Articles by: Kenneth J. Ester
Why do we need Salvation?
When Adam and Eve sinned, it did more than just upset God. It corrupted their souls. Sin is like a spiritual cancer. It corrupts everything it touches. It will never heal on its own. So when they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that action stained their soul.
Since Adam’s soul was now corrupted, it meant that any descendant born of his seed would be born with a soul that was already stained with sin.
Psalm 51:5 (NASB)
5 Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3 (NASB)
3 The wicked have turned away from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
Ephesians 2:3 (NASB)
3 Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.
Most Christians are taught that Jesus died so they can be forgiven for their sins. Afterall, look at what Paul says…
Hebrews 9:22 (NASB)
22 And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
What this verse says is completely true, however, they are interpreting it to mean more than it does. Its not completely true that Jesus died on the cross so we can be forgiven for our sins. What a lot of Christians don’t understand is that God was forgiving people for their sins even in the Old Testament.
Exodus 29:36 (NASB)
36 Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.
Exodus 32:30 (NASB)
30 And on the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
Leviticus 4:20 (NASB)
20 He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; he shall do the same with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
Now to be clear, atonement is not the same thing as forgiveness. Atonement is the action one makes to try and right a wrong, in hopes of being forgiven. 1) If God was not willing to forgive the sins, then why would He demand innocent animals being slaughtered for the atonement? 2) Leviticus clearly says they will be forgiven.
So if God was already forgiving sins? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? For two reasons.
1) Jesus was the last sacrifice needed. We no longer need to sacrifice animals to be forgiven. All we need to do is ask forgiveness.
2) Jesus’ blood does more than just allow us to be forgiven for our sins. It washes our souls clean from that stain of sin.
You see, God is pure and holy! He is so holy that sin cannot exist in His presence when He is in His full glory. When Moses was on the mountain, he asked the Lord to show him His glory. Part of the Lord’s response was this…
Exodus 33:20 (NASB)
20 He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!”
Now heaven is where God abides in His full glory. So if He was to allow humans to enter heaven in their sinful state, it would literally destroy their soul. That is why it is imperative for God to wash our souls clean before we can enter heaven. And that is why we need to be saved. Because if we are not saved, we cannot possibly enter into the presence of the Lord in His full glory in heaven.
When we are saved, it is not about being forgiven for our sins as much as it is about being washed clean.
There is a verse that many Christians use to prove that sin cannot enter heaven.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
However, they are misinterpreting this scripture. Paul isn't saying that anyone who commits these sins will not enter the kingdom of God. Paul was writing to a church. To other believers. He did not list types of sins, but he named off types of sinners. Idolatry is the sin. An idolator is the sinner. The key to understanding this scripture just happens to be the very next verse that most Christians tend to ignore.
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
“Such were some of you!” Remember, he is talking to other believers here. Such were some of you would clearly be saying they are not anymore. Why aren't they these sinners anymore? Because they have been washed clean in the name of Jesus Christ!
Now Paul is not saying they no longer sin. He himself said that everyone has fallen short of the glory of God. The apostle John said this…
1 John 1:8 (NASB)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
John uses the words “we”, “ourselves” and “us”! He is clearly including himself in this message. If he and Paul both claim we all sin, you better believe we all sin. So 1 Corinthians simply cannot be saying they never sin. So how can it be saying they are no longer those types of sinners? Because a sinner is a title used for unbelievers. When one believes with all their heart that Jesus is the Son of God, God no longer sees them as a sinner. He sees them as a saint, one of His children. We become righteous in His eyes because He washes our souls clean!
That is why we need to be saved. Because if we are not washed clean, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. If we cannot enter the kingdom of God, the only other eternal place we can be sent is the Lake of Fire. The place that is so terrible, it was created as a place where the devil and his angels would suffer for all eternity.
In summary, there are two things that happen in salvation. We are able to be forgiven for our sins simply by asking, and our souls are washed clean. The forgiveness of our sin is not necessarily about salvation as much as it is about our personal relationship with God.
Imagine a teenage boy getting really upset with his dad. He actually hauls off and hits his dad and runs out. That dad if he is a good man, will forgive the child even as he runs away. He will be upset, but he will still love that child of his. The problem is that what his kid did will cause a wound to their relationship. A wound that he can look past but a wound nevertheless. If the child continues to do bad things to his dad, the relationship will slowly deteriorate until they completely stop talking. If the child ever goes to him with a repentant heart and asks for his forgiveness, it allows his dad to put the hurt aside and that allows for their relationship to grow again. That is what God does with us when we sin.
When we sin, God is already forgiving us as soon as we do it. He washes us clean and we will still be saved. He will never kick us aside. His doors are always open to us who truly believe. When we ask His forgiveness however, it allows for God to wipe the slate clean. It allows for our relationship with Him to continue to grow again.
When we become believers, we become His children, and He is a good Father.
Since Adam’s soul was now corrupted, it meant that any descendant born of his seed would be born with a soul that was already stained with sin.
Psalm 51:5 (NASB)
5 Behold, I was brought forth in guilt, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3 (NASB)
3 The wicked have turned away from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
Ephesians 2:3 (NASB)
3 Among them we too all previously lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the rest.
Most Christians are taught that Jesus died so they can be forgiven for their sins. Afterall, look at what Paul says…
Hebrews 9:22 (NASB)
22 And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
What this verse says is completely true, however, they are interpreting it to mean more than it does. Its not completely true that Jesus died on the cross so we can be forgiven for our sins. What a lot of Christians don’t understand is that God was forgiving people for their sins even in the Old Testament.
Exodus 29:36 (NASB)
36 Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.
Exodus 32:30 (NASB)
30 And on the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin; and now I am going up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
Leviticus 4:20 (NASB)
20 He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; he shall do the same with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
Now to be clear, atonement is not the same thing as forgiveness. Atonement is the action one makes to try and right a wrong, in hopes of being forgiven. 1) If God was not willing to forgive the sins, then why would He demand innocent animals being slaughtered for the atonement? 2) Leviticus clearly says they will be forgiven.
So if God was already forgiving sins? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? For two reasons.
1) Jesus was the last sacrifice needed. We no longer need to sacrifice animals to be forgiven. All we need to do is ask forgiveness.
2) Jesus’ blood does more than just allow us to be forgiven for our sins. It washes our souls clean from that stain of sin.
You see, God is pure and holy! He is so holy that sin cannot exist in His presence when He is in His full glory. When Moses was on the mountain, he asked the Lord to show him His glory. Part of the Lord’s response was this…
Exodus 33:20 (NASB)
20 He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me and live!”
Now heaven is where God abides in His full glory. So if He was to allow humans to enter heaven in their sinful state, it would literally destroy their soul. That is why it is imperative for God to wash our souls clean before we can enter heaven. And that is why we need to be saved. Because if we are not saved, we cannot possibly enter into the presence of the Lord in His full glory in heaven.
When we are saved, it is not about being forgiven for our sins as much as it is about being washed clean.
There is a verse that many Christians use to prove that sin cannot enter heaven.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NASB)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
However, they are misinterpreting this scripture. Paul isn't saying that anyone who commits these sins will not enter the kingdom of God. Paul was writing to a church. To other believers. He did not list types of sins, but he named off types of sinners. Idolatry is the sin. An idolator is the sinner. The key to understanding this scripture just happens to be the very next verse that most Christians tend to ignore.
11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
“Such were some of you!” Remember, he is talking to other believers here. Such were some of you would clearly be saying they are not anymore. Why aren't they these sinners anymore? Because they have been washed clean in the name of Jesus Christ!
Now Paul is not saying they no longer sin. He himself said that everyone has fallen short of the glory of God. The apostle John said this…
1 John 1:8 (NASB)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
John uses the words “we”, “ourselves” and “us”! He is clearly including himself in this message. If he and Paul both claim we all sin, you better believe we all sin. So 1 Corinthians simply cannot be saying they never sin. So how can it be saying they are no longer those types of sinners? Because a sinner is a title used for unbelievers. When one believes with all their heart that Jesus is the Son of God, God no longer sees them as a sinner. He sees them as a saint, one of His children. We become righteous in His eyes because He washes our souls clean!
That is why we need to be saved. Because if we are not washed clean, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. If we cannot enter the kingdom of God, the only other eternal place we can be sent is the Lake of Fire. The place that is so terrible, it was created as a place where the devil and his angels would suffer for all eternity.
In summary, there are two things that happen in salvation. We are able to be forgiven for our sins simply by asking, and our souls are washed clean. The forgiveness of our sin is not necessarily about salvation as much as it is about our personal relationship with God.
Imagine a teenage boy getting really upset with his dad. He actually hauls off and hits his dad and runs out. That dad if he is a good man, will forgive the child even as he runs away. He will be upset, but he will still love that child of his. The problem is that what his kid did will cause a wound to their relationship. A wound that he can look past but a wound nevertheless. If the child continues to do bad things to his dad, the relationship will slowly deteriorate until they completely stop talking. If the child ever goes to him with a repentant heart and asks for his forgiveness, it allows his dad to put the hurt aside and that allows for their relationship to grow again. That is what God does with us when we sin.
When we sin, God is already forgiving us as soon as we do it. He washes us clean and we will still be saved. He will never kick us aside. His doors are always open to us who truly believe. When we ask His forgiveness however, it allows for God to wipe the slate clean. It allows for our relationship with Him to continue to grow again.
When we become believers, we become His children, and He is a good Father.
