Salvation from Penalty,
Presence of Power of Sin
The Jewish Scriptures glories in calling God
Savior (Isa. 45:15, 21; Ps. 24:5; 27:1, 9; 62:2; 65:5, 79:7; Micah 7:7; Hab.
3:18; Isa. 12:2; 17:10; 62:11).
The word “salvation”
in the Old Testament has the idea of God delivering His people from
circumstances in which they are powerless to rescue themselves and in which they
are doomed to destruction without God’s help. Sometimes the context is physical
deliverance from enemies, and at other times it is the rescue from sin and its
consequences. "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my
salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness" (Psalm
51:14).
There are also verses
that speak of eschatological deliverance in the day when this present age comes
to an end, and the wrath of God breaks in upon the world (Isa. 25:9, 45:17,
46:13, 49:6, 52:10). The message is clear, “The Lord God reigns” (52:7).
God rescues His
people from situations in which nothing but God can rescue them. Salvation is
God’s power to deliver and protect in this life and in the age to come.
In the New Testament
God is also called Savior (Lk. 1:47). “My spirit has rejoiced in God my
Savior.” He desires that all men be saved (1 Tim. 2:3, 4:10; Titus 2:10; 3:4;
Jude 25).
The LORD God is the Savior God who sent His Son
Jesus Christ to demonstrate His love and grace to a lost world (Matt. 1:21; Heb.
7:25; Lk 2:11; John 4:42; Acts 5:31; 13:23; Phil. 3:20; Titus 2:13, 3:6; II
Peter 3:18). The apostle John gives us an excellent summary, "We have seen and
testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever
confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God" (1
John 4:14-15).
The essential truth
is Jesus Christ delivers us from that which we cannot rescue ourselves – sin and
its eternal consequences. To be a Christian and “be saved” is the same thing.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear there is only one Savior. "And there is
salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been
given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Every
individual the world over is in the need of salvation from sin. "For the wages
of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord" (Romans 6:23).
That is why the
Father sent the Son to step in between the wrath of God against sin and all who
trust in the atoning death of Jesus Christ for their sins. Jesus Christ took
the blow of God’s wrath upon Himself and died for the sinner. His death paid
the full penalty for our sin.
Moreover, God has credited to the account of the
believer the full righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer in Jesus
Christ is now seen as being perfectly acceptable before God in Christ. "He made
Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). We have now been
made “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6). God has fully delivered us once and
for all from the penalty of sin. It has been dealt with in full.
But that is not the only thing
Jesus has done for us. The salvation He gives also delivers us from the power
of sin. The power of sin to enslave us has been broken. Christ through the
presence of the Holy Spirit now lives in the believer, and He gives us the power
and determination to live a holy life. The power of sin has now been broken.
It is still true, however, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving
ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). Sin will always
be with the Christian so long as we are in this life on the earth. However, we
do not live defeated lives (Gal. 5:16). One day Jesus Christ will remove the
presence of sin from the believer forever. He will save us even from the
presence of sin because the day is coming when He will take us from this world
into heaven to be with Him forever. We shall be like Him throughout eternity (1
Jn. 3:2).
Saved by grace through faith
from the penalty, the power and the presence of sin will be our song to God our
Savior.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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