Many brothers and sisters in the Lord are familiar with the word “salvation,” and we all look forward to gaining God’s salvation when He appears in the last days, because the Bible says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). However, many brothers and sisters may be unclear on what the meaning of gaining God’s salvation is. So, let us first look back at God’s work in the past to understand this aspect of the truth better.
Many brothers and sisters know that before the Israelites left Egypt, they were slaves under the Egyptian Pharaoh, were abused and suffered hardships, but their tormented voices reached the ears of Jehovah. Jehovah could not bear to let the Israelites be constrained and suffer under the Pharaoh, so He called upon Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. The Israelites were rescued by God from the Pharaoh’s grasp and saved from his enslavement. For the Israelites, this was God’s salvation. Before the Israelites entered Canaan, Jehovah proclaimed the law through Moses, and taught the people of Israel how to fear and serve Him, taught them that by acting righteously they would gain His blessings but by doing evil they would be cursed by Him, taught them how to get along with each other, how to live, etc. God’s work in the Age of Law gradually brought the life of the Israelites onto the right track, and they no longer lived in chaos. God’s law again gave God’s salvation to the Israelites by teaching them what sin is.
Later in the Age of Law, mankind did not keep the law and no longer had hearts that feared God, and so risked being condemned and executed by the law. To save mankind from the threat of death, the Lord Jesus came to earth incarnate in the flesh to do the work of redemption, thereby saving mankind from the law. Mankind was no longer in danger of being condemned and executed by the law, and lived in God’s grace. Those who lived under the law, therefore, again received God’s salvation. Just as the Bible says, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).
In the last days, many brothers and sisters anxiously wait, wondering when the Lord Jesus will descend on clouds to bring them to their home in heaven. However, they don’t understand that although we have been redeemed from our sins by believing in the Lord Jesus, and God will forget our past mistakes, this doesn’t mean we have gained salvation, because we still live in a cycle of committing sins in the day and confessing them at night, and still suffer the bondage of sin. For example, we often lie and deceive to protect our own interests in our daily lives. We also act arbitrarily, according to our own notions, as we preach and work for the Lord. In our interactions with others, we often like to show off ourselves while we ignore and look down upon others. Our corrupt dispositions of being arrogant, selfish, deceitful, and evil still exist, so we still cannot enter God’s kingdom. We still need to accept God’s salvation in the last days to be completely purified so that we can gain all the salvation God has prepared for us and enter God’s kingdom.
This completely fulfills the Lord Jesus’ prophecy, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). The Bible also says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). From this, we can see that God will do the work of judgment and purification in the last days, and that this work is to purify and save mankind. So, today, in the last days, we must accept God’s work of chastisement and judgment, to completely escape our corrupt satanic dispositions, to be truly purified, and to gain God’s salvation.
Many brothers and sisters in the Lord are familiar with the word “salvation,” and we all look forward to gaining God’s salvation when He appears in the last days, because the Bible says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). However, many brothers and sisters may be unclear on what the meaning of gaining God’s salvation is. So, let us first look back at God’s work in the past to understand this aspect of the truth better.
Many brothers and sisters know that before the Israelites left Egypt, they were slaves under the Egyptian Pharaoh, were abused and suffered hardships, but their tormented voices reached the ears of Jehovah. Jehovah could not bear to let the Israelites be constrained and suffer under the Pharaoh, so He called upon Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. The Israelites were rescued by God from the Pharaoh’s grasp and saved from his enslavement. For the Israelites, this was God’s salvation. Before the Israelites entered Canaan, Jehovah proclaimed the law through Moses, and taught the people of Israel how to fear and serve Him, taught them that by acting righteously they would gain His blessings but by doing evil they would be cursed by Him, taught them how to get along with each other, how to live, etc. God’s work in the Age of Law gradually brought the life of the Israelites onto the right track, and they no longer lived in chaos. God’s law again gave God’s salvation to the Israelites by teaching them what sin is.
Later in the Age of Law, mankind did not keep the law and no longer had hearts that feared God, and so risked being condemned and executed by the law. To save mankind from the threat of death, the Lord Jesus came to earth incarnate in the flesh to do the work of redemption, thereby saving mankind from the law. Mankind was no longer in danger of being condemned and executed by the law, and lived in God’s grace. Those who lived under the law, therefore, again received God’s salvation. Just as the Bible says, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).
In the last days, many brothers and sisters anxiously wait, wondering when the Lord Jesus will descend on clouds to bring them to their home in heaven. However, they don’t understand that although we have been redeemed from our sins by believing in the Lord Jesus, and God will forget our past mistakes, this doesn’t mean we have gained salvation, because we still live in a cycle of committing sins in the day and confessing them at night, and still suffer the bondage of sin. For example, we often lie and deceive to protect our own interests in our daily lives. We also act arbitrarily, according to our own notions, as we preach and work for the Lord. In our interactions with others, we often like to show off ourselves while we ignore and look down upon others. Our corrupt dispositions of being arrogant, selfish, deceitful, and evil still exist, so we still cannot enter God’s kingdom. We still need to accept God’s salvation in the last days to be completely purified so that we can gain all the salvation God has prepared for us and enter God’s kingdom.
This completely fulfills the Lord Jesus’ prophecy, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). The Bible also says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). From this, we can see that God will do the work of judgment and purification in the last days, and that this work is to purify and save mankind. So, today, in the last days, we must accept God’s work of chastisement and judgment, to completely escape our corrupt satanic dispositions, to be truly purified, and to gain God’s salvation.
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