i STUDIES IN BIBLE FUNDAMENTALS j i Prepared For Beginners and For Classes s' ~llllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllHIMlllllllllllllllllllllI)IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllll|ll|||l||i|l||||||||lllllllllMIIIIIII^ SALVATION
saved. God Himself is the source of it, Christ’s work upon the cross is thé ground of it, the Holy Spirit is the chan nel of it. ) Since salvation is all of God, what is it called? Rom. 6:23; Jn. 4:10: “F o r the w ages of sin is death; bu t the G I F T O F G O D is eternal life th ro u g h Jesus C h ris t o u r L o rd .” “ I f thou k new est the G I F T O F G O D , and w h o It is th a t saith to thee, G ive me to d rin k ; thou w ouldest have asked of him , and he w o u ld have g ive n thee liv in g w ater.” If it is entirely a gift of God’s free grace (grace means “ unmerited favor” ), do our works have anything to do with receiving it? Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5. ‘“F o r by grace are ye saved th ro u g h an“ th a t no t of yourselves; it Is thé g ift of G od; N o t of w o rk s , lest an y m an should boast.” “ N o t b y w o rk s of righteousness w h ich w e have done, b u t according to his m ercy he saved us.” If we notice that salvation has THREE TENSES it will save us from misunderstanding many passages. Some say we are-saved immediately and for ever. Others say we are saved only from day to day. Still others say that we are not saved until we die and that it is presumption for any man to say he is saved. 1. The Scriptures clearly teach that when one accepts Christ He is saved immediately and eternally through the sacrifice of Christ. Jn. 5:24; Jn. 3:36: “V e rily , v e rily , I say unto yon,. H e th a t heareth m y w o rd , and believeth on h im th a t sent me, hath everlasting: life, and shall not come in to condem nation; bu t is passed from death unto life.” “ H e th a t believeth on the Son h ath ever lasting: life.” May we then know that we have salva tion NOW and that it is ETERNAL? 1 Jn. 5:13: “These th in g s have I w ritte n unto you th a t believe on the name of the Son. of G od; th a t ye m a y k n o w th a t ye have eternal life, and th a t ye m ay believe on the name of the Son of God.”
The word “ salvation” is to be distin guished from “ regeneration” or "con version” , for it is an inclusive word. It includes even faith, grace, redemption, justification, sanctification and glorifica tion. It has to do with the whole man— saving us not merely from the penalty of sin, but from sin in the present and at last saving body and soul out of the world. Not only does it have to do with the whole man, but it takes in all of the work of Christ. What does the shedding of His blood on the cross secure for us? Heb. 9:22; Mt. 26:28: “A n d alm ost a ll th in g s are b y the la w purged w ith blood; and w ith o u t shedding of blood is no rem ission.” “ F o r th is is m y blood of the ne w testa m ent, w h ic h is shed fo r m a n y fo r the re m ission of sins,” What does His intercessory work at thg right hand of the Father secure for us? Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:33-34: “W h erefore he is able also to save them to the utterm ost th a t eome unto God b y h im , seeing he ever liv e th to m ake in te r- 'cesslon fo r them .” “W h o sh all la y a n yth in g to the charge of God’s elect? I t is God th a t justifleth. W h o is he th a t condemneth? I t is C h ris t th a t died, yea rath er, th a t is risen again, w ho is even at the rig h t hand of God, w ho also m aketh intercession fo r us.” What does His work in the believer through the Holy Spirit secure for us? Eph. 1:13-14: “ In w h om also afte r th a t ye believed, ye w ere sealed w ith th a t H o ly S p irit of prom ise, W h ic h is the earnest of our inheritance u n til the redem ption of the purchased pos session, unto the praise o f his g lo ry .” What will His second coming have to do with our salvation? 1 Jn. 3:2: “ B u t w e k n o w th at, w he n he shall ap pear, w e sh all be lik e h im ; fo r w e shall see h im as he is.” (Thus we see the wonderful-provision God has made to save us and keep us
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