The Benefits of Salvation
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Basic ChristianDoctrines 35
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1. We Are Saved.
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Salvationis the general term that the Bible uses to describe the miracle of grace Godperforms for us. It is the greatest event in our life. It has three mainaspects or stages: past, present and future (cf. 2 Cor. 1:10). We were saved ata point in the past. This is when we were born again, believed, repented ofsin, and were justified. It happens only once (born again, not born again andagain and again). It is perfect and complete. We were rescued from danger,delivered from harm. Now we are saved and safe. Second, we are being saved inthe present. Christ's blood keeps us safe from the wrath of God and He dailyrescues us from Satan. Third, we will be saved in the future, at death and atthe Judgement Day. These three stages are inseparable.
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2. The Holy Spirit Indwells Us.
The Spirit enters the believerat the moment of regeneration and neverleaves. He enters our whole being, even our body. It is the heavenlycounterpart to being demon-possessed. He fills us. Romans 8 is the great chapteron the indwelling of the Spirit. Also, this is the miracle of the baptism ofthe Spirit, misunderstood by Pentecostals. The Spirit comes into us, with theresult that He is in us. At the same moment, he puts us into Himself, with theresult that we are in the Spirit. He in us, we in Him. It is not a secondexperience, but part of salvation. From there, we are to walk in the Spirit, goon being filled with the Spirit, etc.
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3. The Christian Knows God.
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Every person knows that God exists (Rom. 1), but only theChristian knows God personally. This is true knowledge. It is a heart-to-heart personal relationship. It ispart of having eternal life (John 17:3). God granted us this privilege (Matt.11:27). We know Him because He first knew us (I Cor. 8:3, Gal. 4:9). It is apersonal, deep and intimate knowledge. We are friends. We are also lovers. Andwe grow in this knowledge deeper and deeper (Phil. 3:8, 10).
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4. We are United to Christ.
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This issimilar to the union of the Holy Spirit. We are put into Christ's Body (I Cor.12), with the result that we are "in Christ". At the same moment,Christ is put into us and is in us. In one sense, we were united with Him inthe eternal Covenant, but we were united with Him in our experience when wewere saved. We are united to Him and draw life from Him, and cannot do anythingwithout Him (John 15). We are also united with Him in spiritual espousals. Weare engaged to be His bride. One day, this will be consummated at the greatheavenly marriage.
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5. We are Adopted into God's Family.
Once we were children of theDevil. God took us out of that family and made us His own children. Now God isour Father, other believers are our brothers and sisters, and Christ is ourelder brother. Being His children, we are also His heirs. We can now call God"our Father in Heaven". Adoption is not the same as regeneration.Regeneration affects our nature; adoption affects our relationship. Regeneration precedes faith, which precedesadoption. But it happens in a moment, with no interval or exception. So, we aredoubly God's children.
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6. We Are Reconciled to God.
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This is agreat benefit of salvation that we often overlook. 2 Cor. 5 is the greatchapter on it. We were once God's enemies; now we are His friends. We arereconciled. It is more than a truce; it is the end of hostilities. The war isover. We have peace with God. We were once against God and God against us. NowHe is for us and with us, and we with Him. Properly speaking, it is we that arereconciled to God, not God to us. We apologize, not He. Yet, on His part, therighteous enmity was removed when His wrath was appeased when Christ died forus.
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7. We Are No Longer Under Wrath.
We were once sinners under thewrath of God - condemned, doomed, facing judgement. All that has changed. Wewill never be judged. God is not angry with us, but smiles on us in Fatherlylove. God saved us from several things: sin, Satan, death, Hell. But mostimportantly, He saved us from His own wrath. God saved us from God. Lostsinners are still under His wrath (John 3:36). But not us. As fierce as Hiswrath was against us then, so intense is His love for us now.
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8. We Are Cleansed From Sin.
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Our sinswere filthy and disgusting. Even our religious acts were filthy rags. But Godchanged all that. He cleansed us (I Cor. 6:11). He washed away the black guiltby the blood of Christ. We were baptized in the blood of the Lamb. Our sinswere drowned in the Red Sea of His blood. Only Christ's blood, not the watersof baptism, can cleanse us in this way, for water cannot touch the soul. In onesense, we are already totally cleansed. In another, we need daily cleansing forthe regular sins we commit (see John 13). This does not mean we get saved allover again. It only means that we need fresh applications of the blood ofChrist (I John l:7).
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9. We Are Transferred From Satan's Kingdom.
Col. 1:13 says that Godtransferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Christ,not Satan, is now our King. We defected from Satan's evil empire, becametraitors to his wicked regime, and now are God's spies engaged in espionage andcommandoes involved in sabotage. We have been rescued from Satan's claws; hecannot ever have us again. We are on another team, part of another body, havedifferent allegiances. We were once for Satan and against God; now we areagainst Satan and for God (Matt. 6:24). If God is for us, who can be againstus?
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10. We Cannot Lose Our Salvation.
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One ofthe great glories of salvation is that it is permanent. It has aratchet-effect. Once saved, always saved. It is not because of our own selves,or even our own faith. It is ultimately dependent on God, for it was He thatsaved us in the first place. If it depended on us, none of us would get savedor stay saved. God elected us to salvation (Rom. 8:29-30) and completes what Hestarted (Phil. 1:6). He has sworn to preserve, keep and guard us forever (Psa.37:28, 66:9, 97:10, 145:14, 20, I Tim. 1:12). He keeps us by His omnipotenthand (1 Pet. 1:5), keeps us safe from Satan (I John 5:18, John 17:11, 12, 15),and seals us with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13, 4:30). The saints in Heaven arehappier, but not more secure, than we are. Simply put, God loves His people toomuch to let them go. He holds us firmly and lovingly in His arms of love, fromwhich no one can snatch us out (John 10:28).
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