Message topic: What is required for salvation?
Scripture text: Acts 16: 25-31.
In the Christian or the religion circle today, we often hear the word salvation mention quite often, but what is salvation, who needs it, from where or from whom can it be gotten: this question is often asked because of lack of understanding.
The wisest man who had ever lived, left these words for all mankind which is recorded for us in Proverbs 4: and verse seven; which reads: wisdom is the principal thing: therefore, get wisdom: and with all your getting, get understanding.
Many of our misfortunes today is derived from the lack of understanding which often causes mush troubles and sorrows physically and otherwise.
The question is being asked, what is required for salvation, which leads to another question, which is, are you referring a physical financial salvation or a spiritual salvation?
Salvation can be referred to as deliverance from harm, or ruin, loss in the economic system of business.
The salvation our question is referring to is the deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
God is the one who enacts salvation. The scriptures are clear that the way of unbelief is to trust in self or in other things for salvation: in psalm 20, we are told that we should not put our trust or belief in the chariots or horses but to trust in the name of the Lord. As we reflect on the question what is required for salvation, we realize that there is another question which comes to mind, which is why do we need to be saved, and from what?
Now, let ‘s keep this in mind, this salvation which we are speaking of is not one for all mankind, it is an individual choice, as the call is for whosoever will, let him her or come.
Listen to what John has to say in his explanation of salvation: as children, we learn words by associating them with other words, I didn’t go to church much as a child, so many of the churchy words were unfamiliar to me.
One in particular that always caused me confusion was the word salvation: it wasn’t a word that I had much to connect with, my dad worked at a salvage yard, that sounded close enough, so I figured salvation had to do with claiming something that was broken and messed up and then somehow you do something to restore it so you can resell it again for a profit.
So, what does salvation means to you?
The simplest definition of salvation is to be delivered (or rescued) from peril. The word took a bit more of a shape when I figured out it was connected with the preacher telling us we needed to get saved. The most common meaning of salvation is to be saved by God from the consequences of our sins But the Bible speaks of our salvation in a bit fuller terms that simply being rescued from hell.
When thinking about salvation it’s helpful to think about what we are saved from, what we are saved to, who we are by; it’s also helpful to think about our salvation as a past, present and future happening.
By whom do we need to be saved and why? We are the ones who have gotten ourselves into the mess against God; therefore, God alone is able to save. It is clear that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, this means He is the only one who can save anyone.
Our scripture passage for today is taken from the book of Acts chapter sixteen which tells the story of Paul and Silas been taken into prison in Philippi for teaching the way of salvation and that people every- where needed to be saved from damnation.
This was contrary to the belief of these people and so they were cast into prison, given many lashes and charging the jailer to keep them safe: so, he put them into the inner prison and put their feet in the stocks.
Did they complain about their treatment, they had done nothing wrong and wanted to be set free? No, at midnight they prayed and sang praises unto God so the other prisoners heard them.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison were shaken so that all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed: when the keeper of the prison saw what had happened, he drew his soured and was about to kill himself, when Paul said to him, do yourself no harm, we are all here, he then called for light to see for himself, then he said to Paul and Silas, sirs what must I do to be saved? The answer he got was believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
That same question is still been asked today, what must I do to be saved, do we still have to be saved by Jesus? The answer is resounding yes, and there is no other way to salvation.
Do you ever ask yourself why do we need to be saved and from what? We need to be saved or resqued from damnation because of our disobedience to the command given to our fore father which caused sin to come upon all who came into this world.
God is pure and holy, and no sin can come into his presence, and because of our disobedience to God’s command, we have become sinners and can no longer comes into God’s presence unless we have been redeemed, and there is only one redeemer of mankind that is Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for us mankind.
Disobedience separates us from continuing to stand in God’s presence, and only repentance can bring us back, we could not do this on our own, but Christ Jesus did it for us, that is why when the Philippian jailor jailer asked the question what must I do to be saved, he was told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and he would be saved.
When the first man Adam disobeyed the command of God, he sinned, and all who came into this world through Adam are sinners and needed to repent which we could not do on our own, but Jesus came into the world and became the only source of salvation.
He redeemed all mankind: redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the lamb; redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child and forever I am.
Redeemed and so in Jesus, no language my rapture can tell, I know that the light of His presence with me shall continually dwell.
I think of my blessed redeemer, I think of him all the day long; I sing for I cannot be silent; His love is the theme of my song.
I know I shall see in His beauty the King in whose law I delight, who lovingly guards every foot step and gives me a song in the night.
Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Redeemed, redeemed, His child and forever I am.