Salvation - Soteriology - Part 2

Genesis 49:18 ^“I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!”

In our Wednesday night teaching series on “Systematic Theology”, Pastor JJ has been explaining the foundational truths of Christianity that we may build upon “good word” of the Bible in every aspect of our faith and life. Week seven brings us to the heart of the gospel: “Salvation”. We are saved from eternal damnation in Hell to eternal glory in Heaven. Why and how? What is the necessity of salvation?

2 Samuel 22:3 & 47 ^“The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence. The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation!”

One of the barriers of our understanding is realizing the fact that God is Holy, Just, and Righteous. We have a tendency to try to bring infinite God down to our finite, tangible level, but it is mankind that must elevate in holiness towards God. God is merciful and loving, gracious and kind. From His goodness, He must punish sin, or else He is not good and could not be God because He would give up His Holiness. Sin contrasts His holiness and must be dealt with. The sin of mankind misses God’s mark and all of us are guilty. Natural man is on the side of sin and not on the side of God’s blessings. The wages of which is spiritual death and eternal separation from God, because God can have nothing to do with sin. The result of sin is total depravity. There is no way to merit salvation and no option to pay. By our willful disobedience in sin, we deserve God’s justice. But God is merciful.

1 Chronicles 16:23 “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.”

Though salvation cannot earned, is not deserved, and cannot be purchased by us, loving God demonstrates His grace in reconciliation by removing the separating barriers of sin through restoration. God - “the Father’ is the source, God - “the Son” is the agent and the substitution death of the sinless Redeemer Jesus on the cross is the instrument of that reconciliation by paying the price of our sin in our place. We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Acts 4:11-12 “Jesus is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

The Blood of Christ was expiate in atonement to remove our sins horizontally (as far as the east is from the west), and a propitiation to God as a suitable sacrifice in our behalf vertically to satisfy His wrath. Redemption comes by faith in the finished work of the blessed Savior because our sin is imputed to the Lord and His perfect righteousness of the “Lamb without blemish” is credited to us in substitution, for those who believe. Not mere intellectual assent, nor mere temporal faith, but trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. Regeneration of the spirit that died from Adam’s original sin upon all mankind, that those who were spiritually dead are made alive.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”

We receive justification, which is the subtraction of our sins, declared not guilty, and freed from the penalty of sin, being found just as if we had never sinned. By the grace of God, we receive by faith the unmerited favor of God by getting what we do not deserve … riches at Christ’s expense. We didn’t deserve it then, and we don’t deserve it now, but by His grace we have it when we place our full trust in the Savior of the world – Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

The ABC’s to Salvation are: (a) Admit that you are a Sinner. (unless you are perfect, but nobody’s perfect), (b) Believe in Jesus (our sins were paid for in full on the cross and it is finished), and (c) Confess that Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to heaven , is seated on the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and that Christ is our Lord. This side of Heaven, we have eternal security of where we are going to go when we, the child of God, dies. We receive initial Sanctification in our new position before God as holy and blameless, then start the process of sanctification, where we grow, improve and mature into the likeness of Christ on our journey to the Promised Land – the kingdom of Heaven as our eternal perspective.

1 Peter 1:6-9 “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

With salvation, Justification is a one time act, while sanctification is a day to day process. Justification is the reality of an eternal position with Christ, while sanctification is a temporal position of shaped us for today and preparing us for glory to come. Justification exempts us from the great white throne judgment, while sanctification prepares us for the rewards of the Bema Seat Judgment. Justification removes the guilt and penalty of sin, while sanctification removes the growth and power of sin in our life. Justification is possible because Jesus died for sin’s penalty, conquering sin and death, that our sanctification removes sin’s power.

Revelation 7:10 “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

It was once said that once was accept the free gift of salvation by the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross in our place and receive the gift of eternal life, all the rest of our life is simply a P.S. to that day, saying, “Thank you Lord for what You gave to me.” Salvation.

In Christ, Brian