Salvation is God’s ultimate restoration plan and only through Christ can we receive this eternal gift. I like how Pastor Rick Warren refers to what I called the threefold blessing of salvation: “Through salvation our past has been forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured.”1 Let’s take a brief look at each of these three time periods and see just how blessed we are by virtue of the great news of our salvation.
Through salvation our past has been forgiven
Imagine having to face an infinitely holy God on judgement day and coming to Him with our lifetime of sinful behaviors. The chances of God allowing us into His perfect, sinless heaven would be zero. For you see there is no sin in heaven. But praise God through salvation in Jesus Christ our lifetime of sins have been nailed to the cross and in return God has bestowed upon us the righteousness of Christ. With our sins now forgiven not only can we spend eternity with Jesus in heaven but we can have a wonderful relationship with Him right now and oh what a blessing that is. And this brings me to the second time dimension.
Through salvation our present is given meaning
Talk about meaning. Before we received salvation through Jesus Christ all of us spent our entire lives searching for true meaning. Sadly, we all fell short on our quest because all mankind is born with a spiritual vacuum that only Jesus Christ can fill. But once we come to Jesus, meaning begins to fill our cup to overflowing. Knowing that our sins are forgiven, that we are adopted into the family of God, and that we are unconditionally loved allows us to experience the wonderful joy of Christian fellowship, the sweet private times of Bible reading and prayer with the Creator of the universe, and the knowledge that we have a special purpose – which is to put forward every effort to glorify the Lord. My friends as a Christian amazing meaning is a gift from our heavenly Father – and you don’t have to get to heaven to begin to experience the ultimate purpose in life which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!
Through salvation our future is secured
When it comes to securing our future all of us understand that we must work hard and save up for our retirement years. But what about our eternal future? Thankfully, as Christians our God has done all the work by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins. And by virtue of His death and resurrection, Christ has promised us the most secure future imaginable – eternal life. And unlike our plans for our physical retirement, which can be cut short by an early death, our heavenly home is so secure that, as a Christian, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and His gift of salvation. The eternal security of the believer is one of the most comforting doctrines in all of Scripture.
In closing, I leave you with this beautiful quote from evangelist Billy Graham: “Salvation is always ‘good news.’ It is news of God’s love and forgiveness—adoption into His family—fellowship with His people—freedom from the penalty of sin—liberation from the power of sin.”2
1 189 Quotes About Salvation | ChristianQuotes.info
2 Foundations of the Faith: Salvation (decisionmagazine.com)