch a distinct view of that purity and blessedness which we know reigns in heaven? Most blessed views there are, yet no doubt dim and weak, compared with the great reality. When that bliss shall be perfect--when nothing more is left us to desire, but every desire of our soul is filled to its utmost capacity, and we shall have the full assurance that this blessedness must increase with the expansion of our powers and with our advance in knowledge as we gaze with ever growing interest into the works of the great God;--this will be heaven! All this is only one side--the positive side of that blessedness which comes with this great salvation.
Now set yourselves to balance these two things one against the other; an ever-growing misery and an ever-growing blessedness. Find some measuring line by which you can compare them.
According to the Bible, this blessedness of the holy is the full fruition of God's love. Hence the bliss which it involves can be nothing short of infinite. It can have no limit. A really comprehensive view of what it will be would be overpowering. This salvation is life's great work. If not made such, it had best be left alone. To put it in any other relation is worse than nothing. If you make it second to anything else, your course will surely be ineffectual--a lie, a delusion, a damnation! Are you giving your attention effectually to this great subject? This is the message that demands our closest attention. People have all degrees of attention. Some people pay very close attention, some people pay less attention, and some people pay no attention at all. We have all been in a situation where we were in a conversation, and suddenly our mind wanders off. Instead of listening to the person talking, we begin to think about what we did last night, or what we are going to have for dinner. Then, just as suddenly, we come back to the conversation and realize we haven't heard a word. We have no idea what that person has just said because we haven't been listening.
This is what the writer to the Hebrews is concerned about. He is disturbed that people will hear the material presented, but they won't pay attention. He is warning us to pay attention 'lest we drift away from it.' This phrase literally means to 'slide past,' or 'drift past' something. The picture is of a boat that drifts by the safety of the harbor because the crew is not paying attention to where they are sailing. Suddenly, the boat drifts by the harbor, and the boat, with nowhere to go but into the open sea, is doomed to destruction.
Now the question remains, 'How do we know this salvation is true? How do we know that Christ died for our sins, and God will forgive us if we believe?' The reason people do not believe is because people do not pay attention to the revelation. God has given the authority for the message of salvation. The author says, 'After it was at the first spoken through the Lord...' The unmistakable message of salvation through Christ was not spoken by men. It was spoken for the very first time, through our Lord Himself. Luke 19:10 declares this truth. Jesus says, 'For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.' In like manner, Matthew 20:28 declares '...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.' Jesus Christ Himself announced that He came to earth to pay the price for the sins of those who will believe in His work and person.
All of these facts point to the fact that the Gospel is the superior message from God. It supersedes all other revelation given through the prophets or through the angels. Furthermore, the revelation of Christ is God's final revelation. When Christ sat down at the right hand of God, it was a clear display of the finality of the revelation that God has given to us. We have all we need for salvation and righteousness.
Where are you? Have you come to realize that the message of Christ is superior? Have you placed your faith in His person and work? If you have not done this, is there a reason? Or are you one who does not pay attention to the message of Christ? Remember, if you do not pay attention now, you are putting yourself in grave danger of drifting by His safe harbor. When that happens, there is no place left to go but to eternity in a very real and very horrible hell.
True Repentance Will Lead to Salvation
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done." (2 Corinthians 7:10-11NAS)
All sin, regardless of how it was committed or against whom has as its root rebellion against God and is ultimately a sin committed against God. As a consequence, repentance is required by God and confession to Him of offenses committed is necessary so that the full import and gravity regarding the serious nature of the offenses can be understood. Repentance is not simply saying, "I'm sorry," because words come very cheap. Repentance, in its full meaning, is in relation to turning around, or a reversal of action. Repentance is not only saying that a person is sorry, but carries actions indicating that the person has turned in the opposite direction from the sins committed.
“For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation … (2 Corinthians 7:10)
The word “repentance” is linked to the word “salvation” – “repentance to salvation.” In other words, you cannot get truly saved unless you are willing to repent.
To repent means that you are willing to turn from the sins you have been living in. It means to have a change of heart and a change of mind. However, you cannot be willing to turn from the sins you have been living in unless you have full realization that these are sins in the first place and that you are a sinner in need of a Savior! Repentance also carries with it a condition of true remorse and regret, not just because of the consequences of the sin, but because it was committed against God. This expression of remorse reaches to the core of a person's being.
If you think some of your sins are not really sins – then you will see no need to receive any forgiveness for your sins through Jesus and His death on the cross. This is why the above verse is directly linking the word “repentance” to the word “salvation.”
Then notice that this verse starts out with the words “For godly sorrow.” This godly sorrow will be what will actually cause this repentance to occur in the first place. You will start to experience a godly sorrow once the Holy Spirit moves in on you to start the conviction process and illuminate your mind of your sinful state and nature.
This is why the word “godly” precedes the word “sorrow.” This sorrow will be coming direct from God the Father through the Holy Spirit to you so as to help make you realize that you are truly a sinner in need of a Savior! When that really happens, you will be feeling a sorrow, and for some, a very deep and intense sorrow once you fully realize the depth to which we are all sinners and that we are all in need of God’s grace and mercy to save us.
When this godly sorrow starts to come in on you, it will eventually lead you to being able to admit that you are a sinner, and that you will then need to turn from the sinful life that you have been living in order to be able to receive God’s grace and mercy through His Son and His death on the cross. Only through him can we find true love and hope for this life and the life to come. This hope of eternal life can be yours today simply by repenting from sin and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour.
John 1:12 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. This means we must each come to God the same way: (1) as a sinner who recognizes his sinfulness, (2) realizes no human works can result in salvation, and (3) relies totally on Christ alone by faith alone for our salvation. If you would like to receive and trust Christ as your personal Savior, you may want to express your faith in Christ by a simple prayer acknowledging your sinfulness, accepting His forgiveness and putting your faith in Christ for your salvation.
