Is Salvation Necessary?

Friend are your eyes opened?

What is it to have your eyes opened? It is, first, to have Christ revealed to your soul. Then we receive Him. We give our lives to Him.

It is a heart-entering revelation when Jesus comes into our lives. Is this salvation necessary? Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes!

Why do we need salvation and what does God open our eyes to? Firstly, we have our eyes opened to the fact that we are sinners. The unsaved man or woman lives recklessly, indulging in every forbidden fruit that is before him, violating his conscience and then excusing his actions. Many men would destroy God, if they could, because they do not like God’s rules.

Having our eyes opened is more than just seeing our sin. It is seeing God’s love for us through what Jesus Christ has done for us. Jesus Christ, the holy Son of God, came to earth. He was treated terribly. He was treated like a sinner even though he was totally pure. He was sentenced to death, beaten, whipped and nailed to a cross. There He died. It was all for a reason. Scripture says; “ But we do see Him who was made [a]for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of His suffering death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2.9 Footnote [a] Or a little lower)What does this mean? Jesus tasted death for all people; His death was an atonement. He died to take the penalty that we should have to pay. He died as our substitute. He became the great mediator between God and man.

Jesus died for mankind. This means He died for you, for your sins, for your salvation and for mine. This means that He loves you very, very much. He knew that you couldn’t make it any other way. It cost Him everything, but He chose this and went the whole way to the cross for you, and for me.

So, what do we do with this truth. First, we believe. Believe that He died for you and also that He rose from the dead. Exercise faith. Faith is a heart-trust in the person of Jesus Christ. It is a shift from trusting in yourself to trusting in Him. Next, we repent. Repentance is a turning of our lives towards the Lord. It is the decision to forsake of our own will and ways and the decision to choose to follow Jesus instead.

You can make a commitment to following Him and ask Him for the ability to live that commitment out. This does not mean that you will never fail. What this does mean is that the direction of your life has changed from going your own way to following God’s way. There will be much grace and much forgiveness, along the way, but your direction needs to be one of following Christ. That direction is set in moments of decision, such as this, when you choose to surrender all of your life to Jesus Christ.

Salvation is necessary. If you have not done so, please make the choice of exercising faith and repentance. Experience His love, grace and salvation  today. God bless you.

Shawn Stevens
References

Finney, Charles. God’s Call. New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1999.

Finney, Charles. Lectures on Systematic Theology. Edited by J. H. Fairchild. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951.

Finney, Charles. Power From on High. Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, n.d.

Finney, Charles. Principles of Revival. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1987.

Finney, Charles. Principles of Victory. Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1981.

Finney, Charles. Santification. Edited by Ernest Allen. Fort Washington: Christian Literature Crusade, 1994.

“Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission.” (www.Lockman.org)