“For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT

Back on 06/18/2024, I published the post, The God Who Desires/ Wishes/ Intends/ Designs/ Wills All Men to be Saved. In the post, I was challenged as to the focus of sharing the Gospel message. Is it for the purpose of escaping eternal damnation or for reconnecting with the living God for the here and now? Obviously, it is for all of that. But sometimes I believe we lean too heavily on the good news being about getting into heaven and avoiding hell while overlooking what God desires for us in this realm.
Even as I wrote the piece, I wondered, “Am I the only one who believes this? Is this some form of heresy? Am I missing some clearly established Biblical principle? Is it really only about saving souls from hell?”

But I recently came across this message from Dan Mohler, a pastor whom I deeply respect. In his message, he said this,

“God made man with intention. God made man with a purpose. This isn’t about dying and going to heaven. I know we sell that all over the world, dying and going to heaven. No, it is about getting back to the Father and getting the Father back to you. It’s about becoming something, not going somewhere.”

Whew! If it is heresy, at least I’m not alone!

So, after hearing this, I was drawn to take another look at 2 Corinthians 6:2, which declares that today is the day of salvation. I had always thought of it as addressing the urgency of punching our ticket to heaven. But, if we step back a few verses before to 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 (GW), Paul clarifies, “God has done all this. He has restored our relationship with him through Christ, and has given us this ministry of restoring relationships. In other words, God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and he has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others. Therefore, we are Christ’s representatives, and through us God is calling you. We beg you on behalf of Christ to become reunited with God. God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him.”

Paul is begging the reader to be changed by what Jesus did into the intended relationship with God. Is that just for the future? No, it is for the here and now – and then throughout eternity.

When Jesus became a man, He did not give up His relationship with the Father. Jesus was our example of entering into a right relationship with God as a human. In addition to Jesus’ teaching of how to pray to the Father, there are so many instances in the Gospels of Jesus displaying an intimate relationship with His Abba. This is what He lived and taught, and the Apostle John continued that teaching in 1 John 1:3, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” The Greek word here, translated as “Fellowship,” is koinōnian. It means to participate with, to share, to commune together and engage in relational intercourse. So the focus of the Good News is entering into a rich and intimate relationship with the living God.

Below, I am reposting the section on the primary emphasis for our salvation from my post, “The God Who Desires/Wishes/Intends/Designs/Wills All Men to be Saved.”

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What Is The “Charge” From the Great Commission?

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20

So, I wonder: Isn’t the work of eternal salvation God’s work, and isn’t our charge to bring others to the knowledge and commitment to follow Jesus? We are yoked together with Jesus in this work, but ultimately, Jesus saves.

What is our “Charge” from the Great Commission? It is to make “Disciples of all Nations”. To make pupils/students/followers of Jesus Christ. I certainly wouldn’t want to diminish the tremendous value of escaping eternal torment. But, perhaps our greater motivation is to offer to a weary, confused and hopeless world what we know to be true – the fullness of the abundant life in Christ in this world. Even as this world spins out of control, we bring hope, peace, joy, purpose, and power to overcome.

I, for one, have felt the terrible burden to rescue the world from Hell’s fire. Are we relying on God’s power to act on His very own desire (will/ wish/ intention/design) that all will have a fair opportunity to gain eternal life?

Paul wrote the perfect description of our role in preaching the Gospel in Romans 10:15, “And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

The glad tidings and good things are described by Jesus in John 10:10 as the “Abundant Life” – being saved from the attack of the enemy in this life. Obviously, complete salvation extends to eternal life and with that, we have escaped the eternal torment as described by Jesus and the New Testament writers.

The Wonderful Gospel
If you haven’t ever heard God’s Good News before, here it is: we can not only be certain of eternity now, but also experience God starting now. Though we were separated from a perfect God by our sin, God sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life, die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, rise from the dead to prove it all true and then ascend back to heaven to take his rightful place on the throne. All that is required is that we turn away from our selfish desires and believe in and embrace Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. It’s God’s perfect plan of salvation.

Just a reminder to my fellow Christ-followers: We, by the power of the Holy Spirit, lead people to Jesus – Jesus Saves! (Romans 6:23)

For those who don’t know Jesus: Today is the day of salvation! Not only is your eternity secure, but you can know God, your Father, as you become the “something” He created you to be. Commit to following Jesus today. You will be eternally grateful. (2 Corinthians 6:2)