3 Fundamental Truths of Salvation

Our devotional lesson focuses on the three fundamental truths of salvation that can only found in Jesus Christ. Our study is based on Mark 5: 1-20.

Gospel in the Air is a podcast ministry of Cornerstone Christian Church. We are located in Maui, Hawaii, USA. Our number is (808) 463-8859. You can also visit our website at www.cornerstonemaui.org or you can send your email to danibanggo@gmail.com.

Transcript

Episode 1
Topic: Three Fundamental Truths of Salvation
Text:  Mark 5:1-20

Our devotional lesson focuses on the three fundamental truths of salvation that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Our study is based on Mark 5: 1-20.

In this gospel narrative, our Lord and his disciples left Capernaum and crossed the Sea of Galilee. It is so unusual for them to go into this place considering that this is already outside of the Jewish nation - a Gentile region. And this is beyond the Lord’s mission field. There might be a good reason for this sudden decision of the Lord considering the circumstances of the situation. Indeed, one can see that after reading the narrative the Lord uses this occasion to reach out to the other side of the lake. He takes this occasion to manifest His desire to save others too not only for the lost sheep of the nation of Israel. And the same is fully realized when He commissioned His disciples to preach the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth before He ascended to heaven (Mtt.28: 19-20). Already He had somehow initially initiated planting the seed of the kingdom long before the gospel message was preached to the Gentile world. How manifold is the love of God toward humankind. He is ever faithful, not wanting anyone to perish but all will come to repentance (2 Pet.3: 9). This is the bigger picture that we can see in this narrative. His redemptive plan of salvation is for everyone not only for the nation of Israel. The Lord is showing us how abundant his grace and mercy is for the entire human race. He did not hesitate to go out of His way just to personally meet an unworthy candidate who would eventually become his faithful follower.  

Accordingly, upon their arrival on the other shore they were met by a man who is possessed by the demons. This man’s life is uncharacteristic because he lives in the tombs since tombs during those days were made of caves. He is wild as a beast and so powerful that no amount of strength of any chain can bind him down. He keeps breaking them always. In addition, he howls day and night, and he cuts himself with sharp stones. His name is “legion,” which literally means many. This man’s body is inhabited by such a great number of evil spirits. In other words, he is demon possessed. In Roman terminology, a legion is composed of 2000 Roman foot soldiers. No wonder no one can hold him down. Nobody ever dared to cross his path and he is left alone by himself, not even his own family, relatives, and friends had the courage to look for him. This is what happens to humankind when we are separated from God because of sin. Satan becomes our new master and from then on, we are left alone in our pitiful condition without hope of this life. We are all totally depraved of eternal life. 

But when this man saw the Lord Jesus getting out of the boat, he ran out to meet Him on the shore and there he prostrated before Him acknowledging His majesty. Yet this does not mean that the Lord accepted His offer of worship because this is not the way the Lord wants Him to be revered more so that this is from the demons whose loyalty is to Satan, the father of all lies. The Bible is clear that anyone who worships God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. How can the demons become true worshipers of God since they don’t have the spirit and truth in them? Their purpose is to kill, steal and to destroy (Jn.10: 10) and this is what they are doing to this man. They are torturing him by using his body to be their home. This proves only that evil spirits are circumscribed or limited, that is, they can occupy only a certain place in each space. Therefore, no wonder they begged the Lord to transfer to the pigs. As a result, even the pigs cannot contain them because of their wickedness thus the herd rushed to the steep and were all drowned numbering to around 2000. This is what happens to a person or even pigs in this instance when demons take control of them. Either one will be destroyed or be killed. 

Today I want to share with you 3 fundamental truths regarding man’s salvation that can only found in Jesus Christ.

The first fundamental truth regarding man’s salvation is obeying the doctrine concerning Jesus Christ.

It is not enough that we have knowledge about God. Even the demons themselves acknowledged that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and they trembled. They even prostrate before Him, yet they are not spiritual worshipers. What makes the difference is our living faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Satan and His minions can never do this. Their lips say one thing, but their actions do another thing. This is also true to many of those who also acknowledged the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but they do not commit their lives to Him in actual practice. Many believe Him as God’s Son, but they do not acknowledge Him in their lives to be their Lord and Savior. And this is the meaning of what the demons asked of Jesus when they met him on the shore, “What have I to do with you?” The one talking is their leader representing the whole batch of demons possessing the body of that poor man. “What have I to do with you?” This is a question that reminds us about the nature of Satan himself and his demons. They have nothing to do with the Lordship of the Jesus Christ and the spread of His gospel and the advancement of His church. Satan and his demons have nothing to do with Jesus’ cause. They stand oppose to God.

But I want to tell you, Jesus Christ has something to do with them. He came into this world by becoming a man like us taking the form of a servant. Jesus Christ has something to do with them. He paid a costly price for humanity’s salvation by dying on the cross. Jesus Christ has something to do with them. He rose from the dead and victoriously dethroned Satan from his worldly kingdom. Yes, Jesus Christ has something to do with them because He will come again to establish his kingdom here on earth for thousand years and after that He will finally judge them to eternal damnation in the lake of fire which is called hell.

Because of the love of God, the Father, to the world He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our salvation. This is what God’s love is all about. It is by believing in his name or receiving him as your Lord and Savior. This is the only way for man to be saved and the Father is offering it to anyone without respect to person, culture, race, language or status in life. This is what the gospel is all about. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The apostle John says, “But as many as received him to them gave the right to become children of God.” But we ask the question, how did they receive him? John continues with the following words, “to those who believe in his name.” (Jn.1: 12). Paul, on the other hand, says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Gal.3: 26). In other words, to receive him, or to believe in his name is to believe the doctrine concerning him. The apostle John testifies to this truth by saying, “He who abides in the doctrine of Christ, has both the Father and the Son. (2 Jn. Verse 9.) Putting it in another way, it is plain to believe in his name or receive him, is to obey or follow the doctrine of our Lord. This is the reason why Paul stressed so strongly this truth to Timothy by saying, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” (1 Tim.4: 16.)  In short, to believe in the name of the Lord or to receive him must therefore come with full knowledge and understanding of his doctrine otherwise it will be of little consequence. Truth is compromised based on feeling  setting aside the scriptural rule in determining the wrongful teaching (1 Jn.5: 1-6.) That is why it is imperative not only to read and study the word of God but most importantly to listen and hear to the preaching of the Word. Because out of this, faith in Jesus Christ will be the result. Rom.10: 17 says, so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  This leads us to the second fundamental truth regarding man’s salvation which is there is hope for immortality and eternity.

 From the time Adam fell from the grace of God because of sin all of humanity inherited the sinful nature of man, which resulted in our death both physically and spiritually. Every one of us will somehow face death in our appointed time. That’s for sure. Not even an unborn child who has no consciousness of good and evil is exempted from death. There are those who die even long before they are being delivered from their mothers’ womb. Some say it is the “original sin.” But the truth is we don’t inherit the sin of Adam. Our nature sinned with Adam but not our person. That is his own personal accountability, and he is personally responsible for it. But since Adam represents all of humanity his sin affected all of us. We all became mortals and as a result we all die. Paul attests to this reality by saying, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom.3: 23.) And furthermore, he said, “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6: 23.) Indeed, we are all sinners by nature aside from our own personal sins. In other words, because of Adam’s sin our nature was corrupted even before it was transmitted to us. No wonder our proneness to do wickedness is universal to all human beings alike.

Going back to our text, in Mark 5: 1-20, here is a man, a demon possessed individual crying out day and night, abandoned by his family and friends in tattered clothes. His condition represents exactly our present condition in life both physically and spiritually because of our separation from God. Sinners as we are this demon possessed man represents our life of disobedience. No amount of strong chain can hold him down. He blatantly disregards what is good and just. This demoniac living with the dead in the tombs is a representation of our condition when Adam sin against God. The tendency of being rebellious all the time wanting to live a life of our own being separated and independent from God is what we desire for. This demon possessed man cuts himself with sharp stones, mutilating his very own flesh. He inflicts himself with sharp objects. This represents our sinful nature. Despite knowing the consequences of those things, we keep doing them only to find out later that it is already too late to repair the damage that has been done.

But until Jesus came and healed this man he was totally lost and dead in his sins. Until Jesus came, he has no hope and a future. He will never have peace at all. There will be no end to his sufferings. He will always be living in tombs with the dead who die in their sins. My friend this is the reason why Jesus went out of his way to meet this demoniac and deliver him from the bondage of sin. Without Jesus, he would have no hope at all and without a future.  There is no better picture to represent the love of God to all human beings. By sending his Son, he made a way to find us and heal us from our infirmities, which is sin that enslaves us. The God and Father of our Lord used the cross at Calvary to reconcile us to himself. Through Jesus Christ, God does not count it anymore our trespasses but instead cancelled them by giving us the message of reconciliation. (2 Cor.5: 19). What a relief! What an assurance! What a joy to them that put their trust in Jesus Christ! Jesus said, “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (Jn.4: 14). And furthermore, he said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.” (Jn.6: 51). Indeed, in Jesus Christ alone, there is the hope of immortality and eternal life for anyone that believes on him and receive him. And this leads us to the last and final truth which is in Jesus we are made righteous before God, our Father.

Many of the people in Gadara missed out on the greatest opportunity of their lives. Instead of welcoming Jesus into their homes they rather asked Him to leave immediately for fear that He may even cause more trouble to their economy. They were still blinded by their “piggish lust,” meaning people were so much preoccupied with the cares or greediness of this life. They were so concerned with the financial loss they incurred on those herds of pigs totaling as many as 2000 of them that drowned in the lake. It could have been a big source of revenue for them, and a great investment had they been sold. But because of this incident they pleaded with Him to leave them at once. How unfortunate for these people to miss out the more important event that happened in their place, which was the miracle Jesus did on the man who was once demon possessed and now transformed into a new person and now being clothed with the robe of righteousness!

How many times that we are in the same shoes with those people who missed the greatest opportunity of their lives by sending Jesus away from them rather than inviting Him into their hearts? How many times that we are so much preoccupied with the cares and worries of this life rather than committing them unto the Lord? How many times that we forget the promises of God and doubt Him? In the Bible we can read how God saved Noah and his family from the great flood through the ark; how God parted the Red Sea in order to save the Israelites from their pursuing enemies; how God extended the life of king Hezekiah to 15 years; how God shut the mouths of the lions to deliver Daniel; how God protected Mishach, Shedrach and Obednego from a fiery furnace for not bowing down to the king; how God delivered Peter from a tightly secured  prison cell due to the fervent prayer of the brethren.

My friend, Jesus is so much concerned with you. You are no other than that poor fellow who was once demon possessed, but now a changed man, a new creation made righteous before God, our Father. Indeed, Jesus, our Lord gave you so much importance by going out of His way just to save you. You were once in your filthy rags but now clothed with the robe of His righteousness.  You are no longer the property of the devil and his demons. Look what happened to this man. He was restored back to his original position. He is no longer wild and naked like a brute beast but a person with dignity and respect. In other words, it doesn’t matter who you are and whatever be your past. Even you are the vilest of all sinners. Remember the man who was once possessed by the demons? There could have been no way for him to be restored considering the number of those who possessed him and took control of his life. And that represents the magnitude of sin of man. Yet there is nothing impossible with the Lord. He can transform the vilest sinner to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph.4: 24) only if you accept His offer of grace by believing on the name of Jesus Christ and by receiving him into your heart. But don’t stop there, you need to act on it by obedience to the faith. That means you need to be immersed or baptized in water for the remission of your sins.  There is nothing in the Bible that says you need to pray the sinners’ prayer or just raise your hands to be saved. The Bible is very clear on this matter that the Lord himself commissioned his apostles to immerse those who accepts him by faith. This is the resounding answer of Peter on the day of Pentecost when the church of Christ was finally established. After they heard him preached the gospel message the people were pricked in their hearts and repentantly asked him what they must do to be saved. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit boldly told them to repent and be baptized or be immersed in water for the remission of their sins and they too will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2: 38). That very same day the church of Christ was established, and 3000 souls were saved! Those that accepted the Lord by faith were all baptized or immersed in water his name for the remission of their sins, and they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I cannot be silent but to preach this truth from the Bible. Baptism or immersion in water is part of the covenant of grace. And therefore, it is very important to our salvation. Everything must go altogether when we talk about the salvation of man. It must not only stop on belief and faith. It must also be accompanied by obedience to the faith based on knowledge and understanding of His word otherwise, it will be meaningless. 

At the end of the story that individual who was once a demon possessed but who is now healed and made free wanted to be with the Lord. But the Master declined him. Instead, he wanted Him to go home to his family and friends and tell them what he did to him. He wants him to tell others how He was transformed and had clothed him with the robe of righteousness.

And this is the message:  Jesus Christ wants you to believe on His name and receive him into your heart by faith and obey his commandments. He went out of His way leaving His glorious throne in heaven and died on the cross but after 3 days He rose again for your salvation. He came that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly (Jn.10: 10). Indeed, the Lord is waiting for you. Would you accept Him in your heart and make Him your Lord and Savior?

It is my prayer that you have been blessed today. Gospel in the Air is a podcast ministry of Cornerstone Christian Church, and we are located in Maui, Hawaii, USA. I invite you to our website at www.cornerstonemaui.org. Until next time, this is your host, brother Dani Marantan Banggo saying, keep punching the good fight of faith! Mahalo!