By Carl Kline
WHAT IS SALVATION?
HOW LONG DOES SALVATION LAST ?
IS SALVATION ONCE FOR ALL, OR IS IT A CONTINUAL PROCESS ?
What is salvation ?
According to one dictionary, salvation is described as: “preservation from destruction, rescue” also “In theology, spiritual rescue from sin and death through the atonement of Jesus; redemption.”
Scripturally speaking: “All have, sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
That means ALL of us are unfit to meet God. We are ALL in need of salvation because: “The wages of sin is death” [Rom. 6:23a). To make matters worse: “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” [Rom.3:20).
That would seem to leave us without any hope of escaping the wrath of a perfect, holy and just God. Our lot would be: “A certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devout the adversaries” (Heb. 10:27). That is the bad news.
Now let us look at the GOOD NEWS The Bible declares:
“God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died far us (Rom. 5:8). Christ, “Whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith” (Rom. 3:25). “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).
If you, by faith, have accepted the forgiveness of your sins which Christ paid for with His own blood you have redemption. (That is the dictionary definition of salvation)
Every one of us must at some point in our lives accept this free gift from God or face the eternal consequences (Jn. 3:36).
Now that you are saved, how long will salvation last? The Bible says:
“Having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit oft promise, Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:13b,14)
“You were sealed far the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30b).
Is salvation a once for all event or is it a continual thing?
It is BOTH. We are accepted of God the moment we trust Christ. At the same time we are indwelled and sealed by the Holy Spirit. All this is based on the once for all sacrifice of Christ:
“For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).
It is: Past, Present, future
- In the past we were saved from the penalty and guilt of sin.
At the present time we are being saved from the power of sin.
- In the future we will be saved from the presence of sin.
The last one (3) is the most obvious. When we go to heaven we will ALL be changed.
“We shall be like Him” (1 Jn. 3:2).
“Conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).
“We become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21).
There will be no sin in heaven.
As to the past (1) our salvation is counted from “Before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). (Note the past tense.)
This salvation should give us a clear conscience (Heb. 9:14). That was something the law could not do (Heb. 9:9). We have ETERNAL life!
Does John 3:15 say: Whosoever believeth in Him might perish because he only has CONDITIONAL life?
Absolutely NOT! God’s salvation is ETERNAL.
Now for point number two (2) Saved from the POWER of sin. There is much misunderstanding as to HOW we are presently saved from the power of sin.
(1) Some believe that God will prevent the true believer from sinning. 1 Samuel 25:4-9 are used as proof texts. But how do we explain II Samuel chapters 11 and 12? God did not stop David from committing adultery and murder. Obviously God does not always prevent believers from sinning.
- Some seem to think they have already achieved sinless perfection. This is unscriptural!
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourself, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8). Note “HAVE” (present tense). Let us not be deceived by self-righteous pride.
- Some feel that as they grow to maturity in the Christian life, they will no longer yield to the forces of sin. That would also be contrary to 1 John 1:8.
Let us recall that salvation past was not by any effort on our part, it was totally the work of God which we humbly accepted as a free gift (Rom 3:24).
Salvation future is also totally the work of God through the resurrection. We can do nothing to bring about our own resurrection.
So it is with salvation present. It is totally the work of God. At present we are saved from the power of sin, not by our own effort but by God’s provision.
We need to answer this question: WHAT IS THE POWER OF SIN?
“The sting of death is sin, and THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW” but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:56,57).
What than is the difference between “STRENGTH” and “POWER”?
There is no difference. They are both the same Greek word. It is usually translated “power.”
Therefore if we are presently being saved from the power of sin, it is because we are being saved from the law through our Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Romans declares:
“Now we are delivered from the law” (Rom. 7:6)
“Apart from the law sin was dead.”(Rom.7:8)
“Sin si not imputed when there is no Law” (Rom. 5:13)
“Having been made free from sin” (Rom. 6:22)
Being saved from the power of sin is our present POSITION before God. Our life might not be quite , that perfect but we should be so grateful for what God has done for us in Christ that we would want to please Him.