Too good to be true: More than forgiveness… – Thursday, 22 March

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16 KJV
 
The gospel of Christ (the message of grace) is the power of God unto salvation. For God so dearly loved the world that He sent His only Son (Jesus) and if we believe in Him and what He has done for us we will not perish but receive eternal life (John 3:16). When we believe in Jesus, we are rescued out of perishing in this life and for all eternity. It’s good news that salvation includes the forgiveness of our sins but it sounds too good to be true that all your sins – past, present and future – are forgiven (Hebrews 10:10, 17). God’s grace is far more extravagant than most people want to believe.
 
The good news gets better: Salvation includes forgiveness of sins but is not limited to it! The word salvation means more than just forgiveness of sins. The Greek word used here for salvation (sōtēria) can also be translated as deliver, health or saving. In Ephesians 2:8, Paul writes saying that we are saved (sōzō) by grace through faith. Saved here is sōzō which can be translated as, heal, preserve (prosper), save (rescue), do well, be (or make) whole. Salvation isn’t about what you must do for God to be accepted or blessed by Him. Salvation is about what He has done for you and what He is freely offering you, and this includes physical healing (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24), healing for a broken heart (Psalm 147:3; Luke 4:18), freedom from sin and the power of the devil (Romans 6:18; Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1; Colossians 1:13), provision and prosperity (2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 4:19). The gospel is the message of God’s salvation for us in every area of our lives! That’s really good news!
 
Sadly, it seems difficult for most us to simply say thank you and accept what is freely given to us.  We feel the need to deserve it when grace is clearly undeserved favour (favour that you don’t deserve). We might freely receive the initial salvation experience of being born again, but too often we feel that we need to do something to be blessed by God or receive healing, and yet, this and more is included in salvation. God is certainly treating us far better than we deserve (grace)!
 
The gospel is the message of God’s grace – what He has done for us and is freely offering us through Christ. When we believe this nearly too good to be true news it releases the power of God to save, heal, forgive, set free, bless, prosper and make us whole in every area of our lives! Everything salvation includes is ours and we can enjoy it simply by believing.