MID-AIR SALVATION
Your first thought may be that this article is about someone asking the Lord to save them as they are hurling through the air in a doomed airplane. That certainly would be a reasonable idea. The thief cried out, while on the cross, “Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Lk. 22:42) and Jesus replied, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Lk. 22:43). How-ever this article takes a different direction.
I heard a preacher make this statement, “Saul was saved from the time he fell off the stallion until he hit the ground.” The record of Saul’s salvation is recorded in Acts chapter nine, twenty two and twenty six. When you examine the scriptures this statement comes up short. Be-cause the scripture doesn’t reveal that Saul was riding any kind of animal. The scriptures say, “He fell to the earth…” (Acts 9:4). However, the point the speaker is making is that Saul was saved immediately. If Saul was saved by the time he hit the ground, it appears that he did not know it. When you hear reports given by people who say they have been saved the same way (or by similar accounts), they are always excited, praising God, saying hallelujah. However, Saul was blinded, trembling, astonished and asked a question, “What wilt thou have me to do” (Acts 9:6).
What is salvation? It is the forgiveness of our sins. We are saved by the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:13-14). The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Heb. 10:17). Paul (changed from Saul) later wrote, “Being then made free from sin…” (Rom. 6:18). Isaiah’s description was, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). Paul also wrote, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). It seems very clear that salvation, being saved, means our sins have been for-given. So based on this speakers statement, by the time Saul hit the ground his sins had been for-given.
That presents a major problem. When God told Ananias to go to Saul, he didn’t tell him that Saul was already saved. How come? Don’t you think, in God’s great wisdom, that God would have said, “Ananias, don’t be afraid of this guy, I’ve saved him.” What did Ananias tell Saul, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Why would Ananias tell Saul to be baptized and wash away his sins when he didn’t have any, if God had already forgiven him when he fell to the ground? Saul should have protested to Ananias (as many denominationalist do), “I was saved three days ago on the road to Damascus.” No, Saul was baptized to be saved and have his sins washed away just as you and I should do.
Larry