CE 1 YEAR: 2 Eternal Salvation

Week 2

Eternal Salvation

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the central message of Christianity. The Gospel is the power of God to make us Christians when we trust in it (Rom 1:16). The word “Gospel” means God’s good news to humans about Jesus Christ. Why is the Gospel of Jesus Christ good news for us? Because of the horrible things He has saved us from. Salvation in the Bible means to be rescued from danger. Christians often describe themselves as “saved,” but forget what they have been rescued from.

Your life before salvation

You were born into this world as a child of the Devil (1 John 3:10). Satan was your father (John 8:44). You belonged to a cruel master and lived in his kingdom of darkness (Col 1:13; Act 26:18). Your dark lord controlled you with his power, causing you to commit sins that made your life destructive, painful, and shameful (John 10:10; Eph 2:2; Tit 3:3; 1 Pet 5:8).

Before God rescued you, you were among the whole world who has turned away from God and become worthless (Rom 3:12). God considered you to be among the chaff and weeds of humanity that are to be burned up on Judgment Day (cf. Matt 3:12; 13:30). In God’s sight you were His enemy (Rom 5:10).

Before you belonged to God you may have prayed desperately for God to help you. But because you were dead to God, He never even heard your prayers (Isa 59:2; Jer 11:11). You could not claim any promises from God to protect you, provide for you, or guide you (Eph 2:12).

The only thing you could expect from God is what you deserved: His wrath. You lived under His wrath and under His curse in this life (John 3:36; Matt 25:41). And like the rest of the world, you deserved to experience God’s wrath for all eternity in the fires of Hell prepared for the Devil and his demons (Matt 25:41; John 3:16; Eph 2:3; 2 Thess 1:9).

For all these reasons, God wants you to remember that you were separated from Christ, were without God, and without hope in this world (Eph 2:12). This is what salvation means Christian. You were saved from all of this.

Why is it important to remember these things? Because if you have been a Christian for very long, the Good News has become old news. The above reminder will hopefully help you freshly appreciate how good the news of the Gospel is. It is the greatest news you can imagine, because it saved you from the very worst things you can imagine.

In a jewelry store a diamond is placed on pitch black felt that absorbs all the light around it in order to magnify its brilliance. Likewise, the dark truth about your life without God makes the diamond of your salvation shine like the sun.

How did God save you?

God says you were saved by His grace (Rom 3:25; 4:16; Eph 1:7; 2:8-9; Tit 2:11). This means He saved you because of His undeserved kindness (Rom 5:6-10; 9:15-18; Eph 2:4-7; Tit 3:4-5; 1 Pet 1:3; 2:10). To be saved by God’s grace means to be saved by God’s good works, not your good works (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9). What did God do to save you?

First of all, God the Father chose you before the creation of the world to belong to Him (Rom 11:5; Eph 1:4-5, 11; 2 Thess 2:13). Secondly, God the Father sent His Son to suffer and die to pay the penalty for your sin (Matt 20:28; John 3:16; Rom 8:32). Thirdly, God sent someone into your life to communicate the Gospel (Rom 10:14-15). Fourth, the Holy Spirit convinced you of your need for God’s forgiveness and He enabled you to properly appreciate the Gospel and who Jesus Christ is (John 6:37, 44, 65; Acts 16:14; 1 Cor 2:14; Tit 3:5-6). All three Persons of the Trinity worked and sacrificed to save you.

Your life after salvation

Now that God has saved you, what has He changed about your life? Your father was the Devil, but now you are a son or daughter of God (Matt 23:9; Rom 8:15; 2 Cor 6:18; Gal 4:5; 1 John 3:1). You were God’s enemy, but now you are His friend (John 15:15; James 2:23). You were separated from God, but now He has brought you near to Him (Eph 2:13). Before you could not depend on God and had to depend on yourself. But now He has given you His great promises, will always be present to help you when you are in trouble, and will never leave you or forsake you (Deut 31:8; Ps 46:1; 2 Pet 1:4)

You belonged to a cruel master, but now you have been transferred into a new kingdom where your master is constantly blessing you, protecting you, and providing for you (Ps 37:25; 103:2; Rom 8:28-39; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Cor 9:8; Col 1:13). God did not know you, but now He cares about everything in your life (Matt 6:6, 25-33; 10:29-31). Before God did not hear your prayers, but now He will give you whatever you ask that is in His will (Matt 7:7-11; 1 John 5:13-14). Without Christ, your life was worthless, but now you have tremendous value and purpose (Matt 5:14-16; 2 Cor 5:19-20; Eph 2:10; 1 Pet 2:9).

Without Christ you lived under God’s wrath and curse. But now you live under His grace and compassion (Ps 103:3-14; Rom 8:1; 1 Pet 2:10). You were going to Hell forever, but now your destiny is to live in God’s perfect Paradise forever (Matt 25:34; Luke 23:43; 1 Cor 2:9; Rev 2:7; 21:1-5). You were going to be punished for every bad thing you ever did, but now you are only going to be rewarded for every good thing you do (1 Cor 1:8; Col 1:22; 2:13-14; Rom 8:1; Matt 6:6; 10:42; 16:27; Heb 6:10).

Do not believe the Devil’s slander against God

Another reason God wants you to remember your life before salvation is to better understand why horrible and painful things happened to you. A part of you might blame God for these things. Perhaps you believed there was a God and that He would protect you and grant your prayers. And because God did not do these things, a part of you still struggles to believe that God is good and worthy of your trust.

This is what your former master the Devil wants. His plan is to use the painful events of your past to slander God in your mind. This is why he is called the Devil (Greek: diabolos “slander”). Before you were a Christian the Devil wanted to cause great pain in your life. Then He wanted you to blame God for your pain and hold a grudge against Him for the rest of your life.

Is there a part of you that still believes the Devil’s slander about God? A part that struggles to believe God is good and really cares about you because of the things that happened to you before you belonged to Him? If so, you need to update your beliefs to match your new reality. Before salvation you were alone, hopeless, unprotected, insignificant, and unloved. You were not a child of God and you could not expect His protection or help. You were God’s enemy.

But all of that has changed! Now your past has nothing to do with who you are, and what you can expect. Now you live in a different world where an all-powerful God really does care about you. Ask yourself this question. Since you have become a child of God, are there times that He has protected you and provided for you? Can you see the difference that occurred when you became a Christian?

Of course your new Father still allows painful things to happen to you. But this is for a glorious purpose that is explained elsewhere in the Essentials (see week ?). And no matter what happens to you now, you are no longer alone, worthless, or hopeless.

There is one final reason that God allowed painful things to happen to you before you belonged to Him. God knew He could heal every hurt the Devil caused in your life. The real pain from your past comes from the lies you believed about yourself because of those experiences. And now the truth can set you free from all those lies and you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind (John 8:32; Rom 12:2). This too will be discussed further in the Essentials (see weeks ?).

Practical Application: Spend some time with God this week and pray Psalm 139:23-24. In verse 24 David asked God to help him realize any part of him that was ōseb. This is a rich Hebrew word used throughout the OT to mean hurting, sinful, sad, and even idolatrous. Let the Holy Spirit search your heart and find any part of you that is angry with God or does not trust Him. Confess those feelings to God and confront them with the truth about God’s love for you.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1. What does the word “Gospel” mean? What does salvation mean?
2. What are some things that were true of you before you were given salvation?
3. What are some things true about you now that you have salvation?
4. How does the Devil try to slander God to you?
5. What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?