What Does Salvation Look Like To You?
No matter how far along you are in your walk with Christ, your salvation is the foundation of your faith. If your foundation is not set correctly, it can cause havoc in your walk with Christ. What are your qualifications for salvation? I think so many times as we strive to be more like Him we can forget that our salvation is given to us by grace. We begin to think that if we are “good” enough, if we go to church regularly, and do all the right things and refrain from all the wrong things, that we are in good standing with the Father. The truth of the matter is that you will never be “good enough” to earn your salvation. You will never do enough “good works” to earn your salvation. Even the blessings of God are not according to your greatness or your failures. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. We have all fallen short of God’s glory. If we could have been “good enough” or “done enough” to inherit the promises of God, then we would have never needed a savior. Jesus would have sacrificed himself for nothing. The Father sent his only begotten son, that you and I could be set free and that we could receive eternal life. It is a gift of God. We can not earn it. Our salvation is not even our own doing. In John 6:44, Jesus is speaking and says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” That word draw in the Greek means drag. In other words we were dragged to Christ by the Father. It is by His divine power that we are drawn to Him. Your salvation must be totally based on the grace and mercy of God. It is a gift.
When you lose sight of salvation being a gift, you become subject to falling from grace. Some may begin to feel unworthy. If you fall short, make a mistake, or are finding yourself overtaken in an area, condemnation can come in and hold you hostage. You can begin to feel like you have gone too far. You have messed up too badly. Your faith can become weak, because you are trusting in yourself rather than what Christ already did for you. The Word clearly says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We will never be perfect until we see Him face-to-face, so our foundation of grace and mercy and knowing that our salvation is a pure gift from God keeps us from spiraling down into shame and guilt.
In the same manner, when you and I don’t hold strong to the fact that it is all by the blood of Christ, we can become puffed up. We can start to think that it is all because of how great we are instead of how great He is. When we fall into this trap, many sins can follow. We can become judgemental, critical, proud, arrogant, and haughty. You can fall into the lie that you are above others. Basically what we are saying when we fall into this is that we are blessed because of how good we are. That our salvation is because of us instead of what Jesus did for us.
You are saved by grace. It is a gift of God. No matter how far you have fallen away, God is still there willing and able to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God”. If you have received Him, you have the power to become the son or daughter of the Most High. You are wonderfully created in Him to do great works.
As you begin each day, lift up your voice and give God praise for the mercy He has so graciously blessed you with. Release His blood over all your iniquities and go forth boldly through His power with confidence knowing you are saved by grace. All your sins have been forgiven and washed away. He is ready to do above and beyond all that you could ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20-21) Will you receive it today?
Until next time remember,
Stay Calm and Be Empowered.
