Christ did not go to the cross to make us sinners. The term
"sinners" in the Bible is synonymous with having the wrath of God abiding on
you. The Child of God does not have the wrath of God on them. It was removed because of
the vicarious atonement of Christ on behalf of His elect. If Christ removed all but one
sin, then I am still reprobate and heading for Hell but this is not the case. Either
Christ paid it all or nothing at all.
(James 2:10 KJV) For whosoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. Let us begin to look at some
of the beautiful aspects of God’s splendid salvation program.
IN THE PAST
One of the greatest mysteries which keep theologians writing books is the
question, did God know that Adam and Eve would sin? The answer of course is yes. Since God
knows the beginning from the end, He knew that sin would enter the world. God was also
well aware that as soon as sin entered into the human race, spiritual death would reign.
Acts 15:18 (KJV) Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
- Eph 2:1 (KJV) And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:
- Eph 2:5 (KJV) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace
ye are saved;)
- Col 2:13 (KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
As we see in these three verses, sin plunged the entire human race into a
condition of spiritual death. God knew that death was a condition which would be
unalterable by man, He already named those He planned to save even before the world and
universe existed.
Eph 1:4 (KJV) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and without blame before him in love:
2 Tim 1:9 (KJV) 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,
- Heb 4:3 (KJV) For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath,
if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation
of the world.
God’s salvation plan would transfer His elect out of spiritual death
into spiritual life. God had every right to allow the human race to just go to Hell by
attrition rather than intervening with His merciful plan of salvation. He knew that no
amount of good works or ritual or man’s will could ever bring a person to salvation.
Only those whom God named before the foundation of the world will come to Him because God
Himself would open their spiritual eyes and ears.
John 1:12-13 (KJV) But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name: {13} Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
IN THE PRESENT
During the course of our lifetime, at a moment which God had foreordained
in eternity past, we would come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Someone
would hand us a tract, or we would hear the true gospel in some fashion and because that
moment was appointed by God for the starting point of our salvation on earth, we would
become born again by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We are now alive unto God but dead
unto the things of the world. This salvation comes to God’s elect at any age He
determines. Sometimes He saves someone in the early years or He might save someone in
their later years but nevertheless, if God named a person to be saved before the
foundation of the world, that person will become saved during the course of their earthly
sojourn, whether it be one minute after birth or one minute before death.
Acts 13:48 (KJV) And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord:
and
as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Transformation Not Reformation
Another great aspect of God’s salvation plan is the fact that He did
not reform us, He transformed us. In the Christian life reformation takes place after
transformation but reformation can never lead to transformation. A good verse which
demonstrates the limits of reformation is found in Luke 11:24-26:
(Luke 11:24-26 KJV) When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he
walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return
unto my house whence I came out. {25} And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and
garnished. {26} Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than
himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse
than the first.
These verses give us a great insight of those who try to clean up their
life on their own merit. It is akin to someone who tries to sober up by means of a secular
counseling program or retreat and then finally licks the alcohol for a while but since
there is no underlying source of strength, the person gives in to the weakness and lust of
the flesh and goes back to his old habit of drinking again. The same is with someone who
gives up cigarette smoking with a patch and has victory for a while but then goes into a
place where there is much smoking and all of a sudden he has a fleshly urge to smoke and
restarts his habit. Reformation cannot completely claim victory over anything in the
flesh, especially sin.
This is the marvel of God’s salvation program because in the process
of transformation, He kills the old and creates the new.
(2 Cor 5:17 KJV) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
(Luke 5:37-38 KJV) And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the
new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. {38}
But
new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
(Rom 6:2 KJV) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live
any longer therein?
(Rom 6:13 KJV) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from
the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Notice the great principles in these verses. God tells us that those who
are in Christ are new creatures not improved versions of what we once were. The Lord Jesus
uses the analogy of new wine being placed in new wine skins or else the old will burst. Of
course, here He speaks of Grace being given to His elect and as a result they are made new
so the new wine will fit perfectly in their vessels. The old of course being the law which
could not bring a person to salvation mixed with grace (old in new wineskins) but when a
person is saved by grace alone, they become new creations in the Kingdom of God.
Notice also in the above verses God uses the term "dead" in
relationship to salvation. First, when a person becomes saved they become dead to sin,
which means sin no longer has the drawing effect it had before salvation. Secondly, God
uses this term in reference to serving Him by those that are "alive from the
dead." This not only speaks of transformation of the believer but it speaks of the
resurrection of our souls which I will touch on in the next section.
(Rom 12:2 KJV) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
The word "transformed" in this verse is the same word which
described the Lord Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. It means "to change
shape or form." Paul uses this word to exhort us to be formed or transformed in
Christ’s image which is the goal of every Christian. So we see that God did not
change us in the superficial sense but literally killed us, resurrected us, and
transformed us.
Our Resurrected Soul
Another great aspect of God’s salvation program is He gave us a
resurrected soul. We have already read that before salvation we were dead in our sins
resulting in the inability to do anything to achieve salvation on our own. So what did God
do to those He planned to save? The Bible teaches in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by
hearing the Word of God. Now everybody has physical ears which can hear sounds and many of
those physical ears come under the hearing of the Word of God, yet those still in
spiritual death will be unable to respond to God’s calling. So for God’s elect
to be able to respond to His calling they must be qualified to hear the gospel in a manner
beyond the physical realm. The way God accomplished this is by the resurrection of the
dead soul. When a person receives their resurrected soul, they are then alive unto God.
Do you remember the resurrection of Lazarus in John 11? Lazarus was as
dead as could be, in fact the Biblical narrative even tells us his body stunk from decay
after being in the grave 4 days. Our dead souls were akin to that same condition, they
were dead. So Christ comes to the tomb and yells out to Lazarus to come forth, and Lazarus
was resurrected to life once again. When God calls out our name for salvation, He
resurrects our soul so we may be able to hear his calling, hence the biblical term,
"He who has ears to hear."
(Rev 20:5-6 KJV) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. {6} Blessed and holy
is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power,
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
These two verses give us an excellent understanding of the first
resurrection or the resurrection of the soul. Notice the result of those who partake in
the first resurrection, the second death has no power over them. The second death being
eternal damnation. When a person becomes born again, they are passed from death unto life.
(John 5:24 KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Notice how the Lord is saying that those who HEAR His word and believes
and the only way a dead person can believe is to be made alive or resurrected like
Lazarus. As Lazarus was passive in his resurrection, so are the children of God passive in
their resurrection also. It is all of God! Did Lazarus have anything to do with his
resurrection except receiving it? No! How can a dead man raise himself? So you see, you
are still in the flesh until the Lord returns or comes for us individually but now because
of your resurrected soul, you serve God instead of sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us
but now we serve a new master.
(Rom 6:16 KJV) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience
unto righteousness?
God Describes His Elect
As we look into this section, we will find God’s description of
His elect a far cry from the pulpit pounders who continually beat their sheep week after
week with the teaching that they are nothing but sinners. It is true we do sin after
salvation but nowhere in the Bible does God call His redeemed "sinners." A
sinner, according to Scripture, is one who has the wrath of God abiding on them. The elect
of God, according to Scripture, are those who never have to face the wrath of God because
all our sins were atoned for. I do not want to get into a discussion on the atonement here
but click on my study "The Fullness of the Atonement" and read that study
then come back and continue in this section. Go ahead, we will wait. Since there are so
many different descriptions of the elect in Scripture, we will not cover every description
but just enough to show how marvelously God views His elect
Kings
(Rev 1:6 KJV) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his
Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Here God is telling us that in addition to salvation, He has made us
kings. Now to what we rule over in the present is a mystery.
(Rev 20:6 KJV) Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years. The thousand years is a figure which represents the whole New
Testament period.
Priests
(1 Pet 2:9 KJV) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath
called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
(Rev 20:6 KJV) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God
and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Here God describes His elect as priests. If you study the Aaronic
priesthood you will see the great responsibility God has given. As those who were the
spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel, we are the spiritual leaders of the whole human
race. It sounds strange but do we offer up spiritual sacrifices on behalf of others? Do we
bring people, needs, and wants before the High Priest? Do we also have the only true
"religion" on earth? Do we carry forth the Ark of the Lord Jesus Christ to the
nations? Do we make spiritual judgments based on the true Word of God? Do we offer
ourselves on the altar of sacrifice for the Kingdom of God? Do we preach the forgiveness
of sins through Christ?
We are also the priests to the body of Christ. Has anyone asked you to
pray for them? They asked you to invoke your priestly office. Did you ask anyone to pray
for you? Then you asked them to invoke their priestly office.
Saints
(Eph 1:18 KJV) The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye
may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints,
(1 Cor 6:11 KJV) And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye
are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit
of our God.
(1 Cor 3:17 KJV) If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God
destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
I wanted to give three divine descriptions of the believer because all
three of these words come from the same root word in the Greek. It is the word
"hagios" which means "set apart, consecrated, pure, upright." Here God
speaks of His children in three different yet related terms. He calls us Saints which is a
term not relegated to any denomination. It applies to every true born again believer. He
also calls us sanctified which carries a general meaning of being set apart and in this
case set apart unto God. The next related term is "holy," a term which generally
relates to purity of heart. One can only become holy if they are regenerated by the Holy
Spirit. Holiness is not dressing in religious regalia or beating yourself with a whip or a
fast. Holiness emanates from within to without not the opposite way.
Without Blame
(Eph 1:4 KJV) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
"Without blame" means "without blemish of sin, disgrace or
unblamable." In God’s sight all of His children are totally pure and are not
blamable before Him since all their sins have been completely atoned for.
(Heb 2:11 KJV)
"For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which
cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren," God does bring any blame against His
children since their sins have been expunged completely.
(Rev 14:5 KJV) "And in their
mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God."
Beulah
(Isa 62:4 KJV) Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy
land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land
Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
The term "Beulah" means "married." We, as the body of
Christ, are also the bride of Christ which means we are married forever. Since the Bible
forbids divorce, we can never be divorced from Christ when we sin. We are married forever.
Everlasting Love
(Jer 31:3 KJV) The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea,
I
have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee.
God loves His children eternally in contrast to hating the unbeliever who
will spend eternity in hell. God’s love is eternal which means our lives will be
eternal.
The Place of God’s Throne
(Ezek 43:7 KJV) And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my
throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of
the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more
defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their
kings in their high places.
Here God states that He will dwell in the middle of the Children of Israel
forever. He is speaking of the body of Christ as is portrayed in (Rev 21:3 KJV)
"And
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and
he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be
with them, and be their God."
The City of Truth
(Zec 8:3 KJV) Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell
in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the
mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
The New Jerusalem which the Lord Jesus Christ created by His sacrifice
shall be called the city of truth. Why this term? First, the believers are God’s
redeemed; and secondly, the true body of believers disseminates the true gospel throughout
the world and only through the teaching of Scripture can evangelism be performed.
Pearl of Great Price
(Mat 13:45-46 KJV) Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant
man, seeking goodly pearls: {46} Who, when he had found one pearl of great price,
went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Here the body of believers is referred to as "one pearl of great
price" and you notice the merchant gave all to buy it. This refers to the Lord Jesus
Christ who gave His life on Gologtha to buy the entire body of believers, the one pearl of
great price in its entirety, from the first redeemed believer to the last one.
Pillar and Ground of Truth
(1 Tim 3:15 KJV) But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou
oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the
pillar and ground of the truth.
Here we see that God has typed the church as the pillar which is a
support, like a great column. It focuses more on the support function of the column rather
than the decorative capitals of the ancient buildings. The ground of truth refers here to
the support or bulwark which would support the building and the truth is the true gospel
itself.
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I wanted to include these descriptions of the body of Christ by GOD
Himself to show that in the present life that God holds a very high view of His church.
The next time your pastor pounds the pulpit and calls your congregation sinners, bring
these verses to his attention. Keep in mind though that those in the congregation who are
not saved are still sinners but also keep in mind that God does not refer to His children
as sinners since He has forgotten all our sins and iniquities.
(Isa 43:25 KJV) I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for
mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
(Heb 8:12 KJV) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and
their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
(Heb 10:17 KJV) And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
The bottom line is if more pastors would preach to their congregations as
the congregation of Saints, there would probably be more spiritual growth in the church
rather than people not knowing what their stance is before God. Constantly pounding the
pulpit and calling Christians sinners, does not engender spiritual growth. As Christians,
we all once had the wrath of God abiding upon us but when we became saved, our
relationship to God changed radically and God wants us grow in the faith. If we keep
hearing the same messages, after salvation, Sunday after Sunday, then it is like a college
senior still reading on the first grade level. He has grown up but his reading level
remained the same. Let us now progress to the final part of this study.
IN THE FUTURE
Not only does God include in His salvation plan past and present aspects,
He also includes in Scripture the future for the believer which is amazingly glorious. If
a believer physically dies before the Lord returns on the last day, they go immediately
into the presence of the Lord.
(2 Cor 5:8 KJV) "We are confident, I say, and willing
rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." This is in
contrast to the unbeliever who goes to a place of silence and awaits the resurrection at
the last day to be judged for their sins. (Psa 115:17 KJV) "The dead praise not the
LORD, neither any that go down into silence."
No Judgment
(John 5:24 KJV) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Another great aspect which the believer can look forward to is the great
fact that they will never be judged for their sins. Since the Lord Jesus Christ took all
of the sins of the elect on Himself in His atoning sacrifice, there is nothing left to be
judged. (Mat 1:21 KJV) "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
Christ paid for every sin of His people. The believers simply go on and
receive their glorified spiritual bodies and then will be qualified for eternity. There
are two judgment days, one is passed the other is yet to come. All the believers were
found guilty before God for their sins but Christ having taken our sins to the cross with
Him, canceled all of them out. (Col 2:13-14 KJV) "And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having
forgiven you all trespasses; {14} Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that
was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross;" The Crucifixion of Christ was the first judgment day where the believers
were atoned for. The second judgment day is the Great White Throne judgment where all the
unsaved will stand for their sins and be judged. Praise our merciful God for His marvelous
salvation plan. Some believers still feel that they will have to pay for the sins they
will commit in the future but they forget when God named those who were to be saved even
before the foundation of the world, all their sins were in the future and all of them were
atoned for. This is why we pass from death into life and are not condemned as the
Scripture states. Let me remind you that we must take our understanding from the
Scriptures and not fatalistic theology.
Partakers in Future Judgment
(1 Cor 6:2-3 KJV) Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?
and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
{3} Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to
this life?
Here are two verses which tell us what is going to happen but no details
as to how it will happen. We can be sure of one thing though that the believers will have
some function concerning the judgment of the unsaved. The ultimate judge is Christ Himself
but these verses tell us that we will do some of the judging. Now when God winds this
world up after He saves the last one He intends to save, this will usher in the last day
or Judgment Day. All the believers will be raised to eternal life and the unbelievers for
judgment.
Some of you are probably wondering about unsaved relatives in your own
house which you witnessed to but were not God’s elect. You feel in your heart that
you cannot judge your own children or your parents. At the White Throne Judgment your
relationship to relatives and friends will be absent because you will have a different
authority and position as a Saint but God also calls us something else. Kings!
(Gen 17:6 KJV) And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
(Rev 1:5-6 KJV) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and
the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, {6} And hath made us kings
and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
In Genesis 17:6 we read a part of the Abrahamic Covenant in which Sarah
was going to give birth to a line of Kings. Was God speaking in the physical realm?
Absolutely not as we see in Revelation 1:5, here we read that Christ is the prince of the
kings of the earth and verse 6 goes on to clarify who the kings are. The kings are the
redeemed of God. In the context of 1 Corinthians 6:2, when we read that the believers are
going to judge the world, we will be doing it with the rank of king. Does not a king of a
country have the right to judge and pass sentence? He sure does. Let me reiterate that
once we get to Heaven, we will have a different relationship to our relatives. There will
only be two classes of people there, and that will be believers and unbelievers, which
will result in the believers making a judgment according to the Word of God and not an
emotional or sorrowful judgment.
No Remembrance of Former Things
(Isa 65:17 KJV) For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:
and
the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
(Rev 21:4 KJV) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away.
The big question, "If I have an unsaved relative which went to hell,
will I have knowledge of their suffering in heaven?" The answer is no because then
you would also have a knowledge of sin, which would be the reason they went to hell.
Heaven is going to be a place where righteousness will reign and there will be no sin or
even the thought of it. (2 Pet 3:13 KJV) "Nevertheless we, according to his promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." I
deeply believe we will not even have memories of our existence on earth because then we
must once again have a knowledge of sin so we know what we were redeemed from. It is going
to be a great blessing that all the former things which we associate with on this earth
will not even be a memory. We will have a pure existence with God and the Lord Jesus
Christ throughout eternity. Remember we cannot think nor associate earth with the things
of heaven. They are diametrically opposed to each other. Heaven is a spiritual place and
earth is a physical place.
We Will Work in Heaven
(Rev 7:14-15 KJV) And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to
me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb. {15} Therefore are they before the throne of
God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them.
Now what we will be doing in Heaven is a mystery at this point. I do not
believe we are going to be in robes and just singing in a heavenly choir. It is obvious
that God has something planned for His children in the area of service. There is no
physical temple in Heaven so God may be speaking of the body of believers and we will be
working as the temple or body of Christ doing whatever we are assigned. This verse negates
the teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses who teach, according to their picture books,
that we are just going to be playing with animals on earth throughout eternity.
Rest
(Heb 4:9 KJV) There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of
God.
(Rev 14:13 KJV) And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that
they
may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
One of the greatest aspects of God’s salvation plan is that the
believers will have eternal rest. I remember when my Grandmother died in 1961 I was 8
years old and saw my first memorial card where it said "Mary Czok entered into
eternal rest." That saying has always stayed with me all my life. It became more
valuable to me since I became a believer way back when. God gives His children an eternal
rest, even though we will be working, but we will be resting in heaven and not having to
do any more work in conjunction with salvation. Our work and rest will be of a glorious
nature. What kind of rest or work? I haven’t a clue but know it will be marvelous.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The first thing I must say in ending this article is I could not possibly
hit every aspect of God’s salvation plan. After all, I am finite whereas God is
infinite. I wanted to write this article with the desire to get your spiritual thinking
away from the "pulpit pounding fools" who still refer to God’s children as
sinners. We were sinners, but now God views us as His redeemed children. Let me end up
with a passage of Scripture which I quoted at the beginning.
(Acts 10:15 KJV) And the voice spake unto him again the second time,
What
God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
That Means You Preacher!
Probably the Greatest Aspect of Salvation is
Salvation!!!
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