AWESOME GOD - PLAN OF SALVATION - PART TWO

                                               AWESOME GOD         
                                               PLAN OF SALVATION
             (part two)

          copied from ESV  Bible

                                         


The story of Redemption

So the story of Redemption and sacrifice begins, and it is repeated throughout the Word of God, culminating in the coming of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf.

 We discover through the Bible that a personal relationship with God is not dependent on good works that we do, or on church membership, or even on living a highly moral life. Rather, God's amazing grace is the fountain through which redemption flows to us.

Separated from God by sin and guilt, we all face two primary spiritual needs.

 First, we need to be restored to fellowship with God. We are truly guilty before God and therefore we must find forgiveness. We must face the problem of our sin, and there is no answer to this need within ourselves. The only answer is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Second, we need power to change our lives. Our sin reveals the depravity of our heart - the selfishness, the lust, the greed, the pride, and the anger that are so destructive.  "the heart,"  God says, "is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick."  (Jeremiah  17:9)  if we are going to be changed something must be done in our hearts to turn our lives around.


                                                
 Jesus taught that                  "unless one is born               again he cannot see the       kingdom of God"                 (John 3:3)



Only the blood of Jesus can take away the guilt of our sin, and only the Holy Spirit can come into our hearts and make us new people.

Redemption through Christ

Redemption often involves the concept of purchasing something back that has been lost by the payment of a ransom. It can mean a deliverance from some sort of confinement; such as the case with the deliverance of the children of Israel from the bondage to slavery in Egypt. (Exodus  14: 29-30  + 15:2)

There are many passages in the New Testament that represent Christ's suffering as a ransom or price and the result secured is a purchase or redemption (Acts 20:28; 1st Corinthians 6:19-20;
Galatians 3:13;  4: 4-5;  Ephesians  1:7;  Colossians 1:14 ;  1st Timothy 2: 5-6; Titus 2:14;
Hebrews 9:12;  1st Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 5:9;)
The idea running through all these texts is that of a payment made for our redemption. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin and redeemed us.

The penalty for our sin and rebellion is death; Jesus stepped in and laid down His life and took the penalty we deserve. The debt against us is not viewed as simply cancelled but as fully paid. Both the Old and New Testaments proclaim salvation as an accomplished fact.  Christ's blood or life which He surrendered for us  is the "ransom"  by which we are freed from sin. 

"Blood"  is mentioned 460 times in the Bible. Fourteen times in the New Testament. Jesus spoke of His Own Blood.   Why?  Because by the shedding of  His blood on the cross, He accomplished the salvation of everyone who believes.

to be continued

next post  12th Ocober