I was on the hot seat Sunday night as I described salvation as now but not yet. I said that there was a future aspect to salvation and some disagreed with me. Let me explain.
Salvation is definitely anchored in the past. There was a time when we were adopted into the family of God. This is the beginning of salvation. However, there are many who claim to have made that commitment but have not continued on. For salvation to be secure we must persevere to the end. Some call this works righteousness but it isn't because it is only by the grace of God that we can persevere to the end. Others criticize it because they say that no one will have assurance of salvation if this is the case but that is also not true. If you are running the race, pressing on to the end, then you know that you have eternal life.
How can anyone begin the race by looking to Jesus and then not look to Him any longer. As the writer of Hebrews says, "How can we escape if we neglect this great salvation." Remember, salvation is a person not a plan and that person is Jesus.
2 comments:
This idea of salvation needs to be rethought by evangelicals. The Bible's teaching is that salvation is initiated in a moment - justification - and we are told in Philippians 2:12 to work out our own salvation (in the present - sanctification), and we will be saved in the future when we stand before God and are vindicated - glorification. Salvation is the all-encompassing plan of God to redeem his people from sin and death.
I think the reason people think of salvation as a plan is due to the work of God in Christ on our behalf from God's eternal decree to predestine, call, and justify the sinner to the end of our salvation at glorification. Salvation is a plan - God's plan in Christ - and that plan is in a person.
One final thought: when evangelicals hear that salvation is past, present, and future, I believe they betray themselves in their works-oriented nature by rejecting this scheme because they show that they have not understood the complete work of God's grace in all of life. The gospel of grace doesn't merely get us into the kingdom and then we're on our own to stay in; rather, we are saved by grace and kept by grace. God's salvation is entirely by grace from beginning to end. We are saved not based on any works we do in the past, present, or future. We are saved, sanctified, and glorified by grace. From beginning to end, salvation is a work of God, because the gospel that saves us is the gospel that also sanctifies and glorifies us.
Salvation is a person, Jesus Christ. We are called to look to Him for salvation. Then the author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 12 that we are to run the race looking onto Jesus. He is the beginning of our salvation and He is the goal of our salvation. It is all about Him. Listen to the video by Paris Reidhead.
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