Besides Me There is No Saviour

 

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In the last post, I spoke about the spiritual disease of sin which leads to death. 

Read: The Wages of Sin is Death >>

Jesus' death on the cross offers us the cure for this disease; in Biblical language his death atoned for our sins. But how do we receive this cure? As it is available to all, we should expect everyone to be able to understand how to receive it, even if we don't understand how it works. If we are sick we may not understand how the medicine prescribed by the doctor cures us, but we do need to know what the medicine is and when to take it. God wants everyone to turn back to him and be cured, so he made the cure as simple as possible. 

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4

The cure so simple that many people reject it for being too easy. Even some churches have transformed Jesus' simple cure into a complex set of doctrines and rituals that heap unnecessary burdens on people. The teachings of Christ are important and rituals can help us develop a relationship with him, but when theology and rituals supersede Jesus' simple instruction, we know that man-made religion has crept in. 

These doctrines and rituals are often adopted because people are suspicious of things that seem too good to be true. Surely, we say, if we are to be healed and saved from death we will need to do many things in exchange for being saved. But Jesus turns our expectations on their head as is often his way. He simply asks his followers to believe in him.

"Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26

This final question is posed to Martha, the sister of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus who had recently died. Jesus is asking her, and by extension us, if we believe in him?

"For it is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40

We'll look at what believing in him really means later, but for now the simple wisdom of the cure should be appreciated. It is simple because he loves us and wants us all to be saved from the disease of sin which leads to death.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Salvation then is two-fold. 

1) Salvation from ourselves and our sinful nature

When we believe in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice we open the door to a relationship with him, whereby he will transform us by his Spirit living in us. Through this transformational relationship we will be changed into the person he wants us to be. We will no longer want to do the harmful things we used to do to ourselves and others because we will be transformed into his image. He is the sinless one; the truly human one. He is the template on which our transformation is based. The purifying process, that people call sanctification, may take a long time, but we will see a change in our thoughts and behaviours once we have opened the door to his love.

2) Salvation from the finality of death and complete separation from God

The ultimate salvation comes at the end of our lives on earth, as Jesus said, even though we die, we will live on. We are saved from death because when we believe and trust in him we can walk the path he walked from death into eternal life. He was the one who died yet lived again; he was the one who destroyed the power of death over all of us.

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit." 1 Peter 3:18

"We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him." Romans 6:9

"Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil." Hebrews 2:14

Unfortunately, our salvation from death and the gift of eternal life seems like no big deal to modern people. This is because, unless you are a stone cold atheist, it is likely that you have at least a vague belief in an after life. This idea is usually an amalgam of many different spiritual traditions.

If we want to believe in reincarnation, we can. If we prefer to believe that we go to heaven when we die, we can. If we want to combine ideas of the after life from many different traditions, or even make up our own after life adventure, we can. The after life is seen by many as a purely subjective experience that they can create for themselves.

The problem with this is that the idea of objective truth is dismissed in favour of our subjective opinion, or as people say today "my truth". Jesus's resurrection, and the Christian teaching on the after life is treated as just one of many spiritual paths that we can choose from. If we believe in it; it's true. If we don't believe in it; it's false. However, the historical account of Jesus being resurrected from the dead is either objectively true, or it isn't. Our personal opinion doesn't affect its veracity. If it is true, we will all be bodily resurrected to face judgement by Christ and those who believe in him will be saved and those who don't will not.

If we care about the truth, we need to look at the historical evidence for his resurrection and come to a conclusion as to whether it is objectively true. Accepting this  truth means we have to reject all the other spiritual traditions about life after death. You cannot, at the same time, believe in reincarnation and bodily resurrection unless you believe that all truth is subjective and you care nothing for logical coherence. 

"One of the painful signs of years of dumbed-down education is how many people are unable to make a coherent argument. They can vent their emotions, question other people's motives, make bold assertions, repeat slogans—anything except reason." Thomas Sowell

Unfortunately, this seems to be where many people are in their thinking today, especially when dealing with spiritual matters. But these are life and death issues, not things that should be discerned by our feelings and preferences. Is our ultimate destination Nirvana; a state of nothingness and peace? Or eternal life on a new earth with God? Both ideas cannot be objectively true because they contradict each other. We may prefer the idea of reaching Nirvana, but our preferences will be irrelevant when we are presented with the stark and unchanging reality of the matter at the end of our life. 

Once we understand that Jesus was resurrected and that this truth changed the reality of what happens to all of us after we die, we can understand why his Apostles were compelled to spread this message of salvation and eternal life far and wide. 

" Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrews 9:27-28

"Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." Revelation 1:17-18

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4

" Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away...Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man." Revelation 21:1-3

If the Bible is an accurate reflection of reality and God's will for humanity, we know that sin is a serious disease that infects the whole human race. We all need to be saved from the consequences of our sin by being sanctified and healed. Belief in Jesus will open the door of our heart to receive his spirit, so we can be purified and healed by his love. If we don't accept this cure we will not be saved from death and we will be completely separated from God in the next life. 

The good news is that all of us can make a free will choice to believe in the only one who can save us. 

"You are my witnesses" declares the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe in me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed nor shall there be any after me. I, I Am the LORD, and besides me there is no saviour." Isaiah 43:10-11

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Next, I want to talk about what it means to believe, but for now remember...

"And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Joel 2:32