Believing for Redemption???
God’s plan in sending Jesus to the cross was His plan to redeem the entire human race. Paul taught that belief had to do with the salvation of their soul and the process by which their mind was renewed.
He did not say it was the means by which you become righteous. He did not say that your faith was the way by which you obtain your redemption. The Bible says God was in Christ redeeming the whole world to Himself. This He did for the entire world. What happens to someone when they believe in Christ? Belief does not gain anyone redemption. It is simply an acknowledgement of what took place over 2000 years ago at the cross. If I had to believe in order to get redemption, how would I ever know if I have believed enough??? What if my believing falls a bit short?? According to popular Christian teachings, I not only have to believe and keep on believing but must also make sure I continue attending church (and by church I mean the building, not the true church which is people and not buildings), make sure I tithe, pray, read the Bible, and on and on it goes!!! I lived that way for years because I took in whatever came from behind pulpits and with this type of teaching I continually wondered if my believing was up to the standard they said it was supposed to be. Believing is a very powerful thing and it is very important for sure as that is the means by which you obtain salvation on a continuous basis. But it has absolutely nothing to do with redemption!!! The mind cannot be renewed without believing. If I do not believe, does it stop God’s faithfulness as far as having redeemed the entire world goes? Absolutely not!!! Romans 3:3 & 4 says God forbid that anyone’s unbelief would stop God’s faith from having its desired effect. Our “faithlessness” can not undo the faith OF Christ which is what gave us redemption. My faith did not and can not give me redemption. The promise through Jesus Christ was that He would redeem the entire world. I do not believe for a moment that Jesus failed in any way in accomplishing the task that His father intended for Him to do. I know that it is not popular with the Christian community out there to say that Christ, by His sacrifice redeemed the entire world without any help from me or anyone else in any way, shape or form. This teaching is not outside the teachings of the Bible. It does not set well with the Christian community out there because it is not what they are teaching. However when you see the redemption of the ENTIRE world, it changes your whole perspective towards everyone you come in contact with. It is no longer “them and us” but simply “us”. Romans 5:10 makes it quite clear when trying to separate the two (redemption and salvation) we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son (redemption by His blood alone as His death is when He shed His blood) we shall be saved by His life!! We are saved by His life (not by His death but by His life) His death is redemption; His life is salvation of the soul (renewing of the mind).
