ENGAGE DON’T ESCAPEПримерок

Salvation: The Believer’s Security in Christ John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for mankind, and that if we believe in Him, we will not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus, by His death, took on the judgment of every believer on the cross, and with this came a guarantee of our adoption as children and co-heirs of God (Romans 8:17). As believers we are no longer subject to condemnation, and we are free from the law of sin and death (John 8:36). With the gift of salvation, God also raised all believers with Christ such that we are seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). Heaven is, therefore, not something for the believer to aspire to, but a new reality to embrace. "What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have Him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven - and the future starts now!" \- 1 Peter 1:3-4 (MSG) . Our future in heaven starts now, at the start of our new life in Christ. Salvation is not a person trying to escape hell or make it to heaven; Heaven is part of the salvation package. It is wherever Christ resides, and Christ begins to live inside of the believer at the point of salvation. In John 10:9, Jesus tells us that no one is able to snatch us out of the Father’s hand. As believers we must be confident in this truth, that we are locked up in Christ and are free to carry out the agenda of the Father – which is salvation. Our new status as adopted children of God and co-heirs seated in heavenly places in Christ, free from judgment and condemnation, provides us security, and with it the liberty to live the life that God has designed for us. We are locked up in Christ!