The Nature and Purpose of Salvation: Further Thoughts and Applications (1)

Introduction

What is salvation? If someone asked you that question today, what would you say? Many Christians immediately think of a destination: heaven. Others think of a routine: reading the Bible, praying, going to church, serving. Yet in this message drawn from Ephesians 2:1-10, the preacher raises an unsettling question: what if salvation were none of that?

This sermon is presented as an "introduction to the introduction" of a series on the nature and purpose of salvation. It aims to clarify what is truly at stake in salvation, before diving into the details of the Ephesians text. And this reframing is essential: if you do not understand what God has done for you, you risk living right next to your own grace without ever stepping into it.

Outline of the message

1. Salvation is not, first of all, a destination

The first idea to dismantle is that salvation would consist of "going to heaven." The preacher says it plainly: that is not the essence of salvation. He proves it by reduction to absurdity. Imagine a Christian who, week after week, never reads the Bible, never prays, and dusts off his hymnbook on Sunday morning to attend church out of sheer habit. Even supposing such a man were to enter heaven, what pleasure would he find in spending eternity there? In heaven, we no longer go about earthly business. We praise God. We listen to his word. Forever.

If the joy of knowing God has not captured you here on earth, heaven would be unbearable to you. The preacher goes so far as to say something striking: for such a person, heaven would be a kind of hell. Not because God is absent there, but because a heart that does not love him cannot rejoice in his presence. Salvation, then, is something quite different from a ticket to the afterlife.

2. Salvation is not, first of all, an intense Christian life

Second misunderstanding: salvation does not consist of living a fervent religious life. The preacher shares a very personal testimony. As a pastor's son, he was a model child, serious and diligent. At school, he proudly carried a little evangelism booklet. At church, he was woken up early on Sunday mornings to set up chairs, clean the bathrooms, and put away Bibles and hymnals. He did everything a "good Christian" is supposed to do. And yet, for years, he lacked assurance: am I really saved?

He notes that this anguish is widespread in churches, probably even more so when the Christian life becomes routine. Reading the Bible, praying, praising, worshiping, all of this is absolutely necessary, and someone who is saved will do it. But mere religious practice does not prove that someone is saved. You can check every box without ever knowing God personally.

3. The essence of salvation: knowing God and being known by him

So, on what basis can someone claim to be saved? The answer is found in the prayer of the Lord Jesus, the night before the cross: "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). This is the definition Jesus himself gives of eternal life. It does not consist of possessing information about God. It consists of knowing God through a living, experiential, personal relationship.

And this knowledge runs both ways. John 10:14 states it clearly: "I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me." Salvation is not only the fact that you know God; it is also the fact that God, personally, knows you. The essence of salvation is this double recognition: we know God, and God knows us.

4. The warning of Matthew 7 and the case of Judas

This is where the hardest warning in the entire Gospel resounds. In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus announces that many will say to him on the last day: "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And he will answer them: "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

"I never knew you." This does not mean he was unaware they existed: according to Matthew 10:30, he even counts the hairs on your head. What he is saying is: "I never had a relationship with you." Judas Iscariot is the chilling portrait of this. Three and a half years with Jesus, sharing his meals, his travels, his ministry. He kept the money bag, he cast out demons, he preached the kingdom. But he never knew who Jesus was. In the end, he betrayed him, he stole from the money box, he criticized Mary for perfuming Jesus's feet because he wanted that money for himself. At the moment of the betrayal, he kissed him, calling him "Rabbi," not "Lord" (Matthew 26:48-49). To him, Jesus was never more than a schoolmaster. Never God.

5. The purpose of salvation: the glory of God

If the essence of salvation is to know God and be known by him, what is its purpose? In a word: the glory of God. Ephesians 1 unfolds everything the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have done for our salvation, and three times Paul repeats the same purpose: "to the praise of the glory of his grace," "to the praise of his glory," "to the praise of his glory." Father, Son, and Spirit work in the same movement, toward the same end: that his glory would be praised.

You were saved to know God. You were saved to display his glory. This is not a side benefit of the Christian life. It is the very reason for salvation.

6. What a personal relationship with God looks like

Concretely, what does this look like? The preacher takes us into Psalm 16. David prays there: "Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.'" David does not run from his circumstances. He knows where he has been placed. But he takes refuge in God and acknowledges him as his one and only Master: "I am your servant."

Then he adds: "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot." This image points back to Numbers 18:20, where God tells Aaron: "You shall have no inheritance in their land... I am your portion and your inheritance." The other tribes received land to live on, farm, marry, and pass down to their children. The Levites had none of that. Their only inheritance was God himself. David picks up this same idea: God is more precious to him than any earthly inheritance. He is his portion, his cup, his future.

7. Trusting in God alone glorifies him

Those who truly know God find their satisfaction in him alone. Paul expresses this in Philippians 3:8: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Once you know Christ, you understand that no other satisfaction can ever replace him.

And here is the key: this is not merely private piety. When you trust in God alone, you glorify him. The preacher offers this simple parental illustration. If your child says to you, "Dad, I want to be with you, you mean so much to me, come eat with me," how would you react? Not with irritation, but with deep joy. A child's trust reveals how good their parent is. Trusting in God reveals how good God is. That is how his glory becomes visible through us.

8. A testimony: his daughter's illness

The preacher shares a personal example that gives flesh to this whole message. His daughter fell gravely ill. For a long time, no one knew what was wrong with her; painkillers were not working; she screamed at night in terrible pain. As he walked and prayed, he was tempted to complain. Then God brought to his mind everything he knew about him: God is sovereign, he is all-knowing, he is all-powerful, he never does anything wrong in the life of a child he has saved, and he loves that little girl even more than her own father does. "God is my Master. I am only his servant." Then peace returned, and the prayer turned into thanksgiving.

Key takeaways

• Salvation is not, first of all, a destination (heaven) but a living relationship with the living God.
• An intense Christian life does not prove salvation; you can pray, read, serve, and never know God personally (see Judas).
• The essence of salvation is twofold: we know God and God knows us (John 17:3; John 10:14).
• The purpose of salvation is the glory of God (Ephesians 1:5-14).
• Trusting in God alone, like David in Psalm 16, is already glorifying God.

Personal application

1. If Jesus Christ asked you today, "Do I know you?", what would your honest answer be?
2. Can you identify a moment this week when you went through the motions of the Christian life out of routine, without a real encounter with God?
3. Like the Levites of Numbers 18:20, would you dare to say, "God, you yourself are my inheritance"?
4. In the hardest situation you are facing right now, are you fixing your eyes on God, or on what you lack?
5. What "other god" (security, money, status, approval) has taken, in your heart, the place that God alone should hold?

Verses cited

• Ephesians 2:1-10 · the foundational text of the whole series
• John 17:3 · Jesus's definition of eternal life
• John 10:14 · the good shepherd knows his sheep
• Matthew 7:21-23 · "I never knew you"
• Matthew 10:30 · God counts your hairs
• Matthew 26:48-49 · the kiss of Judas
• Ephesians 1:5-14 · three times "to the praise of his glory"
• Psalm 16 · God as portion and cup
• Numbers 18:20 · "I am your portion and your inheritance"
• Philippians 3:8 · the surpassing worth of knowing Christ

FAQ

Is salvation then unrelated to heaven?

No. Those who know God do indeed go to heaven. The preacher is not denying the promise of heaven; he is saying that the essence of salvation is not heaven, but the relationship with God. Heaven is the consequence, not the definition.

Does this mean that praying, reading the Bible, and going to church are pointless?

The preacher is very clear: someone who is truly saved will pray, will read the word, and will worship. These practices are necessary. But they do not, by themselves, prove that someone is saved if a personal relationship with God is absent.

How do I know if I know God, or only know things about God?

Psalm 16 offers a clue. Can you say, like David: "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing; you are my portion"? Is your satisfaction found first in God himself, or in what he can give you? Your answer to these questions reveals where you truly stand.