{"id":636,"date":"2013-12-12T14:06:11","date_gmt":"2013-12-12T20:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/?p=636"},"modified":"2014-11-25T10:15:21","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T16:15:21","slug":"the-purpose-of-christmas-time-for-salvation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.messy-spirituality.com\/wordpress\/2013\/12\/12\/the-purpose-of-christmas-time-for-salvation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Purpose of Christmas: Time for Salvation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Based upon the Book, The Purpose of Christmas<\/i>, by Rick Warren
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Video Link<\/a>
\nAudio Link<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a01John 1:8-10
\nRomans 7:14-20<\/p>\n

When I say the word salvation, what comes to mind?\u00a0 Some of you might say, going to heaven, NOT going to hell, saved from sins, or a variety of other things that take you from something bad to something good.\u00a0 Maybe you thought that you need salvation from worry or debt and just maybe you even said from yourself.\u00a0 All of these are valid, but there is so much more that is proclaimed by the angle when he says; \u201c11 <\/sup>Today a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. [1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 The freeing from something is only one piece of salvation.\u00a0 Jesus saves you from something, for something and saves you by something.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

For us to move on to the other purposes of salvation, we must\u00a0 \u00a0understand that God creates all living things.\u00a0 There are no accidents in creation and you are not an accident, none of us are and there is a purpose for each of us.\u00a0 It says in Ephesians 1 that; 4\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026 in Christ, [God] chose us before the world was made so that we would be [God\u2019s] holy people\u2014people without blame before [God]. 5\u00a0<\/sup>Because of [God\u2019s] love, God had already decided to make us [God\u2019s] own children through Jesus Christ.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 If God chose us even before the world was made, then it is no accident that you are here and God has a plan, which we are told through Christ, Jesus.<\/p>\n

We are saved from our Sins, not only so we may have a sinless eternal life with God in heaven but also so we can be saved from ourselves.\u00a0 Yes, \u201courselves\u201d is what I said.\u00a0 If we could be sinless on our own, we would not need Christ.\u00a0 Even before the world was made God knew we would need salvation.\u00a0 So you and I cannot do this, and it is I, that we see in each and every one of ourselves that prevents us from being sinless and creates sin.\u00a0 God intended us to be in relation with God and dependent upon God.\u00a0 As soon as we use the \u201cI\u201d term in anything related to God, we have driven a wedge between God and ourselves and sin occurs.\u00a0 The only way to remove the sins that come from being self centered, such things as guilt, fear, regret, emotions we don\u2019t like of any kind or whatever causes us to sin, is to have a change of heart.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 The only way to change our hearts is to remove the \u201cI\u201d and put in the we of Jesus and me, Jesus and you.<\/p>\n

So, you have it, there is the work you need to do, remove you as the sole way to be sinless and accept that Jesus is the only way to become sinless.\u00a0 It is in our faith in Jesus that does this and even that faith is given to us through the Spirit.\u00a0 Jesus is the one that has already done the work in taking on the sins of all humanity, was crucified upon the cross and was raised to defeat death, all for you and me.\u00a0 Why did Jesus do all of this for us?\u00a0 It is all about the love of God for you and I.\u00a0 God so loves us that God came down as God\u2019s son, Christ Jesus to give the best gift of all, God\u2019s life upon the cross for our sins so that we may have salvation and everlasting life with God.<\/p>\n

Because of God\u2019s love for you, God through God\u2019s grace, makes you righteous through Jesus and your salvation is assured in faith.\u00a0 Because God loved, you are free to love. Because you are saved by grace in faith through Jesus, you are freed in salvation to respond to God\u2019s love, to God and all of God\u2019s people.\u00a0 The salvation that Jesus provides is a salvation that saves you not only from the effects of sin but to serve God with a changed heart towards all of humanity.\u00a0 We can give because God gave. \u00a0Another other purpose of salvation is to serve God, in the giving of us.\u00a0 We are saved so we can be of service to others for God.<\/p>\n

Salvation is about the Love of God, through Christ, being freed by Grace, to change the old-self to a new one centered on Christ to serve God and all of humanity for God.<\/p>\n

Amen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


<\/p>\n
\n
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[1]<\/a> The Holy Bible: New International Version<\/i> (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Lk 2:11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[2]<\/a> Richard Warren, The Purpose of Christmas<\/i> (New York: Howard Books, 2008), 44.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[3]<\/a> The Everyday Bible: New Century Version<\/i> (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005), Eph 1:4\u20135.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[4]<\/a> Warren, The Purpose of Christmas<\/i>, 45.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Based upon the Book, The Purpose of Christmas, by Rick Warren Video Link Audio Link \u00a01John 1:8-10 Romans 7:14-20 When I say the word salvation, what comes to mind?\u00a0 Some of you might say, going to heaven, NOT going to hell, saved from sins, or a variety of other things that take you from something … [Read 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