Did He Really Say That?
There is a couple of places in Scripture that tell us about salvation but we glance over them each time. Let me bring them to your attention and tell you why you should stop glancing and start pondering them but first let us get out of the way THE question, “Are you saved?” The one way to discover if anyone is saved is by asking this simple question, “Are you going to Heaven?” The answer is a great indicator whether they know if they are truly saved or not. I am not gifted for evangelism nor am I called to lead a tent revival even still it is my duty (and yours) to make sure that those who call themselves Christians know and understand what that means! We need to know whether they actual believe without any doubt they are saved from hell hence the question. If their answer has any ambiguity outside of a resounding ‘yes’ then they do not know they are saved. Let the teaching begin in your style and at your pace! Romans 10:9-10
Satan is crafty as all get out! The first way he will attack is to make you question your salvation. Did God really say that? Sound familiar? (Genesis verse) When Jesus tells us that all we need to do is accept Him as Lord and Saviour to be saved from hell that is exactly what He means but the devil goes about like a lion (1 Peter 5:8) devouring those who fall for this ploy. It is for this reason that it is extremely important that we strap on the helmet of Salvation and step into the new life available through the working out of our salvation.
You must Strap on the Helmet of Salvation
Once your salvation is established you must strap it on like a helmet or the devil will help you take it off. Your helmet is the Holy Bible! It is leather with your name written on it. It can be NKJV or ESV or HCSB shaped and look totally different from your friend’s helmet. Just as we all look different so must our helmets look different? We are gifted differently and are called to different tasks so our salvation may have come at different times in our lives BUT that does not make us any less saved or any less a Christian. The Devil will have you believe that because you are old you are not saved, because you are young you are not saved, because you are smart, silly, blonde, a red head, Asian, African, Canadian, a plumber, an electrician, a house wife, a woman or any other immature reason that will cause you to question God. Paul tells us to protect our head with this information so that we will not be held back from the good works that we are supposed to do in His Name. Put on your helmet of salvation so you can work it out easier.
You must Work out your Salvation!
Working out our salvation is a new lifestyle like working out our muscles. For our muscles to get taut we need to train them with weight but for our salvation to train our brain with the Word. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:5-13, the way we work out our salvation is to make our brain take on the attitude of Jesus Christ by allowing the Father work in us to fulfill His purpose. This definitely sounds a lot harder than putting on the helmet doesn’t it? Well, it is! We are to determine the purpose of our salvation and work it into our new life. The only way we can do that is put on the helmet and work. Paul used the word work because it is work. We work to know Jesus, work to find our gifts, work to use them, work to perfect them, work to live, work, work, work! There is no place in the Bible to relieve us of work. God has been working for 6000 plus years so we can certainly work for 60 plus years. Not all of our work will be physical but it will all need our brain and as long as we can use it we should be working out our salvation.
How shall we escape punishment when we ignore this great salvation (Hebrews 2:1-4)? When we strap on the helmet of salvation we are not finished we are just beginning the new life waiting for us through working out our salvation. Salvation is God’s work alone but you have been saved to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10) and those works are to be done by us. The works start with us knowing that we are saved from hell and then walking in the new life of following Jesus from place to place. We may get lazy sometimes, disappointed sometimes or of track sometimes but that never takes away from our salvation. Our salvation determines whose we are on this Earth and our good works determine who we will be on the New Earth. I am going to sound like a broken record when it comes to this but I think that the more we hear it the more we will understand how important it is to work out our salvation.
It is for eternity that we have been saved and it is on the New Earth that we will live! Picture what that will look like then ask yourself two questions: Am I saved? If your answer is yes then, are you working it out?
