Our understanding of salvation–the most fundamental aspect about Christianity–casts direct and dramatic implications upon every aspect of our Christian lives. Since it is foundational, everything else will be aligned according to how it is placed, positioned, and understood.
Therefore, if our understanding of salvation is false or skewed, then the entirety of our faith will be disastrously based on a shaky foundation–one that might fall or give way under any circumstance. But if our understanding of salvation is rightly established, then it will be a firm foundation whereby the rest of our Christianity can be effectively built, accurately aligned, and increasingly reinforced.
Scripture emphasizes that Jesus is the cornerstone of our salvation (Eph. 2:20), the One of first importance (1 Co. 15:3) by whom everything else is held together (Col. 1:17). Thus, if we get Jesus wrong, we will invariably get salvation wrong. Indeed, just as an architect can’t afford to misjudge the foundation from the structure, how much more can we not afford to do so with Jesus and our salvation, which is eternally significant?
Here are some ‘Salvation Is Not‘ and ‘Salvation Is‘ tidbits that I hope properly aligns salvation according to what Scripture indicates. Let’s go back to that literal and metaphorical ‘square one’.
Check it:
Salvation is not a formula to obey. It’s a Person to know and love. (Jn 17:3)
Salvation is not a personal feeling, background, promise, or morality to God. It’s a position before God, given to you as a gift of Jesus’. (Eph 2)
The essence of salvation is not behavioral change, but heart change, which in turn leads to a renewed behavior, yet this time with better motives. (2 Co. 5:14-15)
The benefits of salvation is not fruit, but abiding in the Vine, where fruit grows naturally. (Jn. 15)
Salvation is not an easier life, but a fuller one. (Jn. 10:10)
Salvation is not license to sin; rather, it is a re-orienting of your spiritual taste buds–one that tastes sin as bitter and righteousness as sweet. (Rom. 6)
Salvation is not just safety from an eternity in Hell, but an anticipation to be spend eternity with the gracious God who rescued you in the new heaven and earth. (Rev. 21)
Salvation does not just concern the human heart, but is a promise of redemption for all dimensions of life: cosmic, communal, and personal. (Col. 1:20)
Salvation is not a prayer to pray, but a Person to praise. (Titus 3:5)
Salvation is not a degree of your faith, but the Object of your faith. (Heb. 12:1-2)
Salvation is not the pursuit of God, but God’s pursuit of you. (Jn. 3:16-17)
Salvation is not the transaction of our works for God’s acceptance, but the gift of His grace for our shortcomings. (Eph. 2:6-9)
Salvation is not a ladder to be climbed, but a cross to be borne. (Lk. 9:23)
Salvation is not a formula to be followed and adhered, but a Person to be followed and adored. (Jn. 17:3)
It’s not a emotion to be felt, but a truth to be embraced. (Acts 4:12)
It’s not a theoretical concept to cognitively acknowledge and accept, but a historical Person to wholeheartedly embrace and surrender to. (1 Co. 15:6)
Salvation is not a hand raised up, but a life laid down. (Mt. 16:24)
Salvation is not a formula for making bad people good, but a power to make dead people alive. (Gal. 2)
Salvation is not the unlocking of your potential and strength, but connecting you to the One who has all potential and strength in your weakness. (1 Cor. 12)
Salvation is not that we have overcome sin and the world, but that Jesus has. (Jn. 14:6)
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To conclude, salvation is essentially not what we do for God, but about what God has done for us in Christ. The gospel is good news precisely because it is a work that God accomplished for us that we could never accomplish for ourselves. Salvation is the exchange of our sin for Jesus’ righteousness: Jesus took our position of penalty so we could have his position of favor (1 Co. 5:21). The only thing we ever contributed to our salvation was our sin; the rest is His glorious grace. As such, we are completely covered in Jesus’ righteousness, and the implications of that gripping truth extend to every aspect of our life. Indeed, if we get salvation right, it will fuel, empower, influence, and transform every part of our Christian life. If Jesus is positioned as the cornerstone of our salvation, as he should be, then he will then be like the only key to an ever so formidable door, unlocking everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pe. 1:3).
