JRM Sison Chapter - Teachings - Salvation Aftermath

Have you ever tried to sell one product at the same time to three different persons? And the result would be three different reactions? And the funny thing is they (the three of them) accepted that product?

Christianity is a product that is offered to all of us. Some say that there are only two results in this kind of offer; yes or no. But there are three categories of acceptance. This is what we are going to discuss. The three reactions of accepting Jesus Christ as God and Saviour lies on one’s personal decision.

The Aftermath of God’s Gift
Consider this following example: A guy bought a beer garden. He bought it because the owner was in debt and his business is in the drain. In order to save it, he must sell it. Now, this guy bought the place. Thus, a change of ownership was undertaken; from the past owner to the guy who bought it. The question of what will happen to that place is that guy’s personal decision. He accepted the offer but what really matters is what he will do after. There are three possible scenarios that could take place. First, he will continue the former business; selling alcohol, cigarettes, promoting prostitution and drug addiction. There was a change of ownership but there was no change of behavior. Second possibility, he will remove everything inside it, removing the business in totality. But he left the place empty, without any business or possible opportunity of improvement; leaving the place alone. Third possibility, he will change the business into something much desirable in society, like a fast-food chain, an internet-café, a school for young children.

Christianity is the same thing. We are offered something that will change us. God has given His begotten Son so that anyone who believes in Him will be saved. Acts 16:31 states that to be saved is to believe on Jesus Christ. But salvation is not enough, we must be a follower of Christ, just as Philip followed Him (John 1:43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.) But to be a follower is not enough, one must be converted or to be changed in Jesus’ ideals and standards. We will discuss the three reactions that a Christian may experience.

A.     SALVATION

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Salvation is offered to all man. But to be saved is a personal choice. There are only two kinds of man; saved or lost; God’s or Satan’s; condemned or not. There are no in-betweens; no maybes, no probably, no I’ll try to be, no I wish to be: Just plain yes or no. Thus, the eternal question to man; will you receive the gift of God or not? Romans 6:23 states, For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. The gift of God is salvation and it is freely given to each one of us (Luke 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God).

B.     FOLLOWER OF CHRIST

There are things that identify us to a certain activity and sometimes the things that identified us are not us at all. For example, Filipinos are supposed to be followers of the Philippines but they don’t really represent the Philippines. Why? Most traditions of Filipinos are almost forgotten or already forgotten for that matter. An example would be the use of po and opo; the mano system where the youngsters give respect to older people. Some tried to believe that they are not Filipinos and that they are somebody else. But do you know that persons out there would die to be in the place of Filipinos?

To be a follower of Christ is not enough. One example would be Ananias. Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, were to sell their land and bring it to the apostle’s feet (Acts 4:37). They accepted Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour. They even followed Him by following His apostles. But out of their greed and selfish desires, they did wrong in the sight of God and the apostles. They kept part of what they sold and didn’t tell the apostles (Acts 5:1-2). Thus, God has dealt with them according to their deeds (read Acts 5:3-10).

To follow is one thing but to be converted is another.

C.     CONVERSION
God did not send His Son to be sacrificed, to be accepted by man then neglect the reason of His sacrifice. The gift of God is truly salvation. When we received Jesus Christ as our God and Saviour, the gift of salvation was given unto us. But in Ephesians 2:10 (For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them), it states that we were created unto good works. Conversion then is not about salvation but about our reflection of being saved; the aftermath of God’s goodness; what our reactions will be upon receiving salvation. James 2:17 (Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone) states, that works accompany faith; that without works, faith is nothing.

God has given something good and great, the question that lies here is, did we really received Jesus Christ? To receive Him is to receive the Father; to receive the Father is to receive His goodness; to receive His goodness is to walk in the path of His righteousness; to walk in the path of His righteousness is to do good works for His glory.

My brethren, God is calling for a conversion of personality and character. It is not in the hands of your loved ones, friends or relatives; not even your pastor. It is in your own hands. To receive Him is to receive conversion. Don’t leave the Lord hanging and allowing the devil to cheat us on our conversion. The choice is yours. God bless…