GPS: God's Plan of Salvation
By Raymond Elliott
I had thought that I might
enjoy having one, but I
never dreamed that someone would give me a GPS, yet they did. Much to
my
surprise, some of my children gave me a GPS for a Christmas present. A
son took
charge of getting the thing ready for me to use in my car. He put the
address
of a local business into the GPS, and this lady’s voice
instructed me when and
where to turn in order to get to my destination as I looked at a map
where I
was to travel. In case you might not be familiar with this gadget, here
is a
brief definition: “The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a
satellite-based
navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into
orbit by
the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for
military
applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system
available for
civilian use. GPS works in any weather conditions, anywhere in the
world, 24
hours a day.” Theoretically I should never get lost while
traveling when I use
my GPS.
In the beginning of
man’s existence on earth, he was in
a safe place and in a perfect relationship with Jehovah God. In a
sense, man
was not saved because he had never been in a lost condition. However,
he became
estranged from his God and in a lost condition because of his
disobedience to
the commands given to him from God (Genesis 2:15-17; Isaiah 59:1, 2; Romans 5:12).
Then, in the darkest day of man’s existence in the beautiful
Garden of Eden,
God’s plan for man’s salvation is found in Genesis 3:15 when the
“seed of woman” was mentioned. The
“seed” is
also referred to as being the “seed” of Abraham.
The apostle Paul defined that “seed”
as being Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:19, 16). The fact is, Jesus Christ,
the Lamb
of God was referred to by John in Revelation
13:8
as being “slain from the foundation of the world.”
The Lord God, in His
infinite wisdom, foreknowledge and marvelous grace and love, planned
aforetime
to provide salvation for mankind through the death of His beloved Son
(Hebrews
2:9; Ephesians 2:5, 8;
John 3:16).
Throughout the Old Testament there is
the theme that ‘someone is coming’ and that being
the promised Messiah
who would bring salvation to the human race.
Isaiah, the messianic prophet, prophesied hundreds of years before the
coming of
the Savior: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel” (Isaiah
7:14), and His name was to be called Jesus “for He will save
His people from
their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus, in answering Thomas who
asked Him, “Lord, we
do not know where You are going, and how can we know the
way?” said, “I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
Me”
(John 14:5-6). The roadmap that leads to salvation
and to the Father is found in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the
only way
(Acts 4:12)! Therefore, He says to all who would be His disciples,
“If anyone
desires to come after Me,
let him
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew
16:24). The way that
Jesus leads us is “narrow” and
“difficult,” but the reward is eternal life
(Matthew 7:13-14). God has given us the perfect and complete directions
in His
Holy Word that will lead us to Jesus Christ and salvation (Psalms
119:105; John 6:44-45; 2
Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:2-4).
God’s plan of
salvation certainly involves man’s
response. A person must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
(John 8:24),
repent of sins (Acts 17:30) and based upon a confession of faith in
Christ, be
immersed in His name for the remission of sins (Romans 10:9-10; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38).
Following in the steps of the Savior, we will never stray from the way
that is
infallibly safe and secure and that leads to “the everlasting
kingdom of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). May our
attitude always be as
found in the song, “Where He Leads Me
I Will Follow.”
