The born again Christian once saved has a COMPLETE SALVATION. And my confidence for this is because I have put faith in Christ’s perfect, Finished work for me. “I live by the faith of the Son of God.” – Gal 2:20. A faith that cannot fail (2 Tim 2:13). And you should do too. A lack of this understanding is the source of much unnecessary anxiety and fear amongst the children of God.
Job said that the very things he was afraid of had come to pass. He said he had no rest (Job 3:25-26). Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and in the same way fear comes by hearing an evil report of the land. Exalting the obstacles over God’s promises. Faith is not what one thingsor feels, rather it is what one says and does and so it is with fear. Remember Joshua, Caleb and the 10 spies at Kadesh Barnea. We must meditate on the goodness of God and His promises and if we can do so for fleeting things like health and wealth (materialpossessions) how much more things of eternal value. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” 🙂
Romans 8:29-39 cements this Truth of a complete salvation from eternity’spast with present ongoing results. We are told in verse 28 that ALL things (whether good or bad) work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Then verse 29 tells us that those God predestined He called and those He has called, He justified and those He justified He has also glorified. Let’s unpack this.
I. PREDESTINED
The names of those saved were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8; 17:8). Those saved and those who will be saved come as no surprise to God. He forknew us but the decision rests on the individuals. His prior knowledge does not mean interference but rather a steering to the right direction all under the person’s individual will to choose the right or wrong way/path.
And He who has began this work shall perform it until the day of Christ (1 Cor 1:7-9; Phil 1:6). He does the work, we rest. Hebrews 4:9 says that there remains a rest for the people of God and that He that has entered God’s rest has ceased from His own works. This is the true Shabbat (sabbath); God’s rest. Not restlessness, not fear driveb religious performance but resting in the love of an Almighty Saviour. Job found not rest because of fear of evil happening to him though he was a holy man.
The Christian is elect according to the foreknowledge of the Father, through the sanctification of the Spirit (1 Pet 1:2) and the obedience of Christ (where he draws his/her rightoeusness – Rom 5:17, 19). We are elect, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world in love predestined to be adopted as children by Jesus Christ (Eph 1:3-7). What a great privilege. Talk about being royalty (1 Peter 2:9) and for eternity 🤩
II. CALLED
Jesus said that many are called and few chosen. God loved the world so much, He gave His only begotten Son Jesus that WHOSOEVER believes in Him does not perish but rather has eternal life. To make the decision to follow Jesus is to say “yes” to God’s calling.
In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus gave the parable of the great wedding banquet where the original guest depised the invitation because we’re busy with their businesses, farms, careers, relationships etc. Now that we are saved we have our wedding garment on (Isaiah 61:10; Rev 3:5; 7:14), symbolic of being sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). And yes, we cannot be unsealed.
Now that you are born again, praise God, He who has called you will be faithful to complete it. Complete what? Setting you apart (as holy – sanctification), your entire spirit, soul and body – 1 Thess 5:23-24. Believe it my friend and claim this promise. If the emphasis is on you then you will eventually fail but if the focus is on JESUS, the pressure is on Him and He CANNOT fail. I fall short of the glory but thank God, Christ is in me, the hope of glory, full of grace and truth
III. JUSTIFIED
Notice the tense in these terms. The Apostl Paul describes them in the perfect tense because they are completed actions with presentongoing results (Eph 2:10). An already finished work! And the voice is in the active voice on God’s part which means that He does the action and we recievthe action being done. Rest.
To be justified means that I have been set right before a holy God. When He sees me He sees me through the Blood of His Son. Basically, I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus took all of my sin and its consequences and I received freely (Rom 4:3-5; 5:17) His rightoeusness and all its consequences.
Justification by grace alone through faith in Jesus’s perfect, Finished work two millenia ago. His perfect life, death at the Cross ✝️ and resurrection. He was delivered for our offences (sins) and raised again for our justification (rightoeusness). If there is no resurrection, there is no justification and if there is no justification we are not rightoeus and if we are not rightoeus then we are not saved.
But praise God, Jesus is alive and so are we too, in Him. God has begotten us again (the new birth experience) to a lively (living) hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. HALLELUJAH!
And since rightoeusness is a gift, we did not earn it and if we did not earn it we CANNOT lose it. If in Adam’s sin we could not do anything to earn salvation, then why do we think that in Christ’s rightoeusness we can do something to lose what we did not earn but rather recieved as a gift? And remember Romans 5, 2 Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 8 show us clearly that the Gospel is MUCH MORE better than what was lost originally in the Garden. Far aboce the Law. We are in a better covenant established on better promises (Heb 8:6). We can lay no other foundation than that which has already been laid: CHRIST (1 Cor 3:11).
IV. GLORIFIED
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God and thereforethe world does not know us becauseit knew Him not. NOW are we the children of God and it does not appear what we shall be but when know when He (Christ) shall appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone that has this hope in Him purifies him/herself even as He is pure (1 John 3:1-3 paraphrased).
In Ephesians 2:4-6, the Holy Spirit teaches us that when were dead in our sins and enemies of God who is rich in mercy, yet He still loved us dying for our sins (Rom 5:5-8). And now we who are born again are raised up together with Christ and are sitted with Him in the heavenlies. Think about that for a moment.
We are sitted, right now, in heavenly places in Christ. Now. Present tense. Not in the future. RIGHT NOW. That’s what it means to be glorified. Exalted to a degree beyond one’s capabilities. We are joint-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:14-17).
Our spot (seat) is safe and secure in Heaven and what’s hindering us is this earthly tent (our bodies) that’s keeps us in this realm and when we die the flesh will return back to the ground but our spirit and souls will be in Heaven. During the rapture we shall be given new, immortal bodies without Adam’s original sin.
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” – Phil 3:20-21
In conclusion, knowing that my salvation is already complete: predestined, called, justified and glorified, I can say to these things, “if God be for me, who can be against me?” – Rom 8:31. What things? Trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, angels, demons, the present, the future, all powers, height, depth, anything else in all creation, that they will never be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord – Romans 8:35-39.
A complete salvation. Sure conviction. Eternal security. I believe in the perseverance of the Saints A complete salvation. Sure conviction. Eternal security. I believe in the perseverance of the Saints. 😇
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