{"id":2219,"date":"2017-06-25T14:54:12","date_gmt":"2017-06-25T04:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2219"},"modified":"2017-06-25T14:54:12","modified_gmt":"2017-06-25T04:54:12","slug":"salvations-by-faith-25-06-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=2219","title":{"rendered":"Salvations by Faith 25-06-2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
Salvation by Faith.<\/strong>
\nRomans 3: 21-26; Ephesians 2: 1-10; Matthew 9: 20-22<\/strong>
\nThere is no ticket to heaven and no heaven bound train.<\/strong><\/div>\n
I guess most of us are going to a medical practitioner on a regular basis, even if it is only to get an annual check up.\u00a0 Our health is important. We know it is. Certainly we hear about it a lot. The good thing today is that our health is looked at from many perspectives\u00a0 – diet, attitude and exercise matter.\u00a0 I see that the MindBodySpirit Festival is claimed to be Australia\u2019s largest health and wellbeing event. Our health is important and we do take a holistic approach to it. Though today the term \u2018spirit\u2019 tends to exclude the notion of religion.<\/strong><\/div>\n
The woman who touched the hem of Jesus\u2019s outer garment was healed of the issue of blood. She had said to herself, \u201cIf I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.\u201d [Mt 9:21] Jesus turned to her and said, \u201cTake heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.\u201d And she was saved. Oops, I mean made well.\u00a0 Well, no, she was saved. If we were reading this passage in Greek we would have come across the Greek word s\u014dz\u014d, which means to save, to keep safe and sound and to rescue. Throughout this passage about this woman the verb, \u2018to save\u2019 s\u014dz\u014d, is used. The word, \u2018save\u2019 has at its root meaning safety and healthiness.\u00a0 This may help our understanding of the noun salvation.<\/strong><\/div>\n
You may recall decades back salvation was spoken about more often than today. We were even asked question like, \u201cAre you saved?\u201d\u00a0 Or, \u201cWhen were you saved?\u201d This question wanted to know whether one was a Christian and when one accepted Jesus as their saviour? I think I would have been more comfortable with these questions if they had said, \u201cAre you in good health with God, and living a godly life?\u201d<\/strong><\/div>\n
The Bible talks a lot about God saving us. In Ephesians 2:8 we are told that by grace we (you) have been saved through faith, and this is not (y)our own doing; it is the gift of God.<\/strong>
\nAnother word used to describe our good health with God is justification. God has justified us and made us right with him. In Romans 3: 22 we read that the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ is for all who believe.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is important because it concerns your total wellbeing – our health. Salvation is not a passport to heaven, but a passcode to enter life.\u00a0\u00a0 We need a lot of passcodes today. We use them to unlock, enter and benefit from our bank accounts, credit cards, buildings, and our devices. Passcodes keep us safe and protected.\u00a0 Passcodes are for everyday and anytime.\u00a0 Passports are for occasional use. We treat our salvation like a passport.\u00a0 It is not surprising because preachers of the Gospel told us we wouldn\u2019t go to heaven unless we accepted Jesus as our Saviour. Salvation was presented as made ready to go to heaven one day. The concept of going on a train to heaven produced a number of Negro spiritual songs about the heaven bound train. Larry Norman\u2019s arrangement of an old Negro spiritual goes like this.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Lord, if I got my ticket, can I ride?<\/strong>
\nLord, if I got my ticket, can I ride?<\/strong>
\nLord, if I got my ticket, can I ride?<\/strong>
\nUp to Heaven on that morning.<\/strong>
\nI hear a lot of talk about a Gospel train<\/strong>
\nBetter be ready ’cause He’s on His way<\/strong>
\nBe down at the station, right on time<\/strong>
\nIf you not ready, you’ll be left behind.<\/strong><\/div>\n
The bad news is that you don\u2019t need a ticket because there isn\u2019t a heaven bound train. This thinking coincided with a widespread notion that we need to escape this sinful world.\u00a0 I guess the advent of the train seemed miraculous, and that would have fed the notion. This notion that we go to heaven when we die to escape this world is so un-Biblical.\u00a0 From the Old Testament to the New Testament the prevailing view is that God will restore this earth. So we are called by Christ Jesus to live out the heavenly life on earth in the power of his name and the help of the Holy Spirit.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Jesus gave us this understanding in that wonderful prayer he gave to his disciples.\u00a0 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven \u2026 . Amen. Heaven directs our heavenly life on earth.\u00a0 The Lord\u2019s Prayer, as we call it, has nothing to do with us escaping this world and heading for heaven, but rather we do God\u2019s will on earth so that the Kingdom may come. The book of Revelation is not the only Biblical writing that speaks of heaven coming to earth.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is about our wellbeing and our living well with each other through Jesus Christ and because of Jesus Christ and for God and God\u2019s world.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is about our wellbeing. When we turn to Christ Jesus and accept him as our Lord and Saviour we commence a journey of wellness. The woman who touched the hem of his garment became well and so will we.\u00a0 The woman went away with her faith affirmed and joyful.\u00a0 The first Christians were known for their joy. Joy is something deep inside.\u00a0 Joy is that sense of deep wellness within us. The healing begins in our inner being. Wellness is expressed and stimulated by a thankful spirit. We are saved to a life of thankfulness and joy, because we are connected to our Maker through Christ Jesus. I would encourage you to say thank you to God as often as you can. The first thing I say when I wake up each day, regardless of how I feel, is \u2018thank you God\u2019.\u00a0 There is so much to be thankful for.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is living well with others.\u00a0 We are saved to live a life of service. In loving and serving this world we express our salvation and nurture it.\u00a0 The first petition of the Lord\u2019s Prayer is to ask that the will of God be done on earth. The second petition is about our daily bread. The petition is about practising forgiveness. Forgiveness towards ourselves and each other is vital to our wellbeing. Being connected to God means being connected to this world and living in a connected way with it. I see the tree planting at GS\u2019s property is part of that wellness and salvation I am talking about.\u00a0 Those who went yesterday were attending to God\u2019s world.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Our world is crying out for salvation [Romans 8: 19-23]. Our world is troubled, broken, fractured, and in pain. People and nature are in pain. Local and global homelessness needs the salvation of God. Our selfish structures and institutions need to be saved. We need to be rescued from the lies and greed that drive our lives. We need salvation in the face of the ugliness we express to each other.\u00a0 No one \u2013 nothing escapes the need of salvation.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the well one. Jesus was never in better health than when he was on the Cross.\u00a0 On the Cross we see the ultimate act of love that unites and restores rather than the act of living that divides, rules and destroys. Without Jesus our lives by their action or inaction live the lie of false wellbeing.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus on the cross turns to the criminal who asks him to consider him before God. Jesus affirms and assures him of God\u2019s inclusive love. On the Cross in the midst of his pain Jesus has time to consider the wellbeing of his mother so he asks John to care for her [John 19:26f].<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is of Jesus. Jesus the truly saved one \u2013 the well one \u2013 saves us with his complete love. It is his faithfulness that redeems and rescues us. Paul writes to the Romans and says; the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ is for all who believe [Rom 3:22]. Traditionally translators have written \u2018through faith in Jesus\u2019 which sounds correct. But the Greek uses the genitive, which translates \u2018the faith of Jesus\u2019.\u00a0 This makes more sense. We are saved because Jesus is faithful to his Godly purpose and because he has faith in us. Jesus is the truly faithful one. Jesus cares for us and has faith in us. It is his faith that inspires our faith through which we are made whole. That\u2019s why faith is a gift [Eph 2:8]. We could not be saved without the faithfulness of Jesus.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is about God\u2019s purpose.\u00a0 Salvation is about the whole of human life not about our souls going to heaven. The Bible never speaks of us having a soul that lives forever.\u00a0 Salvation is about the present not the future.\u00a0 Salvation is about bringing the future into the present. Salvation is living in the present letting God\u2019s plan, God\u2019s purposes and God\u2019s future, direct our living so that God\u2019s will may come today.\u00a0 It is like us planning a big event in the future. That event directs our thinking and action. So just as such things allow the future to come into the present, we can let God\u2019s future begin now by doing and living God\u2019s way.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Salvation is living out God\u2019s plan for us now.<\/strong><\/div>\n
Next time you see someone,\u00a0 think about whether they are saved.\u00a0 And ask them are they well with themselves, others and God.\u00a0 \u2018Are you in good health with God and God\u2019s world?\u2019 They may turn to you and ask what on earth you mean, and then you can tell them.\u00a0 Or invite them to this clinic here to drink from the wells of eternal wellness.<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
*******<\/strong><\/div>\n
\nPeter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC:\u00a0 25\/06\/2017<\/strong>
\npgwhitaker@tpg.com.au<\/strong>
\n\u00a0\/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Salvation by Faith. Romans 3: 21-26; Ephesians 2: 1-10; Matthew 9: 20-22 There is no ticket to heaven and no heaven bound train. I guess most of us are going to a medical practitioner on a regular basis, even if it is only to get an annual check up.\u00a0 Our health is important. We know it is. Certainly we hear about it a lot. The good thing today is that our health is looked at from many perspectives\u00a0 – diet, attitude and exercise matter.\u00a0 I see that the MindBodySpirit Festival is claimed to be Australia\u2019s largest health and wellbeing event. Our health is important and we do take a holistic approach to it. Though today the term \u2018spirit\u2019 tends to exclude the notion of religion. The woman who touched the hem of Jesus\u2019s outer garment was healed of the issue of blood. She had said to herself, \u201cIf I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.\u201d [Mt 9:21] Jesus turned to her and said, \u201cTake heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.\u201d And she was saved. Oops, I mean made well.\u00a0 Well, no, she was saved. If we were reading this passage in Greek we would have come across the Greek word s\u014dz\u014d, which means to save, to keep safe and sound and to rescue. Throughout this passage about this woman the verb, \u2018to save\u2019 s\u014dz\u014d, is used. The word, \u2018save\u2019 has at its root meaning safety and healthiness.\u00a0 This may help our understanding of the noun salvation. You may recall decades back salvation was spoken about more often than today. We were even asked question like, \u201cAre you saved?\u201d\u00a0 Or, \u201cWhen were you saved?\u201d This question wanted to know whether one was a Christian and when one accepted Jesus as their saviour? I think I would have been more comfortable with these questions if they had said, \u201cAre you in good health with God, and living a godly life?\u201d The Bible talks a lot about God saving us. In Ephesians 2:8 we are told that by grace we (you) have been saved through faith, and this is not (y)our own doing; it is the gift of God. Another word used to describe our good health with God is justification. God has justified us and made us right with him. In Romans 3: 22 we read that the righteousness of God through faith of Jesus Christ is for all who believe. Salvation is important because it concerns your total wellbeing – our health. Salvation is not a passport to heaven, but a passcode to enter life.\u00a0\u00a0 We need a lot of passcodes today. We use them to unlock, enter and benefit from our bank accounts, credit cards, buildings, and our devices. Passcodes keep us safe and protected.\u00a0 Passcodes are for everyday and anytime.\u00a0 Passports are for occasional use. We treat our salvation like a passport.\u00a0 It is not surprising because preachers of the Gospel told us we wouldn\u2019t go to heaven unless we accepted Jesus as our Saviour. Salvation was presented as made ready to go to heaven one day. The concept of going on a train to heaven produced a number of Negro spiritual songs about the heaven bound train. Larry Norman\u2019s arrangement of an old Negro spiritual goes like this. Lord, if I got my ticket, can I ride? Lord, if I got my ticket, can I ride? Lord, if I got my ticket, can I ride? Up to Heaven on that morning. I hear a lot of talk about a Gospel train Better be ready ’cause He’s on His way Be down at the station, right on time If you not ready, you’ll be left behind. The bad news is that you don\u2019t need a ticket because there isn\u2019t a heaven bound train. This thinking coincided with a widespread notion that we need to escape this sinful world.\u00a0 I guess the advent of the train seemed miraculous, and that would have fed the notion. This notion that we go to heaven when we die to escape this world is so un-Biblical.\u00a0 From the Old Testament to the New Testament the prevailing view is that God will restore this earth. So we are called by Christ Jesus to live out the heavenly life on earth in the power of his name and the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us this understanding in that wonderful prayer he gave to his disciples.\u00a0 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven \u2026 . Amen. Heaven directs our heavenly life on earth.\u00a0 The Lord\u2019s Prayer, as we call it, has nothing to do with us escaping this world and heading for heaven, but rather we do God\u2019s will on earth so that the Kingdom may come. The book of Revelation is not the only Biblical writing that speaks of heaven coming to earth. Salvation is about our wellbeing and our living well with each other through Jesus Christ and because of Jesus Christ and for God and God\u2019s world. Salvation is about our wellbeing. When we turn to Christ Jesus and accept him as our Lord and Saviour we commence a journey of wellness. The woman who touched the hem of his garment became well and so will we.\u00a0 The woman went away with her faith affirmed and joyful.\u00a0 The first Christians were known for their joy. Joy is something deep inside.\u00a0 Joy is that sense of deep wellness within us. The healing begins in our inner being. Wellness is expressed and stimulated by a thankful spirit. We are saved to a life of thankfulness and joy, because we are connected to our Maker through Christ Jesus. I would encourage you to say thank you to God as often as you can. The first thing I say when I wake up each day, regardless of how I feel, is \u2018thank you God\u2019.\u00a0 There is so much to be thankful for. Salvation is<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Leighmoor.Master","author_link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/author\/leighmoor-master"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Sermons<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Salvation by Faith. Romans 3: 21-26; Ephesians 2: 1-10; Matthew 9: 20-22 There is no ticket to heaven and no heaven bound train. I guess most of us are going to a medical practitioner on a regular basis, even if it is only to get an annual check up.\u00a0 Our health is important. We know…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2219"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2220,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2219\/revisions\/2220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}