The Security That Comes from Salvation

The rabbis teach that on Rosh HaShanah God opens the books in heaven and begins to judge the world. Then He closes His books and seals them on Yom Kippur - having written everyone either in the Book of Life or the Book of Death for the next year. Jewish people all over the world are fasting and praying, repenting, and hoping that they will be written for another year in the book of life.

But if you really believe in these things, you have to wonder, "am I in the Book of Life or will I be blotted out from it?" I am forgiven for all that I've done? When I die, will God receive me into His presence? No one really knows. One can only "be the best person" they can be, and then hope for the best. That is the dilemma of our Jewish people. Most leave the synagogue unsure of their position with the Lord.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was one of the greatest non-Messianic rabbis of the first century. He was known as one of the greatest Torah scholars. He was called "the light of Israel," "the right pillar," and "the strong hammer." This was a man of great intelligence. It is said that rabbi Yochanan grasped the whole Torah, including all its interpretations, laws, and legends; his every word was carefully weighed, and he did not engage in idle conversation. He never walked even a short distance without laying tefillin (putting on Phylacteries) or without speaking about the Torah. He was never seen sitting idly or asleep, but he was always engaged in study.

When he was on his deathbed, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's disciples came to visit him, and he wept in their presence. They asked: "Rabbi, why do you weep?" he replied, "When a man has to appear for trial before a king whose rule is only temporary, who kindness is passing, and whose anger does not last, he is seized by terror; how much more understandable is the terror that seizes one who is to be tried by the King of kings, whose rule is eternal, whose anger is everlasting, and whose kindness endures forever." (From The Encyclopedia of Talmudic Sages, pages 152-163).

If this great sage had no assurance of atonement, no certainty that He would be accepted by God and he would live forever, then how can the average Jewish person know that they will be forgiven by a holy God? The answer is that they can't.

Unfortunately, many Messianic believers are like our non-Messianic brethren. We think that if we yield to any of the sins that so easily entangle us, that God will close the gates of heaven and blot our names out of the Book of Life.

God wants us to know that we can know that we are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. In the first century that was another Yochanan, Yochanan Ben-Zavdai (the son of Zebedee), John the apostle, who assures us in his first letter that those of us who believe in the Son of God can know (in the present) that we have (present possession) eternal life (1 John 5:13). "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God in order that you may know that you have eternal life."

Yochanan wants us to know that we have eternal life, that we are eternally safe and secure, provided that we truly believe in the name (Person and Work) of the Son of God. Salvation brings with it great assurance, so that we can have shalom shalom - perfect peace, a peace that passes all understanding, knowing that we will live forever.

1. Salvation is by its very nature eternal. Isaiah stated: Israel has been saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity (Isaiah 45:17). My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness shall not wane... My righteousness shall be forever, and My salvation to all generations (Isaiah 51:6, 8). The apostle to the Hebrews writes in Hebrews 9:12 that Messiah Yeshua has obtained "ge-ulah olam" - eternal redemption. Yeshua accomplished eternal redemption, not a temporary redemption. The Son of God forever bought us out of the slave market of sin and death. We will never be sent back there. We are through eternity His possession. We belong to Him forever and ever. We will never be given up. The redemption we possess is an eternal redemption, because sin is forever forgiven; Satan, death, and hell are forever vanquished; everlasting righteousness is brought in. The redemption that Messiah has obtained will last throughout eternity. Salvation is part of a divine chain of salvation that stretches from eternity past, through the present, and on into eternity future. Rabbi Paul tells us in Romans 8 that we have been foreknown by the Eternal One, who predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. We are part of the eternal purposes of God, foreordained from the depths of eternity. Messianic Believers are part of the purposes of God before the foundation of the world. Those who He predestined, those He called to Himself; those who were called to Himself, these the Righteous one justified - He declared them to be righteous in His sight. Those who have been declared righteous in His sight, will be glorified by God. They will be brought to their full potential. They will shine like the stars in the heavens forever and ever. The Word of God, which cannot lie or be mistaken, assures us that all who are called by God's sovereign intention from eternity past, will be glorified in eternity future. Each link, from everlasting to everlasting, is forged by God Himself. Each link is certain and sure. Those who are called from eternity past will reach the destiny divinely appointed for them.
2. It is God's will for us to have eternal life - not temporary life that can be lost or forfeited. Is it eternal life if you can lose it, or have it taken away? No, that would be temporary life - not eternal life. Messiah Yeshua, the infallible Son of God, assured us that this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life (John 6:39). God's will is the supreme will in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. Do you think that God's will can be thwarted? No, it can't. No one can oppose His will. Then if you behold the Son and believe in Messiah Yeshua, you will have eternal life, for that is God's sovereign, supreme, almighty and irresistible will.
3. Salvation means that we are protected by the power of God. In 1 Peter 1:5 the great apostle, Simon Peter, informs us that we are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed. Is God's power limited? No, His power is unlimited, infinite, and almighty. He's all-powerful; therefore we are all-protected until that time when we enter into the fullness of our salvation, which one day will be revealed. What power in the universe is there that can separate us from God? Wicked devious men, angels, archangels, demons, or perhaps Satan himself? Rabbi Paul was convinced that nothing in the universe, neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing (including ourselves) shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is found in Messiah Yeshua our Lord. Rabbi Paul knew of the absolute powerlessness of all heavenly and earthly things to ever separate us from the God of our salvation. We have the Word of God's assurance that God is able to bring us safely to the goal. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy (Jude 1:24). One day we will come into God's presence, and each one of us will be presented to the Holy God in a state of faultlessness, blameless in His sight. We will be filled with great joy - not with shame or everlasting contempt. Why? Because He is able - not because we are worthy. We will stand in His presence - not fall, and not be cast away - because of His unlimited ability - not because of our limited strength or goodness.
4. We have the Son of God's promise that we will never perish, and that we will have eternal life. I give eternal life to them, and they shall never (ever-double negative in Greek) perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand John (10:28-30). Yeshua is the Lord of heaven and earth. All authority has been given to Him in heaven and on Earth. He rules over all things, according to the power which is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. Who or what power can destroy Him, or thwart Him? He has already defeated Satan and all his demonic host. There is no power or principality in the universe that is able to overcome Him. We have His promise of the Amen of God, the True One who cannot lie or be mistaken, that He will protects us. And that the Father, who is greater than all, will keep us safe in His had as well. It is the power of Yeshua and infinite greatness of the Father, not our worthiness, that protects us!
5. Salvation means that we have been forgiven for all of our sins: past, present and future. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our sins (Col. 2:13). Not one sin is left that will be held against you, that will drag you down to hell. Whoever believes in Yeshua has perfect, remission, atonement and forgiveness for all his sins. Our sins are not temporarily covered over, but all of our wickednesses, all of our rebellions, all of our transgression and sins have been atoned for. But let us never forget the price that it cost for us to receive the forgiveness of all of our sins. The Lord of glory came to earth make atonement for our sins by the sacrifice of His own unending life! The eternal, self-existing Word, that Eternal Life which was with the Father, became a man, and of His own free will laid down His life for the sheep. The King of kings and the Lord of lords became a man, and allowed Himself to be whipped, beaten, spit on, humiliated, stripped naked and crucified! By dying in our place, by bearing our sins on the cross, by satisfying all the claims which a holy God had against us, by becoming a sin-offering and a curse for us, the problem of sin has been perfectly dealt with. His life is better than that of the Levitical priests, His blood is better than that of bulls and goats, and His ministry is far superior to the earthly altar. He died to sin once and for all. He took upon Himself all of our guilt, all of our sin, all of our condemnation, and all of our shame. Messiah Yeshua has taken away all of our sins by His one, perfect, final and complete sacrifice. Because of the Son of God's ultimate sacrifice and the perfect atonement that He accomplished on the cross, God's ability to forgive all of our sins is infinite and complete. Once you come to understand that the Son of God completely atoned for your sins, and that because of His obedience to the point of death God the Father has exalted Him to His right hand, and that He has entered into His heavenly glory, and you are in Him and united to Him forever and ever, you should have no more consciousness of the weight and burden and penalty of sin. If Yeshua is your Lord, you have already been washed, you have already been made clean, you have already received a full atonement and a perfect pardon for all of your sins. Yeshua assured us: The one who has bathed only needs to wash his feet, and then he is completely clean. After you are joined to Yeshua you only need to confess your sins and trespasses on a daily basis, with sorrow and humility, so that your daily sins are cleansed and forgiven. But you should no longer be weighed down by the burden and defilement of sin, and the fear of going to Hell.
6. We are not just forgiven from all of our sins, but we are actively and positively made righteous. We are justified (made righteous) as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Messiah Yeshua (Romans 3:24). Rabbi Paul goes on to state that much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him (Romans 5:9). If God so loved us, that He will willing to have His Son die to for us when we were not righteous, how much more will He act to save us now that He has declared us righteous. We are abundantly, eternally saved from God's wrath because of the salvation provided by Yeshua. We have been made the righteousness of God when we are joined to the Messiah. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). God views us as having the same righteousness, the same right relationship with God, that Yeshua has. Joined to our living head, we are now bone of Messiah's bone, we are now flesh of Messiah's flesh. The Father sees us joined to Messiah and sees His dearly beloved Son. The Father sees us joined to Messiah and behold, we are whiter than snow. The Father sees us joined to Messiah and He sees all the beauty and grace of the Lord Yeshua. The Father sees us joined to Messiah and declares that we are the righteousness of God when joined to Him. Messiah loved His bride, the Holy Messianic Community, so much that He gave Himself up for her, so that we might be made holy, cleansed, holy and blameless, and finally presented to Messiah in all our glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing (Ephesians 5:25-27). Rabbi Paul adds that we will be presented to Messiah one day as a chaste pure virgin is presented to her husband (2 Corinthians 11:2). This is the destiny of every child of God. It is not affected by degrees of human merit and worthiness. This is the standardized achievement for all of God's beloved sons and daughters.
7. Rabbi Paul tells us that by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is a free gift from God, and the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. Salvation does not come from anything to do with human works or human efforts or the number of mitzvahs that you observe, or how good a person that you are. Salvation comes to us as a free gift, bestowed by God, so that no human being can boast that he earned or merited salvation in any way. It is accomplished by God alone; it is not accomplished by man. It is not based on vacillating human merit but on God's unmerited, unearned, undeserved grace. If salvation could be earned by us, it could be forfeited by us. If salvation is given by God, then the riches of salvation are sure and reliable, and are eternal in character, because it is the power and greatness and faithfulness of God that upholds them. Because salvation is a free gift from God it is accomplished instantly and with all the infinite perfections that come from the Almighty. It is accomplished by the infinite power of God Himself.
8. We are not only saved by grace but we continue on in the present to stand by God's grace. Rabbi Paul informs us that we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand (Romans 5:2). Grace is not a one time event extended at the time of salvation. God's all sufficient grace is ours at the time of salvation and continues to be ours throughout this life, and it reaches all the way to eternity. We are now and forever constantly encapsulated ensphered by God's amazing grace.
9. Salvation means that we belong to Messiah. "The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, 'The Lord knows those who are His'" (2 Timothy 2:19). Seven times in John 17 Yeshua declares that we are a gift from God the Father to God the Son. "I manifested Your Name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours, and You gave them to Me" (John 17:6). A great transaction has taken place. We are a gift from God the Father to God the Son. God the Father chose from eternity and gave to God the Son certain human beings. The Father has given each believer as a gift, as a very special present, to His Son. We are all the more precious since it is God the Father who has given His beloved Son this treasure. Like a chest full of precious jewels, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, sought out, collected one by one, so we appear in the eyes of the Son of God. He will never allow His treasures to be lost. He will seek the one lost coin until it is found again, no matter how many other coins He has. Not one of His sheep will be lost, because the Good Shepherd will go after each and every lost sheep, no matter how many sheep are already part of His flock. It is impossible that the Son of God should lose one of His.
10. We belong to Yeshua, and Yeshua belongs to us. We are part of Him, and He is part of us. We are bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh. Since we are part of joined to Him, we have a claim on Him. From His infancy in Bethlehem's manger to the garden of Gethsemane, from His death on the cross to His ascension high above all heavens, He belongs to us who trust in Him. His obedience, His sorrow, His love, His prayers, His tears, His suffering, His death on the cross, His victory, His resurrection, His eternal life, He Himself and all of it, is ours. Even in His heavenly glory He is ours. He is constantly occupied with us. We fill His thoughts; we are His care and concern, we are His work and we are also His joy and His delight. His love, sympathy, empathy, faithfulness and power, provide to us in our need all things which pertain to life and godliness.
11. Salvation means that we have the most solid foundation possible. Yeshua is the Rock, and our lives are founded and built on that Rock. The smallest building built on this rock will stand. The strongest storms in life will not be able to blow it down. The gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Those who build their lives on this Rock are safe and secure regarding their salvation since their salvation is based on the merit and foundation of Messiah, the Rock of our salvation, who is infinite and eternal and sure.
12. We are safe and secure because we are complete when we are joined to Yeshua. We lack nothing. In Messiah all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete (Colossians 2:9-10). There is nothing that we are lacking. He is the source of all, and we are in Him. What can we possibly lack? The believer partakes of all that Messiah is, and He is all complete and all sufficient.
13. Joined to Yeshua, we already possess every spiritual blessing that exists. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah. All the riches of salvation are included in this sweeping term - "all spiritual blessings." How can we fail when we possess every spiritual blessing? How can we fall short when He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them we might become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)? How can we miss the mark when God's divine power has granted to us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)?
14. We are not only saved by Yeshua's death on the cross, but also we are continually and eternally saved because of Messiah's Yeshua's ongoing ministry. While He was on earth, Yeshua prayed for us to be kept safe. In John 17:11, Yeshua prayed: Holy Father, keep them in Thy name. In John 17:24 He prayed that we would be with Him. Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory. Do Yeshua' prayers get answered? Yes they do, therefore we will be kept safe by the almighty power of God's infinite name. One day we will be with Messiah Yeshua in heaven, where He is, and we will not only see His glory but in a measure, share in His glory! Not only did Yeshua pray for us while He was on Earth, but Yeshua is still praying for us to be kept safe. He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrew 7:25). The Son of God has entered into His eternal priesthood. His life is everlasting, indestructible , endless, indissoluble. He is continually presenting us to God and bestowing upon us all the blessings which He has purchased for us with His precious blood. He constantly applies the blessings of eternal redemption from the Most Holy Place in heaven. Our great High Priest will never die again, leaving us without His High Priestly ministry of praying, interceding and ministering on our behalf. He is able save forever, in a perfect, exhaustive, and all-comprehensive manner, all who come to God through Him.
15. Salvation means that we have peace with God. Rabbi Paul states that having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah (Romans 5:1). God's anger has been completely satisfied. He no longer has any wrath or anger or enmity or hostility towards us. There are no hard feelings, no ill will, no hostility, no alienation between us and God that exists with the sons of disobedience, that will cause Him to send us to Hell. There is only perfect, unending peace between God and the reconciled believer. There is wholeness of relationship, and complete good will toward us.
16. Salvation means that we have been brought near to God (Ephesians 2:13). We are in Messiah, and Messiah is in us, and God the Father is in Messiah Yeshua. We are in the heart of Yeshua, who is in the heart of the Father. We have the incredible privilege of being joined to Him in whom dwells all the fullness of God. Before Yeshua came access to the presence of God was severely limited. No Gentile could go into the inner court of the Temple - only the sons of Israel. Only cohenim - Jewish priests could enter the Temple itself. Only the High Priest of Israel could enter into the Most Holy Place, where God manifested His presence on earth. Even the High Priest was only allowed access one day a year, on Yom Kippur. God the Father has brought us into His presence, through His Son. We are brought into the very presence of God; we have entered into the holy of holies in heaven itself, where Yeshua is at the right hand of God, dwelling in the presence of God. We are not like the cohenim who had to stay outside the unrent veil, and never came into the presence of God. The veil no longer conceals God's presence from us. Sin no longer separates us from the presence of the Holy God. The Living God is very near to each one of us. God is nearer to us than the air we breathe; for our very being and living and moving is now in Him. We have complete, total, unfettered access to the Father, and who or what can now separate us from Him? What would cause us to go far from Him? Satan? Greater is He that is in us that the who is in the world. Our sins? We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him (1 John 5:18). Ourselves? We know that Yeshua has the words of eternal life. Having tasted the words of eternal life, where else would we go? No my friends, nothing in the universe can separate us from the presence of the Living God.
17. We are free from the law of sin and death. The principle of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has set you free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). That principle that holds all men captive no longer controls us. All men are under this principle of sin and death. They are sinners, sons of disobedience, alienated from God, without hope, without life, unable to please God. Fallen mortal man is destined to die. But death no longer has any sting for us. We are no longer subject to satanic slavery because of the fear of death (Hebrews 2:15). We are no longer slaves to sin. Sin and the fear of death no longer have dominion over us, for the death of Messiah has set us free to truly serve and obey God with a cleansed conscience, and with a pure heart, and with the right motives. Since we are set free from the law of sin and death, sin won't be remove us from the God of our salvation, and death will only serve to unite us with Him forever - not separate us from Him.
18. Salvation means that the case against us has been dismissed. The decrees which were against us have been nailed to the cross. Having cancelled our the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross (Col. 2:14). There is no condemnation for those joined to the Messiah. God has examined the evidence against us, considered the merits of the Messiah, and made His ruling. He has declared us "Not guilty." There is no higher court of appeal that will reinstate the case. The Judge of the Universe has made His final ruling on the subject: "This case is eternally dismissed."
19. The curse has been lifted. God laid a curse on creation after the fall of man. Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you. All men labor under the heavy weight of this curse. We can see evidence of the curse all around us, in something as basic as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the idea of entropy, that thing left to themselves are decaying, running down, becoming less useful. Not only is mortal man laboring under this curse, but the Torah also carries with it a series of curses for those who violate it - and all of us have violated one or more of His 613 commands. Moses wrote this in Deuteronomy 28:15: It shall come about, if you will not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you... then comes 53 consecutive verses with curse after curse after curse, and they are not pleasant reading. But the good news is that Messiah redeemed us from the curse that comes from breaking the Law by taking upon Himself the curse that mankind deserved (Gal. 3:13). Salvation means that we are redeemed from the curse that comes from violating God's commands, and one day, when Messiah returns, we will be set free from the curse inherent in creation, that futility, that slavery to corruption which has afflicted it. There will be no more suffering, no more groans, no more curse. If there is no more curse then what remains? Only blessing, the rich, full, complete, total, eternal blessing of the blessed and everlasting Creator of the universe!
20. Salvation means that we are delivered from the powers of darkness. God the Father delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13). Satan has power over the unsaved. The whole world lies in the power of the wicked one (1 John 5:19). Rabbi Paul reveals that the god of this world, Satan, has blinded men and women, to truth that can save them (2 Corinthians 4:3-). But we are delivered from these dark, demonic deceiving powers. Satan has been judged. Our Adversary has already been defeat. Satan can no longer lay anything to the charge of God's elect. His authority over us is severely limited. With our Adversary rendered powerless over us, our victory is sure.
21. Salvation means that we have become children of God. Beloved, now we are children of God (1 John 3:2). Legally, by means of adoption, we have become members His family. We are part of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19). We are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua (Galatians 3:26). God has legally adopted us, and the Almighty becomes our Father. Messiah Yeshua becomes our elder brother. Being a member of God's family as a son or daughter is the most exalted and honorable position in the universe, higher than the greatest angels and archangels. We become sons of God, not just by title, but by reality. We now share God's divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). There is a sharing of nature, a sharing of wealth, blessings, positions, intimacy and love between God the Father and each child of God that is wonderful. We will become mature, responsible sons, with wonderful divine privileges and prerogatives. We will never be "unadopted."
22. To be a son or daughter of God is to be an heir of God. As sons, we are God's heirs and joint heirs along with Messiah Yeshua. One way that the New "Testament" can be understood is as a new "will." One purpose for a will is so that specific heirs may receive specified benefits without fail. Yeshua died and we are the heirs of His will. Can a joint heir of Messiah fail to receive His promised portion? Simon Peter affirms that we will obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:4). The joint heirs of Messiah must get to heaven to enjoy their imperishable inheritance. It is impossible that it should be otherwise.
23. Salvation means that our old nature died and we are given a new nature. Those apart from Messiah are born as children of disobedience. By their very nature, by an inherent predisposition, they are disobedient to God. But no one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God (1 John 3:9). Yochanan is telling us that the new nature received at time of salvation, that new birth from above, exerts a strong internal pressure toward holiness. We are now "dead to sin" (Romans 6:2) When we are joined to the Messiah, our old sinful, willful, God-independent nature starts losing its power. It dies and we are born again, born from above, given new life and a new nature. We are a new creation. God places His Spirit and nature in us, to will and do according to His good pleasure. He gives us a new nature, a new heart, and a new mind. We are joined to and become part of the New Adam. The old nature starts to disappear. Just as we have born the image of the first Adam, so we will bear the image of the perfect and pure heavenly Last Adam. We are no longer in the flesh, we are no longer dominated by the old human nature that was hostile to God, but we are in the Spirit - lead to do the will and the deeds of God's Holy Spirit. If we are dead to sin, that sin nature can't be made alive again. Just as mankind is perfectly lost in the first Adam, mankind is perfectly saved when joined to the Last Adam.
24. Salvation means that God's Spirit seals us. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30). When someone seals something, it hows their ownership of it. Since And God has sealed us and claimed as His own, why would He reject us? When something is sealed, it means that it will be delivered to the goal untampered with, unless someone else dares to break that seal. We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of the all-powerful God. There is no power in the universe able to break the seal of His Holy Spirit. We will be delivered safely to the goal of eternal life, because we are guarded, protected and secured by the Spirit of the One who fulfills all things according to His plan.
25. When we are saved we are spirituality circumcised. We are the true circumcision (Philippians 3:3), the circumcision made without human hands (Colossians 2:11), having had our hearts circumcised by God Himself. Since the time of Abraham, ircumcision is the sign of being in a covenant relationship with the God of salvation. By being spiritually circumcised, we are part of the New and Everlasting Covenant that Messiah Yeshua made possible. It is written: I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David (Isaiah 55:3), and again, I will make an everlasting covenant with them (Isaiah 61:8). Since the faithful and true God is not a covenant breaker, and since the New Covenant is an everlasting contract, we have entered into a reliable and sure agreement that will exist forever. Therefore those who are spirituality circumcised and enter into the New Covenant are eternally safe.
26. Salvation means that we have a new citizenship. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil.3:20). We are no longer citizens of a lost and dying world, but we have been transferred to the Kingdom of God's beloved Son. God has called us into His own kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:12). We have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the Living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22). We are assured that the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior will be abundantly supplied to us (2 Pet. 1:11). The opening to this eternal kingdom will not merely be supplied to us, but abundantly supplied. The privileges of our heavenly citizenship will be enjoyed forever.
27. If we are saved, we have already died and gone to heaven. We are already dwelling in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that we have already been aised up with Messiah, and seated with Him in the heavenly places. Salvation means that you have died, and your life is hidden with Messiah in God. When Messiah, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). We don't have to wait until we physically die to go to heaven. Yeshua is forever in heaven, and we are joined to Him, so in a very real sense, we are already in heaven too. We are already there. Mission accomplished! It is finished!

O Lord God of Israel, You are the God of our salvation. We thank You for sending Yeshua - Your own arm who brought salvation to us. O God of our salvation, we acknowledge that salvation belongs to You. You alone are our Rock and our Salvation.

Restore to us the joy of your salvation. Cause us to always and continually rejoice in Your salvation. Let us proclaim good tidings of your salvation from day to day, that Your salvation may reach to the ends of the Earth. Help us O God of our salvation. Thanks be to God for His great and wonderful salvation!