Revelation for Salvation

But for this purpose I came to this hour. John 12:27.

Jesus Christ came to this world to offer us salvation, that is, to save our souls from sin and its consequences. All we have to do to obtain salvation is to truly repent, commit ourselves to the LORD in faith, and believe in Jesus Christ and his atonement for us on the cross. Though the process of being saved is straightforward, it is often hard for many to be saved due to a myriad of reasons. One of these reasons is that some do not realise that they need to be saved. Salvation of the soul, or the need for the soul to be saved from sin, is quite different from the need to be saved from worldly troubles. However, it is often the case that sin and worldly troubles are intertwined. Nevertheless, the LORD who knows us better than we know ourselves revealed his plan for our salvation through the scriptures.

The heart of the LORD seldom tolerates the suffering and misery of His children. In His time, He sends deliverance through His chosen ministers. We see this early on in the case of Moses and the Exodus. The LORD saw the oppression of the people, and sought Moses to lead them out of their captivity.

And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:7,9-10.

However, at times, the chosen ministers have their reservations or hesitate to carry out the Will of the LORD. Nevertheless, the LORD still ensures the revelation of salvation at the right time. Moses, who was once eager to deliver his people by his own might but subsequently failed and exiled himself for 40 years, learnt meekness and humility - which became his defining traits in the latter part of his life. It was this meek and humble Moses that the LORD chose as his minister. Moses objected to his part in this monumental task multiple times, probably looking back at his past failure, but the LORD was with him and enabled him to carry out his role in saving his people.

Similar to past failures, prejudices and biases often hinder the revelation of salvation. This can be seen in Ananias (Acts 9:11-19) and Jonah (Jonah 4). Ananias had heard about Paul and knew that Paul had come to Damascus to bind people who follow Christ. Thus, he had reservations about helping Paul receive sight. It is possible that he might have been worried about his own safety. Nevertheless, the Lord revealed Paul’s importance in His plan of salvation and encouraged Ananias to carry out his role.

The character of Jonah is more interesting. No doubt he was in a close fellowship with the LORD. He had his own reasons for running away from his mission, but he was brought back by the LORD to fulfill his role - which was to go to Nineveh and announce its doom.

Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! Jonah 3:4.

In a gracious turn of events, the people of Nineveh repented of their sins and humbled themselves before the LORD, and in response the LORD postponed His judgement on the great city. Oddly, this displeased Jonah. Maybe he was upset that what he told would not come to pass or maybe he was a patriot and was upset that an enemy nation of his is given a pass; we cannot tell. But we can understand that Jonah clearly knew about the LORD from his response.

So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Jonah 4:2.

The LORD being gracious and merciful, ensures that Jonah understands His perspective (and develops empathy) through a plant. The book ends with a profound statement from the LORD.

But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” Jonah 4:10-11.

It is easy for us to see that Jonah overreacted, and that it was not his place to be angry or displeased. Jonah’s own opinions delayed the revelation of salvation to the people of Nineveh. Like Jonah, it is possible that we too might be blinded by our own opinions and are unwittingly hindering/delaying the salvation of the LORD. The world is often bleak, it is not uncommon to wish for the LORD’s speedy judgement on the planet. However, the LORD is slow to anger, not because he is letting the wicked get away with their actions, but because he is merciful. Nineveh had wicked people which brought forth the destruction, but their repentance was true; this made them worthy of their second chance. Sadly, decades later the same city was destroyed, sin had returned again and so did the judgement.

Our salvation was obtained with the priceless blood of Jesus Christ. The need for salvation came from the sin of the first man. The means of salvation was provided by the LORD shortly after. From Adam to Jesus Christ, the LORD foreshadowed the revelation of salvation by directly intervening and saving the oppressed from various bondages. That which was foreshadowed was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Finally, through grace and faith, the mystery, the revelation of salvation is entrusted to us. This is not something to consider lightly.

Millennia have passed since the ascension of Christ and the priceless revelation of salvation is still broadcasted to the world according to the specific plan of the LORD. In the first century AD, Paul and his coworkers were zealous and industrious. They went around proclaiming the good news. However, they were prevented in multiple avenues by the LORD from preaching in particular regions. Why? Maybe it wasn’t time or God had a different person to address those regions. Nonetheless, they were led to the place they ought to be by the Holy Spirit.

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10.

By the grace of God, we have the revelation of salvation. We have faith in the LORD that He does everything for the good of those who believe. Now, when we are encouraged to act as a minister of the LORD to share this revelation of salvation, we ought to obey our call, acknowledging the priceless nature of the salvation we obtained and proclaim it where the LORD wills us to proclaim. Let not our failures of self and failures of the past, or prejudices, biases, and fear hinder us in this noble work. Amen.