What is Salvation?

We have begun a new Bible Study series on Wednesday nights here at West Valley Christian Center on the four fundamentals of our movement - Salvation, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Healing and the Second Coming. Last night we took our first look at salvation. And one of the questions that arose was just constituted salvation. It is an interesting question, since most religions disagree on the answer. Perhaps the two which are furthest apart are the two which many people think are the closest - Christianity and Buddhism. The simple answer regarding the difference is that Christianity teaches that salvation is being saved from the effects of our past sins, the power of sin over our present lives and the deliverance from the eternal effects of sin by allowing us to spend eternity with God. Buddhism, on the other hand, seems to teach that salvation is the deliverance from existence itself, with the individual coming back through multiple lives to work off all the bad things they did in the past so that they can cease coming back and at the same time cease to exist. At the heart of this difference is a difference of opinion regarding the value of life itself. I am not qualified to make extensive comments on Buddhism, but it seems pretty clear that any religion which teaches that the ultimate goal is to cease existing must believe that life itself is more of a burden than a blessing. But Christianity teaches us that life is so valuable, especially human life, that God was willing to come and die for us so that we could have life with Him forever - life is the ultimate good! Now, just because I like one concept over the other doesn't mean it is the correct one. The truth of Christianity is best seen in the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, thus proving the truth of all else he said as well. But I am glad to know that there is a personal God who gave me life and wants to have me with Him for all eternity, and who respects and treasures my individuality enough to allow me to keep that individuality throughout eternity. Add to that the fact that He paid the price for my salvation, and I can only sit in awe of what He has done and praise Him for it - forever!

Pastor Ken