In this post, we are talking about salvation. We are back again with yet another post in our Into the Promise Land series.  If you’ve missed it, check out our previous post.

Free from the Burden of Egypt

We’ve talked about why we need salvation.  Adam gave the world over to the devil and with it all of mankind needed salvation from the sin that entered this world.  

The thing is that we ourselves couldn’t/can’t save ourselves from sin.  It’s impossible.  

So without further ado, let’s take a look at exactly why we can’t earn our own salvation.

Post Overview

For those of you who don’t want to read the whole post, here are the basics. Our verse today is Romans 2:2.

2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

Romans 2:2 KJV

1. Salvation depends on God’s judgments – not man’s.
   1. Rom. 2:2 KJV
2. All have sinned. All are guilty.
   1. Rom. 3:23 KJV
3. No guilty man chooses his punishment.
   1. A judge doesn’t ask
   2. They don’t swap sin for good deeds 
4. Jesus made a way for us to escape punishment.
   1. John 14:6 KJV
5. Our own attempts at salvation will fail.
   1. Ex 2:11-12,15 KJV
      1. 11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
   2. Attempting to save yourself will land you running scared from the enemy.

Salvation depends on God’s judgements – not man’s.

This is a good thing!  See God’s judgements are according to truth.  That means it never changes.  Truth is constant.  

Unlike the popular cultural statement “my truth”.  There is no such thing.  

Truth is objective. Truth never changes and isn’t subjective. 

All have sinned and are guilty.

This isn’t something that we can debate.  ALL HAVE SINNED.  You can rationalize it and say your sin “isn’t that bad”, but the truth is that we have ALL sinned.  

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 3:23 KJV

Sin is a lie.  Those trapped in sin end up in a place of confusion that leaves them saying – it’s not that bad. 

(Very similar to Stockholm syndrome – we get comfortable in our currently unhealthy situation.)

Remember when the Children of Israel came out of Egypt? (Egypt is a type of bondage to sin)

When things got hard, the first thing they wanted to do was return to their bondage.  

11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

Exodus 14:11-12 KJV

All are guilty of sin and in fact – just like the Israelites – when given the opportunity to, we often want to return to our bondage of sin.

Proverbs says like a dog returning to its own vomit (Prov. 26:11).

No guilty man chooses his own punishment.

A judge in a courtroom doesn’t ask the accused sinner what he’d like his punishment to be.  The problem with the idea of earning our salvation is this thought that we can circumvent just punishment – the consequences of our actions.  

NOT EVEN GOD DID THAT.

Jesus came and took our place for sin.  He went through our punishment.  SOMEONE had to be punished otherwise God is unjust.  

You don’t go to a judge and say, “But look at all the good things that I’ve done!  We can forget that I murdered someone.” 

(Did you know God likens talking bad about someone behind their back to murdering their character?)  

Jesus made a way for us to escape punishment.

Jesus came and took our place.  That means instead of us being punished for our sins HE was.  This is what’s so crazy about God.  He not only made a way for us to come to Him, but He did it when we didn’t even know He existed!

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 KJV

The problem is that we don’t want to submit to doing things God’s way.  We don’t want to be subject to Jesus.  That’s why we fight and say I want to work my way to heaven.  

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 14:6 KJV

All we have to do is accept the free gift of salvation that Jesus has already given us.

Our own attempts at salvation will fail.

11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

Exodus 2:11-12 KJV

Now let’s look back at the story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt.  This is exactly what we do when we try to save ourselves from sin and bondage.  Or worse yet, we try to tell others how to get free.  

Moses tried to free the Egyptians in his own might.  God placed him in the position of power.  All Moses had to do was sit back and accept what God already did.  He was on the path to rule over Egypt.  

But Moses went against God’s provided way of salvation and he ended up running from Pharoah scared and alone. 

15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

Exodus 2:15 KJV

Everytime we try to get free on our own instead of accepting the free gift of salvation, we will end up running away – afraid. 

Prayer of Salvation