Salvation

Create Date: 1-Jan-2015
 

Last updated: 9-Aug-2024
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Sections

1 God's Greatest Problem
2 Three Aspects of Salvation
3 The Entire World
4 Justification - Part 1 of 3
5 Empowerment for Our Life Now - Part 2 of 3
6 Future Glory - Part 3 of 3

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior then we have Salvation that cannot be lost, stolen or forfeited.  It is impossible to lose Salvation because God has marked us permanently for God's Glory that shows His Word is Perfect, His Promises are Perfect, and His Power is Absolute.

God's Greatest Problem

God's Greatest Problem:  Excerpt from the Before the Cross topic:

This author has heard this from many Biblical Scholars describing our predicament of human beings. 

"God's greatest problem is how can He allow sinful creatures into His Presence without violating His Character that exercises perfect justice?  The answer required Him making the payment for the sins of mankind." 

While the scriptures state this exact same point, but perhaps all of us have heard the Cross story to many times, become desensitized to it, and have forgotten:

  1. God is Perfect and absolutely requires perfection that we are not capable of doing on our own as human beings until we are changed at the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ.  God's perfect justice required a payment for sins for each and absolutely everyone.
  2. The Crucifixion was not a tragedy but a perfectly carried out, accomplished, completed and victorious plan that was set out before the foundation of the world by hundreds prophecies, analogies and patterns. 
  3. The Crucifixion gave everyone of every Dispensational era of history, the ability to enter eternity by accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. 
  4. The Christian's life on Earth will still have consequences of sin, but are subject to Grace and Mercy where both good and bad is part of sowing and reaping along with obtaining future Rewards in Heaven.

Three Aspects of Salvation

There are three aspects of Salvation that make up the entire principle of Salvation.  Salvation's three aspects are wonderful and marvelous beyond our full and complete understanding.

  Aspect Summary
1 Past

Justification Through Jesus Christ Alone

 God chose us before the Foundation of the World.  God exists outside of all Time Domains and knew in advance those who would accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Ephesians 1:4-6 4 According as He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
2 Present

(a) To have a more rewarding life now.
(b) The creating and benefits Rewards in Heaven

Everything done through faith that:

  1. Developed our relationship with God during our life,
  2. Activities in God's Service,
  3. Faithfulness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
  4. Righteously suffering, and
  5. Overcoming sinful areas and obstacles in life through the Holy Spirit.

will contribute to our life now and also in the rewards in Heaven that includes our new glorified bodies.

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
John 3:15-18 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
3 Future

God's Glory for us being Eternity with Him.
(a) All the past memories of our sins are removed from memory.
(b) Not able to sin.

 Our sin nature, that was inherited from the separation caused by Adam and Eve, is gone for Eternity.  We are without any sin nature and no sin from our past will be remembered.  This is for God's Glory and all those in the Lake of Fire will have the additional pain of knowing that there is no one that remembers them.
Revelation 21:1-5 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Isaiah 43:18-21 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. 20 The beasts of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my praise.

The Entire World

The entire world of people that have been, that exist now and will be born before the time of the end of the current Earth before Eternity starts, all require Salvation through Jesus Christ.  There is no one that can enter Heaven unless they go through the Son of God as written in the scriptures. 

  1. We all are made aware of God by God's Salvation process that He has given mankind so that none of us are with excuse of not knowing about accountability for our lives.  We are made aware of God through:
    (a) His Creation, (Evolution is not real)
    (b) Angels,
    (c) Human witnesses,
    (d) His written Word, and
    (e) Theophanies.
  2. The Salvation process has always been the same throughout time, in all Dispensations,
    (a) which required our acceptance of God through Faith, not works, and
    (b) Acceptance of the payment for our sins through Jesus Christ.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Salvation is a free gift for all of mankind can receive.  Jesus Christ died on the Cross for the Salvation of the entire world.  The only requirement is we accept His PAYMENT on the Cross and ask Him to be our Savior.  If you have not done so, then ask Jesus Christ to be your Savior and accept this Free Gift of Love that is Priceless. 

There is a paradox in the human's perception of how God can be perfect and allow imperfection into eternity.  The imperfection is more adequately defined as the unrighteousness of every descendent of Adam and Eve.  All human beings are imperfect, and we run a debt that cannot be paid to allow us to enter Eternity in God's Presence.  Jesus Christ paid the debt which is not an act of forgiveness but rather a payment.  As Christians, we often use the words of forgiveness when speaking about our sins, but really in terms of the scriptures, the Cross made the payment required for all human beings to be able to enter Eternity if the free gift of the Cross is accepted. 

Our God did NOT forgive our sin debt, He Paid it for us!  As an analogy, consider our present-day system where a criminal who goes into prison, but after a period of time has gone by and the criminal is released from prison, then the prisoner is said to have paid the debt to society.  When the criminal was pronounced guilty in court, the court did not forgive the criminal but required a punishment that equates to time in prison to pay the debt. 

None of us are able to go to Heaven without the Savior, Jesus Christ because we are not righteous. 

Romans 3:23-26 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." 25 whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; 26 for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.

Salvation is not simply a one blanket covering statement in the Word of God.  There is three tenses describing the past, present and future aspects of anyone that receives Salvation.  We can think of it as:

  1. Justification Done by Jesus Christ (Past) - We are made Righteous and freed from the penalty of our ins.
  2. Empowerment Now (Present) - Power given to us to live up to our full potential with the additional gifts of Grace and Mercy..
  3. Future Glory - To live in eternity with God and receive Rewards in Heaven.

Many Christians unfortunately think about Salvation in a singular aspect, which then fosters the incorrect belief that there is nothing else remaining to do after acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Savior.  Indeed, it is the first, most important but there is so much more! 

Justification - Part 1 of 3

When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior then the person's sins in life have a payment, which frees the person from the penalty of eternal damnation and so many other wonderful rewards, opportunities and gifts.  The Old Testament person has the same method of believing in Faith that God would accept the sacrifices done which point to God's sacrifice, of Himself, which is pointed to throughout the Old Testament scriptures.  Hebrews 10:7, Jesus says that the volume of the book is written of Him.

In Genesis 22:8, "Abraham answered Isaac question, "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.", notice the part God providing an offering.  This is not simply words but taken literally it points to the Son on the Cross who will be offered up as sacrifice for the sins of the entire world.  It was done in the exact same spot which Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac but God provided a Ram.  Ram is a male sheep.

In what is described as the Holy Of Holies in the Old Testament, read the entire chapter of Isaiah 53.  It describes the Messiah being beaten, bruised, taken to the slaughter, cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people he was stricken.  There is so much beauty in this chapter that cannot be addressed in such a short space on this topic, so read it yourself where you will be amazed.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Empowerment for Our Life Now - Part 2 of 3

There are many scriptures dealing with power that God has given us to have victory to overcome against the satanic powers that come against us along with our own selfish desires that acts contrary to the perfect nature of God.  We are no longer under the Mosaic Laws and have been given a greater law under the Holy Spirit who indwells which helps us to grow in love and Faith of our God. 

As we grow in our Faith, not one of us are completely victorious and free of sin.  It is process where we hopefully sin less and less as we spiritually mature in our walk with the Lord that will only be perfected when we receive our new bodies 2 Corinthians 5:2.   When we continue to mature in our Faith and eliminate sinful activities, our minds become more and more clear with greater abilities to understand so much more in God's scriptures and life, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:6-7 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Romans 6:14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
2 Corinthians 5:2-5 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

While we walk on this Earth, thank God for Grace and Mercy which He extends to His people who have chosen Him through Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:31-33 31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

Future Glory - Part 3 of 3

This is the wonderful Good News that once we accept in Faith the death of Jesus the Christ for our sins where God gets the Glory as we did nothing to earn it and no one can then boast, we can enter Heaven for eternity. 

Additionally, we are able to come before God and receive praise for the accomplishments we have done in God's Service along with the love we developed for God which will be to our glory.  Our actions will determine our Rewards in Heaven.

What to read next?

Is it possible to lose Salvation?  We have eternal life.  Evolution is not real.  When a Christian suffers is there benefits from it.  Rewards in heaven.  Do we Tithe?  What does the 3rd Commandment tell us?  What is Grace and Mercy?  Is there an Age of Accountability?  Is there a place of unending punishment and exile form God?