Salvation for Our Sinfulness

 

"We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, ³ how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him." (Hebrews 2:1-3 NIV)
Stuart Briscoe, in The Fullness of Christ, discusses the parable of the lost son. In his conclusion, he states:

"It is important to note that [the lost son’s] repentance was real repentance—not only did he repent of the sins that he had committed against heaven, and against his father, but he also repented of himself. . . . Real repentance is infinitely more than being sorry for what I have done, but rather recognizing and repudiating all that I am." (p. 28).

"So great a salvation." I think it is easy, and perhaps even common, for us to categorize salvation as that which forgives us of what we have done. The next logical step then, is to belittle what we have done as really not all that bad. I mean, none of us are serial killers or despot dictators or full-blown gangsters. The fact is, we have, in these last generations, been taught to esteem ourselves, to embrace ourselves, faults and all, and to glory in who we are as individuals, gifted and unique. We rarely even address the possibility that there might be an inherent flaw in who we are as persons, that something at the very core of our souls might be significantly wrong and sinful.

But that is also who we are. While we are greatly beloved by God, we are also greatly sinners. That condemnation of sin comes not from what we have done, but rather from the fundamental rebellion within our souls against God Himself. "Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:4-5 NIV).

The salvation that Christ offers is "so great a salvation" because it goes much further than simply forgiving our sinful actions; it changes us at our very core. It remakes us into His own righteous and sinless image! "For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29a). How could any of us want to turn away from being made right and true and in line with God’s holy will? And yet the scripture in Hebrews says that if we fail to pay the most careful attention to what we have heard (in His Word), we may drift away! The Greek meaning is a superlative of giving devotion of thought and effort to something. Let’s resolve today to put our focus and energies into living as we should live, allowing the Holy Spirit to redirect even our thoughts and desires so that we may fully embrace this great salvation and refuse to be even tempted to drift away.

© 2017 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.