Welcome back to my blog. We are
taking a few weeks to describe what scripture says about our great salvation.
Christians often view their salvation,
the decision to accept Christ as their personal Savior by faith, is as simple
as crossing the street to reach the other side, but nothing else happens. Further,
a person can cross back over to the other side and perhaps not be a Christian
again! Nothing could be further from the truth!
Our salvation is part of God’s
plan that began before the world was formed and will end when Christ returns.
It is full of wonderful safeguards that make it impossible to lose salvation
for a true born-again believer.
So, with such great promises
let's examine what the Bible states. We will start at the beginning of the
salvation process, before time began, until the time of the cross. We then will
complete this amazing journey over the next several posts.
The process of salvation (please
see figure below):
·
The plan of salvation – God’s first step was to create a plan to
save man and remove the problem of sin that would be created by Adam and Eve in
the garden (Genesis 3:15).
o Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, man fell
and became depraved; he was unable to choose God or do good, fleeing from Him (Romans 3:10-12). Therefore, God graciously had to choose,
before all-time began, some to come to salvation (Ephesians 1:4,5,11; Romans 8:29-30).
o If God had not chosen, then nobody would have
come to saving grace. God has always had to choose throughout the Bible to
accomplish his work in the world (Romans 9:7ff).
· Bringing us to salvation –
o
Because man would
not choose God and did not understand God, the Holy Spirit had to intervene In in
those God chose and convict them of sin, and
of righteousness, and of judgment
(John 16:8).
o Further, God had to drag future Christians to Himself
to believe (John 6:44). Interestingly,
the word used in the Greek
(the original language of the New Testament) for ‘drag’ is ελκω (helko), which describes when fishermen cast a net and literally bring fish into their
boat. As the fish do not come voluntarily, neither do we! God had to literally force us to saving faith!
·
God causes us to believe - Our faith then made Christ’s sacrificial
death and His resurrection efficacious for us to our salvation. The
content of the gospel can be found here https://teleiosresearch.com/consider-the-gospel/.
Please note the figure showing the
chronological plan of Salvation throughout the Bible. Indeed, the Bible is the
story of salvation through our precious savior Christ. God, by His love and
wisdom, created this plan, and realized it throughout history and will complete
it in the future (Ephesians
1:4-8;10-11).
Today we have discussed the foundation of the
plan and how God draws us to himself. Next week we'll discover what happens at
the cross.
What a great plan; what a great promise! To
God be the glory who has done all the work of salvation and nothing was left to
us nor to chance. There is nothing we could have done past, present or in the
future to earn eternal life. God did it all; solo fide (only by faith).
Thanks again for joining me and I look forward
to seeing you again next time.
For
questions or to view more of our research…
Disclaimer
- This blog is provided for your use and enjoyment on an ‘as is’ and ‘as
available’ basis. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any
time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the
content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent
that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate
for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person
for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such
information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained
myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any
specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your
own research into the scriptures.
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