Lesson 28 - Salvation From the Penalty of Sin

Salvation From the Penalty of Sin

     The most common word for salvation in the Hebrew OT is יָשַׁע yasha (sometimes as יְשׁוּעָה yeshua) which means “deliverance, rescue, salvation, also safety, [and] welfare.”[1] Salvation in the OT was primarily physical, as one might be delivered from his enemy in battle or from a plague (2 Sam. 22:3-4; 1 Chron. 16:23, 35; Job 5:4, 11; Ps. 3:6-8; 44:4-8; 85:7, 9; 89:26; Isa. 17:10; 45:8; Mic. 7:7). In the NT the Greek verb σῴζω sozo refers to the act of physical deliverance in some biblical passages Matt. 8:25; 14:30; Mark 13:20; Luke 6:9; John 11:12; Acts 27:20, 31), and spiritual deliverance in others (Luke 7:50; 19:10; John 12:47; 1 Cor. 1:21; Tit. 3:5; Heb. 7:25).

Salvation as God’s Remedy for Sin

1. Sin is always equally sinful whether it be committed by the heathen or the civilized, the unregenerate or the regenerate (Rom. 3:9-10; Gal. 3:22).[2]
2. Sin can be cured only on the ground of the shed blood of the Son of God (Eph. 1:7; Col 1:13-14).

Salvation Before and After the Cross

1. The divine method of dealing with sin before the cross is said to have been by atonement, which word, in its biblical use, means simply “to cover.” The animal sacrifices were a temporary covering for sin, but did not remove sin (Heb. 10:4).[3]
2. The divine method of dealing with sin since the cross is stated in Romans 3:26. Christ has died. Jesus death on the cross did not cover sin; but rather, took it away (John 1:29; 2:13-14; Heb. 10:4; 1 John 3:5).

The Three Tenses of Salvation

1. The past tense of salvation is revealed in certain passages which, when speaking of salvation, refer to it as being wholly past, or completed for the one who has believed (Eph. 2:4-9). So perfect is this divine work that the saved one is said to be safe forever (John 5:24; 10:27-28; Rom. 8:1).[4]
2. The present tense of salvation…has to do with present salvation from the reigning power of sin (1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15; cf. 2:12-13).
3. The future tense of salvation contemplates that the believer will yet be saved into full conformity to Christ (Rom. 13:11; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; cf. 1 John 3:2).

Salvation as the Finished Work of Christ

Jesus’ death is sufficient for all (John 3:16; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:2), but effective only for those who believe in Him as Savior (Acts 10:43; 13:38-39; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:13-14).

Salvation as the Saving Work of God

• The saving work of God which is accomplished the moment one believes includes various phases of God’s gracious work: redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, forgiveness, regeneration, imputation, justification, sanctification, perfection, glorification. By it we are made fit to be partakers of the inheritance of saints (Col. 1:12), made accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6), made the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21), made near to God (Eph. 2:13), made sons of God (John 1:12), made citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20), made a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), made members of the family and household of God (Eph. 2:19; 3:15), and made complete in Christ (Col. 2:10).[5]

Salvation as Related to the Sin of the Saved

1. The forgiveness of sin is accomplished for the sinner when he believes upon Christ and is a part of his salvation.[6]
2. In the divine dealing with the sins of the Christian, it is the sin question alone that is in view, and the Christian’s sin is forgiven, not on the ground of believing unto salvation, but on the ground of confessing the sin (1 John 1:9).

Salvation Conditioned on Faith Alone

• "In the New Testament in about 115 passages, the salvation of a sinner is declared to depend only upon believing and in about 35 passages to depend on faith, which is a synonym for believing. By believing an individual wills to trust Christ. It is an act of the whole man, not just his intellect or his emotion. While intellectual assent is not of real faith, and merely a stirring of the emotions is short of faith, believing is a definite act in which the individual wills to receive Christ by faith."[7]

 

[1] Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2000), 447.

[2] These points are taken verbatim from Major Bible Themes, 182.

[3] These points are taken verbatim from Major Bible Themes, 183.

[4] These points are taken verbatim from Major Bible Themes, 184.

[5] Lewis Sperry Chafer; John F. Walvoord; Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 2010), 185.

[6] These points are taken verbatim from Major Bible Themes, 186.

[7] Chafer; Walvoord, Major Bible Themes, 187.