Welcome to Salvation Explained. This message is intended to help people understand why God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for our sin, and how His sacrifice has made a way for us to have a relationship with God that is personal, authentic and healing. It can be difficult to understand why God would send His Son to become a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. In fact no matter how much understanding one gains, salvation is and will always be a matter of faith. I hope that through the understanding presented here, you will find faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and realise the meaning of His words; "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world though Him might be saved."(John 3: 16)
To begin, we need to go back to the beginning of time and learn about creation and how sin affected our relationship with God.
Creation
At the beginning of time God created the heavens and the earth. He made everything perfect according to his own purpose. When God made man, He made him in his own image. He formed the shape of the first man from dust and breathed in to his nostrils, and man became a living being. Man was created with a body, soul and an eternal spirit. We as mankind have been created for fellowship with God, and are all descended from Adam and inherit his attributes. Adam and Eve had a life with abundance and authority over everything in the physical realm. God reserves ownership of the earth, but man has the stewardship. The only law God gave Adam and Eve, was not to eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or they would die.
The fall
When God created the heavens He created many spiritual beings. They do not have a physical body made from the earth like us. Angels are eternal beings and have a full understanding of right and wrong. A spirit named Lucifer was a great angel and dwelt in the presence of God. He saw the glory of God and was jealous, he craved his own glory. He thought to himself, "I will build my own kingdom and rise to become great like God", he convinced some other angels to rebel with him. When Lucifer's sin was realised, he was cast down from heaven to Earth. Lucifer saw that he had been cast down and that Man was given authority in the earth, he realised that if he could make man fall (morally) then he would be able to gain influence in the earth and therefore build a kingdom and gain glory for himself. Lucifer, now called Satan, spoke to Eve through the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Because there was only one rule in the garden, there could only be one temptation; that was to trick Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. Satan was successful in his deception and Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam who also ate.
When Man chose to eat the fruit of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil he was enlightened to right and wrong and therefore became responsible for every action he made and every word that he spoke. Man was given authority and stewardship of the Earth by God, so he became responsible to God, and must now be judged by God. Man had already fallen when he took the fruit and his judgment is therefore guilty. Because man is guilty and has fallen, God cannot allow him to become a free, eternal, living being, with his own will and power; the eternal spirit of man must be restrained forever. God has prepared a place of punishment for the angels who rebelled called Hell. After death the eternal spirits of man will be imprisoned there with the angels that have fallen. Sin has severed the relationship between God and man. Man's being is corrupt and sin has power over him, while God is holy.
The bible explains in the book of Hebrews that Jesus became a high priest and offered a sacrifice to God that is able to wash away our sins and restore the relationship with God through forgiveness of sin. Jesus himself was this sacrifice.
Why Jesus
Jesus was a man who lived in history, but there are things about Him that are unique. Firstly God sent many messengers throughout history to tell of a messiah that would bring salvation. The events these men predicted have come to pass during the life of Jesus and are reliably documented by eye witnesses. (Read the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the bible.)
Mary, Jesus' mother, was made pregnant by God. This means that Jesus did not inherit Adams' sinful nature as we do, but was made new as Adam was; thus creating an opportunity for Jesus to represent all those who would turn to him in faith and receive forgiveness for their sin: It also makes Jesus, God's literal Son. Jesus lived through every temptation that mortal man does; but did not sin at any time. Jesus died a criminal's death on a cross in our place. Sin came into the world through the actions of one man (Adam) and has been forgiven through the actions of one man (Jesus). Jesus rose again from the grave on the third day after his death and ascended to heaven before a crowd of people; showing that He had conquered death.
The bible says;
"The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart;" that is, the word of faith, which we preach: that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed."(Romans 10: 9 - 11)
So how do you know if you believe? Well you just know. Perhaps you can ask yourself this simple question. If I died tonight, would I go to heaven or to hell? Remember that salvation is only through faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Some people think that God could not accept them because of the things they have done or because other people do not accept them. Others believe that they are good people and God would not send them to hell because of their good deeds, but the fact is, we are saved by faith in what Jesus did for us, and we have no way to earn salvation. It is a gift. As the scripture says; "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life."(Romans 6: 23)
Why not take a moment now to consider where you will spend eternity. Would you rather have a life with the love and companionship of God, which ends in heaven, or continue on a downward spiral that ends in torment and eternal darkness?
The following simple prayer can be the beginning of a new relationship with God through Jesus Christ:
Lord Jesus I thank you that you died on the cross and rose from the dead for me.
I would like to accept the free gift of eternal life that washes away my sin.
Please come into my heart and become my Savoir.
Help me to live in a way that is pleasing to you, teaching me your ways.
Amen.
What next
The most important things to do in your new life as a follower of Jesus Christ are to read the bible regularly and to find a church to attend. Both of these things will give you strength of faith. The bible is God's word that gives us insight into the ways of God and a church is important because it gives us a place of freedom of worship and other Christians to help and watch over us. Many churches run programs that explain more about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. It is highly recommended that a new Christian attend one of these.