Make Disciples That Make Disciplesნიმუში

Why has God saved us?

Ask yourself, “Why has God saved us?” Before reading more, pause and think of what answer immediately comes to your mind.

Is it one of these?

“So that I can spend eternity in heaven.”

“Because God loves me.”

“To save me from the penalty of sin.”

If so, you are in the vast majority. Though all of these answers are true, they are also incomplete. In fact, each of these answers is a bit inward-focused if we are being honest.

Why does it matter if our answer is self-focused? Because we are not called to be only consumers. We are equally called to be producers. That is to say, our walk with Jesus needs to be characterized by times of deeply abiding, which fuels our obedience to Him.

Let’s look at how the Scriptures answer the question of why we are saved.

Paul says in Ephesians 1:12:

“so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”

Paul reiterates this in the verses that follow,

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

So, an accurate answer to the question should include… to bring God glory.

How would you define God’s glory? God’s glory does entail a lot of elements, but here is a good definition…

The divine radiance and goodness of God are reflected in His creation.

In the account of creation in Genesis, we see that God created us to be His image bearers. That is a weighty responsibility and incredible blessing! We know that Jesus is our model for what our lives should look like. As disciples of Jesus, we are to grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus. By doing so, we are reflecting the goodness of God to those around us and shining His glory into this world.

This is the desire of God, that we would be reconciled to Him through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, so that we spread His glory to every corner of the earth. Not only is it his desire, but it will eventually be fulfilled.

Questions to consider:

• Why do I think that God has saved me?
• Is my answer primarily about me?
• What can I do today to bring God glory?
• Is there anybody I can share this with?