|
Salvation
This is the first in a
series of essays on the subject of salvation. The words
save means "to deliver; to make or keep safe; or to
preserve."
In all but a couple of times
in the New Testament the word is used as a verb or a
preposition.
To understand the subject of
salvation there are a few rules we must follow:
1. First,
we must know what we are being delivered from or what we are
being delivered to. For instance, if I say, "I am saved."
That statement begs the question: "What am I saved from?" or
"What am I saved to?" Without knowing the "from" or "to"
the statement loses meaning.
2. Second,
we must know the context in which it is used. Most often
the context defines the meaning and application of words.
3. Third,
we need to know what brings about the salvation. For
instance is the salvation brought about by my actions or
works, or is the salvation brought about solely by the
actions or works of God and we are the recipients of that
salvation by the grace of God? To illustrate the above,
someone cried out "Lord, save me." Without any more
information we don't know if the person was concerned with
the condition of his soul or if he was concerned with the
immediate surrounding conditions. As it turns out, Peter
was walking on water to go to Jesus. When he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried,
saying, Lord, save me. Peter was concerned with the
immediate surrounding conditions and was crying out for the
Lord to save him from drowning. He was not at that time
occupied with thoughts of where he would spend eternity.
There are two categories of
salvation taught in the scriptures. There is the category
that deals with our eternal salvation, i.e., our salvation
from the condemning effects of sin, our salvation from being
dead in trespasses and sins, and our salvation into heaven's
glory world. All aspects of our eternal salvation we find
is brought about by God's grace and is not by the works or
actions of man.
The second category deals
with the many timely deliverance God's people can and do
experience in our timely stay upon earth. Included in this
category are deliverance from ignorance, from vain worship,
from the pitfalls of life, from going about to establish our
own righteousness, from this untoward generation, etc. In
this category certain works or actions are generally
required by the child of God to bring about the
deliverance.
2 Tim. 2:10 illustrates
these two categories of salvation: "Therefore I endure
all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."
The verse indicates with the words, "also" and "with," that
these are two categories of salvation taught in the
scripture. One category as we have discussed pertains to
eternal glory. The elect in this verse already have eternal
glory due to the work and actions of God and by his grace.
The second category of salvation is conditioned on the elect
performing some work or action in order to obtain the timely
salvation. This is a conditional salvation. The elect may
or may not obtain this salvation based on whether or not
they fulfill the conditions prescribed. The eternal glory
is an unconditional salvation. God has and will perform
every thing necessary for the elect to obtain eternal
glory.
Next one must already have
been saved from the condemnation of sin and from being dead
in trespasses and sins before he can experience the timely
category of salvation. Phil. 2:12, 13 illustrates this
principle: "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it
is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his own
good pleasure." Thus we see that before we can work out our
timely salvation God must first have performed a work in us
that gives us both a desire (to will) toward God and his
service and an ability (to do) to perform the service of
God." Therefore, we have to be saved eternally in order
that we might experience timely salvation.
NEXT -
Salvation
from Sin's Condemnation
Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS |
