Saturday in the Word | God’s Plan of Salvation for You

Did you know that there is a God who loves you and longs to have a relationship with you? I know, right!?! I couldn’t really believe it the first time someone told me about Him either. But, it’s true!

We all suffer from this big hole in our heart that only God can fill. We might not know it, but we spend our life searching for someone or something to satisfy this unexplainable yearning we experience every day apart from Christ. We may feed and fuel this emptiness and brokenness with all kinds of maddening stuff and in all kinds of crazy ways. Unfortunately, in chasing the answer to our emptiness, we stray far off the path and live in ways that aren’t pleasing to God. It’s not just you. We all do it. It’s called sin.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

God, the creator of all there was, is, and will be, promises each of us forgiveness and eternal life. All we need to do is ask. Through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross and by His resurrection three days later, God has already ensured the way to eternal life.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (ESV)

Our Relationship with God

Most of us grow up with the idea that we are basically good. However, we deceive ourselves if we believe we have never sinned. It’s simply not true. Scripture makes it clear that believing we have never sinned paints a false picture of who we are and misrepresents our present state, apart from Christ. You and I can’t make good choices if we have the wrong information.

⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10 (ESV)

Thankfully, through His son, Jesus, God provided someone who could help us overcome our sin nature. We are sick with sin and ill from its effect on every aspect of our lives. Jesus, and Jesus alone, can heal us.

And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Mark 2:17 (ESV)

Our salvation—our rescue from the sick, suffering state we find ourselves in—demands a forgiveness that we can not earn ourselves. It can only come as a gift from God. This gift of salvation is offered free to everyone and anyone desiring to receive it. God, out of His grace and mercy, has provided it to us in order to bridge the separation that exists between humans and the Lord, our God.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.

Titus 2:11 (ESV)

A personal relationship with Jesus is the way back to a right relationship with God. Jesus is the only one who is capable of filling that big empty hole in our heart. Only Jesus can cure what ails us. Nothing and no one else, except Jesus, can transform our lives from the big hurt and the big lie we are living today. Christ alone can restore us to the right image of God in which we were created. Only Christ can lead us back into the fold of God’s family.

How do I Get Saved?

While you and I were drowning, God sent His son to rescue us from certain death. He threw us a life preserver, in Christ. All we need to do is grab hold of it so He can pull us to safety. How do we do that?

First, we must ask God to forgive our sins. Then, we make the decision to turn from our old, sinful ways to God’s way. We leave behind our old ways and become new creations.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

What then?

Every day we choose to follow Jesus and become more like Him. We study His word, His works, and learn His story. We share the Good News of what He has done in our lives with others.

Yes, following Jesus is a choice we make daily. To be clear, once we are saved, we are saved for good. But, just like getting over a bad illness demands we do stuff to regain our strength and grow healthier, so does growing in our relationship with Christ. Otherwise, we stagnate. We don’t grow. We don’t fully blossom. We don’t fully experience everything God has in store for us.

Jesus’ death and resurrection provided the only way to make our relationship with God right. We must trust in the sacrifice Jesus made to pay the debt for our sins and profess Him to be our Lord. This is how we receive the free gift of salvation and eternal life that God offers us. Salvation restores our relationship with God. The work necessary to rescue us is already complete. It is finished. We simply accept in faith what God has done for us.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10

As always, I am grateful for you, dear reader. I am humbled by your willingness to take the time to read my posts and grateful for your comments, words of encouragement, and engagement with what I share here on my blog. May the Lord bless you today. May His favor shine on you today. May you know what it is to be loved by God and Creator.

Blessings,

The Devotional Guy™

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