Who saved you? Were you saved by God’s grace working in cooperation
with your works? Were you saved by the will of God working in cooperation with
your will? If you so imagine, you are not saved.
The Book of God declares
plainly that it is God alone “Who hath saved us.” Hear the Word of the
Lord. – It is God alone “who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”
Salvation, then, is God’s
work alone, the work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
And in one definite sense, salvation is an act of the past. Paul clearly states
the past tense of salvation in 2 Timothy 1:9. Salvation is a work entirely
wrought of God, without any assistance from man. It is a work already
accomplished. It was done according to God's own purpose and grace in eternity,
and given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began. God "hath saved
us." Oh blessed word of grace! If you are now in Christ by faith, it
is because God "hath saved" you. The past tense of salvation
is threefold.
1. We have been saved by the purpose of God (Rom. 8:28-31). Our
salvation was accomplished in eternity by the sovereign decree and unalterable
purpose of God. In the mind and purpose of God his people were saved before the
world began. Just as Christ was slain from the foundation of the world as the
Lamb of God (Rev. 13:8), so God's elect were, considered in Christ, saved from
the foundation of the world. In God's decree we were justified, called,
sanctified, and glorified, saved from eternity in Christ. The language of Holy
Scripture puts salvation back into eternity past, as an act accomplished by
God.
2. We have been saved by the purchase of blood (1 Pet. 1:18).
When our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, he fully satisfied the law and
justice of God as our Substitute (Gal. 3:13). He purchased, ransomed, our souls
out of the hands of God's offended law and saved us by his blood. When he
cried, "It is finished," the ransom price was paid, redemption
was accomplished, and all God's elect were justly and legally saved (Heb.
9:11-12).
3. We have been saved by the power of grace (Eph. 1:18-20;
2:1-4). This is the experimental aspect of salvation. It is as necessary as
election and redemption. "Ye must be born again." This too is
a work fully accomplished by grace alone in regeneration. If you trust Christ,
you have been born again. The proof of your salvation, not the cause, but the
proof, is faith in Christ. Your faith is the irreversible gift of God's saving
grace. It is effectually wrought in the hearts of God's elect by the power of
his grace in regeneration. At God's appointed time, the Holy Spirit gives life
to those dead sinners for whom Christ died and causes them to believe. We have
been saved by the triune God.
Grace Baptist Church of Danville
- Grace For Today Radio Message #892
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 859-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net