In the summer of 1994 Jon was preparing to travel to Michigan to attend the wedding of a good friend. For over 2 weeks prior to his leaving for Detroit, Jon had noticed that his body was not functioning properly. He had been experiencing some discomfort with his hearing, lung capacity, and breathing. Fatigued and exhausted with feelings that his chest was caving in, he decided to pay a visit to a doctor in Atlanta. As he underwent testing, X-rays revealed that massive tumors were rapidly growing internally. Immediately the doctors put Jon in the hospital and chemotherapy was started. Over the next few months Jon began to deteriorate, loosing hair, strength, and energy. He dwindled away to 90 pounds. The top cancer specialist had encouraged Jon to get his house in order, because within days or weeks, if he was fortunate, he would die. After receiving this hopeless news, Jon was told of a cancer treatment facility just south of Tijuana, Mexico that was known for treating cancer patients in a more natural, vitamin-assisted manner. Jon left for Tijuana and for over 3 weeks he went through an entire body cleansing. He began to notice that strength, endurance, and energy was coming back.
Medical experts were baffled that the life of Jon Cunningham had been saved. He had been spared and given new life. As I write this, it has been more than 5 years since the time that Jon was sent home to die with cancer. He is alive and well.
That which I speak is in the natural. Maybe you have heard of a similar story of a friend who was given no hope, no chance to survive. For every case that you have heard of regarding a person being spared with extended life here on the planet, you probably have many other cases where the person died with some deadly disease.
The Bible says that every man, woman, boy, and girl is born into the human race with a cancerous disease called sin because of the original sin that took place in the Garden of Eden through Adam and Eve. Romans 5:12 says that we have inherited their sin nature, thus we are all sinners. Romans 3:10 says that there is none righteous. Romans 3:23 says that we have sinned and fall way short of God's perfect standard of holiness and righteousness.
God in His omniscient, all-knowing, and all-wise plan had a cure for our cancerous disease called sin. The cure was found some 2,000 years ago in the life of His only Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches us that for 33 years Jesus Christ dwelt here on the planet earth. He was righteous and pure, never committed any sin, never lied, never stole, never cheated. At the age of 33, He was willfully hanged on Calvary's cross - bearing and wearing the sin debt of all humanity. Why would a man die such a horrible, humiliating death? What would cause a pure, righteous, and holy man to hang suspended between heaven and earth enduring the sin debt of all humanity? The bottom line is that God had a plan. His plan was to reach out and rescue and redeem lost, sinful man and reconcile them, put them back together with a holy God.
Salvation in a nutshell is God delivering man from a lost, sinful state and placing him back into harmonious relationship with Himself.
Let's briefly look at what Biblical salvation is, and let's interact over some verses and questions that will lead us into a deeper understanding of what it means to be saved.
Salvation means - deliverance from sin and its consequence.
The Greek word of Salvation or Saved is "Sode'-zo"...
It means to deliver; to protect; to make whole; to do well.
- Meditate on and Discuss Key Words and Phrases in the Following Scriptures
- Matthew 1:21 "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins."
- John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
- John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.
- Acts 16:31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."
- Romans 5:8; 10:13 God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ... for "WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
- 1 Tim. 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.
- Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
- What is Required to Enter the Kingdom of God?
- Why Did God Send His Son Into the World?
- How Would You Explain Being "Born Again" to Someone Else?
- What Led You to Believe in Jesus?
- How Does God's Gift of His Son Affect Our Lives?
- Write Out in Your Own Words John 3:16
- Memorize John 3:16 and John 1:12
As you recall, the doctors told Jon to get his house in order and prepare to die. God's Word to you, based on the glorious gift of salvation offered in Jesus Christ is "Get your life in order by trusting His only Son as Savior and Lord and prepare to live." The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21 ... "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
Never forsaken by The King, Tim Cash
