"Great Salvation Series One ."

Rev. Dr. Charles O. Osueke

“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. The message God delivered through angels has always proved true, and the people were punished for every violation of the law and every act of disobedience. What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself? It was passed on to us by those who heard him speak and God verified the message by signs and wonders and various miracles and by giving gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose to do so.”
Hebrews - 2:1-4 (New Living Translation)

We want to talk about the Great salvation. First of all, what is salvation? Somebody described salvation as acutely dynamic need of snatching others by force from serious peril. Another said it is snatching a life from death. Then, another from deliverance penalty and power of sin. With these description it brings its meaning home to us.

Before we talk about salvation, going by these definitions, it shows that there was already a peril (danger). It clearly shows us that the person who needs salvation is already in danger and is in dire need of deliverance. There is already an impending harm and if an urgent step is not taking to rescue such a one, the result will be catastrophic.

This shows us that the object of salvation is the person and failing to get him or her out of the situation will be devastating. Now, what is that peril that a man would need to be forcefully snatched from? Surely, there is the need for salvation as far as man is concerned.

In Romans 3:23, the Bible said that all have sinned and fall short of God's glorious standard. This is the starting point of the urgency of salvation. When the word of God said that all have sinned, it meant both the rich and the poor. The literate and the illiterate. The strong, weak, old, young, religious and non-religious e.t.c.

I included religious because some would think because they are religious that exonerates them. The fact is that man is incurably religious. Even those that pretend, are also religious. Being religious does not exempt man from the bounds of hell. When God created man, he (man) was sinless. He created man to be in fellowship with Him. He created man to grow into His likeness. But the fact remains that He also created man as a free moral agent. Even though He (God) wanted man to be obedient to Him. He would not impose His wishes on man. He wanted man to have a choice.

The Bible told us that Satan suggested to the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden? God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil" (Gen. 3). The Devil suggested that man would become independent of God, if he should eat from that tree.

"If the devil told you what the end would be, do you think you would have gone into that particular mess you found yourself?"

The same he does today. Satan does not show people the end of the sinful activities. He does not tell them that the wages of sin is death. Rather, he deceives them with the temporal gains that could be gotten from living in sin. If the devil told you what the end would be, do you think you would have gone into that particular mess you found yourself?

"Every sin is disobedience to God."

Every sin is disobedience to God. Sin, basically is not just immorality. Sin is not only stealing and killing. It is primarily disobedience to God. And disobedience is outright rebellion to God's authority.

Dear friend, the first step is to enter into a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. If you would like to begin this relationship, then accept Jesus Christ into your life and your life truly will never remain the same again.

God bless you.