“Who is this who even forgives sins” Then He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in Shalom.’ Luke 7:49-50 (NKJV)
One word that believers use to describe themselves is ‘saved’, but what does that actually mean? The Hebrew word that the Bible uses is ‘Hoshiah’, which means a lot more than just being ‘safe’. Yeshua had an amazing ability to annoy people who thought that they had Yehovah all sorted out! He was always bursting people’s bubbles, particularly when they put themselves between ordinary people and Yehovah. For example, take the occasion when Simon, a local religious leader, held a meal for Yeshua and a load of other important people. In came a woman and started pouring perfume on Yeshua’ feet and kissing them. Something about her attitude to Yeshua led Him to tell her that her sins were forgiven, that she was ‘saved’. He saw the faith in the woman’s worship, and her humble adoration of Him was what made her ‘safe’. In fact, He was so impressed with her, that He said that whenever the good news about Him would be carried around the world, people would remember what she had done. Sometimes it is easy to hang on to the wrong thing to try to be saved. Perhaps you have started to believe that something like going to a fellowship, believing the right doctrine, or attending a small group, is what saves you. Believing in Yeshua is not enough by itself; even the demons believe that. Faith, trust and worship have to be centred on Him, but also carried out and expressed in a practical way. What expression of love could you show to Yeshua? What costly things can you lay before Him today?