In Romans 3:23, the Bible says; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and because all men have fallen short of the glory of God as the consequence for their action, they deserved to die. How did I know that? Romans 6:23 says; “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  And I want us to note this word as we proceed. It says; ‘but the gift of God is eternal life’ and this life is not outside Jesus Christ, it says ‘in Jesus Christ our Lord’. When the gift of food and water is offered to a man or woman dying of thirst and hunger and the only thing required of the dying man is to accept the offer to come over to the dining table to eat, and he refuses to oblige, it will only be a matter of time, such a man or woman would eventually starve to death.

This is the scenario of life being played before some of us; we are being afflicted and tormented by the devil and by all the pressures of life, condemned and waiting for execution yet refusing to accept the offer which God is giving to salvage our situation. The Bible says God has given us a gift and haven accepted this gift, your dying nature can then receive life again. This is what John 3:16 spelt out very clearly for us.  So, why say no? This is the crux of the matter we would be discussing in this article; how salvation can speak for our victory.

When I looked at the dictionary, I found two profound definitions of salvation. The first says; it is a deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed to be brought about by faith in Christ, or it is the state of being saved from hell and death simply by accepting Christ Jesus. The second definition says; It is the process of being rid of the old poor-quality conditions and becoming improved. And I want us to take note of that last statement; the process of being rid of the old poor-quality conditions to becoming improved.

So, this means that any process that is geared towards removing you from the bondage of sin and flesh, with the sole purpose of giving you the better life in Christ is called salvation. At this point, it is important for us to know that before God can begin to work or improve any life or destiny, He deploys series of strategies or tactics or process which is meant to be activated by the word or process called “salvation.” 1 Peter 2:9 says; “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”  Did we see the word “called out?” so, there can’t be salvaging if the message or the call that can take you out of darkness into His marvelous light is rejected. So, until you accept to step into the light, you can’t have your victory. The NIV version of Colossians 1:13 says; “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” here we are seeing the word “rescue” so salvation is a rescue mission. It is not a mission to condemn but to alter the path that leads to destruction.  And it is achieved by first accepting His Son Jesus Christ. until then transformation process cannot begin.

When God wanted to enter a covenant with Abraham, He didn’t just go straight to him and say come I want us to enter a covenant. That is why we as believers may never enjoy the fullness and blessings of God if we refuse to accept Christ who is the mediator of the new covenant. Now this was what God did. He began by saying; get out of your country, from your family, and from your father’s house. Then He said “to a land I will show you” Get out means the gospel. When that instruction is accepted, it is called faith, and then when you obey, that obedience to depart translates you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom light. That was the meaning of the Land that God was speaking to Abraham about.

I want us to see this Scripture in Genesis 12:1-3. It says; “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.² I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.³ I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”   This what the message of salvation is all about, this is what the gospel is all about, it is a charge, to get out of one place with a promise of a land, a future, a great destiny, a hope in God through Jesus Christ. But until you get out of where you are currently, that habit, that lifestyle, you will never come into the full realization of all that God has in stock for you.

 No wonder Apostle Paul called it the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16) This means that if you are unwilling to depart, God has no power to build you up or give you an inheritance. And if you can’t be built up, you have no access to inheritance. That call God gave to Abraham is a call of repentance, that call God gave to Abraham is a call to forsake the evil and seek a new path. What is the point that I have been trying to make? It is that before God hands over His inheritances to you, there is a necessity to depart from your sinful ways. Not everyone is willing to depart, some may be thinking it was that easy for Abraham, no it wasn’t, just as it was for him, so it is for us today. Are you willing to depart from your comfort zone, are you willing to depart from the cravings of the flesh, are you willing to depart from matters that has held your or tied down your destiny? This is what salvation is all about.  

Apostle Peter said in Acts 4:9; “nor is there salvation, for there is no other name under the heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Meaning that there is no substitution for Christ.  So, we could see here that the only means to be saved is through the gospel of salvation. And how can we do that by accepting the invitation of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in in Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Did we see that? No wonder the Bible says Abraham believed God and it was accounted unto him as righteousness. So, his faith-belief, obedience and departure was actually the process of accepting Christ. The Bible says, we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As long as Abraham heeded to the voice of God to depart and stay in the land which God Himself will show him, he is a righteous man.

No wonder verse 3 of that chapter says, I will curse those who curse you and I will bless those who bless you, the reason is because there is no condemnation for anyone that is in Christ Jesus. If Abraham were to disobey the instruction of God, the message of the gospel to remain among the unclean people, to remain rebellious, to remain in sin he stands to be condemned. And whatever curse that has been pronounced on him shall stand. But because he stepped into Christ, by departing into the land he became righteous and immune to curses. 

Now, what is the relationship between salvation and victory? And how does salvation play an important role in obtaining our victory? Let’s see the song of Miriam in Exodus 15:22. “Sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” this was a victorious experience right? A battle that God Himself fought for His people. But guess what Moses called it; salvation. How did I know that? He made a profound statement in verse 14 of Exodus 14, it says; “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold^[ your peace.” So, here we can now see that salvation is a process in which the Lord fights our battle. This is the same thing that happens when we give our lives to Christ. We are simply transferring the responsibility of fighting to Jesus and letting Him fight the battle of life while we receive the victory, all we have to do is to be still, be at peace and let God be in charge. All we have to do is to surrender, all we have to do is to obey and accept the invitation, all we have to do is to be flexible enough to be translated into the kingdom of Christ. and until we do that, we will remain defeated. The gospel of salvation is an invitation into a glorious life.

One of the criminals who were hanged beside Jesus said, remember me in your kingdom, he was guilty, he was condemned to death but he was quick to acknowledge that his life will be secured only if is in the same kingdom with Christ. Where is your kingdom right now? This is the time to reflect and make your decision whether to stay in the kingdom of darkness and embrace death or embrace life by accepting Jesus Christ.

I believe you have been blessed!

Thanks for the gift of your time, Apeh Francis Abah!
Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond as soon as possible!