By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

Ephesians 2:4-5. “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” KJV.

We were saved by grace through faith. This is not of works but a gift from God. We need to have a working knowledge of our salvation. If we don’t have knowledge of our salvation, we won’t know the benefits of it. It is important to know what we’ve been saved from by receiving salvation. THE WORD SALVATION BASICALLY MEANS DELIVERANCE FROM SIN, SATAN, THE WORLD, AND FROM ALL THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN.

If anyone doubts this last truth, here are a few Scriptures you can meditate on to help you.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” KJV.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 KJV says “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come”.

Hebrews 9:15 NLT says “That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and man, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.”

SAVED FROM OUR SINFUL NATURE 

One of the things we were saved from is OURSELVES. We were saved from our very own old sinful nature. The things that we used to do were a result of the nature we used to have before salvation. Christ delivered us from our sinful nature.

Ephesians 2:1-3 says “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sin, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

We were by nature children of wrath. THIS IS HOW THE OLD PROPHET SAID IT. Jeremiah 13:23 says “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” KJV. Just as it is impossible for a Leopard to change the natural spots of its skin, so it is impossible for a man to change his natural sinful self.

THEN JESUS SAVED US FROM OUR SINFUL NATURE

Colossians 2:11 says “When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure.” Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.”

WE WERE CREATED ANEW IN CHRIST JESUS, GIVEN A NEW NATURE. WE WERE BORN AGAIN BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD. Ephesians 4:24 “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy”

OLD THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY, INCLUDING THE OLD NATURE

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new”. Christ saved us from our old sinful nature. He gave us His life by living in us. He came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Now that Christ lives in us, we are new people! All that is related to our old self has vanished.

We need to walk in the reality of this new life freely given to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Everything has been made fresh and new. The old has passed away. 

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago”. WE CAN LIVE THE NEW LIFE THROUGH THE STRENGTH THAT CHRIST IN US  PROVIDES. WE CAN DO ALL THINGS NOW!

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor at the Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey