Knowledge of salvation

To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace."  - Luke 1.77-79

John the Baptist was going to have some kind of impact. ‘What kind of child is this?’ was going to be a major player in introducing the gospel to the world.

I like that he was called to give ‘knowledge of salvation.’ That salvation came by the remission of sins through the tender mercy of God brought by the Dayspring from on high to give light to those in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our feet in the way of peace.

That’s quite a mouthful and there is a lot there that we could dig into. Mercy and light and peace are amazing things all worthy of our study.

But today I want to focus on the very beginning of the passage where it speaks of the knowledge of salvation. The knowledge of salvation is something I don’t think about very often, but the more I do the more I see how vital a real knowledge of salvation is. Why?

Because if we never get a grasp on a true knowledge of salvation we are always to be weak in our service for Him and we are going to live lives of doubting and fear. If we don’t know we are saved how can we serve? If am constantly wondering if I have done enough to lose my salvation how can I keep going?

It was the fact that I had no knowledge of salvation that led to my salvation. I was a Bible study and saw 1 John 5.13 – ‘These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.’ ‘That you may know…’ is key to our salvation being real.