How I love today’s name for Jesus Christ. Our Captain leads the way for us. Not only is He perfect in every way, but His sacrifice on the cross is perfect as well. Nothing more is needed to obtain salvation than the blood of our Captain and Leader.
~Joshua 5:13-15 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? (13) And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? (14) And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. (15)
~Hebrews 2:9-11 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (9) For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (10) For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, (11)
~Hebrews 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Our Captain is perfect in every way. Not only can He lead His army but He can safely keep any member (born-again Christian) safe in His care.
~Jude 1:24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, (24) To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (25)
Our Captain keeps us from losing our salvation and will present us faultless before the presence of His glory, my friend! There’s no purgatory after death – if there were, how can Jude 1:24 be fulfilled? That means that Jesus Christ is able to keep us from falling because it is His blood (Hebrews 7:27) that is perfect and was offered up once for all. We cannot lose our salvation because our Captain is the one who holds our salvation securely – it is eternal.
~John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Not only is our Captain in charge of our souls, but He is also known as the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.
~1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (24) For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. (25)
He alone possesses our souls because He purchased us at a great price with His own blood. After I accept Christ as the only way to Heaven, I become His property, if you will. I am now a child of the King of kings!
~Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
~Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
How can one have spiritual blessings in Christ if we are not saved? We have a position in God’s family once we are born again in newness of life (2 Corinthians 5:17).
~Romans 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
~Colossians 3:3-4 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (3) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (4)
There is nothing I could possibly do to get me on inch closer to the gates of Heaven. I’m already a part of Christ (in Him) and there’s nothing else I can do to earn it or keep it.
~Titus 3:4-7 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, (4) Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (5) Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; (6) That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (7)
Everything dealing with my salvation revolves around the work of the cross. I cannot keep the sacraments, I cannot work my way to Heaven by doing good deeds, I cannot perform penance enough to make up for my filthy rotten sin. I will always have this sin nature because I was born with it. But praise the Lord it’s not up to me but it’s all up to Christ. If it were up to us, Cain’s offering would have been sufficient, but it was not. It needed to be God’s way!
I am thankful that Christ saw fit to put in His Word:
~1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
We can know NOW that we have eternal life when we believe that Christ came of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died for our sins on the cross, rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of the Father awaiting to return for His own. We do not need to live a life wondering if our salvation is secure. If our salvation depended on our faithfulness to God, we would be miserable because we fail Him every single day. But our salvation is not dependent on us but it is totally dependent on the precious work of Jesus Christ and, therefore, our Captain holds it securely in the palm of His hand!!!
Do you want your children to constantly doubt whether or not they are a member of your family? Our Heavenly Father is no different! He wants us to know right here and now if we are going to heaven or not. There is no purgatory. Judgment comes swiftly after death if one isn’t saved. But God calls everyone to salvation right now! After you die, it’s too late!
~2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
The Captain wants you to get saved today. He wants to be your Guide and your Leader. Everything He does is perfect. Therefore, He can securely keep your salvation!
Maranatha - Awaiting Christ's Return 