The Essence of Salvation!

By Dr. Ken Matto

⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. ⁶ And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:5-6)

¹³ Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: ¹⁴ And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. ¹⁵ But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: (Acts 9:13-15)

Have you noticed that when Paul became a Christian on the road to Damascus that when he inquired of the Lord, that Jesus did not say anything about his sins except in Acts 9:5.  Jesus states generically that Saul was persecuting him but did not make any detailed statement as to how he was persecuting him.  Then in Acts 9:13-15 Ananias tells the Lord that he heard many things about this man and how he persecuted the Christians in Jerusalem.  The Lord did not even respond to the statement Ananias made instead told him to go his way and that Saul was a chosen vessel to go unto the Gentiles.

The Lord did not speak of any of Saul’s sins instead just his commission to the Gentiles.  This is because when the Lord saves someone, at the moment of their salvation, all their sins are removed from their soul and they are made clean.

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12)

And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17)

Twice in Hebrews God states that he will remember the sins and iniquities of his children no more.  That is exactly what happened to Saul.  This is why Jesus did not hold anything against Saul or even mention any particular sin because Saul’s sins were removed at the moment of salvation and as promised, Jesus remembered his sins no more.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. (Isaiah 43:25)

¹³ 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; (Colossians 2:13-14)

It is the same for us.  At the moment of salvation, all our sins are forgiven and removed from our souls and never again will we ever have to stand for those sins and that my friends is the essence of salvation!

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