Salvation (sal VA shun) n. deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption; the result of being saved; being able to live eternally with God in a perfect place, Heaven, instead of living apart from God in Hell.

When asked what a person must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus affirmed that a person must love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and to love their neighbor as themselves. Jesus said, "Do this and you will live"(Luke 10:28). The requirement for eternal life in Heaven is perfect love of God and our neighbor (fellow human beings). Do you have a perfect love of God and of man?

Some believe and teach that this sort of perfection can be achieved through hard work and discipline on our part. The Bible addresses this faulty thinking in James 2:10 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." One sin disqualifies us from Heaven, since it is a perfect place. T he Bible being bluntly honest says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)

To help illustrate this, consider the Grand Canyon. The canyon is up to a mile deep and 20 miles wide. Picture God in His full glory in Heaven on the north rim of the canyon. Picture trying to get there by human effort as equivalent to trying to jump from the south rim to the north rim. The picture is tragic and would result in death. Similarly, God's Word says "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)

Here is where Jesus comes into the picture. The Bible says "God made him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (1 Timothy 2:2). Jesus took our sins upon Himself and suffered and died with them on a cross. In exchange for our sins, Jesus gives us His perfection as a gift. The passage that says that the wages of sin is death goes on to say, "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus " (Romans 6:23). A gift is not something earned. It doesn't cost us anything, but it cost Jesus everything, His very life.

Salvation becomes ours through faith, that is trusting and believing that Jesus has accomplished our salvation completely for us. The Bible says "for God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have Eternal Life" (John 3:16). Salvation is yours in Christ Jesus! Believe it and live!

You can hear the message of salvation proclaimed every week at Lamb of God Lutheran.