SO GREAT SALVATION

Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. All of us who belong to Adam's fallen race may benefit from his salvation. In order to benefit from Jesus' work on the cross, we must repent of our sin, trust in his death as our substitute, and receive him as our personal Saviour. (John 1:12; 3:16) Then God gives to us freely all the benefits of such a great salvation. (Hebrews 2:3) In this chapter we will look at the aspects of this salvation that the Bible presents to us. The aspects of the new life will be discussed under the categories of conversion, justification, regeneration, union with Christ, adoption, and sanctification. It is important to keep in mind that even though they are discussed individually, they occur at the same time and may not be separated.

A. Conversion

Conversion refers to a change of direction in a person's life. As sinners we are heading away from God, but in salvation we turn around and return on the pathway of life back to our heavenly Father. (e.g. parable of the prodigal son.) The term "conversion" is not commonly found in the Bible, but is encompassed by the common word "repent." (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38, 3:19; 11:18; 26:20) Though repent literally means "to turn" (i.e. to change direction) it can also mean to "turn from" or to "turn to." In the context of salvation its meaning is a bit more expanded along the lines of: "I am turning from a life of sin to a life with God in Christ."

Conversion or repentance involves three aspects of one's person: (1) a change of mind - (2) a change of emotion - (3) a change of will.

Change of Mind

Change of mind involves coming into agreement with God. If the mind does not agree with God that a thing is sinful, there is no motivation to turn away from it. But when we honestly come to see things as God sees them, repentance becomes the natural response. This change of thinking includes accepting God's standard of righteousness, being aware of how far short that we have fallen of it, regretting that we have failed, assenting to the truth of the Gospel, believing that Jesus is the only one who can save us, and personally accepting him as our Saviour with deep gratitude. Prior to genuine biblical repentance our minds are darkened and void of understanding. Repentance brings light into our lives and opens our minds to see the truth. (Acts 26:18; II Corinthians 3:16; 4:4-6)

Change of Emotion

Change of emotion involves the attitude of the heart. Our sin not only offends God but also should cause us to be sorry. This is more than a sorrow for getting caught or a sorrow for suffering the penalty of sin. Repentance involves an inner experience of grief that our sin has violated our holy God who loves us deeply. There are regret and remorse. "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." (II Corinthians 7:10)

Change of Will

Perhaps the most vital aspect of repentance is a change of will. Repentance requires making a decision to turn from sin and live as God desires. There is a resolve in one's heart to obey God rather than self. We choose to take a different path and walk in the opposite direction. "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." (Isaiah 55:7)

Faith

Conversion involves two things-repentance and faith. While repentance emphasizes turning from, faith emphasizes turning to. Together they are the two sides of the same coin. Both are necessary; neither alone sufficient. Repentance turns us from sin; faith turns us toward God. (Acts 20:21)

Many things are identified as faith that are not biblical faith. Biblical faith has three parts. Faith involves knowledge (cognition) - being aware of certain facts. With our minds we observe, hear, or read and come to know the gospel message. Faith involves assent - embracing certain facts. There is intellectual agreement with the things we have come to know. The truth of the Gospel is accepted; Christ's death for us is embraced. Faith involves receiving, commitment (volition). There is a step of believing the facts to be personally true to our own condition and making them ours. It is one thing to know and agree to the fact that Jesus died for the sins of mankind; it is still another to receive him into our heart and be committed to him as our personal Saviour.

Bible faith is more than mental assent only. An appeal to the will and commitment is central to true faith. One must, in his heart, welcome Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord. He must act upon what he knows in his mind and asserts in his heart to be true. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ personally is to exercise saving faith. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...." (Acts 16:31)

B. Justification

A person who sincerely turns from sin (repentance) and turns to Jesus Christ (faith) will be saved. When one turns, God acts. Man exercises repentance and faith; immediately God responds with justification, regeneration, and other aspects of salvation.

The meaning of the word "justification" is "to make or declare righteous." (Psalms 51:4; Romans 3:4) It has the opposite meaning of the word "condemnation." In justification God declares a believer to be righteous in his sight. God does this because of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us. We are not righteous in and of ourselves. But righteousness is given (imputed) to us as a gift of grace. The righteousness of Jesus is credited to our account. (Romans 4:5, 22-25) As far as his books are concerned, God considers us as righteous.

It may seem that God is unjust in declaring a truly unrighteous person to be righteous. However, there are three aspects to justification: (1) The person is credited with the full righteousness of Jesus Christ, who did and does deserve approval. Jesus' righteousness is imputed (credited) to the believer's account. (II Corinthians 5:21) (2) The penalty for sin is removed, the person is forgiven, and his guilt for all his sins (past, present, future) is absolved. The barrier to fellowship between man and God has been eliminated. Since both the penalty and guilt are removed God is justified in declaring the believer righteous. (3) The believer is no longer at enmity with God. He has been restored to full favour with God. He is now at peace with God. God's wrath against sin has been diverted. He has been reconciled to God. (Romans 5:1,2)

The important aspect of justification is that it is an act of God's grace. It is not something that man has earned or could earn. It is God's response to man's repentance and faith. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9)

C. Regeneration

A dead person needs to be made alive in order to function. Justification changes our status before God, but our nature within needs to be changed as well. Regeneration is being made spiritually alive again. It is called the new birth. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of God he must be born again. (John 3:3-8) This new birth is not a physical one but a spiritual one. It is a birth from above. Our first birth was a natural, human birth. The second birth is a spiritual, supernatural birth by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit regenerates us. (Titus 3:5)

The new birth can be looked at in various ways. First of all, when we are saved we are born of the Spirit into God's family. A new life is begun. (Galatians 4:5) We are now children of God with the Father's nature in us. Our heavenly Father can say to us "You are my son, today I have begotten you." (Hebrews 1:5) We are a new creation in Christ. (II Corinthians 5:17) Second, when the Holy Spirit regenerates us we have a new nature. (Romans 8:12-16; Galatians 5:16-22) Our old nature was dead; this new nature is spiritually alive and in tune with God. We come to love new things - we love God, his Word, other believers, etc. Third, the new birth gives us a new life-style. The old things pass away; the old way of living, acting, speaking, thinking, etc. All things become new. We find ourselves changed, living for God and others rather than for ourselves. Our God now has priority in our experiences.

D. Union with Christ

Our salvation is expressed in the Bible as a union between the believer and Christ. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." (II Corinthians 5:17) Because of our union we have a new status, a new identity, a new life. The Bible uses several analogies to express this union:

This union between the believer and Christ (Christ in us, we in Christ) is so vital and personal that we partake of all the benefits of Christ's work of salvation. Christ's death for sin is also our death; Christ's resurrection to life is also our resurrection. (Romans 6:3-14; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:12,13) We died with Christ, rose with Christ, ascended with Christ, and will share his glory. (Romans 8:17) The work of Christ for us becomes effective in us through this vital union with Christ.

E. Adoption

Justification could still leave us as strangers and outsiders in relation to God. However, we have been made part of God's family. By regeneration or the new birth we are children of God by a newly imparted life. Adoption is being placed in God's family as children by God's choice. (Ephesians 1:5)

The Bible speaks of different families. We may belong to the family of Satan, family of Adam, family of the world, etc. Our new adoption changes our family identity to the family of God. Our destiny is linked with our family. We who were once at enmity with God are now privileged to call him "Father." (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6)

Though our adoption has certain immediate benefits, the fullness of our sonship is yet to be experienced. (Romans 8:23) We are part of God's family today, and we have come to know and experience many of its blessings. (I John 3:1) Yet there is coming a day when life in God's family will become incredibly greater. Presently we are being fitted for our place in his eternal home. (John 14:2)

F. Sanctification

Justification has to do with our standing before God; sanctification has to do with our character in God. God is holy; he wants us to be holy too. (I Peter 1:15,16) Sanctification is the development of holiness within the believer. Sanctification involves two things (1) Separation from evil - consciously fleeing evil and shunning the wrong. The term sanctify literally means "to set apart from." There are things that we should set apart from: from error and evil in all its forms (II Timothy 2:19-21); from secular things as compared to religious matters (e.g. holy land, buildings, utensils, garments, times and events, priests and Levites, people - II Chron 23:6;Acts 21:26-28; Romans 11:16; II Timothy 1:9; 2:21); from human things as compared with the divine (e.g. things can be sanctified as belonging to God, things like gold and gifts; places like the temple - Matthew 23:17-19; John 17:19). (2) Dedication to God - giving God his rightful, central place in our lives. The reason we set ourselves apart from anything is so that we can fully dedicate ourselves to God. It is not possible to wholeheartedly serve both sin and God. (Matthew 6:24) Every part of our lives is to be yielded to God for his pleasing.

Entire sanctification is the wholehearted dedication of our lives to God, rather than a partial commitment. There is both an initial and ongoing aspect of sanctification. Initial sanctification is first of all positional. When a person believes on Christ, he is at that moment both justified and sanctified (made holy). Sanctification further becomes a practical reality in our progressive experience as we grow more and more in holiness. All that is positionally ours is increasingly real in our personal character and daily lives.

Sanctification is the work of God. (Hebrews 13:12; I Thessalonians 5:23) He sets us apart by his grace and cleanses us by the blood of Christ. (Hebrews 13:12) The Holy Spirit imparts the character of Christ and applies his blood for our cleansing. (Matthew 3:11; Romans 15:16; II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2)

Yet sanctification involves our responsibility. Though sanctification originates with God, it is accomplished by our willful and cooperative obedience. Some passages encourage us to sanctify ourselves. (II Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1; I Thessalonians 4:3,4; II Timothy 2:21; I John 3:3) It is our responsibility to co-operate with God's sanctifying grace, as he sets us apart in order to use us. God has set us apart by the blood, let us set ourselves apart for God's service. In this way, sanctification is progressive. There is more for us to experience. Daily we are to grow in holiness. "Make every effort... to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)

The goal for every believer is to be conformed to the image of Jesus. (Romans 8:29) He is the perfect model of godliness that we have sought. As we focus our attention upon him, gaze upon him, the Holy Spirit is transforming us into Christ's likeness. (II Corinthians 3:17,18) The more we look at him, the more we become like him. We are gradually being transformed into the image of our glorious Lord. (Colossians 3:10) We are becoming like Jesus. What a great salvation!

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