This is the eighth and last part in this series by Mr. Silversides. For a brief explanation of the series click here.

“Salvation

“And thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

A word can be so familiar that it never gets explained. Many hear the word salvation or saved who do not really understand it. The Need our text tells us what Christ saves his people from: ‘their sins‘. The non-Christian has the problem of the guilt of past sin, his addiction to sin in the present and the effects of sin in the future.

The Remedy

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He bore the punishment of sin in the place of sinners. He paid the price. He accomplished redemption.

The Remedy Applied

What Christ did on the cross for sinners is applied to individuals.

First, the guilt of sin. When a sinner trusts in Christ, all his guilt is taken away. God declares him not guilty. We have seen before that the Bible calls this justification. The justified man is delivered from the Hell he deserved and has a title to a place in Heaven, through Christ. This removal of guilt is the basis and guarantee of all that follows. The word saved is usually used among us today in this sense of initial conversion to Christ, and the scriptures often use it in that way too. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved‘ (Acts 16:31).

Second, the presence of sin in the heart and life. Deliverance from this begins at conversion, gradually progresses as a Christian goes on through life and is completed when the soul goes to Heaven at death. An earlier article showed that the Bible calls this sanctification. This also is part of Christ’s salvation. This is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure‘ (Philippians 2:12-13).

Third, the physical effects of sin. Physical death is universal only because sin is universal. ‘Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned‘ (Romans 5:12). Even the physical world was cursed because of man’s sin (Genesis 3:17-19). The salvation Christ gives includes the reversal of all this and more. Physical resurrection to glory and a new Heaven and a new earth are all part of the inheritance of the people of God (Philippians 3:21; 2 Peter 3:13). This will complete salvation and so we read of the ‘salvation ready to be revealed in the last time‘ (1 Peter 1:5; see also Hebrews 9:28). This takes place when Christ comes again.

The Guarantee

The believer enjoys fellowship with God because his sins are forgiven and he has the Holy Spirit in his heart. This enjoyment of God is called the ‘earnest‘ of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). An earnest is like the first instalment or deposit guaranteeing the full amount in due time.

Have you peace with God through Christ and the peace of God in your heart? Have you the deposit that guarantees all the rest of the blessings of salvation in Christ? Do you know you will be among that multitude of the glorified redeemed in Heaven who shall forever worship and ascribe ‘salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb‘ (Revelation 7:10).”

Part Eight

D.S.

Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven

This is the seventh in this series by Mr Silversides. For a brief explanation of the series click here.

“Predestination

‘In whom we have an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.’ (Ephesians 1:11).

Every stream has its beginning, its spring or source. History has its beginning in the mind and purpose of God from eternity past. History is the outworking, in all its vastness and intricacy, of the plan or counsel of God. He ‘works all things after the counsel of his own will‘. The alternative is to believe in the meaningless idea of chance. Within this all-inclusive plan, God has determined to save sinners by Jesus Christ bearing their sins on the cross. He has also determined which sinners will be saved this way.

A Meaningful Word

A destination is the place at the end of a journey. To ‘destine‘ or ‘destinate‘ is to appoint or determine where someone will end up. To ‘predestinate’ is to do so in advance or beforehand. Before the world was made, God had chosen who should be saved and has appointed all the means by which they will be brought to faith and Christ and be kept in that faith until glorified in heaven (see Ephesians 1:4-7).

A Controversial Word

Even among Bible-believing Christians, this doctrine has often caused controversy. This should not be. The Bible and experience both teach that when the gospel is preached some believe unto life eternal and others do not but remain under condemnation. What or who makes the difference? Not chance surely. No-one’s salvation hinges on ‘chance’. Not any superiority in the one who responds to the gospel either, otherwise salvation is no longer all of grace. That salvation is all of God’s grace, or undeserved kindness, is a distinctive feature of the true gospel. ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God‘ (Ephesians 2:8). God makes the difference! The Lord adds to the church (Acts 2:47); he opens hearts (Acts 16:14). ‘As many as are ordained to eternal life believe‘ (Acts 13:48). The willingness to believe is God-given. In this, as in all else, the Christian must acknowledge ‘who maketh thee to differ from another?‘ and ‘what has thou that thou hast not received‘ (1 Cor. 4:7).

A Biblical Word

The word ‘predestination’ appears in scripture. Sometimes other words are used to convey the same idea. At times reference is made to God’s ‘election’ (or ‘choice’). Whatever terms are used the concept of predestination is constant in the scriptures. (See 1 Cor. 1:26-31; Romans 9:9-26, 11:5-7; 1 Peter 2:7-11; Mark 11:25 etc.) This, in itself, must prevent the Christian from dismissing the subject. We may have difficulty understanding why God should invite all and command all men to repent and believe when they will never be willing to do so unless he changes their hearts. Nevertheless, he does just that. We must accept all that is in the Word of God.

A Profitable Word

Perhaps it might be said that whilst acknowledging this doctrine to be true, it should be kept ‘under wraps’. This truth of predestination is just too confusing and liable to misunderstanding. We must remember, however, that ‘all scripture’ is not only ‘inspired by God’, but is ‘profitable’ (2 Timothy 3:16). No-one needs to be protected from anything in the Word of God, nor should any biblical teaching be kept for some inner circle of the ‘initiated’. All that we believe should be held openly and above board.

A Practical Word

How is this teaching profitable in practice? This truth acknowledges God to be really God. Certainly, the biblical free offer of the gospel to sinners is to be safeguarded. Nevertheless the distortion of this which depicts God as helpless and frustrated before the independent will of man is not honouring to God. If God is almighty, then predestination must be true.
Secondly, this subject should humble every Christian. The reason we are Christians is due to God’s free favour alone. We deserve to be condemned as surely as those who actually will be. Only God makes the difference. If we are not humbled by the truth of predestination, then we have not grasped it at all.

This teaching should cause unbelievers to wake up. You can’t afford to assume that repentance will come to order when you deem it convenient. Far from simply shrugging your shoulders, you should wake up to your true position. You desperately need a new heart from God.

On the other hand, anyone who really wants Christ and his salvation should not be discouraged. That very desire for Christ is God-given and the invitation stands ‘… and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely‘ (Rev. 22:17).

Part Seven

D.S.

Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six