“And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” Acts 2:40
We talk so much in the church about wanting to be saved and wanting others to be saved, but why do we seek salvation?
We want what God wants: we want all men to live in heaven forever with God (to be saved). This has been the message of the church since that Pentecost Day when the church was first established. But why? Just to be in heaven? Can you think of a better reason? After all, God is in heaven. Where God is, there can be no sin. Therefore, if we are in heaven with God, we are away from sin and sin is what we spend our earthly lives trying to avoid.
We want to go to heaven for the things which WON’T be there. (4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (8) But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:4, 8)
We also want to go to heaven for what WILL be there. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.” (Rev. 22:14) In Genesis 3:22-24 we read, “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” The Tree of Life, taken away in Genesis 3, will once again be available to the obedient Christians.
“Blessed are they who do His commandments, they shall claim the tree of life. Into the city they shall enter, they are victors in the strife” (595, Sacred Selections) -RJH