The shedding of Jesus’ blood completed the Plan of Salvation. His blood cannot be applied to cover our sins until we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. This daily devotional looks at the plan, our need for a Savior, and how that regenerates us.
Nuggets
- We cannot be in a position to accept Christ of the cross until we recognize we need Him.
- We need to follow the steps of salvation in order for Jesus’s shedding His blood on the cross to cover our sins.
- Only God can regenerate us, which He does through the Holy Spirit.
Devotions in the Love Led to the Cross series
The whole reason Jesus went to the cross was to accomplish the Plan of Salvation. Without the shedding of His blood as the Sacrifice, we would not be able to approach God to ask for forgiveness of our sins.
What does salvation accomplish?
Let's Put It into Context
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV)
- God’s character is love.
- God does not discriminate on who He loves.
- Because of His love for us, God gave the best gift He could — part of Himself.
- Because God wanted our relationships restored, He gave Jesus freely and willingly to die to be our Sacrifice.
- We can only gain salvation through God’s gift, secured by Jesus.
What Is the Plan of Salvation?
“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (Jn. 3: 3 ESV)
We cannot be in a position to accept Christ of the cross until we recognize we need Him.
Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they let sin into the world. We have to acknowledge that there is evil in the world, and mankind’s actions allowed it.
These actions separated us from God, known as spiritual death. “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins” (Eph. 2: 1 NLT).
To become spiritually alive we must accept God’s free gift of salvation.
- Salvation is the gift of life through the deliverance from evil and the consequences of sins to replace them with good and eternal life.
- The consequences of sin are spiritual death and physical separation from God.
- Eternal life is the promise of living eternally – even if we have died in this life – because we have admitted our sins, believed Jesus as Savior and Redeemer, and confessed God as Sovereign Lord.
Glossary
Salvation could only be offered if a perfect sacrifice was found so that the shedding of its blood could be used as a substitute to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus was the only perfect sacrifice.
In human form, Jesus was one of us. However, He did not sin.
We also have to believe that we sin. Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments; goes against a purpose He has for us; or follows Satan’s promptings.
We are called to believe that Jesus is God, left Heaven to be born on earth, lived a sinless life, was killed on a cross because He was the Son of God, and rose again on the third day. We are called to believe that He lives in heaven, as He will for eternity.
This requires faith and repentance. Faith is the conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them, a belief which impacts our lives. Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to changing ourselves through obedience so that we no longer do the wrong things.
When we accept God’s gift of salvation, we enter into God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom that describes His sovereign reign. Our entrance into God’s kingdom means we agree to become subject to Him.
The evidence of salvation is that we become a new creation. The churchy word for this is regeneration. Regeneration is the internal requickening in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character. This work not only changes us from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive, but it also continues to replace our sinful nature with godly character until we are perfected in Heaven.
Glossary
Jukes gave a good explanation of why regeneration is needed. He wrote, “… to live in heaven we must have the life of heaven. Man can enter no world but by a birth, and to enter heaven, therefore, he must be born into it.”
Resource
Tipple expanded on why new birth is needed. He wrote, “To enter that kingdom there must be a new birth; not a mere modification of original ground, but a fresh foundation — not an alteration of form, but a change of spirit.”
Resource
We have to remember who Jesus was talking to in John 3: 3. He was having a nighttime meeting with Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee. He would have understood how Gentiles would have to be baptized and cleansed in order to become Jews.
Nic just didn’t understand that Jews needed to be cleansed of their sins, also.
We Need a Savior
We need to follow the steps of salvation in order for Jesus’s shedding His blood on the cross to cover our sins.
God wants us to do a whole 180 degrees in terms of what is the object of our allegiance. He doesn’t want us following Satan anymore. He doesn’t even want us to just be a good person because that is the right thing to do.
God wants us to follow Him because He is our Creator. We are to want to have His character and do good things to praise Him.
By using His Word, God reveals His grace to us. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2: 8-9 NIV).
God begins the the conversion process by convicting us of our sin. He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit and shows us the sin in our lives.
The Holy Spirit shows us that we don’t believe in Jesus — and that we need to do so. We are shown the benefits of belief. That creates our desire to ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior.
No, it isn’t an easy decision. Noel wrote that the Holy Spirit helps us “… to wrestle with God for it.”
Resource
We have to realize that we are in a pitched battle with Satan when we are wrestling. He does not want us to submit to God. He wants us to stick with him.
Beecher said that the repentance has to come before any deep study of the Word. We can’t try to figure it all out so that we understand perfectly.
We aren’t going to understand perfectly. That is where the faith comes in.
Resource
We Need Regeneration
Only God can regenerate us, which He does through the Holy Spirit.
In order to be admitted into Heaven, we must be regenerated. Noel wrote, “The character of God would be degraded by the admission of the unregenerate into heaven.”
Resource
God is not going to go up to Jesus and tell Him that He changed His mind. He would never let everyone into Heaven whether they ABCDed or not.
- God would not invalidate Jesus’ sacrifice in that way.
- God would not negate the work of the Holy Spirit.
- God can’t change His mind.
- God would not cheapen the conversions of all of the Saints.
- God would not degrade Heaven so that it would become as earth.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
There is some debate as to whether or not we know the regeneration process is happening. Kemp thought it wasn’t detectible. Anderson pointed out that it is a conscious occurrence because we can tell that our mind, passions, and affections are undergoing a change.
Resource
Bushnell had a good discussion on how regeneration is instantaneous and not necessarily conscious. He acknowledged that growth does come, but it must have a start that constitutes a change. Kemp warned us not to confuse regeneration with sanctification.
Resource
Dyke noted that it is through regeneration that the spiritual graces are planted within us. Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhance this world.
Resource
Masden reminded us that regeneration isn’t about just becoming a better person. He wrote, “Good citizenship, honesty, integrity, natural affection, may elevate and bless this human life; but more is necessary to qualify for saintly and Divine fellowship in the upper world.”
Resource
Regeneration isn’t about making a better us. It isn’t about doing a self-help program to make us more acceptable in some way. It is about restoring our spiritual heart and then making us like God.
That is why I disagree with Noel. He wrote that regeneration was “a vast moral change.” Yes, I believe a moral change must come — at a minimum kicking them up to spiritual graces.
Resource
I just don’t think that is a product of regeneration. I think that is the outcome of sanctification. I don’t see us instantaneously becoming obedient. That comes with growth.
Glossary
Regeneration is a new life — all the way around.
Once we admit that we need a Savior, we need to believe the Jesus Who died on the cross is that Savior. But that is for the next devotion.
Making the Connections
Bushnell reminded us that sin does not focus solely on words and acts. Sin also includes the motivation behind the words and acts.
Resource
Tipple said something I knew but needed clarified. He wrote, “… all must be subject to it [the kingdom of God] … and within which we may or may not be found …”
Resource
We have the free will to reject the Plan of Salvation. However, come judgment day, we will all be subjects of God.
Some of us will be sheep on the right. We will spend eternity in Heaven.
Some will be goats on the left. We will spend eternity in Hell. But we will do that because we are subject to God and His judgment.
Glossary
How Do We Apply This?
- We must be consciously searching for and seeking God.
- We need to change our views to align with God’s views.
Resource
I do agree with Noel that we become regenerated by the Holy Spirit, “not by baptism, thought, reading, the following of good examples, fear, the intrinsic efficacy of prayer, or the merit of any reforms and confessions.” All but baptism are things we can do on our own.
Resource
Regeneration is solely the work of God. Salvation is only the work of God. All we need do is genuinely accept.
Father God. Thank You that You offer salvation to us. We accept and submit ourselves to You. Regenerate us so that we are more like You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: Belief in the Christ of the Cross is Essential – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: The Cross Was a Gift – Seeking God with Elaine
Heres how to quit being nervous about what other gentlemen think.