In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul says that he prays that the whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The whole spirit, soul, and body speaks of the complete salvation that Christ purchased for the elect. It is that so great salvation spoken of in Hebrews 2:3 that Jesus Christ purchased for His people when it was said -Thou shall call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sins. Salvation what a wonderful word when associated with what our Lord did on the cross, but what a hopeless and an empty thing when associated with the works of man. Try as he may, man can never save himself , whether it be in the walls of religious institutions, the idealistic philosophies of the world, or the pagan rituals of darkness. The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin. A thousand masses said in one hour can never remove the stain of sin. What can wash my sin away? Nothing but the blood of Jesus, but thank God His blood does save completely. However, if I may so, salvation is more than salvation from sin alone. When Paul prayed that the whole spirit, soul,and body be preserved he alluded to the dangers that attend life here on earth. We need the wonderful preservation of the Lord to be safe among all of the dangers that surround us. It is not our government, the CDC, early warnings of terrorist attacks, see- through envelopes, or biodomes that are going to save us. If the Lord Himself doesn’t save us we will not be saved or safe. The Psalmist David said something we should all remember in Psalm 127:1. He said Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. That verse tells me that all of the efforts of man to protect others against the evil of their fellow man is vanity of the highest order. It is hard to keep in mind, under this bombardment of warnings and assurance that we are being protected, that it is really the Lord alone who can protect us. May we be empowered by the Holy Spirit to remember this fact often every day and every night and by faith apprehend this great assurance and encouragement that the Lord has given in His Word that no weapon formed against thee shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17).