Soteriology Lesson 8 - Salvation from What?

     Most Christians think of salvation in the spiritual sense in which we are saved from the lake of fire (Rev 20:15), and look forward with confidence to our heavenly home (John 14:1-3; 17:24).[1] This is accurate; however, salvation throughout Scripture varies, depending on the suffering or danger caused by sin or sinful people. In the OT, God delivered His people from military attacks (2 Sam 22:3-4; 1 Ch 16:35; Psa 3:6-8), fear (Psa 34:4), troubles (Psa 34:17), and death (Psa 56:13). The same is true in the NT, where God delivered people from physical harm (Matt 8:25-26; 14:30-33; Mark 13:20; John 11:12; Acts 27:20, 31, 44), and diseases (Matt 9:20-22; Luke 6:8-9; Jam 5:15). These records of salvation are wonderous, and God is worthy of all the praise and honor. But Scripture also reveals there were times when God, according to His sovereignty, did not rescue His people physically, but allowed them to suffer, even to the point of a martyr’s death. The writer to the Hebrews reveals that some of God’s faithful people “were tortured…and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground” (Heb 11:35-38). As believers, they were saved from the greatest danger of all, eternal separation from God in the lake of fire, but not from the pains and hardships of living in a sinful and hostile world where persecution is normal for those who pursue godliness (2 Tim 3:12). Though these faithful saints were not physically rescued from their hardship, God gave them grace (i.e., divine enablement) to cope with whatever suffering they faced, so that they were strengthened and sustained in their inner person. The Lord told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9), and for all Christians, we are instructed to draw near to God’s “throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16). 

Three tenses of salvation

     Concerning the Christian’s spiritual deliverance, the NT describes it in three tenses (past, present, and future). Because we have trusted Christ as our Savior, we have been saved from the penalty of sin (John 5:24; Rom 8:1, 33-34; Eph 2:8-9), are being saved from the power of sin that we might live righteously (Rom 6:11-13; Col 3:5), and will be saved from the presence of sin when we leave this world and enter heaven (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2, 5). These three aspects of our salvation are also referred to as justification (declared just before God once for all), sanctification (our progressive righteousness over time), and glorification (removal of the sin nature after we leave this world). According to Chafer, “In its broadest significance, the doctrine of salvation includes every divine undertaking for the believer from his deliverance out of the lost estate to his final presentation in glory conformed to the image of Christ.”^[2] Charles Ryrie adds:

• "The inclusive sweep of salvation is underscored by observing the three tenses of salvation. (1) The moment one believed he was saved from the condemnation of sin (Eph 2:8; Tit 3:5). (2) That believer is also being saved from the dominion of sin and is being sanctified and preserved (Heb 7:25). (3) And he will be saved from the very presence of sin in heaven forever (Rom 5:9-10)."^[3]

     The first and third aspects of our salvation (i.e., justification and glorification) are accomplished by God without any human assistance whatsoever. Concerning our justification, Scripture reveals that “God is the one who justifies” (Rom 8:33), and “who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5). This is a work of God alone. No works are required for the one who trusts in Christ as Savior (Rom 4:4-5; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). Concerning our future glorification, Jesus Christ is the One “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:21), and “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2), and that “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). This means our future heavenly body will have no sin nature. This also is a work of God alone. However, the second aspect of our salvation, our sanctification, requires positive volition on our part. This is obvious by the use of NT verbs that are in the imperative mood (i.e., commands), which require the Christian to obey. As believers, we play a role in our sanctification as we learn and live God’s Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), yield to God the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16, 25), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1).

Dr. Steven R. Cook

 

[1] For the child of God, our spiritual deliverance from sin is the most important deliverance we can know, as we will never experience God’s wrath (John 3:36; Rom 5:9), condemnation (Rom 8:1), or eternal separation from Him (Matt 25:46). After we die, our physical body returns to the dust, and our spirit immediately goes to heaven (Eccl 12:7). Paul wrote, “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor 5:1). When we die, we are “absent from the body” and immediately “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8), waiting in heaven for our future resurrection body (1 Cor 15:42-44).

^[2] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993), 6.

^[3] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 318–319.