Salvation. That is the sum-total of what we have been talking about these last several weeks in Bible Insights. Repentance, faith, justification—it all adds up to salvation. Titus 2:11-12 says, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age." We are saved purely by God's grace. It is God's grace that "brings salvation" to us. God's grace leads us to repent, which involves a complete turnaround. God's grace teaches us to deny "ungodliness and worldly lusts." Turn away from all worldliness and sin. Instead, "live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age."
Turn your life around. Leave your old sinful life behind (repentance) and live for Jesus (faith). Peter, preaching to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:21 said, "And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (justification). So there we have the bottom line, the basic formula of salvation: repentance plus faith equals justification.
Hebrews 12:1-2 spells it out more completely: "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
This passage immediately follows Hebrews chapter eleven, often referred to as the "Hall of Faith," because it lists the many Old Testament saints who ran the life of faith with great success and endurance. They are our "great… cloud of witnesses." They, along with all the saints that have run the race of faith before us, testify as to how we run that race. We are to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us" (repentance), and "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (faith).
"Endurance" means "patience," or literally, "a remaining under," and can be translated "patient enduring" (W.E. Vine, M.A., Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Unabridged Edition, [MacDonald Publishing Company: McLean, Virginia, no copyright], 370). It is related to another Greek word meaning "to abide under" or "to bear up courageously (under suffering)" (Ibid, 369). And how do we do that? By "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (justification).
When you run a race, keep your eyes fixed on the goal. Never look back. Never look to the side. Always look straight at the goal or you will slow down and run off the path. You don't want that to happen, so keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He is "the author and finisher of our faith" and the one who will bring us home to heaven (endurance or perseverance). Salvation is all about Jesus—knowing Him, following Him, and becoming like Him.
But to run the race, you first have to get into the race. You have to sign up for it first, then you can start to run the race. How do you qualify to start the race of the Christian life? By trusting Christ for salvation. You must believe that He died on the cross for you, for the forgiveness of your sin, and that He rose the third day from the grave providing life as well. You must believe, confess your sin to Him seeking His forgiveness, and you must receive Jesus into your life to be your personal Savior, and to let Him have all of you, all of your life. You can do that right now by praying and asking Jesus to be your Savior and Lord. Amen.
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