Foundations of Faith
SALVATION (II)
We have learned in recent issues that the basis of our salvation is the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins. That is God’s side-what He has done for us. The way of salvation-what we must do to be saved-is “repent and believe” (Mark 1:15). To repent means to accept the truth of the Bible that we are lost, dead in trespasses and sins, and deserving of God’s judgment because of our sins. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ means to place our full dependence on His sacrificial work on the cross for our eternal salvation.
To repeat from the last issue for emphasis, salvation is by faith alone and not by faith plus works. While repentance accompanies our faith, that repentance is not a work of merit on our part but simply our agreement with what the Bible says about our lost, sinful condition.
Salvation is also by grace alone. “By grace are you saved through faith” (Eph. 2:8). Grace, as mentioned last time, is favor shown to us who deserve the opposite. Grace is not just turning the left cheek to the one who hits us on the right one; it is baking a pie for that person; it is returning good for evil. (See Assignment 5)
God’s salvation is like that. We, because of our sins, deserve “hell fire” (Mark 10:47). Christ, in a very real sense, went through that hell fire in our place so that God could take us to heaven instead. What wonderful, marvelous grace! Our salvation is by grace alone. It is all of God. “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe,” goes the hymn. “You are bought with a price, therefore glorify God” (2 Cor. 6:20). Yes, God deserves all the thanks, all the praise, all the glory for our salvation. We have done absolutely nothing to deserve, earn, or merit it.
A Christian man was once confronted on the street by a young man who asked him, “Are you saved?” The older man, wanting to test the younger one, responded, “Saved from what?” The young man, full of zeal but lacking in knowledge, didn’t know how to answer that question.
We have considered how and by what means we are saved. But saved from what? The Bible speaks of three aspects of our salvation-past, present, and future.
Salvation from the Penalty of Sin (Past or Already Accomplished Aspect). Through faith in the finished work of Christ for our salvation, we have already been delivered from the penalty that our sins deserve-eternity in the lake of fire. “He who hears My word and believes on Him who sent me has everlasting life, and .. is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15).
Salvation from the Power of Sin (Present Aspect). “My beloved … work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Notice that this verse does not say “work for” but “work out your own salvation.” Thus, we are to let our salvation become very real and practical in our lives. The knowledge that Christ in His love for us suffered and died for us motivates us to live for Him rather than for ourselves (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). The realization that we have been saved from eternity in the lake of fire makes us want to glorify God and serve Christ as much as we possibly can. In this way we “work out” in practice our salvation. In this way we are saved or delivered from the power that sin once held over us.
Let us consider an example. Macho Max utterly despises Nerdy Ned. He can’t stand to be around that weakling. He considers Ned to be a disgrace to the male gender. Then one day Max is in deep trouble. His house has caught fire and he is trapped on the third floor. All he can do is throw up the window and holler at the top of his voice:”HELP!!!” Whom do you suppose comes to Max’s rescue? Yes, here comes Ned with a long ladder and climbs up and helps Max to safety. Max has not only been saved from a very dangerous-and possibly fatal-situation; he also has been totally delivered from his negative attitude toward Ned. Now, in his deep gratitude, he wants to do everything possible to help and please Ned. Just so, out of our great appreciation to our Saviour-Lord, we want to do everything possible to serve and glorify Him. In this way we are saved daily-as long as we keep our focus on Christ-from the power of sin in our lives.
In a sense, this present salvation is also a salvation from ourselves. What do I mean by this? Is it not true that we are our own worst enemies? All too often it is the stupid, selfish, sinful things we do that give us so much misery. I can think of dozens of people who have suffered for years or maybe a lifetime because of sinful actions and decisions. I speak of such things as having sex before or outside of marriage, a Christian marrying an unbeliever, using alcohol and illicit drugs, engaging in criminal activity, and ignoring the wise advice and counsel of others. As we center our lives around Christ-as we regard Him as our Lord and Master as well as our Saviour-we shall be saved from a great deal of sinning and from the misery that results from it.
The wonderful truth that we have “life in Christ Jesus” by virtue of His sufferings and death for us sets us free-saves us-from sin in our daily lives (Rom. 8:2; 5:10).
Salvation from the Presence of Sin (Future Aspect). The day is coming for the believer in Christ when there will be no more struggles with temptation and sin. In heaven we shall be delivered from our sinful natures. This is one of the reasons why heaven will be a happy place. There will not be the slightest bit of selfishness, pride, pretending, put downs, or cutting remarks. Everyone will be totally loving, giving, friendly, helpful, kind, and humble. Everything that caused separations among God’s people here on earth will be healed. What a wonderful eternity that will be!
Here are two scriptures that refer to this future salvation:”Unto those who look for [Christ] shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation (Heb. 9:28). “We … groan within ourselves , waiting for … the redemption of our body, for we are saved by hope” (Rom. 8:23,24). In heaven we will receive brand new bodies, perfectly adapted to life in heaven, to go along with our soul and spirit that is “conformed to the image of [God’s] Son” (Rom. 8:29).
Running the Race
Assignment 5: Write out two verses in Matthew 5 and two in Romans 12 that illustrate “grace,” that is, returning good for evil.