The Source Of Our Salvation

Last Sunday’s sermon was preached by Pastor Harry on “The Source Of Our Salvation” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Ephesians 5:25-28). The sermon and the whole service can be watched on our WIC YouTube Channel:

When I was younger, I used to think that the Bible was a book about everybody. In a sense it is, because it tells us about everybody’s sickness – and everybody’s destiny. But above all, it’s a book that many people will open, try to read, and quickly close again and leave on the shelf, because it doesn’t speak to them. The message of the cross is foolishness to them. That’s because the Bible is first and foremost about God’s people. It’s about God’s chosen people: the people who are called, not just by name, but by My name: God’s name. In a literal and symbolic way: the people of Israel.

 

In the old days, God made an agreement or covenant with the Israelites. He said: “You are My chosen people; and therefore, if you keep My laws and commandments, I will bless you so richly”. But as we know, the people failed to do this. They got involved with other gods and goddesses, forgot about the true God – and indulged in all sorts of immoral practices. As God says in our first reading, through the prophet Jeremiah: “They broke My covenant, even though I was a husband to them”. And what are the characteristics of a good husband? The second reading, from Ephesians, tells us: “Husbands, love your wives”. So God loved His people in the same way, as if He was married to the Israelites. He didn’t love any other people in the same way. A well-known theologian puts it like this: “God loves all people in some ways; but He loves some people in all ways”. He loved His chosen bride, the Israelites – and yet the Israelites were faithless towards Him. The relationship wasn’t working – due to one side’s adultery.

 

Now, what happens when someone commits adultery in a marriage? Very often the marriage ends in divorce – because the innocent party is so shocked and hurt that they terminate the relationship. God could have done that very easily. He could have rejected His chosen one, and found Himself another people to love. But instead, He continued to regard Israel as His chosen bride. What was His reasoning for that? It’s as if God was saying: “My loved one finds it too difficult to love Me on My terms. So I’m going to move the goalposts to make it easier for her. I’m going to put My law into her mind, and will write it on her heart. She will know immediately who I am, automatically! She will know My mind; she will feel My love; and she will respond in kind”. And that’s what God did, and still does today – except that now His chosen people are not only Jews, but also Gentiles.

 

How did God do all that? We know the answer. He came in person, as a man: Jesus. Jesus had a job to do. He had to turn God’s chosen people into clean vessels, for God to come and dwell in. God can’t just come directly into a dirty vessel. He first has to remove the stains of sinfulness of those He wants to dwell in. And that is precisely why Jesus died on the cross. Jesus died on the cross to take upon Himself the sins of many, so that God would regard them as clean, because the stains of their sins would now be on Jesus. Jesus doesn’t eliminate our sins – we can still sin at any time, because the temptations are still there. But He takes away the effect of those sins: the consequence of our dirtiness, which would result in eternal death. Think of a dirty cup. Our sins are the tea. Jesus doesn’t remove the tea! He removes the effects of the dirty stains left by the tea – the consequence of sin. Jesus therefore paid the necessary price for the removal. And what was that price?: His agonizing crucifixion – a blood sacrifice.

 

Who were, and are, these people that God loves like a husband, and Jesus died for, in order to cleanse them? Our second reading spells it out: “Husbands, love your wives, just like Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her, to make her holy”. Christ’s love is for us, the church. God the Father chooses His people to be the church – the ekklesia, meaning “those who are called out”. God the Son dies for those people to remove the curse of their sins, which would otherwise result in their eternal death. And then, finally, one more Person is needed, to perform the actual cleansing and saving: God the Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell in those who have been “called out”. In other words, the church. So we see that the whole Trinity is involved in the process of saving souls.

 

In John 3 verse 3, Jesus says: “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God”. Unless God’s Spirit comes into your heart, so that you can get to know God directly, you cannot be saved. The Holy Spirit has to be in you, in order to clean you up and make you fit for Heaven. The Father chooses you, the Son dies for you, and the Spirit cleans you up, sanctifies you, makes you holy – which takes a lifetime.

 

How do we know the Spirit is in us? We know it when we realize how much we love God. How much we love Jesus. How we can’t stop thinking about God and Jesus. We want to worship and praise them all the time. We talk to them whenever we can in prayer. We search the Scriptures to find out more about them. And we see how the Spirit purifies us, showing us all our dirty spots which haven’t yet been cleaned up: our selfishness, our pride, our lack of humility, our anger, and so on. When we see this, we are ashamed and repent. Our experience of salvation comes through the Holy Spirit. And when we have Him, we know we are saved.

 

Dear Friends, during our Communion today, let’s remember who we are, and what the Three-In-One God has done for us, and continues to do. Above all, may we turn our eyes towards Jesus – perfect man, perfect God, perfect sacrifice, the innocent Lamb of God, who died for us, that we might be set free, and made fit to enter Heaven, by the power of His Holy Spirit. Amen.