SALVATION IS NOT ABOUT YOU. IT IS ABOUT JESUS.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

Now you may have read the title and thought to yourself “Well yeah of course salvation is about Jesus, I know that”. 

But unfortunately, many people believe that they know about the gospel of salvation not realising that the gospel message for the past many years have been distorted to appeal to people’s agendas, ideas and concept of God. 

Without actually taking the time to understand what the good news is really all about. 

I can tell you from the jump now it is not about you using God to gain what you want. It is all about what Jesus has done for us and why we need Him. 

And that has in fact been shown to us from the beginning of the Bible in Genesis and all the way to the end of the Bible in Revelation. 

The gospel should not be the supporting act but the main act when being preached, taught and evangelised about. 

See, in John 5:39; which is todays’s Wisdom Wednesday’s Verse of the Day says, ““You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But Scriptures point to me;” [NLT] 

Jesus was talking about the Pharisees who were the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, who loved, valued, memorised and studied the Scriptures. 

However, they only did this not to search for God (when all the scriptures point to Him), but to use the scriptures to support their own ideas, concepts and arguments of God. 

They did not really love God, they had their own idea and concept of God that they loved. 

And therefore, when Jesus came to tell them that it is in Him where they will have eternal life, they didn’t believe Him. Because they had already created their own idea of who God is. 

And they thought that they could get themselves to heaven on their own. But salvation doesn’t work that way. 

Hence, the Pharisees thought that due to their merit and good works they could get to heaven, because they believed that they were good people who did good deeds.  

Doesn’t that sound like some of us today? Be real with yourself. I’m not trying to come for your necks but I want us to be wise, which is what Wisdom Wednesday is all about. We like to say we are David but actually some of us are like the Pharisees. But we don’t really hear people admit that, now do we? 

Have you maybe (whether in the past or currently) created an concept or idea of God?

Have you gone into the word of God to not search for Jesus but to take a scripture out of context to support your own argument? 

Have you thought to yourself I can get to heaven because I am a good person. Therefore, I don’t need to believe in Jesus? 

Take the time to really think about these questions. 

But, the gospel is not about moralism or how to be a good person to get to heaven. Because in fact only God is good (Matthew 19:16-17). 

The gospel of salvation shows us that we are not good people. You may not like what you are about to read, but we all like to sin because we all have a sinful nature.

The 10 Commandments (Exodus20:1-17) in the Old Testament is not only in the bible for us to follow, keep and obey. But it is also a reminder to us about how much we need Jesus. Without Jesus, we will not be able to follow, keep and obey these commandments; to live righteously.

It is through God loving us first and sending His son as a sacrifice of atonement for our sins that we are able to have the free gift of eternal life, even though we in fact deserve death (Romans 6:23). It is all through Jesus (that is why we are called For All Is THROUGH Him).

Salvation is not FAITH + WORKS = SAVED. (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Salvation is FAITH = SAVED + WORKS. (James 2:14:26). 

Works are not the cause of salvation. Works are the evidence of your salvation. It is through your faith in Christ alone that you allow the Holy Spirit to change and transform your heart and life, so that you produce fruit (fruit means characteristics which represent Jesus) – showing that you are saved. 

The Gospel is not about you. 

The Gospel is about Jesus and what He did for you. 

That is the good news. 

(If you want to learn about what Jesus has done for you read our Study Sunday “From Courtroom to Salvation” blog post). 

Charles Spurgeon said “discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is knowing the difference between right and almost right.”

You may or may not have heard about the prosperity gospel. If you haven’t, here is a quick summary of what it is about.

The prosperity gospel is about what God can DO for me. 

Therefore, the goal of the prosperity gospel is to leave you wanting, desiring and loving wealth, health and prosperity more than Jesus. 

But the gospel of salvation is about what God has DONE for me. 

And the goal of the gospel of salvation is to leave you worshipping Jesus and wanting more of Him than anything and anyone. You are left satisfied and content in Him. 

The prosperity gospel and the gospel of salvation are two separate things. But the prosperity gospel has been preached and taught to people as though it is the gospel of salvation. But let me be clear, IT IS NOT. 

That is why it is important to know that the good news of the gospel is not just for unbelievers, it is for believers too.

 As long as you are a sinner, which we all are (Romans 3:23), then we will always need the Gospel. 

Salvation is not a destination, it is a journey. 

It is also important to go to the word of God ourselves and not just trust everything we hear that is being preached or taught (including what I write – I encourage you to always go into the word of God and test the truth with what I write).

Let us be like the Bereans who received the gospel message with eagerness however, they always examined and searched the scriptures to see if what Paul was preaching to them was the truth (Acts 17:11).

Remember, the call of the gospel is to follow Christ. 

If you want to learn more about the truth of the gospel, I recommend watching “The American Gospel” on Netflix. It is a 10/10 recommend. 

I hope today’s Wisdom Wednesday helped you to gain wisdom and more knowledge of the truth of the gospel of salvation. 

Comment below and share your views on this topic. Let’s discuss and learn from one another. 

Stay Blessed,

Divine L.