"Having Obtained Eternal Redemption For Us"

Hebrews 9:12

As far as the law and justice of God are concerned, all his elect were saved at Calvary. The redemptive work of Christ was a legal act. And we were saved by that one mighty, all-sufficient act of the Son of God whereby he satisfied divine justice as our Substitute. Our Lord did not simply make salvation possible - He saved us! He did not merely make it possible for man to be redeemed - He obtained eternal redemption for us!

EVERY ASPECT OF OUR SALVATION WAS JUDICIALLY ACCOMPLISHED BY CHRIST'S LIFE, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION AS OUR REPRESENTATIVE (I Cor.1:30-31). In his life, our Savior accomplished that perfect righteousness for us which God required (Jer.23:6; Rom.5:19). By his substi- tutionary death,Christ put away our sins by making sat- isfaction to the law for them (Heb.9:26; Gal.3:13). Not only did he bear our sins in his own body on the tree, he bore them away. And we were reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10), justified (Rom.5:9),sanctified (Heb.10:9-14),and redeemed (I Pet. 1:18) by the precious blood of Christ.

Having undertaken the responsibility of our salva- tion in the covenant of grace,our Savior came into this world to save his people (Matt.1:21). And, having fully accomplished their salvation upon the tree,he cried,"It is finished!" And SALVATION'S WORK WAS FINISHED BY CHRIST'S REDEEMING BLOOD. The curse of the law was finished (Gal. 3:13). Condemnation was removed from us (Rom.8:1).The wrath of God was finished. The sins which separated us from God were finished.To signify that the work was fully done, the veil of the temple was rent in two. The salvation of God's elect was, in this legal aspect, finished when Christ died. The proof of it all is our Lord's resurrection from the dead (Rom. 4:25).

NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE IS SALVATION SPOKEN OF AS SOMETHNG NOT YET COMPLETE IN THIS LEGAL ASPECT. Faith adds nothing to Christ's finished work. Faith only receives what Christ has done (Rom. 3:24-26; 4:25-5:1). Every soul for whom Christ died was, at the time of his death, legally constituted righteous in the sight of God (Rom. 5:18-21).

Don Fortner