Human Salvation

Humans need salvation. The problems emerged almost immediately after the fall.

1. The first problem to emerge was human shame. Adam and Eve were ashamed as soon as God came near. They ran away and hid from him. This has been an ongoing problem. Humans need his wisdom, but they have been unable to draw near to Him, because they get overwhelmed by guilt and shame. We need God’s help, but we cannot bear to be close to him.

2. The second problem to emerge was the loss of authority on earth. This became evident soon after they sinned. When they submitted to the deceiver, they surrendered their authority over the earth to him. This shift of authority gave the spiritual powers of evil work evil on the earth.

3. The third problem did not become evident until much later. Satan grasped the power to accuse, but his basis for making charges against humans was not very strong (except for murder - Gen 9:6).

This problem only became serious when the law was given, because it gave him a stronger basis for making accusations. He was able to demand that the penalties specified in the law. Paul explained this further.

Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam (Rom 5:12-14).

Sin entered the world through one man. “Sin” is a powerful ruler spirit (Cosmos Dominators). It could be a separate or another name for Satan the deceiver. When Sin came into the world, another spirit called “Death” gained control of the earth. He was a destroyer who worked to destroy everything on God’s earth.

Sin’s power was limited until the giving of the law.

Sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law (Rom 5:13).

The spirit called Sin had limited power before Moses gave the law, because no penalties for sin had been given. No penalties have been specified that he could demand. Accusing was pointless, because there was no penalty that could be demanded. Until the law was given, the power of Death and Destruction was more effective.

Death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses (Rom 5:14).

The giving of the law empowered Sin, the accuser.

The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase (Rom 5:20).

In the law, God specified penalties for sin to provide spiritual protection for his people. Sexual sins open people up to evil spirits, especially if one party is hostile to God. Preventing inappropriate sexual liaison was essential for maintaining an evil-spirit-free land. However, Satan twisted the law and used it to accuse the people before God. He demanded the right to implement the penalties of the law against all who sinned.

The law recognised human fallibility. It actually had sacrifices for sins committed without realising, because everyone would sin (Lev 4:1-2). Jesus explained the anger that anger and lust are forbidden by the law (Matt 5:21-30). This covers nearly everyone, so everyone has sinned. The tabernacle sacrifices dealt with guilt and shame, but they do not make us righteous.

The law was not given to make people righteous. The law was given for three purposes.

1. spiritual protection.
2. removing guilt and shame, so people could be close to God.
3. Allow people to live together in a close community.

God always intended that the last day would be a day of justice. People would be rewarded for what they experienced on earth. People who had suffered on earth would be compensated in eternity. People who had proved trustworthy on earth would be given extra responsibility in the next life. God is a good judge who will ensure that no one misses out and everyone gets what they deserve.

The accuser knew that he would have lost his influence by the time of the day of justice, so he forced God into being a judge in the present age. He went to God with accusations against his people and demanded the penalties specified in the law.

Salvation in Jesus

In Romans 3:24-25, Paul summarises the achievements of Jesus’ death on the cross. There four main points.

• Declaring those who trust in him to be righteous. This is a gift.
• Redemption that is in Jesus the anointed (setting us free from the bondage of the spiritual powers of evil).
• God set forth Jesus as a propitiation (not for himself, but for the spiritual powers of evil who demanded death and blood for sin).
• In forbearance, God passed over sins previously committed (passed over, not punished).

God did these things to demonstrate his righteousness. He was generous and forgiving.

In contrast, the powers of evil were cruel and unforgiving.

Salvation (4) Two Holds

Following the fall, humans had two big problems, because the spiritual powers of evil had two holds over us.

• They had taken humans captive and demanded a ransom. They had gained control and demanded a ransom before setting them free.

• They also use the law to demand the death penalty for anyone who sins.

Both problems had to be solved.

• Dealing with the accusations of the accuser was not enough. If the ransom was not paid they could keep them captive.

• Likewise, paying the ransom was not enough on its own, because they could still prosecute them and demand the death penalty.

Jesus dealt with both problems.

• The blood he shed on the cross satisfied the demands of justice. The accuser prosecuting the case against humans lost his power, because the penalty that he demanded was already paid by Jesus. Those who trusted in Jesus were declared innocent.

• Jesus death was the ransom that the spiritual powers of evil demanded. The death of the son of God was sufficient price earn the freedom of all humans. This was necessary, even once sin had been forgiven.

This full series can be found at Kingdom Watcher.

Salvation (3) Economic/Business

When humans sinned, they withdrew their submission to God’s authority and submitted to the authority of the tempter. By obeying his suggestion, they give him authority over their lives. They lost God’s protection and unwittingly placed themselves under the accuser’s authority.

The devil is a cheat, and once he gained a sliver of authority he used it to take humans captive. He refused to set humans free and demanded a ransom they could not afford before setting them free. The ransom that he demanded was blood.

Even when the prosecutor lost his court case because the judge declares the people accused to be righteous through faith in Jesus, the devil refuses to set them free. He does not care whether they are guilty or righteous, because he continues to keep them captive regardless. Even after they were declared righteous in God’s court, the spiritual powers of evil had a hold over humans. They had taken them captive and demanded a ransom before setting them free.

Jesus death paid the ransom that the spiritual powers of evil demanded (1 Tim 2:6). He went into Hades and set the captured free. He did not use physical or spiritual force. He simply went to the devil and said that the ransom was paid. The life of the Son of God was so valuable that it paid the price for all humans. This left the spiritual powers of evil powerless. They had set their price so high, they thought that it could not be paid, but Jesus paid it. They had to set the captives free, because their demands had been met.

Salvation (2) Judicial/Forensic

The judicial forensic language used in the New Testament is often misunderstood. God is seen as demanding a death penalty for sin, but this is wrong.

Paul uses the language of a courtroom, but we must understand who undertakes the various roles.

• Humans are in the dock. We are on trial.

• God is the judge. He is righteous and good, so he will do right.

• The defence lawyer/attorney is the Holy Spirit. He is called the paraclete (John 15:26). He comes beside us to work for our defence.

• God is not the prosecutor. He is not the one bringing the charge against us. He is willing to forgive us because he loves us.

• The prosecutor is the one with the name. Satan is the accuser who bring the charge against us. He is the prosecutor who demands the death penalty for our sin.

• God is the law giver. He gave the law to enable his people to live together in peace. The prosecutor uses God’s law against his people.

God is willing to forgive the failings of the people he created and loves. However, the prosecutor demands the full penalty for sin. He says that it would be unfair if God forgave humans and let them off free, but refused to let Satan and the fallen angels off free.

God’s solution was to send his son to die. Jesus paid the penalty that the law requires and the accuser demands. His payment covers everyone who is united with him by faith. Those who trust him, died with him.

Why did God set up the world in a way where humans had the ability sin and the spiritual powers of evil had the right to demand the death penalty for sinners. We have to trust that God knew what he was doing. Anyway, looking at the amazing ability of humans, to think, to love to create, it seems that God did a great job.

Salvation (1)

I hate the way that some theologians say that there are many metaphors that point to the meaning of the cross, but that we cannot fully understand what the cross accomplished. The expressions used are not just metaphors. Something actually happened. The cross dealt with a real human problem(s) and we must be able to say what they are. If we cannot explain what the cross has done then we cannot really proclaim the gospel. Sharing metaphors is not enough. We must be able to explain what the cross does. We must be able to explain why Jesus had to die.

When Paul describes the effect of the cross he uses both judicial/forensic language and economic/business language. These are not different metaphors describing the same thing. Both are real effects that are important for understanding what Jesus achieved on the cross.

I will explain what these achieved in the next few posts.

Salvation by Works

Christians know in their lives that they cannot be good by their own effort. They realise that they need the fruit of the Spirit to be good. Yet many think that good can be advanced by the effort of politics and kings. Unfortunately, without Jesus and his spirit, any good achieved by political power will quickly evaporate, because it is based on human works.

Ready to Save the World

From Kingdom Authority (pp 80-81).

God had a plan to restore authority on earth, by sending his son and then the Holy Spirit to establish the kingdom. This was a good plan, but God did not have authority to implement it.

Most Christians assume that God is all-powerful and can do whatever he chooses, but if that were true, God could have put the situation right as soon as sin came into the world. He did not do that because he had freely given authority over the earth to humans. That gift was unconditional and God is faithful and true, so he could not go back on his word.

When humans sinned, God did not grab his authority back. That would turn it into Imposed Authority, and he was not interested in that. Although humans had surrendered to evil, God still recognised them as the legitimate authority on earth, so he could not intervene until he was invited by people with authority on earth. Getting that authority took thousands of years.

God was not slow to send Jesus, but sent him as soon as everything was prepared. During the thousands of years that had gone by since humans sinned, he was not sitting around twiddling his thumbs. He was waiting for people with authority on earth to give him permission to act. Because most humans had surrendered their authority to the powers of evil, this permission was quite difficult to get. He needed dozens of prophets to complete the task.

God knew that the powers of evil would not give up their stolen authority without a fight, so he did not send Jesus until everything he had planned on earth was ready. This is why he waited so long before sending him. He had to wait until the political situation was right and the people he needed were willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and do his will.

The Roman Empire was ruling most of the earth. Roman law established peace in Israel, allowing Jesus to move around freely. Israel was divided into three provinces with the Romans ruling Judea directly through a procurator. The sons of Herod ruled the other two provinces. This allowed Jesus to operate below the Roman radar by doing most of his ministry in Galilee. He could move across the Jordan, whenever he needed a place of safety.

• Messianic expectation was at a high level. People were longing for the peace and justice of God.
• The Jewish establishment controlled the temple in Jerusalem. They were ready for confrontation with Jesus.
• John the Baptist was ready to announce the messiah.
• Peter was being toughened up ready for when the church would get going in Jerusalem.
• Paul was being trained up ready to take the gospel to the gentiles and write his letters.
• John was ready to begin a journey that would end with him writing the book of Revelation. His prophetic work would give God authority to act long into the future.
• Mary was willing to care for a baby, a huge burden for a young woman.
• Joseph was willing to obey the voice in his dreams. He was brave enough to flee to Egypt; very scary for a Jewish family.
• The wise men were ready to come and provide Mary and Joseph with economic security. They did not give Jesus toys for play. They provided his parents with gifts that could be sold in any economy at any time for their survival.

If any of these people had failed to fulfil their calling, God’s plan would have turned to custard.

The devil probably knew that something was up, but sending a messiah as a baby was so strange, he was confused. He would have killed Jesus, if he had the chance. The wise men set the cat among the pigeons by going to Herod to find the king, instead of following the star to Bethlehem. The devil stirred Herod into a killing frenzy in Bethlehem, in a futile attempt to get rid of a threat he did not understand (Matt 2:16).

After thousands of years, the time was right and everything was in place, so God sent his son. The prophets had announced the Messiah and described his ministry in full. Their declarations gave God authority to send his Son as a Messiah, but they were dead. He needed people on the ground to give life to these prophesies.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah (Luke 2:25-26).
Simeon’s prayers and prophecies gave God permission to send his Messiah. Anna’s prayers also gave him authority to send Jesus. She recognised him when he was born.

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher... She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying… she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38).

Anna and Simeon knew God intended to send the Messiah in their time. They announced his coming to those “who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”. Their prophecies and prayers gave God authority to send his son.

The great salvation had begun.

Salvation Problem

The United States has averted its debt crisis. Most commentators believe that this is temporary political expediency and the debt crisis will eventually return.

I have a different view. The United States does not have a debt problem. It has a salvation problem. Too many Americans believe in American salvation.

American salvation promised to solve every problem that exists in American society using government power. Not content with saving its own society, American salvation believes that the world can be saved by military power.

However, saving the world is expensive. Jesus had to give his life to save the world. Most Americans are willing to make that level of sacrifice, so the United States does not have resources to provide salvation for its own society, let alone the entire world. Saviours unwilling to sacrifice, end up in a debt crisis.

The only solution to the debt crisis is an alternative salvation. Christian Americans have one, but they do not seem to believe in it.