The Rudiments of Salvation

Welcome to our series of articles about the Rudiments of Salvation. Over the next four weeks, we will be delving deeper into these foundational principles of salvation.  This first article sets the context for what is to come. 

The Rudiments of Salvation are key because there are many wrong ideas about salvation.  Some are too lax and others are too convoluted. Others do not believe that salvation has anything to do with our lifestyle.   We must believe that Christ is the Way to salvation.  But mere belief is not enough.  James 2:19 says, “even demons believe and tremble.” In this article we see that belief in Christ without appropriate action is not enough. 

Basically, the path of salvation is found in four steps listed in Acts 2:38:  

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (KJV)

If you’re already a believer you may thinking:

“But I already know all about salvation. Who doesn’t know Acts 2:38?!”

Well that’s true but,  it's often a good thing to take a moment to look back. To reconnect with the foundations of our relationship with Yahusha and remind ourselves of just how important they are in our daily lives.

Salvation as Lentil Soup

Right now life is really really complicated, isn’t it?

If it’s not one thing, it’s another.  There is the coronavirus going round.  It’s flu season. Plus we’ve pretty much been separated from our friends and families for a whole year.  Everyone is trying to keep up with their bills.  Most can’t go on holiday because of lockdowns which have gone on longer than expected.  

Things can seem so joyless sometimes.  When this happens, my faith in Yahusha kicks in to keep me from drowning in sorrow.  A still small voice reminds me to: Keep. It. Simple. And, get back to basics and find joy in Christ who is salvation.  Incidentally, did you know that Christ’s Hebrew name (Yeshua / Yahusha) is literally the word salvation in scripture? 

In these times, we need to think of things to provide comfort and nourishment like God and….lentil soup.   The human mind can go off on tangents.  But there is a reason.  Stay with me on this.

When things feel tight and the weather is cold, you want to indulge in things that are uncomplicated and warming.  Lentil soup is an easy, economical, and fast way of nourishing the body without meat (which can be heavy and expensive).  

Lentils contain large amounts of protein, B vitamins, iron, fibre, and essential minerals. But they are also low in calories and fat.  The Kitchn website has a four ingredient lentil soup recipe:  red lentils, vegetables, water and oil. With these four items, one can have a fast nutritious meal that is not stressful to make, but filling and warming.

Lentils, while good for the body, by themselves do not provide emotional and spiritual comfort. Salvation or right relationship with God through Christ does. And like lentil soup, it is easy to access.  It only takes four steps (Acts 2:38). 

1. Repent 

2. Be baptised

3. In the Name of Yahusha

4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit

The Nourishment of Salvation 

Salvation provides nourishment for the body and soul for this life and the next through Christ. According to wordnik, an online dictionary says nourish is: to support; to maintain; to encourage; to foster; to cherish; to comfort; to educate; to nurture; 

The Lord nourishes our mind, body and spirit.  Salvation is the first step in obtaining all of the nourishment He gives.  His goodness is immeasurable.  Psalm 103 has a very good list of some of His blessings:

3 Who forgives all your sins,

Who heals all your diseases;

By following the steps in Acts, the emotional guilt of sin is removed as well as the psychological weight.  Stressors like guilt, unforgiveness and resentment can make one ill in their body with colds, cancer, high blood pressure and other problems.  Healing  is one of the benefits that comes from knowing Yahuah; it begins with salvation.

4 Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy;

Following Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit means that we are given the opportunity to become crowned in His righteousness.  

I saw a lovely picture on pinterest that said, “never forget your invisible crown”.  How inspiring!  No one needs to feel inferior because they are, “too...”.  Too old.  Too young.  Too broke.  Too rich.  Too quiet.  Too loud. Too anything.  The Lord accepts us.   Paradoxically, by humbly submitting to and serving the King of Kings, we become kings ourselves. Christ did the same thing; see Phil 2:6-11.

5 Who satisfies your years with good things, 

So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle.

The Lord is the one to satisfy our years.  He supplies our needs.  

2 Peter 1:3 says that his divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness through the rich knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.  So He takes the pressure rather than us!  Knowledge of Christ through salvation can add years to your life! 

6 The Lord executes righteousness

And justice for all the oppressed.

AND

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger and abounding in compassion and lovingkindness.

Both of these verses show His character and nature.  He reveals it to us through the filling of His Holy Spirit.

13 Just as a father loves his children,

So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].

The Lord loves us. However, He is holy and will not tolerate sin in any form. So He changes us into the image of Christ through baptism.  We exchange our old sinful nature for a holy, obedient and worshipful nature through baptism.

Staying focused on Scripture

But we humans complicate things.  We think that the simple but essential things that Yahuah gives to us, like salvation are not enough.  We pollute or corrupt them and miss out on the benefits

We may start to think salvation is not real or relevant in today’s world.  For example, some faiths believe that salvation, Heaven and hell, and Jesus’ atonement for our sins are not pertinent to living. If one starts to follow this philosophy (and it is not a faith), then it is a form of returning to one’s old burdens that they had before salvation. 

This is denying the comfort of salvation in Acts and returning to carrying the old baggage of sin!  

We may also start to doubt the power of the person of the Holy Spirit. And lose our comfort as a result. If one begins to think like this, the instruction in Acts 2:38 would be impotent.  We lose an important coping mechanism.  This life and its issues would destroy us!  John 14:26 (AMP) states:  “But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things.”

We must take hold of all of Acts 2:38 to be filled with the Holy Spirit who enables us to stand and endure.  This situation would be like swapping healthy lentil soup for a traditional British fry up with lentils instead of baked beans and calling it vegetarian!

No.  For peace of mind, body and spirit, it’s best to focus on the benefits of salvation especially in these stressful times as described in the verses below:

“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Saviour] shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (AMP)  

10 let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health.  Acts 4:10-12 (AMP)

11 This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief Cornerstone. 

12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].”

And how do we do this?! 

By humbly and quietly following the path in Acts 2:38 its four steps: 

1. Repent 

2. Be baptised

3. In the Name of Yahusha

4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Just like making four ingredient lentil soup.

In these challenging times being reminded of the foundations of our salvation helps to give us nourishment for our mind and our soul.

As you search for moments of comfort in these difficult times then turn again to the rudiments of salvation as they come to you over the next few weeks.

Welcome to Rosh HaShanah!

While most of the rest of the world is just beginning to sense that 2020 is a mere three months away, those of us who observe the biblical feasts and festivals are making ready to celebrate Rosh HaShanah this weekend.

Rosh HaShanah, on the Jewish civil calendar, is the beginning of the New Year. Like all Jewish feasts it begins on the preceding evening of the actual day, this year that’s Sunday, 29 September.

In Hebrew, rosh means ‘chief’ or ‘head’ and shanah means ‘year’. Rosh HaShanah is the sixth feast in Elohim’s times and seasons and has dual themes: ‘to awake’ and ‘to repent’ (Romans 13:11-14; Ephesians 5:14).

Rosh HaShanah takes place during the seventh month (Tishri) of the Hebrew calendar and, though it has a solemn side it is also a time of much rejoicing.

You may well be wondering why the New Year is celebrated during the seventh month and not the first. This is because the months are counted from the beginning of the Feast of Passover, which is in the month of Nissan (usually March/April).

Rosh HaShanah is also called the ‘Feast of Trumpets’ (for trumpets also read shophar), as the shophar sound, its cadence and frequency is heard on a daily basis. The vibrancy of blasts invariably stops you in your tracks. It is a sound that carries great import and is intended to touch emotions and reach spirits.

The sounds of the shofar can be interpreted in the following ways:

The Tekiah is a long blast with a clear tone – calling one to attention.

The Teruah is a rapid series of not less than 9 very short blasts – the sound within a sound, known as the Kesseh, or the Hidden One: specific to Rosh HaShanah.

The Shevarim is a ‘broken’ sound of 3 short blasts – a sound of despair felt by Elohim, due to the distance or separation caused by the sin of man.

The Tekiah Gedolah (the Great Tekiah) is a single, unbroken blast held for as long as possible.

Rosh HaShanah is an autumn feast of great importance for the Church, though, generally, the Church does not celebrate it. Two Hebrew words – Teshuvah and Yom Teruah – give further information about this feast and time of repentance.

Teshuvah speaks of this season of repentance. It is from the Hebrew meaning ‘to return or repent’. Teshuvah begins in the month of Elul (August/September), continues for forty-days and ends with Yom Kippur.

Teshuvah awakens and, as stated before, gives the chance to scrutinize our lives to see if, and where, we have departed from Elohim. Once found, we then have the opportunity to make the necessary changes, before Rosh HaShanah.

At the end of the thirty days of Elul, on 1st Tishri (September / October), Rosh HaShanah begins – repentance should be well under way, ready for the New Year, with the final push in further nine days to Yom Kippur. The nine days are also known as, The Awesome Days, The Days of Awe and/or The High Holy Days. No one wants to be found in an un-repented state, at this time.

Yom Teruah: one of its meanings is the ‘Shout’ or the ‘Day of the Awakening Blast’. 1Thessalonians 4:16 states that Yahusha Messiah, Himself, “shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of Elohim: and the dead in Christ will rise first.” – this single, unbroken sound of the trumpet is known as the Great Tekiah blast.

So, when Yahusha returns, it will be with a long, loud blast of the trumpet; it is the sound of the trumpet that will alert the people of Elohim. Psalm 89:15a states, “… blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!”

The Opening of the Gates: according to Judaism, the gates of Heaven are open on Rosh HaShanah. The opening of the gates also gives reference to the Rapture of the Bride, the Church, clearly outlined in Matthew 25:1-13, by Messiah, when He spoke of the Kingdom and the 10 Virgins: those who were prepared, ready and able to have entrance. The gates are open, so that the righteous nation, which keeps the truth, may enter in (Isaiah 26:2; Psalm 118:19-20).

As we approach Rosh HaShanah, let us be aware that this season is a rehearsal for when the fully repented Bride will be caught up to meet her Bridegroom. So, let us heed the sentiment of the season and, “Awake to righteousness and sin not” (1Corinthians15:34a). Let us throw off complacency, search ourselves, repent and heed Elohim’s call of the season knowing that now is best time to awake out of 'sleep' or lack of awareness of our true spiritual state before God; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed (Romans13:11).