SALVATION A new creation. A fresh start. For all of us who have ever wished we could start over, this is good news. However, before we can really appreciate this good news, we need to understand exactly why we need to start over. Why do we need to become a new creation? Why do we need salvation? QUESTION: Have you ever wondered to yourself, or been posed the question: “If you were to die today, where would you go?” If your answer was, “to heaven”, then the next question is, “why do you say you are going to heaven?” This question is a critical one and the answer is simple, yet many people do not actually understand the truth in this regard. We do not go to heaven, simply because we say so. We are not Christians, simply because we say we are. The Word reveals the truth about receiving the life form required to go to heaven. There are not many answers, nor is the answer misleading, vague or based on a biased opinion. There is only one answer. THE PROBLEM: Why are people lost To understand the solution offered to us in the Word, we firstly need to understand the extent of the problem. The problem can be traced right back to the beginning, in Genesis, when God “created man in His image and His likeness”. God had a specific intention when He created man which was for man to be an expression of Him in this earth. God made man in His image and likeness, to function and to be like Him in this earth. The Word says, He walked with them in the garden and there was oneness. There was a way He interacted with them that looked very different to how things look today. It’s important to understand God’s intention when He created man. So, what went wrong? God cannot have any part in sin. The sin of Adam and Eve caused separation from God. This separation was not from the physical man, visible to the eye. The separation from God was spiritual and spiritual separation from God meant spiritual death. God is a Spirit and created man as a spirit. Man has a soul and resides in a body. In Genesis 2:17 God tells Adam about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die.” Yet Adam doesn’t physically fall down and die after eating the fruit. He was spiritually torn away from God, resulting in a spiritual death. He was no longer part of God – from that day, he had to function spiritually independent from God. In essence: - We are spirit (this is our nature) - We have a soul (your mind, will, emotions) - We reside in a body (a container required to function in this realm). It’s important to make a clear distinction here, given that each of the above has its own set of implications. To return to the problem: God created man to be with Him, to be one with Him and to have His life form, to be an expression of Him in this earth. Unfortunately, sin caused the spiritual separation that took place. THE SOLUTION: God’s sacrifice and substitution Since we now understand the problem, let’s focus on the solution. It will start becoming clear why the solution had to be presented in the way it was, due to what it needed to repair. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; In God’s matchless love – He sent us the solution to the problem – the gospel of Jesus Christ. Embedded in this gospel, is the potential to receive salvation, the solution to the original spiritual separation. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, This sin does not refer to the sin we commit but rather to our nature, which we inherited from Adam after his separation from God. Just being born into this world means we are separated from God as we do not have His life form in our spirits and hence, we “fall short of the glory”. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, As descendants of Adam, we inherited a nature which is separated from God. This nature, unless changed, will lead to eternal death. Romans 6:23 (full verse) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. There was a gift from God – not something we deserve or can work for. The gift was a life form – His life form – eternal life made available to us. Christ Jesus, our Savior, is God’s free gift that holds the power of our salvation. By accepting God’s gift, and making Jesus Lord of your life, you receive His perfect, spotless, sinless life form. Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you can receive eternal life in Him and with Him. You receive this life form into your spirit. Now that you understand this, you will understand the next scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. This verse is clear about what needs to happen. It says those who are “in Christ” – so there is a being “in Christ” that is required. Something needs to happen in order to be “in Christ”. The Word explains that God’s solution to fix the original problem of separation from Him was Jesus Christ. By accepting Him as our Savior we can again become one with Him through His life form and receive eternal life. The solution transforms our nature into His nature, and the birth of something that never existed before, not something that was refurbished or restored. We are birthed as a new creation with a new line of heritage. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. The answer from the Word is uncomplicated – you need to be born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. The scripture is reiterated in verse 5. John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”. Many people are under the mistaken impression that “born of the water” refers to baptism. It does not. “born of water” refers to our physical birth into this world, when a mother’s water breaks while giving birth. Therefore, the scripture says, unless we are “born of the water”, physically birthed into this earth, as well as born of the Spirit. For further clarity, Jesus continues with His explanation. John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “that which is born of the flesh is flesh” Refers to our physical birth from our mother’s womb, born by the water. “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Refers to our spirits being born again during a spiritual birth, through Jesus Christ. FAITH REQUIRES ACTION Jesus made it known what the requirements are to “see the kingdom of God”, in order to receive eternal life from God. The problem was the spiritual separation from God, in our spirit – not affecting our soul, not affecting our body, but affecting our spirit, which was separated from God even at our very physical birth into this world, as the descendants of Adam. God offered us a solution through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Jesus said, to receive this solution you must become born again. Jesus also explained that born again is not in your body but in your spirit. Your spirit needs to be born again; your spirit needs to receive the life of God into it. How do we receive that life into our spirit? How do we become born again? The Word explains to us in Romans. Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So, there are two components required for salvation: 1. “confess with your mouth” 2. “believe in your heart” You have to speak it aloud – but the speaking only has power if you believe it as well. So, you need to believe that Jesus Christ died for you, and that He was resurrected from the dead. You need to believe that He made it available for us to become the righteousness of God. That’s why it says, “with the heart one believes unto righteousness”. But it says it’s not enough to believe it, it’s not enough to believe there is a God, it’s not enough to believe there is a Jesus. That’s what you do with your heart, but that’s only the first part. The second step after you have believed it, the Word says, is to speak it. Romans 1:16 says God made available the gospel of Jesus Christ for our salvation but James 2:17 explains there is not faith without action. So, once we believe, we need to respond to get results. The result of this process is the creation of a new spiritual being that did not exist before, one where our spirit and the Spirit of God has become one. An outward demonstration of our faith is required. Should anyone feel in their hearts that they have been moved to take action, please pray the salvation prayer that follows out loud. SALVATION PRAYER Thank you, Father, that you love me so much. You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me. I accept Jesus as my Savior, and Lord of my life. Thank you, Father, I am born again, I am a new creation and I am inside Christ, I have eternal life. Thank you, Father, that You do not leave me alone, but You sent Your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit come and fill me, come and fill my heart, come and fill my mind and come and fill my body. Thank you, Holy Spirit, You live inside me and give me power, supernatural power, to manifest Christ in this earth. I pray in the Name of Jesus, Amen. If you have sincerely prayed that prayer, the Word of God promises that the old has gone and the new has come!