“Eternal Redemption”
“Neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into
the holy place, 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 actually saved us! He did not merely make it possible for man to
be redeemed -- He actually obtained eternal redemption for us!
Every
aspect of our salvation was judicially accomplished by Christ's life, death,
and resurrection as our Substitute and Representative (1 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 substitutionary death, Christ put away
our sins by making satisfaction to the law and justice of God 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 (1 Pet. 1:18) by the precious
blood of Christ.
Having
undertaken the responsibility of our salvation in the covenant of grace, our
Savior came into this world to save his people from their sins (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 effectual,
sin-atoning, 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 that 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 something not yet complete in this legal
aspect. Faith adds nothing to Christ's finished work. Faith does not put away
sin. The blood of Christ put away our sins. Faith does not justify the sinner.
The blood of Christ justified us. 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). “With
his own blood,” the Lord Jesus Christ “entered in once into the
holy place, having” (by the sacrifice of himself) “obtained eternal
redemption for us!”
AMEN.
Grace Baptist Church of Danville
- Grace For Today Radio Message #896
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 859-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net