There is a lot of doctrine about salvation in contemporary religions. But not much agreement as to how salvation is supposed to work, or if it is a valid spiritual topic in the first place.
The Bible shows us conflicting passages, some passages say the sins of the father will be visited upon the children even to the third and fourth generations. While other passages say the opposite, it is only the person who sinned that will receive punishment and his children will not be punished for the sins of his father.
Punishment of the children for their fathers iniquity.:
(Exodus 20:5) – “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,”
Children are not punished for the iniquity of their fathers.:
(Ezekiel 18:20) – “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.”
During my near death experience I stood in the presence of God, and felt only love, unconditional love. I believe God is just, and fair, and loving. I don’t think He would ever punish anyone, especially for the sins of another. Jesus didn’t think so either when He healed the man that was born blind.
John 9:2
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
John 9:3
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
The idea of original sin goes back to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. But it is not clear why God would put a temptation in front of His newly created souls, with the instruction of “don’t eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” I believe the author of Genesis 2 meant to explain why the world of his day contained so much evil by blaming it onto the first created humans. Writing that it was Adam and Eve that started all the troubles we saw in the world then, and currently see in the world today. But we know that God gave man free will, and with free will comes the knowledge of good and evil. It is the choices we make in our daily lives that determine our future.
So if there was an original sin by Adam and Eve, God does not hold all His children responsible for the mistakes of a few. Each person is responsible for their own actions and thoughts in this physical world. Without free will man would not be able to choose anything at all. We would be little more than bio-robots, controlled by God. However, by the grace of God, with free will, we can become helpers to God, co-creators with Him after we have proven we understand the benefits of choosing good over evil. So we come into physical life on earth to learn these lessons of choosing good (God) and learning to love as God loves us.
Now where does that leave “Salvation.” Who or what do we need to be saved from? The obvious answer is ourselves, we need to be saved from ourselves, or rather all our bad choices in life. Our bad habits, our haughty attitudes, our cheating, lying, and harming of others. All this is caused by a lack of love for others. Our ultimate salvation lies in Love. Learning about love, understanding the power of love, holding love for ourselves, and all others. Freely giving and using love in our lives every minute of every day. Love is our salvation.
“Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love doesn’t demand its own way. It’s not irritable or touchy. It doesn’t hold grudges and will not notice when others do it wrong. It’s never glad about injustice, but rejoices in truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends”. — Saint Paul.
Love will never leave you, but you can leave Love. Learn to live in Love. Love will bring you peace, calm, and joy. The path to freedom is the path of Love. It is also the path to God which is unconditional Love.
© 2010, Lekatt. All rights reserved.