|
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 not
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.
Next we will consider our
salvation from the bondage of sin.
NEXT -
Salvation
from Sin's
Bondage
Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS |
