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The word “salvation”
means to be delivered from something. In
Biblical terms, salvation means the "saving"
of a sinner from God’s righteous judgment.
When someone truly seeks forgiveness in
Jesus, their sins are forgiven them and they
are cleansed from their unrighteousness.
Their relationship with God is restored to
what God had originally intended, and they
are made into a whole new person in Christ
Jesus.
Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. The old has passed away; behold,
the new has come.” So, a saved person is
someone who has fully trusted in Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior and
therefore possesses the Holy Spirit (John 3:16; Acts 16:31;
Eph. 2:8-9).
All of this is the work of God, not man. Our
salvation is a free gift from God above.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is
death, but the free gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Isaiah 59:2
tells us that if anyone sins, they deserve
eternal separation from God, but because of
God’s love and mercy, God the Son, Jesus
Christ died in our place. First Peter 2:24 says,
Christ “bore our sins in his body on the
tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By his wounds you have been
healed.” Jesus bore the sins of the entire
world in His body on the cross to bring
complete redemption for those who trust in
Him. First John 2:2 says, “He is the
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
only but also for the sins of the whole
world.”
Propitiation means “averting
the wrath of God by the offering of a gift.”
It refers to the turning away of the wrath
of God as the just judgment of our sin by
God’s own provision of the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ on the cross.
We are forgiven when we
realize that there is nothing we can do to
earn God’s favor and we put our trust in
what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have
been saved through faith. And this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a
result of works, so that no one may boast.”
God alone can save us. The only thing we
bring to the cross is our sin. Both God the
Father and Jesus, the Son are called Savior
in scripture (Isa. 14:21; John 4:42). It
was the Father who sent the Son to save the
world from their sins. First John 4:10 says, "In
this is love, not that we have loved God but
that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins." When Christ died
on the cross and rose again, He made a
complete atonement for our sins and
delivered us from death unto life.
The message of the gospel is the message of
forgiveness for our sins through Christ's
atoning work on Calvary's cross. The plan of
redemption is God’s rescue plan for those
who put their trust in Jesus Christ to be
reconciled to God. This great plan of
salvation is put into effect by the power of
the Holy Spirit who comes to live inside of
us.
The Bible describes our salvation
in terms of a process: past, present, and
future.
• Ephesians 2:5 says, “You have
been saved” (past tense) which is our
justification;
• 1 Corinthians 1:18 says,
“You are being saved” (present tense) which
is the process of our sanctification;
•
Romans 5:9 which says, “You shall be saved”
(future tense), in the believer’s final
glorification.
When we come to Christ
certain things happen in our lives that
conform us into Christ’s image and
ultimately brings us home to be with Him for
eternity.
The first thing to happen
in a Christian’s life is they are born again
through the process of regeneration.
Regeneration is a supernatural work of the
Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and
divine life are given to the new believer
(John 3:3-8). Regeneration occurs when God
acknowledges a person's belief in the gospel
and they are "born again" into the family of
God.
This change is made through the
power of the Holy Spirit. The new birth
begins and ends with God, not man. John 1:12-13 says, "But to all who did receive
him, who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God, who were
born, not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
(1 Jn. 2:29; 5:1-4).
The Bible
is clear, when we are born again we are
transformed spiritually into a new person.
Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old
has passed away; behold, the new has come."
We are not saved unless we have experienced
the new birth. John 3:5 says, "Jesus
answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
Our
good works have nothing to do with it. Titus 3:5 says, "He saved us, not because of works
done by us in righteousness, but according
to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy
Spirit." God made the provision for us to be
born again and regenerated through the new
birth so that His Spirit could come and live
inside of us.
When we are born again
God justifies us.
Justification is
the divine act of God whereby He legally
declares a sinner righteous because that
sinner has put their faith in Jesus Christ
for their salvation. Romans 3:21-26 says,
“But now the righteousness of God has been
manifested apart from the law, although the
Law and the Prophets bear witness to it —
the righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there
is no distinction: for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God, and are
justified by his grace as a gift, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God put forward as a propitiation by his
blood, to be received by faith. This was to
show God’s righteousness, because in his
divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins. It was to show his righteousness at
the present time, so that he might be just
and the justifier of the one who has faith
in Jesus.”
Therefore, justification
is not the result of any works the newly
justified person did, or will do, to merit
their salvation. We are justified freely by
God’s grace and His good pleasure in His
son. Jesus suffered torture and death for
those who would trust in him and his
righteousness to be saved. First Peter 2:24
says, “He himself bore our sins in his body
on the tree, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. By his wounds you
have been healed.”
Jesus Christ finished the
work required for our justification on the
cross. At the moment we trust in him for our
salvation we are justified (legally declared
righteous). Romans 5:9 says, “Since,
therefore, we have now been justified by his
blood, much more shall we be saved by him
from the wrath of God.”
When we are
justified we enter into a saving
relationship with the God who created us.
Justification is a one-time event in the
life of the believer. Romans 4:25 says, “who
was delivered up for our trespasses and
raised for our justification.”
Once we are
justified, God begins the process of taking
the world out of us and molding us into His
image through the process of sanctification.
Justification sets God’s people legally free
from the penalty for their sins;
sanctification sets God’s people free from
the power of sin. Justification is something
that God does for us; sanctification is what
God does inside of us.
Sanctification
is the process of setting something apart
for special use; to sanctify a person is to
make that person holy in God's eyes.
Sanctification is God’s gracious work that
enables Christians to follow God’s moral
teachings. In sanctification, we learn to
love God supremely and to love our neighbors
as ourselves. God does not sanctify us
because we are worthy or good. God
sanctifies us because of His mercy alone.
Sanctification is God’s free gift to those
who believe (Eph. 2:8).
The Holy
Spirit is the one who sanctifies us and
molds us into Christ’s image.
Galatians 3:1-3 says, “O foolish Galatians!
Who has bewitched you? It was before your
eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly
portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only
this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of
the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so
foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you
now being perfected by the flesh?”
God alone
sanctifies us. We are sanctified when we
walk in the Spirit and do not carry out the
desires of our human flesh. Galatians 5:16-18 says, “But I say, walk by the
Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires
of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh
are against the Spirit, and the desires of
the Spirit are against the flesh, for these
are opposed to each other, to keep you from
doing the things you want to do. But if you
are led by the Spirit, you are not under the
law.”
The flesh and the Spirit are
mutually exclusive. Either you live by the
power of the Holy Spirit which results in
righteous behavior and new spiritual
attitudes (Gal. 5:22-26), or by the law
which can only produce unrighteous behavior
and sinful attitudes (Gal. 5:19-21; Rom. 7).
Focusing on the law only brings death.
First Corinthians 15:56 says, "The sting of death
is sin, and the power of sin is the law."
When we submit our lives to Christ and put
our trust in Him, we will do naturally what
the law requires of us (Rom. 2:14-16).
We are only sanctified when we turn our
minds and hearts over to Christ so He can
change us. Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, I
urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God — this is your
spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve
what God's will is — his good, pleasing and
perfect will. (NIV)
We are saved by
God’s grace alone. Grace is God’s unmerited
favor towards those who do not deserve it.
It is God’s loving posture toward all
people. God does not sanctify a person
because they are worthy or good; God
sanctifies a person because of His mercy.
When we are sanctified, we turn our lives
over to Christ and gain new habits,
practices and thoughts.
Sanctification
results from the Holy Spirit working in a
Christian’s life. Galatians 5:22-26 says,
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law. And
those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us
also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us
not become conceited, provoking one another,
envying one another.”
The New
Testament speaks about both the relational
aspect of sanctification (setting a person
or thing apart for God), and the moral
aspect (living an upright life).
Sanctification means, “to be set apart” from
common use, “to be made holy.” The nature of
sanctification is twofold in that Christians
have been made holy through Christ, and they
are called to continue to grow into and
strive for holiness by cooperating with the
indwelling Holy Spirit until they enjoy
complete conformity to Christ in their final
glorification.
As a onetime event,
when we are born from above, we are brought
into God’s family and set apart for holy
living (Acts 20:32; 26:18; 1 Cor. 6:11).
As a process, the new
Christian becomes more sanctified over time
like a child who grows up into adulthood.
First Peter 2:2 says, “Like newborn infants, long
for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you
may grow up into salvation.” This means that
Christians should anticipate developing a
deeper spiritual life and become more like
the loving, compassionate, modest, and
self-controlled people that God created them
to be. Even though there will be occasional
failures and setbacks, God will ultimately
make His people more like Him.
In
Philippians 3:12-14 Paul said, “Not that I
have already obtained this or am already
perfect, but I press on to make it my own,
because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made
it [perfection] my own. But one thing I do:
forgetting what lies behind and straining
forward to what lies ahead, I press on
toward the goal for the prize of the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul realized
that he was not yet perfect and because of
that, he still sinned at times. He looked
forward to the resurrection and his
glorification when he would finally be
perfected. Paul emphasized the need for
progress in Christian living. He presented
himself as one who continually reached ahead
to see God’s kingdom come about. Paul knew
that this side of the resurrection we have
to deal with our sinful fallen nature. Our
flesh is corrupt (Rom. 7:15) and that will
only change when Christ comes to glorify us
and bring us home to be with Him.
The
final step in our salvation is our
glorification.
Glorification follows
the believer’s justification and
sanctification. It is the work of God in the
believer’s life to bring them to the
ultimate and perfect stage of
Christlikeness. Romans 8:29-30 says, “For
those whom he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son, in
order that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers. And those whom he predestined
he also called, and those whom he called he
also justified, and those whom he justified
he also glorified.”
Our glorification
includes receiving imperishable, resurrected
bodies at Christ’s return. First Corinthians 15:42-43 says, “So is it with the
resurrection of the dead. What is sown is
perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in
glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised
in power.”
Our final glorification is still
future. At that time, all God’s faithful
will be presented to the Lord without any
spot or blemish. Second Corinthians 3:18 says,
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding
the glory of the Lord, are being transformed
into the same image from one degree of glory
to another. For this comes from the Lord who
is the Spirit.” And 1 John 3:2 says,
“Beloved, we are God's children now, and
what we will be has not yet appeared; but we
know that when he appears we shall be like
him, because we shall see him as he is.”
Once we are glorified we will be with Christ
forever. Philippians 3:20-21 says, “But our
citizenship is in heaven, and from it we
await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who
will transform our lowly body to be like his
glorious body, by the power that enables him
even to subject all things to himself.”
When we are finally glorified, we will
be freed from both physical, and spiritual
defect, and we will never again experience
bodily decay, illness or death (1 Cor. 15:42-44; Rev. 21:4). Our
struggle with sin will be over and we will
be with Christ for all eternity.
Man
is justified, declared righteous apart from
doing anything the law requires. Our
salvation is through faith alone in Christ
alone. Romans 4:23-25 says, "But the words
“it was counted to him” were not written for
his sake alone, but for ours also. It will
be counted to us who believe in him who
raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was
delivered up for our trespasses and raised
for our justification."
No matter what we
do, we cannot earn our salvation! God’s
salvation is given to us as a free gift. No
one can stand before God and boast about
their good deeds. God is the only one who is
righteous, and He alone is worthy of our
praise. Every step in the process of our
salvation is a gift from God. In
Justification, God declares us righteous. In
sanctification, God changes us from within
by His Spirit indwelling us. In
glorification, God promises to bring us
home to live with Him eternally. Our role in
this process is to continue to believe in
Jesus Christ for our eternal redemption.
When we are saved, we enter into a
lifelong process of becoming more like Jesus
Christ Himself. Our salvation is sure and we
can know with certainty that we are saved
and will be with Christ for eternity. There
is nothing that is able to take this great
salvation away from us.
The Apostle Paul
said, "What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who can be against
us?... For I am sure that neither death nor
life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things
present nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Rom. 8:31, 38, 39)
No matter what
anyone has told you, no matter what your
church teaches, the scriptures assure us
that when we are saved, we can be absolutely
certain that we will be with Jesus when He
comes back again.
God loves us and
wants us to be with Him for the rest of
eternity. He wants us to accept His free
offer of salvation today!
First John 5:11-13 says, "And this is the testimony,
that God gave us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life;
whoever does not have the Son of God does
not have life. I write these things to you
who believe in the name of the Son of God
that you may know that you have eternal
life."
Remember, nothing can snatch
us out of God’s hands (John 10:28; Heb. 7:25).
Can you say for certain that
you are saved and have eternal life?
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