Salvation From
Sin's Bondage
In our previous essay we considered salvation from
sin's condemnation and concluded that it was by grace through the
atoning sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. In this essay we will consider
our salvation from
sin's bondage.
When Adam ate of the forbidden fruit he brought
himself and all his
posterity into the bondage of sin. His flesh nature
and subsequently
our flesh nature was so corrupted by sin that it
rendered him and us
incapable of willingly serving or seeking God. The
following passages
of scripture describe our fallen depraved flesh
nature:
1. Rom.
3:9 18 "What then? Are we better than they? No in no
wise: for we
have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they
are all under sin;
as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not
one: there is none
that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God. They are all
gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is
none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is
an open sepulcher;
with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison
of asps is under
their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness: their feet
are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are
in their ways: and
the way of peace have they not known: there is no
fear of God before
their eyes."
2. Eph. 2:1 3 "And you hath he quickened, who were
dead in
trespasses and sins; wherein in times past ye walked
according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience: among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past in
the lusts of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of
the mind; and were by
nature the children of wrath, even as others."
3. 1 Cor. 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the
Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Thus in our fallen sin corrupt nature we are
rendered incapable of:
1. Knowing the things of the Spirit of God.
2. Understanding the things of God.
3. Seeking after God.
4. Doing anything good.
5. Fearing God.
6. Knowing the way of peace.
7. Receiving the things of the Spirit of God.
Furthermore, we were enslaved to our sin corrupted
flesh nature so that
we were bound to:
1. Walk after the world.
2. Walk after Satan.
3. Have our lifestyle (conversation) in the lusts of
the flesh.
4. Fulfill the desires of the flesh.
5. Fulfill the desires of the mind.
6. Commit the wicked works of the flesh.
It was while we were in bondage to our sin corrupt
flesh nature that
God saved us, not from the corruption of sin, but
from the bondage of
sin as we read in Rom. 8:2, "For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death." In the miracle
of the new birth God has freed us from the bondage
of the sin corrupt
flesh nature. We still have the sin corrupt nature
and it is as Paul
stated in Rom. 7:18, "For I know that in me (that
is, in my flesh,)
dwelleth no good thing." Our freedom comes from the
fact that God has
imparted within us a new nature, so that we are no
longer bound to the
slavery of sin, but can seek God, know the things of
God, serve God,
worship God, do good, walk by faith, pray unto God,
understand spiritual
things, etc.
The scriptures speak
of the new birth as salvation as we read in the
following verses:
1. Eph. 2:4, 5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for
his great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in
sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ (by grace ye are saved)."
2. Tit. 3:4, 5 "But after that the kindness and love
of God our
Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost..."
We note that this salvation from sin's bondage is by
the grace of God
and not by works of righteousness which we have
done. The new birth is
brought about by the direct work of the Holy Spirit
quickening us into
spiritual life when we were still dead in trespasses
and sins. At the
time we were quickened us were completely incapable
of performing or
doing any "works of righteousness." Truly, it is
according to God's
great love wherewith he loved us that while we were
yet his enemy that
he caused us to be born of the Spirit. Truly, God is
rich in mercy to
quicken vile sinners. Salvation from the bondage of
sin is by grace.
Salvation
From Sin's Condemnation
There are at least three aspects to the eternal
salvation into heaven's
glory world. All three aspects deal with salvation
from sin. The first
aspect which will be the topic of this essay is
salvation from the
condemning effects of sin. The second aspect is
salvation from the
bondage of sin. The third aspect is salvation from
the corruption of
sin.
Salvation from the condemnation of sin took place at
the cross.
Salvation from the bondage of sin takes place when
we are born of the
Spirit. Salvation from the corruption of sin takes
place in the
resurrection. Together these three deliverances make
up our eternal
salvation from sin into heaven's glory world.
We will begin our consideration of the salvation
from the condemnation
of sin by noting those passages of scripture that
indicate we were under
the condemnation or curse of sin:
1. Gen. 2:17 "But of the tree of knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
2. Rom. 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death..."
3. Rom. 5:18 "Therefore as by the offense of one
judgment came upon
all men to condemnation..."
4. Gal. 3:10 "For as many as are of the works of the
law are under
the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one
that continueth not in
all things that are written in the book of the law
to do them."
5. Matt. 25:41, 46 "Then shall he say unto them on
the left hand,
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil
and his angels...and these shall go away into
everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal."
Jesus' declared purpose for coming into the world is
set forth for us
in Matt. 1:20, 21, "But while he thought on these
things, behold, the
angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream,
saying, Joseph, thou son
of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:
for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son.and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from
their sins."
Thus God's declared purpose for Jesus
to come into the
world was to save "his people" from "their sins!"
That it was necessary
that someone should save us from our sins is
declared in Matt. 19:25,26, "When his disciples heard this they were
exceedingly amazed, saying,
Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and
said unto them, With
men this is impossible; but with God all things are
possible." Thus
salvation from sin is not something men can bring
about, but only God
can bring about.
That Jesus is the only one who could save us from
sin is declared in
Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved."
Thus we are saved by Jesus and none other. Paul
punctuated this concept
in I Tim. 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and
worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners; of
whom I am chief."
II Tim. 1:9 tells us that salvation from sin was by
God's purpose
before the world began and is by God's grace: "Who
hath saved us, and
called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began." All of our works
including the work of
faith, are excluded from having any part in bringing
about this
salvation from sin's condemnation. It is solely by
the grace of God
that we are saved. Paul said we could not mix works
and grace in Rom.11:6, "And if by grace, then it is no more of works:
otherwise grace is
no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no
more grace:
otherwise work is no more work."
This salvation from sin's condemnation is a
completed salvation and
completely removed the curse of the law from us as
declared in Gal.
3:13, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one
that hangeth on a
tree." When Christ hang on the tree of the cross he
became our curse
for us.
According to II Cor. 5:21, "For he hath made
him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in
him." Becoming sin for us and being made a curse for
us Jesus suffered
the full and complete wrathful judgment of God that
God demanded as
payment for our sins. He paid it all, all the debt
we owed. The ransom
payment has been made. The condemnation of sin is
past as we read in
Heb. 10:14, "For by one offering he hath perfected
for ever them that
are sanctified." According to Heb. 8:12 God will no
more remember our
sins and iniquities against us. According to Rom.
8:33 there is no
charge that can be laid to God's elect for it is God
that justifieth.
Yea, there is no condemnation of sin to them in
Christ Jesus.
May the
name of Jesus Christ be praised for ever by his
people.
Salvation
From Sin's Corruption
This is our third essay dealing with our eternal salvation from sin. In the previous two essays we considered salvation from sin's condemnation and salvation from sin's bondage. In this essay we will consider salvation from sin's corruption. II Cor. 1:10 connects these three aspects of salvation from sin together: "Who
delivered us from so
great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust
that he will yet
deliver us." The writer indicates a past
deliverance, a present
deliverance, and a future deliverance. All three
deliverances are
brought about by God. Jesus died to redeem us from
sin's condemnation
(past deliverance). The Holy Spirit quickens us
(causes us to be born
again) to deliver us from sin's bondage (present
deliverance). Jesus
Christ is coming again to deliver us from sin's
corruption (future
deliverance).
This future deliverance from sin's corruption shall
take place in the
resurrection of the dead. I Cor. Chapter 15 is
abundantly clear in
describing our deliverance from sin's corruption. We
quote the
following verses to show the change that will take
place in our mortal
bodies in the resurrection:
1. V.42 "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It
is sown in
corruption; it is raised in incorruption.
2. V.43 "It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in
glory..."
3. V.43 "It is sown in weakness; it is raised in
power."
4. V.44 "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a
spiritual body."
5. V.49 "As we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly."
6. V.53 "For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality."
Thus the resurrection is the time our mortal bodies
will be delivered
from sin's corruption as Paul wrote in I Cor. 15:54
57, "So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death,
where is thy
sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of
death is sin; and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, which giveth us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." We make
the following
observations about this deliverance from sin's
corruption:
1. It is brought about by the power of God.
2. It is the gift of God.
3. The victory is through the covenant work of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
4. It is the final ultimate victory over sin, death,
the grave, the
devil, and hell for God's elect.
When Paul said that the body is raised in glory he
thus tied the
resurrection to the covenant of redemption as set
forth in Rom. 8:29,
30, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many
brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he
also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he
justified, them he
also glorified." Thus we are brought to the
conclusion that all three
aspects of salvation from sin (salvation from
condemnation, bondage, and
corruption) are tied to this covenant whereby God
purposed before the
world began to predestinate the elect to be
conformed to Jesus Christ.
In all three aspects we are brought to the
conclusion that eternal
salvation from sin is by the grace of God and not by
any work of man.
This is in harmony with the words of God recorded in
Isa. 63:5, "I
looked and there was none to help; and I wondered
that there was none to
uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation to
me; and my fury, it
upheld me."
In our next essay we will begin to consider the many
timely
deliverances to God's children that are promised to
them thru their
faith and obedience to God's word. Now these
deliverances do not alter
or change what God has done in bringing about the
eternal salvation from
sin's condemnation, bondage, and corruption. God's
eternal salvation
stands for an eternity, but he has also given us
(the elect of God) the
prospect of many timely deliverances.
Providential
Salvation
In previous essays we have studied our eternal
salvation from sin
including salvation from sin's condemnation,
salvation from sin's
bondage, and salvation from sin's corruption and
noted that God has
sovereign-ly saved us by his grace. Then we proceeded
to study many of
the timely deliverance that come to God's elect
including salvation from
ignorance, salvation from a condemning heart,
salvation from death of
fellowship, and salvation from an untoward
generation! We learned the
importance of the faith and good works of God's
elect in effecting these
timely deliverance.
In this essay we take
an overview look at four providential deliverance
(salvation) presented to us in the scriptures. God
in his providence
works in the daily lives of his children. Sometimes
he delivers us from
circumstances either to save our lives or to deliver
our lives from what
we would consider to be adverse circumstances. I
invite the reader to
consider the faith and works of God's obedient
people that is
demonstrated during these scriptural episodes.
The first episode we
will look at is found in Matt. 8:23 27, "And when
he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed
him. And, behold,
there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch
that the ship was
covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his
disciples came to
him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we
perish. And he said unto
them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?
Then, he arose, and
rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great
calm. But, the men
marveled, saying, What manner of man is this, that
even the winds and
the sea obey him!"
The second episode is
Matt. 14:25 31:
"And in the fourth watch of the
night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And
when the disciples
saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled,
saying, It is a spirit;
and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them,
saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
And Peter answered
him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto
thee on the water.
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out
of the ship, he
walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw
the wind
boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he
cried, saying,
Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth
his hand, and
caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst
thou doubt?"
The third episode we
present is Luke 18:35 43, "And it came to pass,
that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain
blind man sat by the
way side begging: and hearing the multitude pass by,
he asked what it
meant. And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by. And he
cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy
on me. And they
which went before rebuked him, that he should hold
his peace: but he
cried so much the more, Thou son of David, have
mercy on me: and Jesus
stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and
when he was come
near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I
should do unto thee?
And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And
Jesus said unto
him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
And immediately he
received his sight, and followed him, glorifying
God: and all the people
when they saw it, gave praise unto God."
The fourth episode is
found in Heb. 11:7, "By faith Noah, being warned
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to
the saving of his house; by the which he condemned
the world, and became
heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
While I only chose
four episodes the old and new testament are full of
such episodes of God delivering his people with such
timely
deliverance. I marvel when I hear some people say
they don't believe in
timely salvation. Are they reading the same bible I
am reading? The
fact is God is not only the God who has wrought our
eternal salvation
from sin, but he is the God who is with us in the
midst of our lives and
in the circumstances of our lives. He is not a God
afar off, but one
who is near. He has told us to cast our care upon
him for he careth for
us. If we would stop to consider God's providential
mercy and grace
upon each of us then we are drawn to the conclusion
that we have been
saved many times from many adverse circumstances and
trials and
tribulations in our lives. Furthermore, when we read
of such
deliverance in the scripture and consider our
experiences of life and
God's dealings with us in providence, then it
encourages us to "lift up
our eyes unto the hills from whence cometh our help"
when we come face
to face with future trials and trying circumstances.
