Purpose from the Creator
We often think, “If there is a god, what can he do for us? What goodness can he bring to us?” We visit temples or shrines to make wishes. We depend on horoscopes and divine spirits in nature including mountains, rocks, and trees. We build temples and shrines to the spirits, hoping that they are able to bring help. We want supernatural powers for our own benefits, as if the god was created for humans. But the creator always comes before the creation, and so it is with God.
God existed first and does not live in temples or shrines or figures made by human hands. God is the one who created us, forming each of us with purpose.
Put yourself in a creator’s shoes for a moment. A shoemaker creates shoes that are comfortable and stylish to wear. An artist creates art to display beauty. A creator of lamps brings light to a dark room. Someone also created you with an amazing, specific, and glorious purpose. That creator is God. That is why our existence is so special.
Far away from God, broken and lost
To understand what it means to be “saved”, we must first understand what we need to be saved from. The consequence of sin, shame and unrighteousness is that we are in a lost state, separated from God our Creator and Father. Our nature as humans is that we are corrupted from the good we once were, and we cannot understand the special design and purpose that has been given to each of us. Even our best efforts are not enough to make up for our deficiency. We need to be saved from this broken and lost state that we cannot change.
“All of us, like sheep, have gone astray.”
(Isaiah 53:6)
If you take the path of salvation and meet God, you have a life full of hope and joy. It is a life in which God himself will be with you forever. God has prepared a way for you to return to Him before you were born and born in this world, and even before you were aware of it. It’s like a person outside of God’s place is welcomed like a lost child returning home.
The way to be reunited with God
However, God loves us as His children and is not content to be apart from us. God even gave up His only Son as a perfect offering on our behalf in order to bring us to Himself. Since Jesus has already received the punishment that we sinners should have received, God did not consider us “sinners” but allowed us to go closer to the Holy God. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, God made a way for us to be with Him. It is like opening a door and walking in, which is why Jesus Christ said in the Bible that he is the “gate” and the “way”.
“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.”
(John 10:9)
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
(John 14:6)
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
We saw that the work of Jesus Christ on the cross as a perfect offering can make us righteous before God forever. His offering is a free gift from God, given by His love, for us to accept or reject. This gift of grace is right in front of you and is available to be received now. This is God’s grace to us, His unmerited favor, which is offered to us with His love, even though we do not deserve it.
God is kind and patient, calling each of us near and extending to us this wonderful gift of salvation. He uses various circumstances and experiences in our lives and through people who help us find our way back to Him.
Receiving the gift of Salvation
Receiving this gift of God is also called “believing” or “trusting” in Jesus Christ. We must accept the reality that we ourselves are sinners and cannot do anything to be sinless. We must stop our own effort and admit before God that we need Jesus.
When we receive this gift of salvation, we meet God. We no longer must stay separated from Him because of our sin. When we meet God, we learn from Him the purpose for which we were created. This is what it means to be saved.
An important step that changes you forever
Jesus will not only be the Savior of the World; He will be your personal Savior. If you call on Him, He will not leave you outside, but will invite you to the path for you to be in with Him.
When you take the step to be with God, a life full of hope and joy is waiting for you. It is a life where God Himself will be with you from now until eternity. We are immediately reunited with God spiritually as it was originally intended to be: we are no longer separated because of sin, shame and unrighteousness. It is a big step that changes you forever. This is what salvation is. It is to be changed from a person who is outside of God’s presence, to one who is welcomed in like a lost child returning home.
“Ask and it will be given to you;
(Matthew 7:7-8)
seek and you will find;knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives;
the one who seeks finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Knowing God and being in a relationship with Him is what all humans were created for. In this relationship, you will understand life more fully, experience joy even in difficult times, and will be more able to love others and serve them cheerfully.
For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation, I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, Now is the day of salvation.
(2 Corinthians 6:2)
Respond to God’s salvation
- Do you believe there is a God who created the world, and also created you?
- Do you accept that you are separated from God, the Creator?
- Do you believe that you are loved by God and that Jesus’ death on the cross was to save you from your sin?
- Would you like to receive this salvation as a gift from God and have a trusting relationship with Him?
If you responded “yes” to all the above questions, let us close this study with the following prayer:
“God, my Creator, Thank you for guiding my life to this point even when I did not know you before. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sin. I believe that you love me and are inviting me to come to you and I accept your salvation. Please be with me and guide me forever.”
If you were led to pray this way, you are now with God and are a child of God. You have been drawn close to a God who loves you very much. But for God, it was not a new encounter, but a “reunion” with you. God who loves you knew everything about you before you were born. When a created person returns to the One who created him, he can live the life that was originally intended for him. Now, your new life is about to begin with God who has been waiting to be reunited with you.
For more details on this topic, go to Appendix５. What is Salvation?
Appendix５. What is Salvation?
Salvation leads to “Peace with God” and “Peace of God”
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)
There are two kinds of peace that we can experience when we are reunited with God.
The first is “peace with God” in our relationship with Him. When we are separated from God, we are in contention with Him. It is like being at war against God that we could never win. This causes unrest and animosity between each person and God. But as we are reconciled to God the animosity is removed and we are at peace with God. The second, “peace in God”, is the one that comes as a result of our right relationship with God. This is a peace in our hearts that casts out fears and anxieties. Knowing that God is caring for us, we are able to live a more trusting and harmonious life. This peace overflows from us to those we love.
Salvation means Eternal Life
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
(John 3:16)
that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life.”
God loves and cares for every individual, so He sacrificed Jesus as an offering for our sin in order to give us eternal life. This is love that gives freely and expects nothing in return. God’s love is unconditional and selfless, requiring nothing in exchange. We are not expected to repay it. God desires to fill us with this love so that we can demonstrate love to others.
Eternal life is perpetual and will be spent forever with God Himself. Through Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God, humanity’s relationship with Him was broken. However, out of God’s love, our sins are paid for through the sacrifice of Jesus, and we can spend eternity with God because our relationship with Him is restored.
Eternal life also means to have a right relationship with God in this life. It means to be filled with joy from God as it was in the garden of Eden in this life. Eternal life is a changed life in the way of living in this world that begins when we are saved.
Salvation is to be forgiven of our sin
In Japanese, the kanji character for the word forgive can be written either as 許す “to permit” and 赦す “to pardon” (Translation note: in Japanese, both are pronounced “yurusu”). The meaning of “permit” is “to allow, to acknowledge,” while “pardon” means “not to condemn for negligence or failure“. Because God is holy, He does not permit (許す) even the smallest of sins. However, because of Jesus, God does not condemn us, but forgives (赦す) us.
This forgiveness is not influenced by reparation, deeds, or one’s status, honor, or moral standing. God’s forgiveness is based solely on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Since Jesus has already taken the punishment for our sins, a just and holy God can forgive us our sins without condemnation.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
(Romans 5:8)
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
As we see in this verse, God took the first step in forgiving us. He did not wait until we had repented and started to turn to be good and asked for His forgiveness. God shows that He is serious about forgiveness by taking the steps to make forgiveness possible even before we consider turning to His way. As we learned in several parts of this study, our fallen nature and our sin cause us to be separated from God. “The wages (result) of sin is death” (Romans 3:23) both physically and spiritually, but God does not want anyone to die.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9)
God desires for all people to have reunion with Himself. When we realize His forgiveness, which is not merely overlooking our sin, but taking the punishment of it for us, we see it is a great thing that Jesus has done.
Salvation is God’s Grace
In ancient Greek the word used for “grace” was “charis”. “Charis” can have two separate yet related meanings. Grace can mean a posture of or disposition towards “kindness (generosity)” for someone or something. This disposition could also be considered “favor” even when it is undeserved. As God has shown us unearned favor by sending His Son (Jesus) to die for us, even though we did not deserve it. We can do nothing to earn this favor. We can have a relationship with Him because of God’s one-sided “grace” towards us.
Secondly, “grace” could be defined simply as “gift”. God has shown us grace by favoring us, but He has also given us grace in the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. In the Bible, God’s gift of grace is unconditional, which means there is nothing we can or cannot do to receive it. Jesus Christ is a gift to the whole world, His life given to cover all of our sins.
God’s grace brings gratitude. God has provided a way through the gift of His Son for us to have a restored relationship with Him. So as humans, the only thing that is required of us is to accept this gift with gratitude. It is thanks to this grace that we can have a personal relationship with God.
Salvation means becoming a new creation
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
The old has passed away; behold the new has come.”
When we believe in Christ who saves us from the punishment of sin, the old sin nature of that person was taken away and the renewed spirit of that person is given. The old nature is the spirit that is controlled by sinful and worldly desires that please only oneself and not God. The old nature by itself is corrupt and cannot follow God. A new creation has a relationship with God because of Jesus Christ, so he or she can now seek to honor God and enjoy Him. Those who are a new creation in Christ are children of God (John 1:9). God gives them a new nature with new purpose of life. They are able to serve Him and others the way that we were originally intended to.
Salvation is to be “reunited’ with God
Although we were created to live in a relationship with God, we live without even knowing that God exists. Since we do not know God, God Himself first offered salvation to us through Jesus Christ, making it possible for us to be reunited with Him. This is based on God’s immeasurable and great love for us. What the Bible says about God, the meaning of human existence, the cross and resurrection of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, and the eternal life that God gives us through Jesus are all about His saving grace. How do we receive this grace then? It is given to us when we return to God. We are saved not because we found God, but because of His plan to reunite us with Himself who has known us personally since the beginning of the world.