Embracing our divinity and humanity

"Salvation thus resides in transforming how we position ourselves in relation to this state. We can outline these various positions in this way,

We are broken and don’t acknowledge it (through repression, disavowal etc.)

We are broken and do realize it

We are broken and affirm it

This doesn’t mean that we simply accept difficult things in our lives and resign ourselves to them. Rather it means freeing ourselves from the idea that something will bring some final inner harmony and learning to work for small, incremental changes. In concrete terms this means that, if we are ill, we don’t wait for a sudden change, but take concrete medical action and attempt to face the illness. Or that we don’t hide away from the world in some compound (whether that is a real compound or our bedroom), imagining that it will be remade in a perfect way, but work up the courage to try and change how we live now.

The idea that there is some way of bringing wholeness and harmony into our lives is actually an ideology which acts against making real change here and now, thus rendering us more susceptible to those who promise that they have the diet, drug or divinity that would make everything perfect again."
~ From "Happiness is Not a Three-Step Dance" by Peter Rollins

My understanding of the above message is that we can embrace not only our divinity but also our humanity including all our brokenness and sorrows and pains. It is about accepting reality and being responsible for creating our own reality and working through our own struggles instead of waiting for some god in the sky to make everything alright. In doing so, we are working out our own salvation as we are our own saviours (or physicians).

The deep things of God

"The kind of faith Jesus invites us into doesn't skirt the big questions about topics like God and Jesus and salvation and judgment and heaven and hell, but takes us deep into the heart of them." --LOVE WINS Rob Bell

I suppose we are all designed to have an inquiring heart - Jesus himself was found asking questions in the temple when he was 12 years old. It looks like Jesus understands our innate hunger and thirst for the deep things in life, and in this respect, the kind of faith Jesus invites us would involve deep questions about God, Jesus, salvation, judgement, heaven and hell. I remember Jesus challenged his disciples to answer his question "who do you say that I am?" I believe he would want every one in every generation to think about this question as well because it is a key to finding answers to those big questions. It is also a question that each person has to answer for oneself and not go by what others say about him.

I am reflecting that we all have the spirit who is the candle of the Lord, searching the deep things of God, like the woman sweeping the whole house for that lost coin. I understand Jesus' question in terms of knowing his true identity, which in turn is about knowing ourselves. As Aristotle put it, knowing ourselves is the beginning of all wisdom. Hence, when we know who Jesus is, we know our true self and origin.

When we see our true identity in the image and likeness of Christ, we see God, for he who has seen him has seen the Father. Thus we see ourselves as one with the Father, as Jesus is one with him. Thus knowing ourselves, as I understand it, is the beginning of wisdom to find our own answers to the other big questions on salvation, judgement, heaven and hell.

At this point of my journey, I see salvation in terms of awakening to our innocence and know who I really am. Judgement to me is a matter of evaluating my value and worth in the light of my true identity - this is the boldness we have in the day of judgment, for as he is, so are we in this world.

Heaven is the state of being when we are like little children, not knowing good or evil, who simply live in the warm embrace of the presence of love, and living in the present. Jesus said to the religious Jews that unless they become like little children, they will by no means enter (or experience) the kingdom of heaven. He also said the kingdom of heaven does not come by observation but is within us.

Hell, as I have learnt, is simply a state of ignorance, as Jesus said to Peter that upon the rock of our true identity he will build the church (who are called out of darkness) and the gates of hell (ignorance) shall not prevail against the church. We shall awake from the illusion of separation and overcome fear, guilt and condemnation.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and it is the glory of man to search out a matter, as proverbs says. The kind of faith Jesus invites us would involve searching out the deep things of God and in the process, we discover more about ourselves, which will determine the quality of our life on earth, such as how much of heaven we will experience on earth, as in how we all can live a life of love, grace and acceptance.

Be aware of how you feel at all times

"Be aware of how you feel at all times. Your feelings will point out where the subconscious blockages of pain are."-Jason Hairston

 I suppose being aware of how we feel at all times is part of living and being in the present moment, practising mindfulness and meditation. We can watch our feelings pass by, just as we observe our thoughts come and go, like passing clouds in the sky, without necessarily engaging or acting upon our thoughts or feelings. Our feelings may or may not be validated, depending on how we perceive things, since I learnt that life is a matter of perception. I am not sure what the quote meant by subconscious blockages of pain - if they refer to guilt and regrets about the past, I would say it is only human to experience such feelings, since we all tend to do some self-reflection and wish we could have done something better (I tend to do self-evaluation from time to time, such as in the area of my work). 

 I believe even as we embark on this inner journey, it is also good to remember that our past - whether shortcomings or achievements - does not define us since our true identity is based on that which is unchanging and eternal - beloved, blameless, beautiful and perfect spiritual beings on a human journey - we are here to have a human experience. This is how we can reconcile to our highest self (the Father) whenever we come home and remember who we really are and awake to our innocence, being embraced in divine unconditional love. Being aware of our feelings at all times thus becomes a meditation practice in which we make peace with ourselves, and experience inner bliss. 

As the verse goes, "Having been made righteous by faith (awakening to our true identity of innocence and perfection and wholeness), we have peace with God (our highest self) through our Lord Jesus Christ (representative of our human race, our true identity), in whom we have access in this grace (divine favour) through faith." We can continue to expect wonderful things to happen to us because we are beloved and precious children of the universe.

"Behold, now is the day of salvation. Now is the time of favour." Every day is a good day because we are accepted in the Beloved.

My soul finds rest in God alone (Psalm 62)

Knowing the fullness of God’s love and Debunking the myth of hell (Video transcript) – Part 1 of 2

I have decided to transcribe my message about the fullness of God's love and the myth of hell that I shared in a video in January 2011 so that it can be read at any time. Besides, I don't exactly speak in Queen's English, so my video might not have appealed to as many people as I would have liked to. Here is the transcript for the first half of the message. I have added subheadings where appropriate to summarise the main points in my flow of thoughts. Enjoy. :)

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Hello, I’m here to share the good news, and the good news of Christ is something that we need to hear again and again every day – we need to renew our minds, if we can.

Sometimes, faith comes by hearing. Sometimes, faith comes by reminding ourselves, wherever we are, because we are living in a world where there are condemning voices around us, if not from our own conscience, it can be from other people, whether we know them well or not. Sometimes, intentionally or unintentionally, the way they treat us, the way they say something to us, we may all feel a sense of condemnation, or a sense of being judged. But that is life; that’s how life on earth is.

Maybe as children, we were not so conscious of that, but as we grew up, we all tend to be more sensitive and more conscious of how other people perceive us. It may come as early as in our early teens, or in fact, children can be very sensitive towards that. And of course, when we were very young, when we were still babies, we probably were not that conscious because all babies probably have only two fears to begin with – the fear of falling down and the fear of being abandoned. But all other fears are learnt, as some psychologists might observe.

The Good News is about the Love of God

So, as we grow up in this life, we all need to have a sense of acceptance, a sense of being cared for, because after all, God created us to be loved. Out of that love, can we love ourselves and love other people. So, it all starts with God. We can’t start with ourselves, no matter how much we try to psych ourselves, or how much we try to meditate, or refer to self-help books. But these only are temporary solutions.

There is a deeper need in us, in every one of us, that God created heart-shaped vacuum within us that can only be filled and satisfied with the love of God. The good news is really about the love of God, and that love is really beyond our understanding or human knowledge, that Paul said that we might know the love of Christ – the length, the depth, the height, the width – that passes knowledge. That love is something that our human knowledge cannot grasp fully without the help of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit has been poured upon our heart to know the love of God. And we need the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth regarding how much God loves us.

Questioning the traditional concept of hell

Mainstream Christianity or traditional Christianity has made it seem like God loves everyone BUT… There is always a “but” at the end. For example, those who don’t believe in Jesus Christ, they will be seen as forfeiting the love of God, and the ultimate consequence for rejecting that love of God by not believing in Jesus Christ would be to end up in a place called “hell” or “the lake of fire” in the book of Revelation, but is that really the truth?

Because as we think about the love of God that transcends understanding, the love of God that passes all knowledge, would it be possible that such a loving God would want, or would allow, or would even create a whole time frame where finally all those people who have not believed in Christ, or have not heard the gospel therefore they did not have the chance to believe in Christ, would end up in a place called the lake of fire where they would be tormented day and night forever and ever? Is that really the truth? But most areas, most aspects, most parts of the mainstream Christianity seem to subscribe to that kind of teaching, even grace-based church.

So, I want to address that because that is something that has to be… The false doctrine will always hold people in bondage. This kind of teaching, the “turn or burn” kind of doctrine – “believe in Jesus or you will burn in hell” kind of teaching – will always turn other people away, whether believers or non-believers because even some believers will still question, “Oh, maybe there are some parts of the Bible I don’t think is right, but because I’m a Christian, I’d better believe, or else, just in case kind of thing.” Maybe their church elders may tell them “Well, if you don’t believe in hell, then it means you are not really a Christian.” That kind of thing only holds people in bondage.

Do we dare to rock the boat of Christianity?

So, we are here actually, each one of us is born free. Ultimately, we all do not like to be held in bondage in some ways. So, sometimes, we may believe a lie because our pastor tells us so, or we don’t want to question too much, we don’t want to rock the boat, and we are simply satisfied to be just Christians and believe that “Oh, we are saved, therefore I don’t have to bother about that, because anyway I am going to heaven, and I really don’t have to find out more for myself, so that I can share the good news in a more accurate way with others, and whether others believe in Jesus, I don’t care. They can end up in hell for all they want.”

But that kind of belies a certain self-righteous attitude no matter how much we try to excuse ourselves because I came from that kind of position before. I was self-righteous. I came to realise that God’s love is much more than that. If I were to just ignore this set of doctrine, ignore this false teaching on hell, and just live my life like any other Christian in the evangelical or mainstream circle, I would actually be forfeiting myself of knowing… I would be robbing myself of the full benefits of knowing the fullness of the love of God. And that includes whether God would really allow, or would really want, or would really have in His plan of salvation where some people will ultimately end up in the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever.

So, how can we reconcile the fact that God is loving, and on the other hand, God, or rather we always say “Other people send themselves to hell by rejecting Jesus Christ?” So, what is hell like? And some people may say, “Well, I leave it to God, you know? Let God do what is just. Some people just don’t believe in Jesus Christ. Well, if that’s so, Lord, let God do what He wants. Maybe it’s torture. Maybe it’s torment in the sense of… whatever it means. Because some may say they are physically resurrected and then they will feel the pain or feel the suffering, and the Bible talks about worms and all that.”

The symbolic language of the Bible

But is that really the truth because the Bible is full of symbolic knowledge? And the book of Revelation is actually full of symbolism using the Jewish apocalyptic language, which unless we are familiar with the Old Testament symbolism, we would tend to misinterpret, and I have done that before. But we are here to know the truth because the truth will always set people free – free from religion, free from condemnation, free from fear, free from whatever that holds people in bondage in some ways that deny them the freedom, the peace of mind that they will feel at any point of time, not just when they are about to die, but any point of time, they may feel a sense of alienation or abandonment or being fearful that God will judge them if something goes wrong in their lives, so we have to settle this once and for all.

So this question of whether hell exists or whether hell is true or what does hell really mean – it does not just apply to when somebody is saved; it applies to even believers today because it will really affect what we believe in about our God – the God that we believe in. Is He the God of Christians only or is He the God of everybody?

What salvation really means

And someone might say, “Well, are you saying that everyone will go to heaven without believing in Jesus?” That is another erroneous question; it’s not even a scriptural question to start with because salvation is not about going to heaven; salvation is about having your spirit, soul and body made whole in every way. The word for “soteria” – that’s the Greek word for “salvation” – it means preservation, health, wholeness, prosperity, deliverance, protection from all dangers, deliverance from every evil in our lives, from lack, from any kind of addiction. So, it’s an all-encompassing word “salvation”. It is not “Oh, one day, we go to heaven.” That is actually the wrong question to start with.

But unfortunately, even in the evangelical world, even in the grace-based churches, “salvation” has that kind of connotation that “oh, you are saved from hell”. But no, it is not that. Yes, we use the Bible as our standard. Yes, we have the Bible… Someone called it the “word of God”, and I don’t want to go into that because the word of God ultimately is Jesus Christ, who is the Living Word. The Bible - we should not take it literally or else it becomes the “letter” that “kills”.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3 that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” and he said the letter is simply when we take the Bible literally, it’s like using it as the law to tell people do’s and don’ts, and that stems from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that is actually bringing condemnation into people’s lives, like you tell them “you have to do this in order to become something”. But the truth of the gospel is that we are already something – we are made in God’s image. There is nothing that we can do to change our identity.

So Jesus came to actually reveal (to) us that identity that has already been all this while, to cause us to remember, to wake up from our amnesia that we are already one with God, and we are made in His image. He has restored (to) us the glory and honour that Adam and Eve used to have. So that is actually the salvation that Jesus has come to give us in our spirit, soul and body.

When we believe the gospel, we will benefit from that. We will enjoy the benefits of salvation in this life. We know our sins are forgiven. And that is another question, I mean, another topic altogether because “sin” is actually referring to, or rather it applies to those who lived in the Old Testament times. They were under the law; therefore, sin was imputed to them. But we are not under the law in the first place because we Gentiles live after AD70, after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, which actually signified the end of the old covenant age.

So we are actually living in the new covenant age, which is also called “the new heavens and new earth” in the last book, in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible – the book of Revelation. So now that we are living in the new covenant age, there is actually no “sin” issue. If you want to talk about “sin”, sin is only a matter of the ignorance of God’s love. Sin is called “missing the mark” or “falling short of the mark”.

So, if you want to talk about sin, the Lamb of God has come to take away the sin of the world. Well, in the Jewish context, it is actually taking away the sin of unbelief, and the sin of not knowing who they are. So, for Gentiles, you can still say the sin of unbelief, but He has taken away that. And even if we don’t believe, God still sees us righteous because 2 Corinthians 5:19 says that God in Christ has reconciled the world to Himself. So we are all reconciled, as far as God is concerned, He no more sees any sinner any more.

It is not as if you say some magic words, and say “Oh, Jesus is my Lord and Saviour”, and then God changes His mind about you. No, what and whether you believe that Jesus is your Saviour or not does not change God’s mind about you. God has already made up His mind that He has loved you with an everlasting love and He has always seen you as His children. It is up to you to believe that. When you believe, of course you benefit from that. If you don’t believe, the truth is still that God sees you as His children.

When you die, whether you believe or don’t believe in Jesus, you will still be with God because the last chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes says when a person dies, his spirit goes back to be with God who gave it. So we will all still be with God forever.

So it is a matter of “now”, here in this life. Salvation is for this life; it is not for one day when we die. I think I covered that in my previous video.

I AM in the Now

There's a reason they call God a Presence - because God is right here, right now. In the present is the only place to find Him, and NOW is the only time. 

~ from "Eat Pray Love" book

Yes, God's presence is in the present for I Am is in the present and His words are always pleasant.

Proverbs 16 says "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to
the bones."

Another verse came to mind: "Behold, now is the day of salvation, now is the time of favour."

Every moment is the now, and every moment is the time to experience salvation (freedom from religious lies that bring guilt and condemnation) and now is the time to receive favour because we have been reconciled to God knowing we are made in His image and we are one with Him.

We can enjoy the kingdom of God within us - righteousness, innocence, peace and joy in the present moment. Yes, no challenge is too great for us, for His grace IS sufficient for us, and His strength IS made perfect in our weakness. We can rest in His goodness and grace, for whom He calls, He also equips. Heaven is our present reality, right here, right now.

The Unrelenting Pursuit of God's Overflowing Love

"In Gen 9:6 and numerous other references, God confirms that man is still His image and likeness. The image and likeness that man was created in, is immutable – it cannot be destroyed. Darkness might have dimmed it, the father of lies might have obscured it, wickedness might have twisted man out of his true pattern, but the essence of man has never been completely destroyed.

In Luke 15 Jesus tells us of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son.

The sheep remained a sheep although lost; the coin retained its value, although lost; the son remained a son, although lost. In all three cases the owner remained the owner and committed to that which was lost. The sheep and the coin contributed nothing towards being found. In the case of the son, his situation changed ‘when he came to himself’ (verse 17)

Even the word lost has the most beautiful promise in it, for you cannot be lost unless you belong!

God still saw enough value in us, to pursue us and save us at the greatest cost. 

Mankind was not corrupted beyond the possibility of restoration. Mankind was not lost beyond the possibility of salvation."

- Francois du Toit

This post reminds me of the unrelenting pursuit of love of our divine Lover who constantly reinvents Himself to woo us because His love is constantly overflowing. Whether as a shepherd finding his lost sheep that is his duty and livelihood, or a woman recovering her lost coin that is her prized possession, or a father reclaiming his lost son who bears his own image and likeness as well as his lineage, his salvation and redemption of our souls affirms and assures us of our intrinsic value and worth. He would not rest until we are all redeemed. And even after He has bought us with a price, He continues to pursue us with love and blessings, reminding us always of our blessedness. Yes, surely goodness and love (Christ) shall chase us down all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord (Christ consciousness) forever.

Salvation Has Rescued Us From Darkness (Ignorance) To Light (Understanding)

I have been blessed reading about the successful rescue mission of the 33 miners in Chile who were trapped for more than 2 months underground (from August to October 2010). I have been following the news about their plight for the past few weekends when I read about them in the newspapers. I think it’s almost like a real-life parable or illustration of how we all are rescued or translated from darkness to light.

Colossians 1:13-14 says “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

We were once in darkness, a place of ignorance. We were blinded in our minds to the immense love of our Father in heaven. We did not know our true identity. We felt alienated from God, when all the while God has never alienated Himself from us. He wants us to KNOW Him.

I believe then that Jesus has come to save us from our ignorance. He has come to give us an understanding of who God is and who we are in Him.
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Someone may quote Philippians 2:13 and say that we need to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (meaning to imply some work on our part to remain “saved”). But I think we need to look at the historical context of this verse as well as consider the audience relevance. Have done a bit of study on Philippians 2:12-16 – I think the Concordant Literal Version of the Bible kinda captures the original Greek thought better:

So that, my beloved, according as you always obey, not as in my presence only, but now much rather in my absence, with fear and trembling, be carrying your own salvation into effect, ¹³ for it is God Who is operating in you to will as well as to work for the sake of His delight. ¹⁴ All be doing without murmurings and reasonings, ¹⁵ that you may become blameless and artless, children of God, flawless, in the midst of a generation crooked and perverse among whom you are appearing as luminaries in the world, ¹⁶ having on the word of life, for my glorying in the day of Christ, that I did not run for naught, neither that I toil for naught.”
(Philippians 2:12-16, Concordant Literal Version)

Paul was writing to the first century christians who were living among the “crooked and perverse generation” which refers to the religious people in Israel – I believe the salvation in that context is referring to being saved from the destruction together with the temple in 66-70AD — indeed, none of the christians were reported to perish during the Roman army siege – they had heeded Jesus’ warning to flee to the mountains of Judea. Besides, the salvation they knew then was salvation in all its fullness (wholeness, preservation, protection, etc) – it comes from the Greek word soteria. And yes, salvation is also a Person – Jesus is the Yeshua of the world.
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If we know Jesus as He really is – that His name is Salvation (Yeshua) – we will know that He is the Saviour of the world. Love came to save, love came to serve, love comes to give – Jesus is love personified, and He is salvation personified.

Jesus is the Saviour of ALL men. (See 1 Timothy 4:10)

When we say we are in Jesus, we actually mean we are in Salvation.

The good news is that: Salvation is here – in us, with us, for us. Even for those who do not know Jesus, HE knows them – that is their security. It is WHO knows us that matters, not how much we know Him – we cannot never fully know Him, for that matter. We all may lose sight of Him at times, but He never loses sight of us.
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I have had a misconception about what salvation means. I used to think salvation means being saved from hell (whatever that ‘hell’ meant), but I have learnt that salvation is simply saved from having a wrong mindset about God and about ourselves.

‘Hell’ is a pagan concept that has been used by the Roman Catholic church to control the masses with fear. This website “Hell is a misunderstood concept in Christianity” explains the details.

You may also like to listen to this video ‘Hell as an invention of the church‘.

The lake of fire is not literal but metaphorical. If it were literal, how would it be possible for death (which is non-physical) and hades (grave) be cast into the lake of fire?

We all have (had) a part in the lake of fire, which was not meant to torture us, but to purify. Phillip explained it like this: “The Greek word for fire is pur. Strong’s Concordant of the Bible #4442. This is where we get our English word ‘purify’. The lake of fire is no more than a purification process that every man will endure. (Mark 9:49) So the lake of fire is symbolic and it is not a literal fire.”

Revelations 21:8 speaks of the old Adamic nature and the old identity that experience the second death. It is not referring to people being burnt and tortured forever.

In short, Jesus came not to save people from ‘hell’ (which is a pagan concept). He came to save us from having a wrong mindset about God and about ourselves. He came to show us that God is all the while with us and He has never alienated Himself from us. He came to show us God is love and to restore our sense of identity which is found in Him.
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“And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight” (Colossians 1:21-22)

Notice that this sense of alienation and being enemies took place in our minds? Hence, God sent His Son to renew our mind (or repent – change our mind or change our thinking) to see ourselves in His image – that we are holy, blameless and above reproach.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ ALL shall be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

In God’s mind, we are all made alive in Christ. We are new creations. We are the righteousness of God in Him. We are beloved children of God, accepted and highly favoured in the Beloved. We are the apple of God’s eye, and He loves us with an everlasting love.

When we awake to the truth that we are righteous in Him and He is in us, we will experience the abundant life He has given us – full of hope, full of joy, full of peace, full of health, full of finances. That is spiritual awakening at its fullness!

“Awake to righteousness (awake to the truth that you are the righteousness of God in Christ), and do not sin (do not fall short of the understanding that you are one with God and as a result living below the best He wants you to have); for some do not knowledge of God (who is in us and in whose image we are made).” (1 Corinthians 15:34; words in parentheses are mine)

Mary Lou Houllis said, “The Bible is not about the physical realm.” Indeed, the gospel (or good news of Christ) is about our belief system. What we believe will manifest in our lives. Our perception creates our reality. When we align our minds with the mind of God that proclaims we are one with Him, we will experience the truth of the gospel in tangible ways, in manifested blessings.

You may also like to listen to “The Creator You” by Mary Lou Houllis, who heads the New Beginning Oneness Center.

Recommended Readings:
“God’s Salvation Plan – Salvation of All” by Jath van der Westhuizen
“Misunderstandings about the meaning of hell (Part 1)” by Jath van der Westhuizen
“Misunderstandings about the meaning of hell (Part 2)” by Jath van der Westhuizen
“Redemption of Mankind” by Jath van der Westhuizen

Salvation is for the Here and Now, Not One Day after We Die

The gospel of grace and peace proclaims that God has reconciled all things to Himself through Jesus’ finished work at the cross. (Colossians 1:20) Now that we know that all humankind has been reconciled to God, some questions may arise among those who have grown up in traditional or evangelical church teachings, such as:

• Does that mean there is no need for faith in Jesus?
• Is there still a need to preach the gospel?
• What about those who don’t believe the gospel?
• What exactly are we saved from?

The post below seeks to address these questions, and more.
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According to the gospel, Christ has been made unto us from God wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. By one man’s obedience, all has been made righteous. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. We all are included in His redemption. We are redeemed from the curse of sickness, lack, identity crisis, low self-esteem, guilt and shame, etc.

I believe salvation is for the soul (mind, will and emotions), so faith in Jesus is necessary. (Hebrews 10:39; James 1:21) When we believe the good news that we are righteous and accepted by God who has never forsaken us from the beginning, we will experience peace for our conscience and healing for our mind and emotions. We begin to live life with hope and expectancy of good things to come, and enjoy the divine dance with our loving God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God is within us, and Christ in us is the hope of glory.

When someone dies without believing in  Jesus or having heard about Him, s/he will still be with God, for the spirit returns to Him who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). S/he will not be in a place called “hell” (which is implied as eternal separation from God or eternal damnation or everlasting punishment or torture). Hell or gehenna as mentioned in the gospel accounts refer to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD70 (which was described in the book of Revelations concerning the end of the old covenant age and the establishment of the new covenant world “new heavens and new earth”). Hades is simply grave or a place of the unseen (or ignorance of God’s love and of our true identity, which shall not prevail against the church).

When we proclaim this gospel of grace and peace, we are reminding others of their true identity. They will be awakened to who they really are, and start reigning in life through Jesus Christ. “Much more those who receive abundance of grace and gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ (not one day after they die)“. (Romans 5:17; words in parentheses are mine) Praise the Lord for the good news. That’s why we continue to preach or proclaim the gospel so that more and more people will know the unconditional love and amazing grace of God, and become established in their true identity, and start to reign in life!

Steve McVey said, “the efficacy of the cross is done, whether we believe it or not. But by rejecting it, our experience will not be what our acceptance would facilitate. It’s the same ‘River of Fire’ (Dan 7:10) – God’s Love – that flows from the throne down upon all of us. To those who believe, it will be the joy of heaven.” I agree that those who believe the good news, it will be the joy of heaven.

As for those who don’t believe the gospel, I believe that it doesn't mean they will end up in a place called "hell" after they die. It simply means that they will not get to enjoy the benefits of salvation that believers enjoy while they are alive, which includes peace for the conscience, divine healing, freedom from guilt and condemnation, etc.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve became afraid of God after they disobeyed Him in the garden of Eden, but it wasn’t God’s love that caused them to distance themselves from Him because He draws people to Himself with lovingkindness. Rather, it’s the fallen human mindset that blinds people to see the reality of God’s love, and hence Jesus has come to show us how good and loving God really is. This good news of knowing how much God loves us will help to build our consciousness of God as our loving Father. In fact, our God is a triune God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is in constant fellowship with us because He is a relational being, not a legalistic judge or book-keeper.

In conclusion, salvation is for the here and now, not one day in the future. “Behold, now is the accepted time (of favour); behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) Jesus came to save us from the Adamic curse of living a performance-based life marked by stress, guilt and condemnation, that we might live the abundant life freely and lightly, flowing with the unforced rhythm of grace (unmerited favour), where He works miracles among us by the hearing of faith (about our right standing with God).

The Meaning of "Salvation" Depends on Context in which It Appears in the Bible

Someone has asked a question which I’ve also been thinking about lately: “Other than being saved from the destruction of Jerusalem, is there anything that the 1st century believers were saved from?”

Since salvation (‘soteria’ in Greek) means wholeness, health, deliverance, preservation and prosperity (in spirit, soul and body), I think salvation includes healing, provisions, etc.

For example, after Peter healed the lame man in the name of Jesus, he went on to say that there is no other name except Jesus by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12), the context was healing.

Another example: When the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years was healed after touching the hem of Jesus’ garment, Jesus told her “Daughter, be of good comfort, Your faith has saved you.” The Greek word ‘sozo’ (saves) means healing in that context. So yea, salvation includes healing.

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“Created for His Pleasure!” by Jath van der Westhuizen