Our theme for this month: “Understanding Salvation”
Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.” John 14:1-3 (CSB)
Our thought for today: “Christ has prepared a glorious eternity for all who belong to Him.”
Without question, the consummation of our salvation is the best part of salvation. The assurance and peace that come from knowing that we have been saved, and working out our salvation as we enjoy the fruit of the Spirit and the blessings of God in this lifetime, are great things. Salvation has already made a huge difference in our lives. But it is in the consummation phase that salvation comes to its glorious fulfillment for us.
Dwight. L. Moody was an evangelist who lived in the mid-to-late 1800s. Moody had nothing going for him in terms of looks, education, speaking ability, or anything else. Throughout his life he was always considered a poorly dressed country bumpkin, without cultural graces, who butchered the king’s English. The one thing he did have was a strong faith in Christ and a passion for sharing the Good News with others. His faith was so strong, and his passion so infectious, that despite all of his short-comings Moody was the Billy Graham of his day. He preached to stadiums full of people; he was sought-out by celebrities and sports figures; he had dinner with Presidents, Kings, and Queens.
When speaking about the consummation of salvation and what eternity is going to be like for those who have placed their faith in Christ he once said, “Some day you will read in the papers, ‘D.L. Moody of East Northfield is dead.’ Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal – a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like His glorious body. I was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit will live forever.”
“At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now” … That’s a great statement that reveals a great truth. This life gives us a glimpse, a taste, of the life to come. This life is good, but life in eternity will be good beyond description.
We will now conclude our study of “understanding salvation” by considering what the Bible tells us about the resurrection body we will one day have, and what eternity will be like in the new heaven and on the new earth.
Oak Hill Baptist Church