Salvation Belongs to The Lord

Salvation belongs to the Lord! Today we celebrate our Lord’s victory over sin and death. Today He has put them under His feet. That’s a way of saying, they are the dirt beneath His feet, unworthy of acknowledgment. Unworthy of attention. No further recognition needed.

His victory was so complete that we need do nothing except bask in His absolute perfection and power. But do we do that? Do we really understand that this is His finished work? We can add nothing to it. We can claim no victory of our own. And yet we try to give attention to the very enemies He defeated. We refuse to believe we are forgiven. Psalm 46:10 says, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We don’t have to work for forgiveness. Jesus became our sacrificial lamb when He took our place on the cross. Our responsibility is to believe that He saved us from our sins by taking the punishment for us, dying, and rising again as the ultimate victor on the third day. Today is our third day. Today we look at our wonderful Lord and see that He is powerful and mighty to save. “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” Ps 118:14

I sometimes think back to my days as a young Christian when I struggled with the idea that I was completely forgiven. A preacher back then told us that if we didn’t remember to confess every sin we had ever done, we weren’t really saved. I felt so guilty every time I messed up, that I begged for forgiveness over and over. I wept and wept thinking that I was causing the Lord pain and anguish again and again.  Then I learned that this is not the case. When I say that Jesus’ work on the cross is a finished work, I mean that nothing needs to be done again. My sins, and yours, were forgiven past, present, and future by His one act of obedience. It’s important for me to confess when I’ve messed up, but when I do, I also acknowledge that I have already been forgiven. The act of confession draws us into a closer, more trusting relationship with God. It takes away our
pride, which is a major barrier to fellowship with Him.  

So, keeping in mind that we are completely forgiven, we are taking time to bask in Jesus’ resurrection today. Does it surprise you to know that there are people who say that they believe in Jesus, and truly love Him, but do not believe in the resurrection? Some find it difficult to understand, like poor doubting Thomas. But our great hope of salvation hinges on this. If there was no resurrection, then Jesus was just a great person and teacher. If there was no resurrection, there is no hope for us after death. If there is no resurrection, then evil and death would have the final say. The disciples would probably have gone back to their previous occupations. Saul would never have become Paul. The persecution of the church, both in bible days and in the world now would be pointless. Hear this word from Psalm 149:4, “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.” Jesus’s resurrection is the capstone of our faith. It is the ultimate point upon which we can declare that we who believe in Jesus will also live. Jesus, Himself, said, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” 

A few weeks ago, we looked briefly at the story of Lazarus, where Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” This is where we get the understanding of eternal life. It’s here that Jesus gave us a peak at what was coming for Himself, a hope beyond the grave. His resurrection was a restoration of the life lost when Adam and Eve sinned. 1 Corinthians 15 verses 21-23 reads, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ will all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming.” God had Jesus die on a tree so that you and I could be restored, and restitution would be made for what was stolen from the garden.

Today I want you to take a moment to ponder if you really believe Jesus’s story. It’s the reason we are here today, but it needs to be settled in your own heart and mind. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s really that simple. If you have not proclaimed Jesus as your Lord and if you don’t believe in your heart that He lives, then I pray that today you will make peace with the mystery and magnificence of it all and put your trust in Him.

​I chose Jesus as my Lord many years ago and that changed my life. I don’t just believe in the resurrection, as Adam Hamilton in his book, “The Way,” says: “I’m counting on it. I’m counting on the fact that there is always hope. I’m counting on the fact that God walks with us through hell and back again. I’m counting on the fact that God forgives our sins and that He’s the God of the second chance. I’m counting on the fact that ultimately, we don’t have to be afraid. I’m counting on the fact that sin and hate and sickness and death will not have the final word. When we walk in the footsteps of the resurrected Christ, we walk with hope.”
Let us pray: Father, today we confess and declare that Jesus is our Lord. We choose to believe that He rose from the dead and lives victoriously as our mediator seated at Your right hand. Thank You that He defeated sin and death once and for all and that we stand before You completely forgiven. Strengthen our understanding and belief in Him. We pray this in the strong and mighty name of Jesus Christ, the risen Savior, amen. 
Photo by Neal E. Johnson on Unsplash