A Know-So Salvation

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Joshua 16:1-18:28
Luke 19:1-27
Psalm 87:1-7
Proverbs 13:1

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Luke 19:9-10 (CSB) "'Today salvation has come to this house,' Jesus told him, 'because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.'"

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In Luke 19:1-10, we read about Zaccheaus, 'the wee, little man, and a wee, little man was he' (talk about being politically incorrect! HA).

In this story, we come to see that he had a heart change. He was saved from his sins and God's wrath. That's what Jesus said: "Today salvation has come to this house."

Being saved happens in the realm of our mind and heart. But, since it happens there, it tends to be subjective.

By that, I mean that it may seem difficult to understand if we are truly saved. After all, how can we KNOW that we are saved? Wouldn't it be wonderful if God sent down a spiritual birth certificate from Heaven?

Well, first and foremost, we need to investigate whether we have placed our trust in Jesus to make us right in God's eyes. His finished work on the cross on our behalf is the object of our faith. There needs to be a time in our life when we stopped trusting ourselves and our own perceived self-righteousness and, instead, placed our trust in Jesus to forgive us and save us (see John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9).

For the purposes of salvation, that's it. That's all that is required. When we trust in Jesus, we enter into relationship with God and will one day spend eternity with Him.

But, how do we KNOW we are saved?

The story of Zacchaeus is one of the multitude of stories and principles in Scripture that tell us. It's a change in our behaviors. Jesus noted that Zacchaeus was going to give half of his possessions to the poor and was going to pay back fourfold those he had defrauded.

These actions didn't save Zacchaeus. They simply demonstrated that he had really been saved. His new heart was demonstrated in God-glorifying actions.

So, are you saved? Have you placed your trust in Jesus to make you right in God's eyes?

If so, fantastic! But, here's another question: Can others see Jesus in you? Do your actions reveal that you really are a child of God?

Because someone who claims to be a child of God and yet is not becoming progressively more like Jesus and less like the world needs to read the sobering warning given by Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?' Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23 CSB)