NOW IS
THE DAY OF SALVATION
By
Pastor Max Solbrekken, D.D
“Behold,
now
is the accepted time; behold, now
is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6: 2). The word salvation,
according to Webster's Dictionary means: “Deliverance
from SIN and its PENALTY.”
The
Bible states: “The wages
of Sin is Death, but the gift
of God
is eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23); “For
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)
SIN
was introduced to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Lucifer, the
fallen archangel. Prior to that disastrous moment, SIN was
unknown, as was the Penalty for sin which was separation
from God our Heavenly Father. Shortly thereafter, came fear,
torment, sickness, disease and physical death!
There
was no hate, jealousy, fear, sickness, disease or death in the Garden
of Eden before the introduction of Sin by Satan, the Enemy of God and
man. Now, SIN is universal with tragic consequences breeding EVIL
like unbelief, pride, sorrow, perversion, murder, insanity, betrayal
and war!
Salvation
is Deliverance from SIN and it's PENALTY.
It is forgiveness for all our sins and freedom from them. St. Paul
writes: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to
be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light;
“Who
hath delivered us from the power of Darkness and hath translated us
into the Kingdom of His dear Son: in Whom we have Redemption through
His BLOOD, even the forgiveness of sins! (Col. 1: 12-14)
Through
His shed Blood we receive PEACE: “For it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell; and having made Peace through
the death of His Cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself; by
Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in Heaven.
“And
you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath He reconciled; in the BODY of His flesh through
Death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His
sight, if ye continue in the faith...” (Col. 1:19-23)
Two
great Truths leap out at us in regards to the subjects of Sin and Salvation, namely, 'Separation from God and Reconciliation with
God'! I shudder at the very thought of people being separated
from our Merciful Creator, Who loves us in spite of our sinful Nature
and stubborn Will.
To be Separated from His goodness and grace
which sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to Golgotha to bear our
sins, guilt, fear, sickness and diseases, is terribly sad, indeed!
Reconciliation
with God is an act of God, derived through an honest and sincere
repentance and belief in the sacrificial death of His Paschal Lamb
who gladly laid down His life for the Redemption of the human race!
Through the shed BLOOD of Jesus of Nazareth, unclean and guilty sinners are made pure and clean and elevated to the status of children of God. Only by the grace of Almighty God is this possible!
Through the shed BLOOD of Jesus of Nazareth, unclean and guilty sinners are made pure and clean and elevated to the status of children of God. Only by the grace of Almighty God is this possible!
The
Bible says: “For God has allowed us to KNOW the secret of His
plan, and it is this: He purposed long ago in His Sovereign will that
all human history should be consummated in Christ, that everything
that exists in Heaven or earth should find its perfection in Him.”
(Eph. 1: 10 - Philips)
DELIVERANCE
FROM SATAN'S POWER!
The
Name JESUS in the Hebrew is YESHUA which means 'Saviour;
the Salvation of God'. The
Salvation of God is deliverance from sin and the penalty of sin.
Jesus, therefore is the God who saves, heals and delivers!
The
Prophet stated: “Surely,
He hath borne our sicknesses (heb.
makob)
and carried our pains (heb.
nasa);
yet we did esteem Him smitten of God and afflicted. But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are
healed.”(Isaiah
53: 4, 5)
St.
Mathew records: “When the even was come, they brought unto Him many
that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His
Word and Healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our
INFIRMITIES and bare our SICKNESSES.” (Matt. 8: 16, 17)
St.
Peter also confirmed what St. Mathew stated: “Who His own Self bare
our sins in His own body on the tree
that
we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: By
Whose stripes ye are healed.”
(1 Peter 2: 24)
The
Bible says: “Giving thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet
(qualified) to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in
light: Who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the Kingdom of His dear Son;
in Whom we have Redemption through His BLOOD, even the forgiveness of
sins.” (Col.1:12, 13)
JESUS:
AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION!
“Seeing
then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the
Heavens, JESUS the Son of God let us hold fast our profession. For
we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities; but
was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
“Let
us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need.” (Heb.4: 14-16);
“Thou He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which
He suffered; And being made perfect, He became the AUTHOR of Eternal
Salvation unto all them that obey Him; called of God an High Priest
after the Order of Melchisedec.” (Heb. 5: 8-10)
Jesus
Christ, True God from Eternity and True man by His virgin birth,
became the Author of Eternal Salvation, through His sacrificial death
on the CROSS
and His triumphant Resurrection from the dead three days later!
He
has purchased Eternal Life for every lost and Hell - bound sinner who
cries out to God the Father for MERCY in Jesus' Name! No-one else has
that power and ability. All others are lesser and inferior to Christ.
This
great truth has escaped the so-called wise men of this world, because
of their PRIDE and ignorance of the Holy Scriptures, and their
unwillingness to bow the knee and heart to Him Who through His love
and grace allows them to live! St. Paul makes this abundantly clear:
“For
ye see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. For God hath
chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise; and
God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things
which are mighty:
“And
base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God
chosen , yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things
which are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
(1 Cor.1: 27-30)
Again,
St. Paul states: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even
the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the foundation of the
world unto our glory. Which none of the princes of this world knew:
for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
Glory.” (1Cor. 2: 7,8)
YESTERDAY,
TODAY AND FOREVER!
The
Bible says:
“Jesus Christ
the same yesterday, today and forever.”
(Heb. 13: 8). No-one else has the power to lay down His life and
take it up again. And no-one else is the same yesterday, today and
Forever! All angels and men are created beings, but Jesus the Christ
is Lord and God. He is the Creator of us all and the
AUTHOR of Eternal Life.
Praise His Holy Name!
In
all of human history, there has never been anyone who could claim
that distinction. In most cases, no-one hardly lives longer than into
their nineties or one hundred years. Jesus of Nazareth lived only 33
years before He voluntarily gave Himself for us as God's paschal Lamb
to atone for the nation of Israel and the sins of the world.
As
promised, however, on the third day our Saviour tore loose the bars
of death, Hades and the grave and arose from the dead, never to die
again. By this unprecedented miracle, He secured our ETERNAL
SALVATION in Heaven as the adopted children of God, heirs of God and
joint heirs with Christ!
While
sharing His amazing agenda with His disciples, He said: “And ye now
therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again,
and your heart shall rejoice, and your JOY no man taketh from you.
And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing.
“Verily,
verily, I say unto you,Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name,
He will GIVE it you. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in My Name, ask
and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16: 22,23)
THE
GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
He
promised to pour out the Gift of the Holy Spirit upon them, thereby
giving them the tools to effectively reach the world for Him. He
promised: “Nevertheless
I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if
I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if depart I
will send Him unto you.
“And
when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment: of Sin
because they believe not in Me; of Righteousness,
because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of Judgment
because the Prince of this world is judged.” (John 16: 7-11)
“Howbeit
when He, the Spirit of Truth,
is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak for
Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He
will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall
receive of Mine and shall show it unto you. A little while and ye
shall not see Me: and again, in a little while ye shall see Me,
because I go unto My Father.” (John 16: 13-16)
After
His resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples:
“And He said unto them, These are the words which I
spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in
the law of Moses, and in the prophets and in the psalms,
concerning Me.
“Then
opened He their understanding, that they might understand the
Scriptures. And He said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it
behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His
Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24: 45-47
YE SHALL RECEIVE POWER!
YE SHALL RECEIVE POWER!
Our
Lord stated: “But ye shall receive Power, after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost
part of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8)
The
Bible says: “Go ye into
all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, He that believeth not shall
be damned. And these SIGNS
shall follow them that believe;
"In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16: 15-18)
"In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” (Mark 16: 15-18)
“So
then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into
Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and
preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the
Word with signs following. Amen.” (Mark 16: 16: 19,20)
St.
Paul declared: “And
God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues.” (1
Cor. 12: 28)
Are
we seeing the power of God in our lives, in our churches and in our
ministries? The answer is that we are falling far below where we
should be spiritually. And that is very unfortunate because God has
given us the tools, through the shed blood of Christ, the Holy Word
of God, the blessed Holy Spirit and the Name of Jesus Christ!
St.
Jude made a shocking statement nearly 2,000
years ago.
He stated: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you
of the common salvation, it was needful of me to write unto you and
exhort you that ye
should
earnestly contend
for the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints.
“For
there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old
ordained to his condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God,
and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 3,4)
“We
then as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive
not the grace of God in vain. For He saith, I have heard thee in a Time Accepted, and in the Day of Salvation have I succured thee;
behold now
is the accepted time; behold, now
is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:1, 2).
A DAY OF SALVATION!
The
great theologian JOHN GILL uses Isaiah 49:8 to interpret St. Paul's
intent here: “Thus saith the Lord, In
an acceptable time
have I heard Thee,
and in a day of salvation
have I helped Thee:
and I will preserve Thee and give Thee for a covenant of the people,
to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages.”
In
this Scripture, God is
speaking to His Son Jesus, saying, that He was heard. The
Hebrew text
Nwur
te,
"a
time of good will, or acceptance";
a season in which God expressed good will to lost humanity, by
sending His own Son to purchase our salvation. The Father was letting
His Son know that His prayers were heard and that the plan of God was
being implemented!
The
"the
accepted year of the Lord",
refers
to the Gospel Age when everyone can be liberated from sins, guilt,
fear, sickness and diseases, which began on the Day of Pentecost and
will conclude at Christ's Return. The Father heard
Jesus prayer in John 17: 1-26. He heard His prayer in the Garden of
Gethsemane and on the Cross!
The
Greek word kairos
used here speaks of an
opportune time. St.
Paul is speaking of a desired time, a window of opportunity that may
never come back. We are workers together with God. We must use our
time wisely. We must redeem
the time because
the days are evil. No-one knows how much time we have to proclaim
Christ's Gospel to our fellowman.
SAVED OR LOST?
“Wherefore,
He saith, Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly,
not as fools but as wise, Redeeming
the time
because the days are evil.”
(Eph. 5: 16)
JESUS
said: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath
everlasting life.” (John 6: 47): “Come unto Me all
ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
(Matt, 11: 28); “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man
hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him and he with Me.” (Rev. 3: 20)
“For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly (hopeless). For scarcely for a righteous man
will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to
die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
“Much
more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by His Life.” (Rom. 5:6-10)
“Wherefore
He is able also to to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such
an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” (Heb. 7:25,
26)
WHY
WE NEED JESUS CHRIST!
The
Bible says: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved.” (Acts 4: 12);
“For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who
will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth. For there is one God and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave
Himself a Ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:
3-6).
HE
IS OUR ONLY SAVIOUR!
“For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him.” ( John 3: 16, 17, 36)
“He
that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that
believeth not God hath made Him a LIAR; because he believed not the
record that God gave of His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and
he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
“These
things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of
God: that ye may know that ye have ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may
believe on the Name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5: 10-13)
HE IS OUR FRIEND!
HE IS OUR FRIEND!
“Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth, I call you not servants: for that the servant knoweth not
what his Master doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things
which I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.” (John
15: 13-15).
HE
IS OUR REDEEMER!
“He that spared not His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Who shall, lay any thing to the charge of
God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at
the right hand of God, "Who also maketh intercession for us.” (Rom.
8: 32-34)
“Who hath delivered us
from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom
of His dear Son: in Whom we have redemption through His blood, even
the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1: 13, 14.
HE IS OUR GREAT PHYSICIAN!
HE IS OUR GREAT PHYSICIAN!
“Bless the Lord, O my
soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy Name Bless the Lord,
O my soul, and forget not all is benefits: Who forgiveth all thine
iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases.” (Ps.103:1-3);
“Surely, He hath borne our
sicknesses (heb. makob), and
carried or pains (heb. nasa); yet,
we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was
wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we
are healed. (Is. 53: 4,5)
“When the even was come,
they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He
cast out the spirits with His Word, and healed all that were sick;
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,
saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”
(Matt. 8: 16,17);
“Who His own self bare our
sins in His own Body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should
live unto righteousness: by Whose stripes we are HEALED.” (1 Peter
2: 24)
“Is any sick among
you? Let him call for the elders of the Church; and let them pray
over him, anointing him in the Name of the Lord; and the prayer of
faith shall save (Gr. sozo) the sick and the Lord shall
raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven
him.” (James 5: 14,15)
The word Salvation in the
Greek is SOZO which means to protect, deliver,
heal, preserve, save, and make well.
HE IS OUR PEACE!
HE IS OUR PEACE!
“For
unto us a child is born, unto us a SON is given; and the government
is upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace.” (Is. 9:6);
“And having made Peace
through the death of His CROSS, by Him to reconcile all things unto
Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in
Heaven.” (Col. 1: 20): “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give
unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14: 27; Rom.
5:1-5)
HE
IS OUR JOY!
“As the Father hath
loved Me, so have I loved you, continue ye in My Love. If ye keep My
commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My
Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I
spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your JOY
might be full.” (John 15: 9-11)
HE
IS OUR INTERCESSOR!
“But this man,
because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
Therefore He is able also to save them to the utter most that come to
God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
“For such an high priest
became us Who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens.” (Heb 7: 24-27); “Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, Who is even at the right and of God, Who also maketh
intercession for us.” (Rom. 8: 34).
HE
IS OUR LIFE!
“I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the
Son of God, Who loved Me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2: 20)
“Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ. According as He
hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we
should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
“Having predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the good pleasure of His will; to the praise of His glory of His
Grace wherein He hath made us ACCEPTED in the Beloved.” (Eph. 1:
3-6)
“And we know that the Son
of God is come, and hath given to us an understanding, that we may
KNOW Him that is true, and we are in Him that is True, even in His
Son Jesus Christ. This is True God and Eternal Life.” (1 John 5:
20); “For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
(Col. 3:3)
WE
ARE THE ADOPTED SONS OF GOD!
The Bible declares our
freedom from the powers of darkness. By a Divine miracle of God we
have been made sons of God, joint heirs with Christ in His Kingdom!
We have been liberated from the slavery of servitude to this world's
lusts, pride, hatred and fears.
The 'Old Man' is dead
and the 'New Man' has has been born again and made one with Christ!
He is in us and we are in Him, forever saved, sanctified and sealed
through the precious blood of Christ and the blessed Holy Spirit of
God!
“Therefore we are buried
with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His
resurrection.
“Knowing this that our old
man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall
also live with Him. But now, being made FREE from Sin, and become
servants to God, ye have your fruit unto Holiness, and the end
Everlasting Life.” (Rom. 6:4-9,22)
NO
CONDEMNATION IN CHRIST!
“There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of Life in
Christ Jesus hath made me FREE from the law of sin and death.
“For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received
the spirit of Bondage again to fear, but ye have received the SPIRIT
of ADOPTION, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself beareth
Witness with our spirit that we are the children of God: and if
children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ; if so
be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
(Rom. 8: 1,2, 14-17)
St. John wrote: “Behold
what manner the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because
it knew Him not.
Beloved, NOW are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what e shall be: but we know that,
when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him, as
He is. And every man that hath this HOPE in Him purifieth himself,
even as He is pure.” (1 John 3: 1-4).Amen.
Here is a song written by
Bud Chambers. May it touch you heart as it has mine!
Go
into the valleys
Go
into the Hills
Go
into the cities
Where
souls are dying still
Go
into the islands
And
to the heathen lands
For
if we do not go
Their
blood is on our hands.
