What are We Saved for? Displaying God’s Worth
To be saved means you belong to Jesus Christ and that your sins are forgiven. But it also means much more than that. It means that you have been justified and reconciled to God (Romans 5:1, 10-11). In simple terms; that means God looks at you through His Son, Jesus Christ’s merits and achievements. Because of your sins you were guilty before God (Romans 3:19, 23). You were legally sentenced for crimes of high treason against the King and Creator of the Universe. You were then spiritually taken to God’s holy court of justice and put on trial because of your sins. But then, through saving faith, you were found not guilty because of Jesus’ perfect life and sacrifice on a cross. (Romans 3:24-26).
Everyone who has ever lived has this legal sentence against him/her (Romans 3:19). By receiving the gift of salvation, Jesus became your advocate in God’s Holy Court, and your substitute who has paid for your sins (1 John 2:1, 2). By trusting in Jesus your case has been legally dismissed because of His perfect life and payment on the cross. His sinlessness (righteousness) has been accounted to you and your sins fell on Him when you trusted in Him (Philippians 3:9; Romans 4:5-7). In other words, God sees you as if you have never sinned. You are set free when you trust in Jesus! That is what justification means. But more than that: by trusting in Jesus you have been united with God through the Holy Spirit. That means: God, the Creator of the universe, lives inside you (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20) and there is open communication between you and Him! That, in essence, is why you were saved – to be in a living, dynamic relationship with God (Romans 8:15).
The Bible tells us that God has a plan for His children, and it is that they should become conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 4:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18). God wants you to become more and more like Jesus; to partake of His divine, holy and loving nature. This doesn’t mean you will become a god who will rule a universe, as false teachers teach. God wants to transform you by the work of His Spirit inside you, but you remain yourself; a creature with limited abilities (Ezekiel 36:26, 27). God made you to glorify Him, not yourself or any other creature or human being (Revelation 4:11)! The change God wants to make in you can be likened to that of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. Just as the caterpillar becomes a butterfly over time, your transformation will be total! God wants a divine metamorphosis to take place in your inner person as you surrender your life to Him and give your body as a living sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1, 2).
In Ephesians 1:12, 14 God says: ‘We are saved in order to praise the glory of God.’ God is such a magnificent being and His glory is so wonderful that we will spend eternity praising and glorifying Him and His grace and glory (Revelation 5:12, 13). 1 Corinthians 10:31 states: ‘Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.’ That is why it is good for us to sing to God and to praise and glorify Him. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Saviour of the universe, and it is fitting for us to praise Him. It is a privilege and pleasure to praise Him. Psalm 150:6 reads: ‘Let everything that has breath praise Him!’ Psalm 148:13 reads: ‘…let them praise the Name of the Lord for His Name is alone exalted; His glory is above the earth and the heaven.’
Question and truth to consider: Are you reflecting God’s worth and glory to the people around you? God wants us to be like mirrors reflecting the brightness of the SON of God to all those around us, so that other people can become His children. We are not, however, that brightness ourselves; Jesus Christ alone is (Hebrews 1:3)!
INTERETHNICMISSIONS 