Wednesday, September 18, 2013

“Getting Saved”

Luke 7: 47-50
“Getting Saved”

     “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
     Question - In the words of Jesus, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” what is she saved from? Answer - She has been saved from her sins. Her past sins, and Jesus says they are many, have been forgiven her and her faith has saved her. Question - What did her faith do to save her? Answer - Her faith brought her to Jesus feet with a repentant heart. She believed Jesus was the Son of God and that He had the power to forgive her sins.
     We speak of the words, “Getting saved” all the time but those words are full of deep and convicting meaning. I would like to convey the meaning of “Getting saved.” “Getting saved” is the result of distress and grief over our sins that we have committed. “Getting saved” is understanding that we have broken the laws of our Great and Mighty Creator and now deserve the consequences for our actions. “Getting saved” means understanding that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has the power to forgive our sins that we have committed against God. “Getting saved” means that when we have poured out our hearts to Jesus in grief for our sins, that he doesn’t turn away from us but says, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Being saved is to be saved from sin. Having eternity in Heaven is the fruit of being saved from sin. We must be saved from sin in order to enter into Heaven.
     Now let me bring us back to the words Jesus spoke earlier in these verses. “For this reason I say to you, her sins which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Our love for Jesus is in direct proportion to how much we feel we need to be forgiven. If we love Jesus much our sins were deeply evident to us. But if we love Jesus little it means that we are largely ignorant of our sinfulness in God’s sight. A heart in agony over sin is one who has truly seen Jesus. A heart that does not see him does not feel the same remorse for sin. If there is no remorse than neither is there forgiveness for forgiveness is freely given by Jesus to those who repent of their ways. True remorse demonstrates its truth by walking away from the sinful lifestyle it was living in and into obedience to the laws of God. A heart that repents desires to do what is good.
     So this is our calling. Once we have seen Jesus and met with Him we must become a visible representative of who He is so that not only will our words speak of Him, but our lives will reveal Him to those who have not seen Him yet. We are to become like Jesus in every way that everyone might see Him through us.
     May God continue to reveal Himself ever more closely to us that we might not forget His mercies towards us and return to our old sins. We have much work to be done. Let us be about our Heavenly Father’s business!         God bless!

15 comments:

  1. Is that the passage where jesus meets a woman and he is very tired from his long journey to I think Bethlehem ?

    I think there outside of the town is where he forgive her sins after she brings jesus water to wash jesus feet . My name is Gary age is 25

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    1. Hi Gary.
      Is the woman you are refering to the one in the bible in John chapter 4 verses 1-26?

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  2. Hi Gary
    In Luke 7:38 Ther was a woman that stood at Jesus feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His with her tears, and wiped them with her hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragant oil. In verse 39, Now when Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself , saying This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner. I hope that answer her question.

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  3. Truely amazing Jesus is. Seth,We are truelly saved by grace. God will have people praying for you to be saved, and send christians in your path it is a relationship you take that step to repent, not only asking jesus to forgive anything you have said or done, but a renewing of your heart. Asyou begin to know jesus, you reliaze the precious blood that was poured out for you., and how truely amazing Jesus is .It is a process and daily walk..,The more you begin to know him the more you realize how amazing Jesus truely is.

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  4. Seth. I had a strong "urge" to reread your last two messages, the one to Hold on to Jesus with all your heart and a Firm Foundation on Jesus in unity with this message. Every time I reread your messages my soul gets uplifted...and I keep wanting more and more of your messages. Like Aunt Sue said last week, God is definetly working through you.
    Oh....I AM SAVED FOREVER IN CHRIST. I do not have a doubt where I am going when my body dies. My spirit will continue to be with The Spirit. I am following Jesus from here to there.

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  5. Claudette,
    When you say one on one, are you meaning there’s no one else around or where Jesus talks to a woman and there are others around them?
    There’s only one place where Jesus met a woman with no one else near them. That’s the woman at the well, where he asked her for a drink of water. There’s so much in this section that it would take up a lot of time.
    Then there’s 3-4 times where Jesus talks to a woman but there’s other around them. The woman the Pharisees brought to Jesus who the Pharisees want to stone, again there’s a lot to discuss here. Then there’s Mary and Martha, Jesus was at their house with others around them. Then there’s the woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The woman who anointed him expense oil and one of his disciples’s said that was a waste, they could have sold the oil and gave the money to the poor. Then there’s Mary at the grave of Lazarus.

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  6. I love Jesus and this is a great way spread the Word - Sandra B

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  7. The reading was very insightful and makes sense as far as jesus is concerned. Brandon V

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  8. Hi all,

    This is a very story of Jesus that says a lot about the gospel. A friend asked me 'you're very religious, what did you think of me and my boyfriend having a child before we were married.' This full passage is a perfect story to share with someone who asks that type of question. We are not righteous religious people, but sinners saved by grace like the woman in this story. If you read the full passage you'll see the contrast Jesus makes between the woman and this host and it actually brings tears to my eyes when I think about how much I've been forgiven.

    Thanks for sharing!
    Dave G (24)

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  9. Just like this woman who came to Jesus and was forgiven of her sins. I believe that through Christ and the Atonement we can be forgiven of our sins. When we do come unto Christ feeling sorrow for our mistakes, we can be completely cleansed. Christ's merciful arms are extended to all of us no matter how small or great our sins are. Dallin B. 19

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  10. Jesus is love. Jeanette R.

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  11. I don't really have any big disagreements on what was written in this article. I believe that the core principles of Jesus Christ and his Gospel include Faith in Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism by one holding priesthood authourity, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost by one holding proper authority, and enduring to the end. Having faith in Christ is something that fuels a desire to follow Him and his teachings and also to repent. Repentance is more than just a vocal declaration of apology, but is a change of heart and a change of mind to the point where we literally change our lives and who we are in order to please our Heavenly Father. Christ required baptism as an outward symbol of our repentance and our commitment to follow him for the rest of our lives. It is a covenant, or a contract of sorts between us and God.
    I definitely have a testimony that Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God, and that he was sent by the Father to minister among his children and to die for our sins. I am eternally grateful for this sacrifice and it drives me to try and be a little bit better tomorrow than I am today.

    Nate 21

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  12. HI Nate.
    I agree with you about Jesus being the atonement for our sins- Romans 5:11 KJV says about Jesus, "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the ATONEMENT.
    AND further agree with you how the atonement and baptism of this precious quality comes from a priesthood authority, I believing that Priest, that overpowers all priest, the one with ALL authority , the one you describe, is Jesus Our Most High Priest -Hebrews 7.
    Jesus saved me.
    God Bless,
    JesusMyPriest

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  13. Yes, I would want jesus saying these words to me or even to anyone. It would drasticlly change the way they think, and what they would believe in. JAZMINE

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  14. Jazmine .Those words were meant for you,me, and anyone who wants them. You have to have a heart like the women, and talk to Jesus like she did. You will feel His presense . Try it. Close your eyes and with a sincere heart, talk to Him and feel HIS response.

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