Reactions in Three Worlds When a Sinner Gets Saved
Reactions in Three Worlds When a Sinner Gets Saved
By Perry Stone
If the battered wooden altars at the old storefront church could speak, what wonderful stories they could tell. Look closely and you will see spots on the dark wood. This is a silent testimony to the hundreds of tears that have streamed down people’s faces, all known and collected in heaven by God himself. Notice the scratches in the wood where men have gripped the altar, struggling between life and death, heaven or hell, eternal life or eternal destruction. In desperation they buried their heads in their arms, groaning, travailing, praying, and weeping their way into eternal life.
The old wooden altars could tell us many stories. What about the aged grandmother who offered intercessory prayers for her unsaved grandchildren, or the young wife who beseeched God for her husband’s salvation. The breath of hundreds of grandparents, parents, and children have warmed the top of the old altar.
The greatest stories the altar could tell are those of the conversion of sinners who knelt in desperation butstood on their feet with new life in Christ.
What really happens when a sinner gets saved? Let’s look at the reaction in three different worlds at the conversion of a sinner.
THE REACTION IN HEAVEN
Our High Priest and personal lawyer, Jesus Christ, is sitting down on the right hand of the Father and is “ever making intercession” for us.
When a sinner repents, Christ the lawyer takes his case as the great High Priest and deals with the sin element. Under the old covenant, the blood of an animal that was sprinkled by the high priest covered or hid the sins of the people from the sight of God. Under the new covenant, the sins are blotted out by the great High Priest, never to be remembered again!
In God’s third heaven, activity begins to take place over the conversion of just one sinner. When the great High Priest declares the person’s sins forgiven and justifies him by Christ’s blood, the angels surrounding God’s throne begin to rejoice! Jesus himself stated that there is “joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents….” Great joy fills the heavens each time a sinner repents.
THE REACTION UNDER EARTH
This may seem strange to some, yet I believe that beings under the earth react when a sinner gets saved. From researching the scriptures, it is clear that fallen angels, some types of demonic powers, and the spirits of lost souls are in the heart of the earth. The abyss is dominated by demonic spirit beings that are capable of communicating with one another.
When a human being who is possessed by an unclean spirit is delivered by God’s power, I have wondered how the unclean spirit explains to the other demonic forces what occurred. Imagine the legion that possessed the man of Gadara. Remember when the legion of spirits came out of the man and entered the swine? What man can’t stand to live with, the animals can’t live with either!
Those spirits no doubt reported to the others how the presence of Christ tormented them, and how that by Christ’s command, they had to leave the man. No wonder the spirits possessing the mad man of Acts 10 cried out, “Jesus I know and Paul I know….” Satan and his armies recognize the blood washed, Spirit indwelt, God ordained believers who walk in authority!
THE REACTION ON THE EARTH
What happens on the earth when a sinner repents?
The moment we confess our sins to Christ, those sins are not only forgiven but also forgotten. God dumps the sin into the sea of forgetfulness and posts a “no fishing” sign. The tremendous weight of guilt is not only lighter but lifted completely. A woman recently commented following her conversion, “I feel good all over from the inside out.” Friend, that’s the best description of old-time religion you will ever hear!
The apostle Paul stated: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” Literally, he is a new creation. Paul continued, “Old things are passed away and behold all things are new.” The convert receives a new nature, a new name, a new attitude, and a new outlook on life. His entire being is changed.
FROM CRAWLING TO WALKING
Some precious people want to go from a sinner to a saint in one session with God. Growth in grace is not usually that quick. At your initial conversion to Christ, you are a “babe in Christ”. You must begin your new spiritual walk with God by drinking the milk of the Word (learning the basic doctrines of the Christian faith). You must be trained to walk on your own (walk by faith and not by sight). You must depend on the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ to undergird you during your new walk with Christ. Babies can fall easily and often when learning to walk.
Instead of hanging around your old crowd, fellowship with your new adopted family. You are now a member of the royal family of God, and you should fellowship with light rather than darkness. Babies cry a lot, especially when they are hungry or need attention. We should not ignore the lonely signals from the young babes in Christ. They need the same love, attention, devotion, and understanding that a small baby does!
As the new convert grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, the eyes of their understanding will be enlightened. They will be able to see their own progress in the Lord as they develop from crawling to walking and from milk to meat.
The altar may be gone from the old storefront church, but the God we encountered still has our name in His city directory, the Lamb’s Book of Life.