Not just fire insurance

Last week we ended with “Now is the day of salvation!” This was taken from 2 Corinthians 6:1-2. What is salvation? I find that sometimes a lot of things are lost in translation. To the original audience to which these passages of scripture were addressed, they understood the context of what was being said. We use the terms “saved” or “salvation” but most limit these words to salvation from the second death. But is there all there is? God wants us to believe in Jesus just so we can have a ticket to heaven? Surely not!

The word for salvation in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 is the Greek word, sōtēria which means, deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation which includes the soul’s salvation, see Strongs G4991.

Romans 10:9 says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The word for “saved” in that verse is the Greek word, sōzō which means to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction (from injury or peril), to save a suffering one, i.e. suffering from disease- to make well, to heal, restore to health, or save from evil which obstructs the reception of the Messianic deliverance, see Strongs G4982.

Those are some solid definitions for the words, “salvation” and “saved”. Salvation is not just so we get fire insurance, term I recently heard, lol. It is much more than that. Did you know that you can be saved from evil which obstructs you from receiving Christ? What? Yes, Jesus has made a way such that if you decide you want to be saved, no demon in hell can stop you from receiving Jesus! Jesus and the devil are not two equals fighting for power. The devil is a created being, whose power is limited. Jesus is God, whose power knows no end.

Colossians 2:14-15 reminds us what the finished work of the cross means for us, “He [Jesus] canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—he deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation. Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!”

That verse doesn’t say, “Jesus and an army of angels made a public spectacle of all powers…”. No. Just Jesus, by Himself. The powers of darkness have nothing on Jesus, He is bigger, greater, more powerful – He is God. Nothing can stop you from getting saved if you want to be saved and I mean that in every sense of the word. God is for you and He wants to rescue you and heal you and restore you and help  you find safety and security in Him. 

Salvation is something that applies to our everyday life. Everyday I need Jesus to keep me safe. Everyday I need Jesus to rescue me from my own stupid decisions. Salvation is not just about going to heaven, it is about living as sons and daughters while we wait for that glorious day when we see Him face to face.

Love and blessings,

Melissa Tsingano.