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 Salvation Is For Whosoever Will
When I talk to people about salvation I usually suggest that they read the Gospel of John in the New Testament. The whole Bible is entirely God's word to us. It seems that the message of salvation is explained in greater detail in the book of John. It gets down to brass tacks, so to speak.
The term 'gospel' in the Greek literally means "good news". To those who have not calloused themselves to God's call to repent of sin and come to know Him, what He has done for us in providing a chance to restore our relationship with Him and escape eternal hell, is considered 'good news'. The 'good news' is not what most want to teach and believe; that is, that God loves us all and will ultimately overlook our sinful life and let us all into Heaven whether we put our faith in Jesus or not. I know many unsaved people who believe this or at least hoping for this. If this is true, then there was no need for Jesus to have died. The 'good news' is that Jesus took our punishment for our sins and that by believing this, and acknowledging that it should of been us that died instead of Him and that we need to be free from ourselves and our sinful bondage, and believing everything Jesus says about Himself, we can be saved from eternal hell and live eternally with Him in Heaven. But unfortunately, lots of folk do not acknowledge this need. They feel they are ok and never have to repent of anything because they feel they have done nothing wrong.
Every human being was created by God to have the power of choice. God did not make robots. We can choose how to think, act, feel, react, and form our own opinions, choose our own way, choose to be angry or happy, choose to do right or wrong and even choose to believe in God's (our Creator's) existence or not. Psychologists tell us that we are a 'product of our environment'... but this is not true. It is a lie psychologists have come up with to tell us that it is not our fault for what we do. When we stand before God we will not be able to blame our parents, our neighborhood we grew up in, porno ads, liquor stores, or even the devil, etc... We choose to do what we do.
While God wanted us to have the power of choice He still wanted us to live clean and do what is right so God placed within us a conscience to give us guidance in morals and clean living. When we do something bad, we feel guilty. When we do right, we feel good about it. We even have the power to choose to listen to our conscience or reject it. Some people choose early in life to reject their conscience. Eventually as they grow older they can do wrong and it won't even bother them. Consequently, when the angels who announced the birth of our Savior, Jesus, said " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of good will" (Luke 2:14 Greek Interlinear) it was obviously directed to those who still listen to their conscience and have not calloused their conscience. People who have calloused their hearts are people not of 'good will'... that is, good character. I do not mean that they are hardened criminals. What I mean is that they have found a way to live life without feeling the need for God or anyone else for that fact. Even during rough times they found a way, without God, to survive. God said in Isaiah 57:10, "You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless,' You found renewal of your strength, and so you did not faint." These are people who find a way to survive without God's help. They think in their own minds that they are smarter than God, they think that God makes mistakes, they think that they are self-sufficient and have no need for anyone or anything, especially God. They calloused their conscience and consequently feel no need for God, feel no need for salvation because in their own mind they are solid as a rock. I personally know many people like this. They are people who hate God and hate anyone who talks about God. The only people they respect and admire are people who prosper, people who are successful in life, make lots of money and have lots of material possessions and have high society friends and acquaintances and are physically attractive. It is interesting that Jesus said in Luke 6:26, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets." They are arrogant, proud, and boastful people who brag about their accomplishments. Jesus talked about such a person in Luke 12:16-21; here Jesus quotes the man's arrogance, verse 18 - "Then he said,'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
"But God said to him,'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." They use people to their advantage and dump them when they are finished using them. This is how people move into positions of authority. God ordained that there be government and police and people to make laws within countries. This is because God wants society to maintain some kind of civilized order. With billions of people running around with the power of choice and a will of their own there has to be some kind of governing law to keep people in a somewhat orderly fashion. Laws are rules God meant for us to obey even if we do not like the ones in authority. Sometimes God intervenes in human affairs and places someone in a position of authority. God does this to fulfill His prophecy... it is not because this is His world. When Jesus stood before Pilate just hours before His crucifixion He told Pilate, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my Kingdom is from another place."
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered,"You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." (John 18:36-37) Jesus has already declared that satan is the ruler of this world. With satan as ruler he also has power to promote people into positions of authority. Regardless of this fact, Jesus taught that His followers should obey those that have the rule over us. This includes our government, our laws of the land, our employer, no matter how evil they might be. Remember... they are servants of satan, not Jesus. Followers of Jesus who obey them bring glory to God in doing this. Remember, Jesus is still our real eternal boss and He promised if His followers are faithful to Him and obey His teaching He would reward us. Jesus said in Matthew 25:21,"His master replied,'Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Also in Revelation 2:26-27 Jesus said, "To him who overcomes and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations - He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery- just as I have received authority from My Father." So if you are a born-again believer in Jesus and you stay with Jesus to the end of your life or when Jesus returns, whichever event comes first, you will be a ruler. Jesus said that it is "the meek who will inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5) It certainly will not be the proud, the aggressive, the arrogant, the greedy, the obnoxious and the haughty who will rule after this present world is finished. But until then, be meek and patient with this present world. This is what God wants you as a born again believer, to do.
It is usually people who have calloused their conscience who get into positions of authority in society. Jesus alludes to these kind of people in Mark 10:42-45 - Jesus said, " You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." A follower of Jesus who wants to be a leader in the church must be servant of all believers.
The worst thing about being in hell is knowing that you could have escaped it and chose not to. I knew an elderly man many years ago who told me that he was a member of 'The World Council of Churches'. His reasoning behind this was that belonging to all church organizations thinking that at least one of them had to be right, he would be gauranteed access to Heaven when he died. Even this did not give him peace of mind when he got old... he committed suicide by shooting himself. He was the owner of the largest music retail business in the state of Colorado.
When a person has become calloused to the point he or she can do wrong and it not bother him, then he will not feel the need to be 'saved'. He knows no reason to be saved because he feels and thinks that he has done nothing wrong. We have psychologists telling us that there really is no right or wrong and people are believing this to be truth and living their lives accordingly.
To understand what it is to be 'saved' a person must still be able to listen to his or her conscience. When we do wrong and feel guilty about it and want to do right, there is still hope for us and the Lord Jesus can reach our hearts if we want Him to. Jesus will never force anyone to want Him and accept Him. It is our choice.
Wayne Brown
Suggested reading :
Salvation - Parable of the Sower
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