"Roadblock to Salvation"
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Throughout the years, countless movies and TV shows have featured lost people. Children go missing; people are cast away on a remote island, stranded in the middle of the ocean, or abandoned in the middle of the wilderness. Their situation seems hopeless until eventually they’re discovered and saved from certain death.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Destination: Salvation
The Bible continually speaks of God’s salvation as a rescue mission. That’s because we’re lost without God. And he desperately wants to bring us out of danger and back to safety. At the end of time, we want to hear those comforting words, “… Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34).
So, if we say we want to be saved from our sins, what roadblock prevents that possibility of rescue from becoming a reality?
Roadblock: Lacking Faith
When we lack faith, we make it impossible for God to save us! As the Hebrew writer said, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Heb. 11:6). Do you trust God? And do you trust him enough to make the changes needed to leave your lost condition?
God extends his saving hand freely through his grace (Rom. 6:23). Eternal life is available to everyone, but only if we are “in Christ.” That means we trust him enough to follow him and do what he’s commanded. As James points out, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).
Our trust, our confident assurance in Christ, removes the obstacle between us and God and leads us back to a peaceful relationship with our Creator. As Paul explained, “… since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:1–2).
So, are you ready to be rescued from your hopeless condition? Will you trust the Lord to bring you back to safety? May God help us develop the confidence in him to commit our lives to Christ, following him out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)!
