Christian community! The salvation of humanity is the main theme of the Bible, however in the world for a certain period of time, many theories of salvation, deceitful teachings and various frauds based on the Word of God have been developed, that is why I would like us to reflect on this publication about the salvation of humanity.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life."
John 3:16
All of God's plans are originally charged with the seeds of life. After the fall of Adam and Eve, the first steps to save people were that the Lord would dress them in leather clothes and expel them from paradise so as not to perpetuate their sinful state. The tree of life is Christ. Only in Christ is salvation. Other sacrifices also testified to God's plans of salvation.
However, people today are taught about God's salvation in a wrong way, totally wrong about the true way. People ask, what should I do to be saved? The answer is simple and accessible to all people: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved ..." (Acts 16: 30,31). Therefore, some want to outwit the Savior Jesus Christ and reduce the importance of His sacrifice, or put it as an addition to what I myself can do. Such error will lead to the death of many people, because "there is no salvation in any other" (Acts 4: 11,12) and there is no other way to salvation (John 14: 6), but all who call His name will be saved.
Today we live in a period of grace. According to this, the "Gospel of Grace" is preached (Acts 20:24). The essence of this is reduced not to what I did, but to what the Savior Jesus Christ did for us (1 Corinthians 15: 1-5). The main thing is his death, burial and resurrection. Only such a foundation is the foundation of our salvation. Christ is alive. But automatically, without the will of man, all this does not give salvation, if a person does not believe in justification through the sacrifice of Christ, does not plead guilty of sins and does not repent. Then the sacrifice of the Savior will not bring you any benefit.
Therefore, the beginning of our salvation begins with a man's awareness of his death and what Jesus Christ did for us. Death is the result of the sin of the first people, Adam and Eve, who, due to their iniquity, broke their relationship with God, becoming dependent on sin and the devil.
Therefore, all their descendants are born sinful people with an inherited sin nature (Job 14: 4). The initiative of salvation came from God's side. Having sinned, Adam did not seek the Savior, he did not ask for mercy, but the Lord Himself promised to give to the Deliverer.
Two thousand years ago, the Savior Jesus Christ came to earth, who with his sacrifice paid the great price of the rescue of mankind, freeing him from an infernal power. Having accepted the Savior's faith, a person receives the inheritance lost by Adam, but only voluntarily. The decision to choose free will rests with the person. Hence the second side in our salvation, namely, the will of the person himself.
God in Christ reconciled the world with himself, but does man want to be reconciled? The Lord offers people salvation, but it must be taken by taking several important steps of faith. Without understanding their sinful state before God, none of the people can repent of their sins. Therefore, it must be remembered that God will not do what man should do, and man can not do what God does. In many moments it is a mutual action. This is especially evident in the matter of salvation. God can not save man without his actions. What kind of action does God expect from me? - This is the action of a living faith. No man can save himself. No righteous person on earth will save himself (Matthew 19:26). The Holy Spirit awakens, rebukes, testifies, speaks to our conscience. But He can not make a choice that a man should make.
God in Christ reconciled the world with himself, but does man want to be reconciled? The Lord offers people salvation, but it must be taken by taking several important steps of faith. Without understanding their sinful state before God, none of the people can repent of their sins. Therefore, it must be remembered that God will not do what man should do, and man can not do what God does. In many moments it is a mutual action. This is especially evident in the matter of salvation. God can not save man without his actions. What kind of action does God expect from me? - This is the action of a living faith. No man can save himself. No righteous person on earth will save himself (Matthew 19:26). The Holy Spirit awakens, rebukes, testifies, speaks to our conscience. But He can not make a choice that a man should make.
Thus, the first component of our salvation is faith. Spiritual things require faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11: 6). Faith is spiritual hands with which we can take only what God gives us. How can we receive the remission of sins without faith? How can we receive the salvation that God gives us, but without having faith? We take material things with our hands, and spiritual things can only be taken by faith.
Faith helps to support various tests. It is because of their unbelief that the Israelites did not enter the promised land. Faith opens the door to the Savior Jesus Christ. Faith controls all our affairs, are they good or bad? By faith, we perceive not only salvation, but also ministry. Therefore, everything that is not by faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Losing faith means perishing (Hebrews 10: 38,39). The Word of God begets faith, and faith is based on the Word of God. Therefore, each person should listen to the Word of God that is needed first.
The next thing that God must recognize to each person is the fact that all people are sinners. All sinned and went away without the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Then the second step of faith is repentance. Repentance is also one of the components of salvation (Luke 13: 3). Repentance in itself does not give salvation (Judah's repentance did not lead to salvation). The sinful abyss between man and God continues to exist even after the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over the forces of evil. Each person must submit voluntarily to God, respond to the initiative of God's salvation. Therefore, the Word of God is addressed to the freedom of man, with whom God considers himself.
Unfortunately, people keep walking in the dark. Then the question arises again: what did the Lord do so that people could realize their condition and repent of their sins? Not everyone recognizes that they perish in sins.
A few years ago, newspapers reported how fishermen were fishing on an ice floe. Nobody noticed that the ice floe separated from the coast and is transported by the current to the sea. This often happens in today's real world. The rescue services from the coast saw this threat and sent a helicopter to take the people to the coast. But people were not in a hurry to roll up their fishing gear, because they did not see any threat. The fish continue to peck, attracting more and more anguished from the shore. Something similar happens, unfortunately, in the spiritual world. Many people who are seduced by this world, with their charms, are dying without realizing where they are swimming and what awaits them.
What steps does the Lord take to free a person from sin? People are not aware of their death, they can not repent when they are so well. Human nature is sinful. She throws a person to sin, which is natural. To renounce sin is to go against the natural state of man. The flesh always remains that way. That is the reason why people do not turn to God with repentance. Sin in many cases as people. It is more consistent with the sinful nature of man.
There is an opinion that God gives repentance (2 Timothy 2:25). Sinful angels have no forgiveness, because God did not give them repentance. Probably they, supporting their boss, accused God of misconduct against him. Therefore, it was necessary to prove that he is a criminal. Probably, when invading the throne of God, the devil did not consider it a crime. Proud of his beauty and power, he decided to become God's level. So the world created by God served as a testing ground to identify the sin of the devil and his angels (this is the author's personal version). Having pushed a person to sin, good and evil appeared on earth, although their root originated in heaven. God reveals himself in good, and the devil in evil. The conscience of good does not exist if there is no evil. Only at the bottom of evil is good (man realizes the good).
Without the action of God, no one will ever repent. And here again we must pay attention to the Word of God, which is preached in the world. It must be brought to the ears of the listeners. For this purpose, God uses people who preach the Word. The Holy Spirit blames man for the sin of the Word and reveals the truth of the Word of God, enlightens the mind, awakens, manifests the darkness of sin. Awake man, through his conscience, puts the limits of human relationships between God and people.
It helps to understand the path that leads to salvation. And with all this, the Word does not affect the principle of freedom of choice. But if everything depended on God, then God would give it to all. The Bible says: "God commands all people to repent everywhere" (Acts 17:30). This means: "If they do not repent, then they will all perish" (Luke 13: 5). Since God opened the door of salvation to all people, He gave repentance to all. But not everyone accepted salvation and, therefore, not everyone perceives repentance. Some are humble, while others become cruel in heart.