Sept. 29, 2016.
oF Salvation.
Depending on your walk in your Christian Faith, this word can either mean journey or deliverance. This is the same as Paul referring to those on milk as opposed to those on meat; childish behavior or mature ones. We all have to grow up into our Salvation to truly appreciate and walk in it. We can think of Salvation as someone who having been in prison for most of their lives is rescued and goes through years of emotional, and mental stresses, having trust issues, déjà vu and confidence challenges not only in themselves but in the very ones who rescued them. It's that picture of a lion that was held in their cage for most of their life and after the cage is removed; the lion never ventures beyond the previous cage boundaries. The spirit of the person rescued limits their level of Salvation.
Salvation is meant to be complete and not be dragged out. For when one is rescued, it is done to remove the victim from their oppressors as in from evil to good; from death to life. When Jesus went to the cross, it was not a partial but a complete Salvation as in when blood and life are sacrificed; it is final. He did not bias His sacrifice as a calculated risk to focus on prejudicial notions, but gave His best for every single prisoner of the law, tradition and culture. Jesus’ Salvation is comprehensive. The Salvation Jesus did; removed oppressions, both physical and spiritual. Going back to the prisoner example, when Salvation came, it removed us from harm, ruination, and fear as in stresses and anxieties. Salvation is meant to take us into a higher level of perspective as coming out of four mundane walls with iron bars being the only thing to hold on to, and being showcased with overalls as a captive slave with controlled and limited expressions. This is no different than Jesus on the cross. He was captive by the weight of sin, held by nails to His prison, the cross and made a spectacle for all and to be accused, having no ability to relieve Himself of His imprisonment. The grave being symbolic of His lifelong incarceration. Then God came and rescued Him with eternal, complete and unhindered Salvation.
Having Salvation takes us into possibilities that free us to enjoy, participate in and revel in our expressions from the oppressions. It is our opportunity to “stick it to them” being free of their entanglement, just as Jesus did when He made a public spectacle of His captors after being freed and triumphing over them with His Salvation. Jesus made it personal and so should we. We move from internalization and introspection to an extrovert, outward expression of relationships and elations of life. To look for Salvation is an act of waiting for redemption from the weight of sin as a crime that we may have or not have committed. This is like committing a sin or having the imagination of a sin.This is why Salvation is for everyone; the innocent as well as the guilty. For with Salvation, the reasons for imprisonment whether physical or mental as well as spiritual has only one purpose and that is to set the captive free. So that the constraint of imprisonment by the sheer weight of guilt, depression, and accusations, no longer have any hold over us. We must learn that once free, we are not to take back the burden that held us down in the first place.
The point of Salvation is that one has turned their back on incarceration and should be looking forward towards the freedoms that have been sacrificed for. It is not once freed, to go back into prison. To volunteer oneself to depression and restraint. It is by choice that one breaks the chains of imprisonment and is released into a breath of fresh air where one can live and live to the fullness of life. To sin is like sludge weighed down on your body, mind, and soul, but with Salvation, it is the cleansing and unhinging of all that we are truly made up of. This fullness of life having to do with all that is good, prosperous and peaceful. The reward of Salvation has nothing to do with earning or becoming due for parole, communing of one’s sentence or time served. To be given Salvation has everything to do with a higher sense of responsibility as well as nobility. It's just the right thing to do and to be done. Salvation is not an equal or equitable proposition because the cost of rescuing to free the innocent can never be paid back and usually, the risk of saving those under duress outweighs any value that any of those rescued can give or contribute to. It is based on compassion, Righteousness and the statement of Sovereignty and protection, as “In my weakness, He is made strong” by Salvation. Salvation can and do come with the loss of life that is freely given so that the imprisoned may live, regardless if the rescued dispose of, throw away or demean the Salvation given. When Jesus set the foundation for Salvation, He did not require anyone to make promises, shed for a blood covenant or surrender their liberties because these acts would put them back into prison and captivity. His sacrifice made possible the gift of Salvation and it is meant to make us free with no payment or interest incurred. It is the pinnacle of love and care.
When we receive Salvation as when taken from our captors, we are protected as if shielded from those who would want to harm us. We enjoy this until we are no longer in danger and can stand on our own. We are not required to be continually rescued because we should have learned the cost to imprisonments and always seek to stay free and keep our captors at bay. We break the bondage of our captors and bond with those who rescued us and brought us out into Salvation. This means we develop a personal relationship with the Savior and find support for our recovery and growth from captivity and darkness. This leaning for support is meant to lead us into empowerment and self-worth for self-preservation and assimilate us into productive citizens of our environments. It gives us the assurance that we are worthy of Salvation. The Salvation we receive is a source of strength and an example for those needing Salvation. By this, we become carriers and purveyors of the one who has delivered us and placed us above darkness with the message and hope of Salvation. We share our experiences and grow the more we share with others, becoming ourselves citadels of Salvation. We become that beacon many need to reach for Salvation themselves.
When God looked across the ages and knew that Adam would fail but Jesus would not. He purpose His strategy for covert plans to achieve the best outcome for rescue and Salvation. He did this with one thing in mind and that was to give every opportunity for success in setting the captives free. He calculated the risk of sending His one and only begotten Son into a compromising, deceptive and possibly fatal “hot zone”, because it was simply the right thing to do and do it not for self but for the reasons that make Him God, because He can and wants to be there for those who cry out to Him. Sometimes we think He seems selfish because we tend to think ulterior motives, but the reality of it is; God just wants man to be free and to enjoy and receive all that they are entitled to. The Salvation that man has been given has no real benefit to God other than the satisfaction that those having been freed, now has life and life to the fullest. He does not need man but wants him and out of unconditional love does what He does for man, giving the free gift of Salvation with a covenant for man’s choosing. It is up to us to make the cost of freedom count for something and to never forget the place we were before Salvation came knocking at our door and we became free.
Gen. 49:18, 1 Chron. 16:23, Ps. 3:8, Is. 12:3, Mi. 7:7, Lk. 2:30, Acts 4:12, Rom. 1:16, Eph. 6:17, Tit. 2:11,
STUDY SERIES