^{Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash}

The concept of salvation holds much significance.  

Our belief in God’s plan for salvation has much significance!   For if this life is all there is … what is the point of this life?  It would seem it is rather stripped of its purpose!  That’s why, if you just take a survey, and ask 10 people if they believe in an afterlife, most of them will say that they believe there is – or if they even say they are not sure, they’ll say they hope there is.  And the reason is, because this life would be meaningless without it.  

Let me exaggerate my point.  Let’s say that everyone just lived to be 40 years old – with no afterlife.  How about 20 years old with no afterlife?  In fact, the shorter you’d make man’s life span, without an afterlife, the more meaningless it would be.  Think about all the aborted babies.  If there were no afterlife to make up for their very short meaningless existence in their mother’s womb, what’s the point of the little tiny short life they had?  

Not only does the human heart typically believe in an afterlife for that reason, but the human heart also has a great spiritual desire to know our creator, and we can’t do that satisfactorily without an afterlife.  And that’s exactly why all down through human history, the majority of mankind has always believed in a creator or God of some kind – it is just a historical fact.  But If Darwinian evolution were really true, why on earth would this be the case all down through recorded human history?  The truth is that man’s constant spiritual hunger, and all the churches in the world, would make no sense whatsoever if the very impersonal theory of Darwinian evolution were really true.  Why?  Because Darwinian evolution reduces everything to impersonal molecules, atoms, with no personal creator at all. 

If there is no loving personal creator, then why is our world teeming with people who are all very “personal” in nature (hence the word “person”), who all desire personal loving relationships?  My friend, impersonal Darwinian evolution does not at all fit with this reality!  But if we all came from a loving personal creator who cherishes good healthy relationships, then this constant desire in mankind makes perfect sense.

In fact, if impersonal Darwinian evolution were true, why would mankind even share the same “conscience” which basically agrees on what’s morally right and wrong?  But a single perfect creator who put his same moral standards within our conscience would explain mankind’s basic moral agreement which is reflected in every civil courthouse which mankind has had.  If, according to evolution, all truth is subjective, and we can all just create our own morality, why would the human race have evolved with a conscience at all?  As the apostle Paul said, if this short troubled life is all there is (and there is no God or afterlife), we might as well just “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32)!

If you loved anyone in this short natural life, so what?  What’s the point, if there is no afterlife to be shared with them?  If you were honest or hard working, so what?  With no afterlife, what’s the point?  Yes, you may have made your life easier by loving others and working hard, but so what – if there’s no afterlife?  So what if you had a family and took care of them if after you die you’ll never see them again?  If evolution were true, we’d all just return to dust and worm food anyway!  If you bought some land, made some money and did good things with it, so what!  What’s the point my friend if there is no afterlife!?   If there is no perfect creator God to even be accountable to, so what, if you lived the best life you could?  What’s the point?  Just to look good to others?  But without an afterlife, what’s the point in even that?  In other words, the more you think about it from every angle, without an afterlife and a loving, perfect, eternal creator, all life on earth would be absolutely meaningless!

And the fact that Christ was the only one in recorded human history who showed up on planet earth and lived a sinless life and proved his divinity with hundreds of miracles is more than significant.  Why?  Because he just confirmed and reinforced what was already in the collective consciences of all mankind – namely that there is a loving, perfect eternal creator, and there is a very good afterlife that he has prepared for us, if we will choose it.  And why should we believe what Christ said about his eternal life and how to obtain it?  Simply because he earned our trust through the amazing display of his awesome divine power on earth!  And unless someone else can walk on water, raise the dead, predict the future, and heal the blind, all while living a sinless life, why should we believe them over Christ?  And not only did Christ teach us that there is definitely an afterlife, but that it is a free gift which could never be earned.  And this gives us real hope, peace, and security simply because we also all know in the conscience which God gave us, just how far we all fall short of his moral perfection!

Many have ignorantly believed that the Bible teaches that all Christians spend their eternity in heaven.  But nothing could be further from the biblical truth, for the Bible has always taught that the “meek shall inherit the earth” (Mt. 5:5)!  In fact, there are over 100 verses in God’s word which directly teach us that the earth, moon, and stars, will all endure forever by the power of God, and all redeemed mankind will spend their eternity on earth in Christ’s eternal kingdom – not in heaven (Dan. 2:35,44) (Rev. 11:15) (Eph. 3:20).  So, if you even half-way enjoy life this life which is plagued with bad governments, wars, sickness, natural disasters, thieves, suicide, drugs, prisons, crime, poverty, demonic activity, and pain, you’ll really like the next life which is completely without all those miserable things according to God’s promise!

Answers for The Honest Skeptic is a book about spiritual truth by Ted Even. It’s a four-part series that explains to any skeptic reader looking for answers relevant to spiritual truths. 

Understanding God’s Plan for Salvation

Many may conveniently believe they are inherently a “good person”.  And why not, for isn’t that quite a bit easier than admitting we all have a sin nature we wrestle with every day?  In fact, some may choose to not even believe in sin altogether.  How convenient.  But truly our ability to deny the reality of sin dwindles away at a rapid pace the more we are exposed to the harsh consequences of sin or moral wrong.  For example, most all who went through the Nazi German concentration camps of W.W.II were full believers in sin!  Most women who get raped and or almost beaten to death are also full believers in sin.  In fact, most victims of any kind are more than likely to believe in sin or moral wrong!  So, what does that teach us about those who adamantly deny the reality of sin or moral wrongs?   If you are thinking they have probably been pretty sheltered their whole life, I guess you may be right – even though we could probably expect them to deny it if they are also less than honest about the reality of sin!  The truth is the whole human race is plagued with a sin nature from birth – and that’s exactly why we have the saying:  “try to see the good in others”!

Have you ever lied?  Have you ever looked at another with lust?  Have you ever been angry with someone without good cause?  Have you ever desired something which someone else has?  Have you ever stolen anything?  Have you ever been disrespectful of your parents?  Have you ever gossiped?  Have you ever deceived anyone just to get something?  Have you always treated others as you yourself would like to be treated?  Perhaps you have not committed these moral wrongs as much as some others.  But does that really make you sinless?  It is easy to compare ourselves to the thieves and gutter drunks of society and consider ourselves to be a good person afterwards.  However, on judgment day, the Bible teaches us that our lives will be compared to the perfect moral character of God – not the worst cases of humanity!  So, with that true, how will you fare on judgment day?  If we could implant a device in your brain which would record all your thoughts over even a month’s time, and then display them on a screen for everyone to see, what would it reveal?  That you don’t wrestle with a sin nature every day?  Well, this may surprise you, but the Bible teaches us that our perfect creator knows all your thoughts, and everything you’ve said in your entire life has been recorded by him (Mt. 10:26) (Ps. 139:1-2).  And this reality alone puts us all in great need of his grace and mercy if we are to be right with him and receive his eternal life.

This is exactly why the concept of grace is so central to understanding God’s plan for salvation. Grace represents the unearned favor and the unconditional love that God extends to humanity despite our shortcomings. The doors of redemption are opened through grace, offering the opportunity for forgiveness, transformation, and a renewed relationship with the Divine. Embracing this spiritual truth involves acknowledging our need for grace and accepting it with humility and gratitude.

Faith, Personal Transformation, eternal Life and Hope

Faith serves as a catalyst in embracing God’s plan for salvation.  It involves seeking a deeper understanding of spiritual truth, and Jesus taught us that he himself is the embodiment of all spiritual truth (Col. 2:3).  The Bible teaches us that because God is perfectly just, all sin has to be justly punished by him simply because he himself is morally perfect.  This isn’t some choice God is making.  According to his own perfect moral character, he doesn’t even have a choice in the matter – he has to justly punish all sin because it is literally impossible for him to go against his own perfect moral character and let the guilty go free!  We would never respect an earthly civil court judge who lets the guilty go free, right?  Especially if we were the ones wronged!  Therefore, it is easy to understand why our perfect creator cannot ever let the guilty go free and all sin has to be justly punished.

But because we ourselves are imperfect, God knew we could never pay for our own sins.  So he devised the only plan possible for us to have a restored relationship with himself and have his eternal life, even after we fell into sin.  Even though we essentially destroyed his entire creation through our sin and loved God less, his reaction to it was to just love us all the more.  Humbly, he decided to leave his throne in heaven and become one of us – all so he could take the punishment for all our sins by dying a brutal death on the cross.  In other words, just so we wouldn’t have to be separated from him for all eternity in hell, he took our punishment for us on the cross.  And if by faith (not works), we just believe that Christ our creator took our punishment for us, we have God’s promise of eternal life!