Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture declares that the whole
world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith
in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
What was promised…might be given.
Decades ago, I can remember purchasing my first computer. It was an Acorn
computer with 32 kilobytes of memory. I felt as though I owned one of the most
advanced personal computers in the world and I spent ages entering formulas and
equations to make it work.
I remember on one occasion that I tried to set up a windows filing system which
would help me with my pastoral work. It took me four days to enter the
information correctly and when I was finished, I had a black & white screen
filled with little boxes where I could put in names and addresses, some short
information, and a calendar for visitation dates. I felt as though I was light
years ahead of my pastor peers and couldn’t wait to show some of them what I had
created.
The equations and the formulas that I had to enter were all built through key
sentences of ‘if and then.’ If I pressed a button here, then a file would come
up on the screen. If I entered a name here, then more information would be
accessed somewhere else in the computer. So long as the ‘ifs and thens’ were
entered correctly, then the system worked beautifully.
These days, computer already have these programs entered and filing is so much
easier, but way back in the 1980s windows files were very rare.
Today’s verse reminded me of the ‘if and then’ process of salvation. Many people
think that salvation is a given, but it’s not. This is why the apostle Paul
reminds the young Corinthian church that what was promised through scripture
might be given to those who believe. Belief in Christ, then, is a required
component of salvation. If there’s no belief, then there is no salvation, no
matter what the world would like to think.
That’s why Christianity is first and foremost a missionary faith. We do not
minister to ourselves, we take the Gospel message out into the world. We take it
to our families and friends, our neighbors and working colleagues. The promises
of salvation can only be experienced through our belief in Jesus. There is no
other way. There is no other person, there is no other faith.
If the ‘if and then’ of belief and salvation are not entered into our hearts and
minds, then the good news of the Gospel remains inoperative. We will have wasted
our whole lives by inputting the wrong spiritual formula and erroneously
entering the wrong eternal equation.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we want to live forever in God’s Kingdom and to experience
everlasting life. You are the only way to achieve this; You are the Only One who
has the words of eternal life. Keep us faithfully focused on You and help us to
attract and enable others to come to Your Cross. Make us missionaries of Your
message. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.