Redemption means a price has been paid by one person to liberate another. The Greek words lutroō (λυτρόω), lutron (λύτρον), antilutron (ἀντίλυτρον), and apolutrōsis (ἀπολύτρωσις) are used by NT writers to communicate the truth that Jesus purchased our freedom from the slave-market of sin by means of His sacrificial death on the cross. In the NT, this word group occurs 21 times and apolutrōsis (ἀπολύτρωσις) accounts for roughly half of those uses. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom [lutron] for many” (Mark 10:45). Here, the Greek word lutron refers to “price of release, ransom.”[1] Prior to faith in Christ, we were held captive in Satan’s slave-market of sin, but Christ released us by His shed blood. Paul states, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption [apolutrōsis], the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14). And, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom [antilutron] for all, the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Tim 2:5-6). Paul wrote, “In Him we have redemption [apolutrōsis] through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7). According to BDAG, the Greek word apolutrosis (ἀπολύτρωσις) originally referred to “buying back a slave or captive, i.e. making free by payment of a ransom.”[2] Hoehner notes, “The NT usage of ἀπολύτρωσις refers to one set free on the basis of a ransom paid to God by Christ’s death.”[3] According to Paul Enns, “The word is used to describe the believer being purchased out of the slave market of sin and set free from sin’s bondage. The purchase price for the believer’s freedom and release from sin was the death of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; Rev 5:9; 14:3, 4).”[4] The whole idea of redemption implies antecedent slavery. A slave could obtain freedom if redeemed by a free person. All humanity is enslaved to sin, Jesus being the sole exception, as He was sinless (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5). Since Jesus was free from sin, He was able to purchase our freedom and liberate us from our bondage to Satan and sin (Acts 26:18; Col 1:13-14). Merrill Unger states:
“Redemption from this bondage is represented in the Scriptures as both universal and limited. It is universal in the sense that its advantages are freely offered to all. It is limited in the sense that it is effectual only with respect to those who meet the conditions of salvation announced in the gospel. For such it is effectual in that they receive forgiveness of sins and the power to lead a new and holy life. Satan is no longer their captor, and death has lost its sting and terror. They look forward to the redemption of the body (see Heb 2:9; Acts 3:19; Eph 1:7; Acts 26:18; 2 Tim 2:26; 1 Cor 15:55–57; Rom 8:15–23).”[5]
Biblically, we observe that God’s forgiveness is not arbitrary, as though He simply releases someone from their sin-debt without any payment for the offenses that were committed. Nor was the payment for sin made by us, as though we had something of worth to give to God. Peter states, “you were not redeemed [lutroō] with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:18-19). God’s forgiveness was made possible by the blood of Christ, which refers to His sacrificial atoning death on the cross where He died in our place, where “Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). And the blood of Christ is the only coin of the heavenly realm that the Father accepts as payment for our sin debt. Lightner states, “The means of redemption from sin in Scripture is always through the shed blood of Christ, and is therefore related to his death (Gal 3:13; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Heb 9:12, 15; 1 Pet 1:18–19; Rev 5:9). His sinless life demonstrated his qualification to be the sin-bearer. One flaw in his character would have disqualified him.”[6] Harold Hoehner notes:
“The OT writings very carefully indicated that the shedding of blood was involved in sacrifice. Sacrificial animals were not killed by strangulation. The shedding of blood is necessary (Lev 17:11; Eph 2:13; 1 Pet 1:19) for without it there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22), and Paul makes it clear that God has been propitiated in Christ’s redemption, which was in connection with his blood (Rom 3:24–25), and that one is justified by means of Christ’s blood (Rom 5:9). Therefore, the ransom price in connection with deliverance was the sacrificial death of Christ.”[7]
In summary, redemption means Jesus Christ paid the price to liberate us from the bondage of sin through His sacrificial death on the cross. This act of redemption is by means of His shed blood, which serves as the payment for our sin debt. At the moment of faith in Christ, we are transferred from enslavement to sin to freedom in Christ, where we enjoy forgiveness of sins and new life. While redemption is offered to all, it is effective only for those who believe in Christ as Savior.
Dr. Steven R. Cook
Related Articles:
- Free Grace Salvation
- What is Free Grace Theology?
- Saved by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone
- Knowing and Doing the Will of God
- The High Calling of God’s Servant
- The Life of Faith
- The Righteous Lifestyle of the Believer
- Walking Worthy of God’s Call to Service
- God’s Gift of Righteousness
- Eternal Life
- Assurance of Salvation
- The Cross & Crucifixion of Jesus
- Two Kinds of Forgiveness with God
- Defining Salvation in the Bible
- Who is the One Who Saves?
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[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 605.
[2] Ibid., 117.
[3] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 206.
[4] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 323.
[5] E. McChesney, “Redemption,” The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, 1069.
[6] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, 195.
[7] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, 207.
Forgiveness is the act of pardoning or releasing someone from an offense, wrongdoing, or debt. At the moment someone sins against me, it’s important that I forgive them and let the matter go. When I forgive, the matter is transferred to God, and the offender must deal directly with the Lord, and the Lord with him. By faith, I have fulfilled what the Lord requires of me. To ruminate on the offense only relives it in my mind and enflames my emotions which, if not controlled, can neutralize my ability to think and reason biblically. Forgiveness, at its core, transcends the realm of emotions and operates by faith in God and His Word. It is a conscious decision to align with God’s will, even when my feelings urge me otherwise.
Forgiveness often comes from a place of pain. Remember, it was while Jesus was on the cross, suffering and dying, that He forgave those who crucified Him, saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus’ persecutors were not asking for His forgiveness, and they certainly did not deserve it. By His actions on the cross, Jesus modeled the love He taught His disciples, saying, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28).
Forgiveness leaves justice for God to administer. Jesus, while He was on the cross and being attacked, did not retaliate. Peter wrote, “while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 2:23). When suffering unjustly, we are to look to the Lord, and “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom 12:19). We believe that God will administer justice in His time and way. Paul wrote, “it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you” (2 Th 1:6). It’s okay to be hurt, but never to hate, or retaliate.
Atonement for sins is the basis for reconciliation, because God has judged our sins in the Person of Christ who died on the cross in our place. The death of Christ has forever satisfied God’s righteous demands for our sin and it is on this basis that He can accept sinners before His throne of grace. Paul wrote, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Rom 5:10-11). And, “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18-19). In both of these passages on reconciliation, Paul employs the Greek verb katallassō (καταλλάσσω), and the noun katallage (καταλλαγή) which, according to Louw-Nida, means “to reconcile, to make things right with one another, reconciliation.”
Jesus’ death on the cross was a satisfactory sacrifice to God which completely paid the price for our sin. We owed a debt to God that we could never pay, and Jesus paid that debt in full when He died on the cross and bore the punishment that rightfully belonged to us. In Romans, Paul states that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Rom 3:24-25a ESV). Here, Paul used the Greek word hilasterion (ἱλαστήριον)—translated propitiation—to show that Jesus’ shed blood completely satisfied God’s righteous demands toward our sin, with the result that there is nothing more for the sinner to pay to God. Jesus paid our sin-debt in full. The Apostle John tells us “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf., 4:10). Jesus’ death on the cross forever satisfied God’s righteous demands toward the sins of everyone for all time! God has “canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:14). Regarding Christ’s death, J. Dwight Pentecost states:
Penal substitution is the idea that Jesus bore the penalty for our sins on the cross. He was judged in our place and bore the wrath of God that rightfully belongs to us. The record of Scripture is that “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed” (Isa 53:5), and “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him” (Isa 53:6), for “by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11), and “the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering” (Isa 53:10a). Jesus is presented in the NT as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). We’re also told that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf” (2 Cor 5:21), and that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us” (Gal 3:13), and that “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24). In this way, the sins of all humanity were imputed to Christ while He was on the cross, suffering as our substitute. And we must always remember that the sacrifice of Christ was purely voluntary, as He said, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11), and “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative” (John 10:18). And Jesus has “been offered once to bear the sins of many” (Heb 9:28), and “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (1 Pet 3:18).
Sin is the breaking of God’s law, for “Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law” (1 John 3:4 CSB). The penalty for breaking God’s law is death, for “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Jesus took our sins upon Himself and “bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24), and He “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). And He died for the sins of everyone, for “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Though Christ died for everyone, the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe, and “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7). Additionally, we receive “the gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17), and “eternal life” (John 10:28). At the moment of faith in Christ, we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).
Love is an intrinsic attribute of God that motivated Him to reach into time and space and offer salvation to lost sinners who have offended Him. This was a voluntary act of love on the part of God, as He was in no way compelled to act. But He did act for our benefit, and this is most pronounced in the sending of His Son to die for us. In Scripture, we are told, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Here, the apostle John used the Greek verb agapao (ἀγαπάω), which speaks of God’s love for lost sinners, and His love was manifest toward us by providing His uniquely born Son as an atoning sacrifice for sin so that we might not spend eternity in the lake of fire. Instead, we might believe in His Son and come to possess eternal life. Love here is universal, extending to all of humanity. It is gracious because the object is undeserving (Rom 5:8). It is giving, as God gave His precious Son to die for us. It is simple, being received by faith alone in Christ alone (Acts 4:12; Eph 2:8-9). And it is salvific, saving those who accept God’s Son as their Savior (John 1:12; Gal 3:26).
At the moment of faith in Christ, God’s righteousness is gifted to the believer (Rom 5:17; cf. 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), and he is at once made right with God and declared just in His sight. Divine justification is not by human works at all, “for there is none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10), “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Rather, Paul reveals we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Like our spiritual birth, justification is a one-and-done event, perfect in itself, not to be confused with our experiential sanctification, which occurs over time. According to Norman Geisler, “Justification is an instantaneous, past act of God by which one is saved from the guilt of sin—his record is cleared and he is guiltless before the Judge” (Rom 8:1).”
The imputation of God’s righteousness to believers means we are declared righteous, but not made righteous in conduct. To be righteous in conduct is the lifelong process of sanctification whereby the believer advances to spiritual maturity and lives in conformity with the character and will of God as revealed in His Word. This is the walk of faith. But though we are righteous in God’s sight because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, at the same time we continue to possess a sin nature that continually causes internal temptation and conflict (Rom 6:6; 7:14-25; 13:14; Col 3:9; Gal 5:16-17, 19-22; 1 John 1:8), and we commit personal acts of sin (1 Ki 8:46; Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:10; 2:1). Though the power of the sin nature is broken (Rom 6:11-14), the presence of the sin nature is never removed from us until God takes us from this world and gives us a new body like the body of Jesus (Phil 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2, 5). Martin Luther understood this duality and coined the Latin phrase simul iustus et peccator, which translates as, “simultaneously righteous and a sinner.” Though Christians are declared righteous in God’s sight, sin will constantly be present (Eccl 7:20; 1 John 1:8, 10), to varying degrees, depending on the status of the believer’s spiritual walk with the Lord. Timothy George states:
I have a great appreciation for several Calvinists teachers. Men like Sproul, Frame, Grudem, and Packer have been helpful sources of theological learning and I value their writings. However, though there is much that I agree with them about, there are points of disagreement as well. For example, I don’t agree with them on matters of ecclesiology, as most of them hold to replacement theology. Nor do I think their eschatology is correct, as most have a faulty hermeneutic and deny the rapture of the church, the future tribulation, and literal millennial reign of Christ on the earth. Though there is much about their soteriology I like, their views concerning election are troubling. Below is a basic outline of the five points of Calvinism.
The Bible teaches that faith in Christ is the sole condition for securing God’s salvation and all attendant blessings (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Gal 2:16; 3:26). Faith does not save; Christ saves. Faith is merely the instrument by which lost sinners receive Christ as Savior. And once we believe in Christ as Savior, we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), and “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). Salvation is free, and it is received freely by “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom 4:5). Our salvation was accomplished entirely by Jesus at the cross when He shed His blood at Calvary, for we are redeemed “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). And because our salvation was fully accomplished at the cross, there is nothing left for us to pay. Nothing at all. Salvation is a gift, given freely to us who don’t deserve it. That’s grace, which is unmerited favor, underserved kindness, unwarranted love, unearned generosity, and unprovoked goodness. Scripture reveals, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it’s what He’s done for us by sending His Son into the world to live a righteous life and die a penal substitutionary death on the cross in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18).
Third, the Bible teaches unlimited atonement. This is the biblical view that Jesus died for everyone, and though His death is sufficient to save everyone, the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe in Him as Savior. Jesus’ atonement for sins is the basis for reconciliation, because God has judged our sins in the Person of Christ who died on the cross in our place. Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), and “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and “who gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:6), and tasted “death for everyone” (Heb 2:9), and “is the Savior of all men, especially of believers” (1 Tim 4:10), “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Tit 2:11), and “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf., 1 John 4:10), and “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). Peter wrote of “false prophets” and “false teachers” who “deny the Master who bought them” (2 Pet 2:1).
God will provide gospel information to all who are positive to Him and want to know Him. And when people believe in Christ as their Savior, they “receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43), God’s “gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17), His gift of “eternal life” (John 10:28), are “reconciled to God” (Rom 5:10), have “peace with God” (Rom 5:1), and are “rescued from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13). But if people go negative to God and “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and do “not believe” (John 3:18) in Christ as their Savior, then, by their own choice, they reject His offer of salvation, and “the wrath of God abides on them” (John 3:36). Having rejected God’s offer of forgiveness of sins and eternal live, these will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15), where they will spend all eternity, forever separated from God, because that’s what they chose. They are judged on the basis of their works (Rev 20:10-14), which do not measure up to the perfect righteousness of God; therefore, they are not eligible to spend eternity with Him, having rejected His gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). And God, from His sovereignty, permits this to happen.
Because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), He works in a preparatory manner to convince the fallen human heart to welcome Christ (2 Tim 1:9). Jesus spoke of the role of the Holy Spirit in the dispensation of the church age, saying, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8-9). According to Geisler, “The act of convicting, then, is that by which God persuades a person that he is a sinner and, thus, is in need of the Savior.”
One can see God’s sovereignty and human volition working simultaneously at the crucifixion of Jesus. In the sovereignty and wisdom of God, without overruling human volition, the Lord accomplished His will by means of the wills of wicked men who sought to oppose Him. Luke tells us, “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” (Acts 2:23). Here, wicked men did their worst against God and His Messiah, and yet, what was done to the Messiah, was done “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.” Luke states something similar when he recorded Peter’s prayer to God, saying, “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur” (Acts 4:27-28). These wicked men were “were gathered together against” Jesus, to oppose and crucify Him. Yet Peter says to God they did “whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” These wicked men—whose pride and power were threatened by Jesus—sought to destroy Him by means of false witnesses and illegal trials, and to put Him to death in the most horrible way possible; crucifixion. But God is sovereign, and by means of His invisible hand, used the very actions of those who opposed Him to accomplish the thing He desired; the death of Messiah for everyone. Here is a mystery that brings awe and bewilderment, as the wills of wicked men became the vehicle of divine destiny to produce exactly what God intended. God was in no way the author of their sin. Those who crucified Messiah acted freely. Yet their free actions were the modus operandi to accomplish His will, and so Messiah was crucified and bore the sins of those who placed Him on the cross.
Second is the imputation of all sin to Jesus on the cross (Isa 53:4-6, 10; 2 Cor 5:21). God the Father judged Jesus in our place (Mark 10:45; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18), cancelling our sin debt by the death of Christ (Col 2:13-14; 2 Cor 5:18-19). This was a voluntary imputation on the part of Christ who freely went to the cross and took our sins upon Himself (John 1:29; 10:11, 15, 17-18). Scripture states, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isa 53:5), and “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isa 53:6), and Jesus was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and He “tasted death for everyone” (Heb 2:9), and was offered once on the cross “to bear the sins of many” (Heb 9:28), and “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24), and “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (1 Pet 3:18). Thieme explains:
In a similar way, Jesus paid for our sin so that we don’t have to, and in exchange, we receive God’s righteousness. This idea of an exchange between persons means that one person is credited with something not antecedently his/her own. Our sin is our sin, and Christ’s righteousness is His righteousness. When Jesus took our sin upon himself at the cross, He voluntarily accepted something that belonged to another, namely us. Jesus took our sin upon Himself. On the other hand, when we receive God’s righteousness as a gift, we are accepting something that belonged to another, namely God. By faith, we accept that which belongs to God, namely, His righteousness. God’s righteousness becomes our righteousness. Paul references the exchange that occurred at the cross when Jesus died for our sin, saying, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21), and he personally spoke of the righteousness “which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil 3:9).
The Bible reveals God is holy.
The third Person of the Trinity bears the specific title of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), which emphasizes His righteousness and separateness from sin (Isa 63:10; Eph 4:30). Jesus, as the Son of God, embodies the holiness of God in human form. Scripture tells us that Jesus was “holy, innocent, pure, and set apart from sinners” (Heb 7:26). Jesus lived and interacted with sinners (i.e., eating with them, attending weddings, etc.), but He never had sinful thoughts, spoke sinful words, or acted in sinful ways. No matter what was happening around Him, Jesus never crossed the line into sin. Without abandoning righteousness, He loved and spoke truth, displayed compassion, helped the weak, and rebuked the arrogant. He was always holy in thought, word, and deed, and though near to others, He was still “set apart from sinners” (Heb 7:26).
Christians living in the dispensation of the church age are called to holy living. Peter wrote, “like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘you shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet 1:15-16). God, who is our Father, is holy, and He calls for His children to live holy lives. For Christians, living holy to the Lord is accomplished by advancing to spiritual maturity and living as obedient-to-the-Word believers (Heb 6:1). It means learning God’s Word (Psa 1:2-3; Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2), living in submission to Him (Rom 12:1-2; Jam 4:7), walking by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), walking by means of the Spirit (Gal 5:16), accepting trials that help us grow (Jam 1:2-4), being devoted to prayer (Col 4:2; 1 Th 5:17; Eph 6:18), worship (Heb 13:15), being thankful (1 Th 5:18), fellowshipping with other believers (Heb 10:24-25), serving others (Gal 5:13; 6:10; 1 Pet 4:10; Phil 2:3-4), and taking advantage of the time we have (Eph 5:15-16). On the negative side, it means not loving the world (Jam 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16), nor quenching the Spirit (1 Th 5:19), nor grieving the Spirit (Eph 4:30). If we turn to sin—and that’s always a possibility—it means we are not living holy lives as God expects. When Christians sin, it does not result in loss of salvation, but loss of fellowship with God. It also means that if we continue to live sinfully, that God may discipline us (Heb 12:5-11), and deny us eternal rewards (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8). Humble believers acknowledge their sin, and God restores them to fellowship when they confess it to Him, seeking His forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
Free Grace Theology is a theological perspective within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone (Eph 2:8-9), in Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), totally apart from any human effort or good works (Rom 3:28; 4:4-5; 11:6; Gal 2:16; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 3:5). It affirms that eternal salvation is “the gift of God” (Eph 2:8), and is exclusively in Christ, as we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), for “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Salvation is a gift, free to all who want it, at no cost whatsoever to the recipient, no strings attached, without charge or obligation to give anything, and freely received by those who trust solely in Jesus as their Savior.
Our salvation was very costly to God and Christ and is the most expensive gift ever offered to anyone, and His precious and gracious gift is offered freely to anyone who accepts it by faith alone in Christ alone. When a person hears and accepts the gospel message that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4), that person can then believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation (Acts 16:31), for “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Believing in Christ means we trust Him to save us, for only Christ is needed for salvation. No one else. Nothing more.
Those who reject Jesus as Savior will spend eternity away from God in the lake of fire, for “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Th 1:9; cf., Rev 20:15). This is avoidable, for God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), and to this end “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (Joh. 3:16). Salvation is available to everyone; therefore, no one goes to hell by accident, but by their own choice (John 3:18; 5:39-40). Salvation is open to all, for God has not elected anyone to damnation.
Once we are saved, God calls us to grow in our relationship with Him. This is accomplished as we learn and live His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), submit to Him (Jam 4:7), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38), advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1), serve Him (Rom 12:1-2), live righteously (Rom 6:11-14; 2 Tim 3:16), love others (Eph 5:1-2; 1 Th 4:9), serve others (Gal 5:13; 1 Pet 4:10), and do good works (Gal 6:10; Eph 2:10; Tit 2:11-14), for which He promises to reward us eternally if we comply (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 John 1:8). Those who obey God and walk by faith will develop a personal sense of destiny that is tied to the infinite, personal, creator God who has called us into a relationship and walk with Him.
Biblically speaking, guilt implies one has acted contrary to God’s moral character and laws. Divine laws are a reflection of the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God may be defined as the intrinsic, immutable, moral perfection of God, from which He commands all things, in heaven and earth, and declares as good that which conforms to His righteousness and as evil that which deviates. God’s character is the basis upon which all just laws derive; either divine laws from God Himself or human laws which conform to His righteousness.
Those who reject God are left to create and impose arbitrary values on others, and the tyrants of the world are glad to bully and control others by means of strong arm tactics, whether social intimidation, economic coercion, or brute physical force. The only objective standard for measuring righteousness or guilt is set forth in God’s Word which defines reality. The Bible reveals God is “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25), and He “is a righteous judge” (Psa 7:11), and He “judges righteously” (Jer 11:20), and “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Ex 34:7). Yet, the Bible also reveals God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth” (Psa 86:15), and One “Who pardons all your iniquities” (Psa 103:3), when we come to Him in honesty and humility. And for those who come to Him in humility, who are like the tax collector, who “was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” (Luke 18:13), will find Him to be merciful. For those of us who trust in Christ as Savior, we are blessed with “forgiveness of sins” (Eph 1:7; cf., Acts 10:43), the “gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17; cf., 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), “eternal life” (John 10:28), and become “children of God” (John 1:12), with a promise that we will spend eternity in heaven with Him (John 14:1-3). J. Dwight Pentecost notes, “If you should be without Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you stand guilty before God because you are still in Adam’s race. Even though Christ bore that sin, it means nothing to you until you are related to Him by faith. The righteousness of Christ cannot be imputed to you unless you personally receive Jesus Christ as your Savior.”
When Jesus was on the cross, He prayed for those who crucified Him, saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). From this passage we see that Jesus harbored no hatred toward His attackers who crucified Him. Certainly His attackers were operating on hatred and were not seeking forgiveness, yet Jesus asked the Father to forgive them. That’s unconditional love.
Conditional forgiveness has a give-and-take dynamic and depends on certain conditions being fulfilled by the offender who has stopped causing harm, confessed his sin to us, and seeks reconciliation. When this happens, we are to forgive and let him back into our lives, assuming they’ve corrected their bad behavior. Jesus said, “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). This is an amazing statement, for if the offender repeats the same sin over and over, presumably against us, our first order is to rebuke that person for their sin. And if the person who keeps repeating the same sin comes to us, even seven times in a day, and says, “I repent”, then each time, we are to forgive him. Forgive. That’s the directive. This kind of forgiveness requires faith, for it will never be accomplished by feelings. Jesus’ apostles understood this and “said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’” (Luke 17:5). Forgiveness is an act of faith. When we forgive others, we are obeying the directive to “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph 4:32).
In our relationship with God, there are two kinds of forgiveness. One is judicial and the other is parental. Judicial forgiveness is the forgiveness we receive from God when we stand before Him as the Judge of all humanity. This forgiveness occurs at the moment of faith in Christ, where “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43; cf. Eph 1:7; Col 1:14). This is a one-and-done event that is never repeated, as we are “forgiven us all our transgressions” (Col 2:13). Parental forgiveness is the ongoing forgiveness we receive from God as our Father and is repeated many times throughout a believer’s life. Judicial forgiveness brings us into a right relationship with Him at the moment of faith in Christ. Parental forgiveness restores our fellowship with Him. Joseph Dillow states, “There are two kinds of forgiveness in the New Testament. One pertains to our eternal salvation (justification by faith), and the other to our temporal fellowship with the Father.”
Judicial forgiveness relates to our eternal salvation and right relationship with God. Paul wrote, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph 1:7), and God has “forgiven us all our transgressions, having erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross” (Col 2:13b-14). God’s forgiveness is not arbitrary, as though He simply releases someone from their sin-debt without any payment for the offenses that were committed. The payment for sin was not made by us, but Christ. Peter states, “you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:18-19). God’s judicial forgiveness was made possible by the blood of Christ, which refers to His sacrificial atoning death on the cross where He died in our place, where “Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). The blood of Christ is the only coin of the heavenly realm that the Father accepts as payment for our sin debt. This is the forgiveness we receive because Christ shed His blood on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins. Harold Hoehner notes, “The shedding of blood is necessary (Lev 17:11; Eph 2:13; 1 Pet 1:19) for without it there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22), and Paul makes it clear that God has been propitiated in Christ’s redemption, which was in connection with his blood (Rom 3:24–25), and that one is justified by means of Christ’s blood (Rom 5:9).”
The second kind of forgiveness is the parental forgiveness we receive as God’s children who have committed sin and broken fellowship with our Father. As Christians, we continue to live in a fallen world with all sorts of external temptations, and we continue to possess a sin nature that tempts us internally. The sin nature is what Paul referred to when he gave instruction to “make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14), and to “lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit” (Eph 4:22). Paul, as a Christian, described his own struggle with ongoing sin (Rom 7:14-20), saying, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good” (Rom 7:21). As Christians, we constantly deal with internal struggles as along we live in this world, as we have two opposing natures. Paul wrote of this struggle, saying, “the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal 5:17). When we yield to temptation, whether internal or external, we sin, which means we are operating according to Satan’s world-system (1 John 2:15-16), have grieved the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30), and broken fellowship with God as we are walking in the darkness and not practicing the truth (1 John 1:6). At that moment we are sinning saints, and we are not in fellowship with God. Being honest with God and ourselves is important, for “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us…[and] If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8, 10). When we accept this truth, we can then be humble and honest with God and come before His throne of grace and find mercy (Heb 4:16).
Eternal life is what we have at the moment we trust Christ as our Savior. John wrote, “whoever believes in Him will have eternal life” (John 3:15), and “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And Jesus pointed others to Himself, saying, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40; cf., John 10:28), and “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). Jesus, when saying the believer “has” eternal life in John 6:47, used the Greek verb echō (ἔχω – to have or possess), which is in the present tense, meaning it’s a right-now-truth. That is, eternal life is what the believer possesses at the moment of faith in Christ. This eternal life is connected with being in a relationship with Jesus Christ. John wrote, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:11-12).
The first and third aspects of our salvation (i.e., justification and glorification) are accomplished by God without any human assistance. Concerning our justification, Scripture reveals that “God is the one who justifies” (Rom 8:33), and “who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5). This is a work of God alone. No works are required for the one who trusts in Christ as Savior (Rom 4:4-5; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). Concerning our glorification, Jesus Christ is the One “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:21), and “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2), and that “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). This means our future heavenly body will have no sin nature. This also is a work of God alone. However, the second aspect of our salvation, our sanctification, requires positive volition on our part. This is made obvious by the use of NT verbs that are in the imperative mood (i.e., a command), which requires the Christian to obey. As believers, we play a role in our sanctification as we learn and live God’s Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), yield to God the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16, 25), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1).
The Bible reveals God is absolutely righteous and set apart from all that is sinful (Psa 11:7; 99:9; Hab 1:13; 1 John 1:5) and He hates and condemns sin (Deut 25:16; Psa 5:5; 45:7; Prov 8:13; 15:9, 26; 20:9; Zech 8:17; Rom 1:18; Col 3:6; Heb 1:9). The problem for us is that all mankind is sinful (Gen 6:5; 8:21; 1 Ki 8:46; Psa 143:2; Eccl 7:20; Isa 59:2; 64:6; Jer 17:9; Rom 3:10; 3:23; Eph 2:1-2; 1 John 1:8, 10). Not only are we sinful, but our good works have no saving merit (Rom 4:4-5; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). Our salvation was accomplished 100% by Jesus who died on the cross for our sins. Salvation is never what we do for God, but what He’s done for us at the cross (Rom 5:8; 6:10; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18). God offers to justify and save us freely as a gift, totally apart from any good works we may perform (Rom 3:24, 28, 4:5; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5; 1 Pet 3:18). God’s salvation comes to us who have trusted in Christ as our Savior (John 3:15-18; 6:40; 10:28; 11:25; 14:6; Acts 4:12; 16:31; 1 John 5:12). Salvation means we have forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), eternal life (John 10:28), are part of the family of God (Gal 3:26; 1 John 3:1), are blessed with many spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3), and will never face condemnation (Rom 8:1, 33).
When we understand these truths by studying Scripture and accept them by faith, we have assurance of our salvation because we trust in God and His Word (Psa 119:160; John 17:17). The apostle Paul wrote, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim 1:12). The apostle John wrote, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life” (1 John 5:11-12). The assurance of salvation does not come by looking to ourselves, but to the One who saved us. John also wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Assurance of salvation is not a guessing game for those who have trusted in Jesus as their Savior, but is a confidence that is rooted in the revelation of God’s Word. For those of us who have trusted in Jesus as our Savior—believing He died for our sins, was buried, and raised again on the third day—we have eternal life. According to Zane Hodges, “It should be said here that all true assurance of salvation and eternal life must rest on the ‘testimony of God,’ for only that testimony has full reliability and solidity.”
The Word of God is the objective basis for what we believe, and our focus should always be on learning and living His Word so that we can expunge any false ideas and properly calibrate our thinking to align with His divine revelation. Jesus said we have “eternal life…and will never perish” (John 10:28); therefore, there is no danger of us losing our salvation, for there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1), and “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies” (Rom 8:33). The matter of our eternal destiny was settled at the cross when Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins. And Jesus’ work on the cross was perfectly applied to us at the moment we trusted in Him as our Savior.
The gospel is the solution to a problem. The problem for us is that God is holy, mankind is sinful, and we cannot save ourselves. Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it’s what He’s done for us through the Person and work of Jesus who is the Son of God incarnate (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Heb 1:8; 1 John 4:2), whose sacrificial death on the cross atoned for our sins (Rom 6:10; 1 Pet 3:18; 1 John 2:2), who was resurrected (Rom 6:9; 1 Cor 15:3-4), and who grants eternal life to those who place their trust solely in Him (John 3:16-18; 10:28; Acts 4:12; 16:31). Jesus died for everyone (John 3:16; Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2), but the benefits of the cross, such as forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), and eternal life (John 10:28), are applied only to those who believe in Him as Savior.
All humanity is quite competent to produce sin, but utterly inept and powerless to produce the righteousness God requires for acceptance. Scripture reveals we are helpless, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God (Rom 5:6-10), and prior to our salvation, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). We cannot save ourselves. Only God can forgive sins (Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14), and only God can give the gifts of righteousness (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9) and eternal life (John 10:28) that make us acceptable in His sight. Our good works have no saving merit, as God declares righteous “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom 4:5a), for “a man is not justified by the works of the Law…since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Gal 2:16), for “by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9), and God saves us, but “not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Tit 3:5a). We cannot save ourselves any more than we can stop the rotation of the earth, jump across the Grand Canyon, or run at the speed of light. Christ alone saves. No one else. Nothing more.
The Bible teaches that we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24), and “justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Rom 3:28). Salvation is free, and it is received freely by “the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom 4:5). Our salvation was accomplished entirely by Jesus at the cross when He shed His blood at Calvary, for we are redeemed “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). And because our salvation was accomplished in full at the cross, it means there’s nothing for us to pay. Nothing at all. Salvation is a gift, given freely to us who don’t deserve it. That’s grace, which is unmerited favor, underserved kindness, unwarranted love, unearned generosity, and unprovoked goodness. Scripture reveals, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8-9). Salvation is never what we do for God; rather, it’s what He’s done for us by sending His Son into the world to live a righteous life and die a penal substitutionary death on the cross in our place, “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18).
God’s children are called “to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph 4:1), to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil 1:27), to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10), and to “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Th 2:12). In biblical language, the term “walk” often represents one’s way of life or conduct. It’s a metaphor for the journey of life and how one navigates it. To walk “worthy” emphasizes the importance of living in a manner that is fitting or appropriate for the calling we have received as Christians. We are children of God by faith in Christ (Gal 3:26), adopted brothers and sisters to the King of kings and Lord of lords, and our performance in life should match our position in Christ. Salvation is free. It’s a gift, paid in full by the Lord Jesus who died on Calvary. God’s gift is received freely, by grace, no strings attached, and is received by faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Eph 2:8-9). That’s all. However, living the sanctified life as a new Christian is radical and calls for commitment to God. This requires positive volition and dedication to learning and living God’s Word on a daily basis. It means prioritizing and structuring our lives in a way that factors God and His Word into everything. It means bringing all aspects of our lives—marriage, family, education, work, finances, resources, entertainment, etc.—under the authority of Christ. This is the sanctified life when we learn Scripture (Psa 1:2-3; Jer 15:16; Ezra 7:10; 2 Tim 2:15; 3 :16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38; 11:6), and advance to spiritual maturity (Heb 6:1). As we advance, God’s Word will saturate our thinking and govern our thoughts, values, words, and actions. A sign of maturity is when God and His Word are more real and dominant than our experiences, feelings, or circumstances. This is the place of spiritual maturity and stability.
Of course, to talk about reconciliation is to assume there are two or more persons who need to be reconciled because of a fractured relationship, because at least one person has been offended by the actions of another. Biblically, God is the one who has been offended by His sinful creatures. Because of our offensive sin, our relationship with God was broken. God loves us, but not our sin. We are quite apt to produce sin, but are powerless to deal with it. God initiated the restoration of the relationship by dealing with our sin. This is why the cross was necessary, for “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). At the cross, God judged our sin as a His righteousness required, and offers salvation as His love desires. All our sin, which is an offense to God, was imputed to Christ on the cross where He was judged in our place and paid the penalty for all our sin. Jesus tasted “death for everyone” (Heb 2:9), and is Himself “the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). God did His part to reconcile us to Himself. The positive human response to believe in Christ is what actuates the benefits of the cross to us and brings about the reconciliation God desires. When we trust in Christ as our Savior, we are given the very righteousness of God as a gift (Rom 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9), and are justified by the blood of Christ “and shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom 5:9).
As those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, we have been transferred from Satan’s “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13) and placed into the family of God. Our new status is as “children of God” (John 1:12; cf., Rom 8:16; Phil 2:15). John wrote, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are” (1 John 3:1a). We do not come into the world as natural born children of God; rather, we are naturally born “in Adam” (1 Cor 15:21-22), as “sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:2), and are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3). But at the moment of faith in Christ, we receive “adoption as sons” (Rom 8:15; cf. Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5). The term adoption derives from the Greek word huiothesia (υἱοθεσία) which, according to BDAG, refers to “those who believe in Christ and are accepted by God as God’s children…with full rights.”
Shrewdness is a quality that God’s people should possess. By shrewdness, I mean possessing divine wisdom that leads to thoughtful, wise, and sensible behavior. In the NT, Jesus instructed His disciples, saying, “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt 10:16). In this perilous world filled with potential harm from wolf-like individuals, Christians are urged not to adopt a similar aggressive stance or conform to worldly standards. Unlike wolves, who hunt for self-interest, believers are called to emulate the traits of sheep and innocent doves—animals that pose no threat and actively avoid unnecessary conflict. As followers of Christ, our role is that of peacemakers rather than troublemakers. Despite the dangers and hostile forces at play in the world, Jesus doesn’t remove us from the environment but advises us to be “shrewd as serpents” (Matt 10:16b). The word shrewd translates the Greek adjective phronimos (φρόνιμος), which pertains to “understanding associated with insight and wisdom, sensible, thoughtful, prudent, wise.”
Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross has both infinite and eternal value for both God the Father as well as those who trust in Christ as their Savior. From the divine perspective, Jesus is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), and this because He went to the cross as the Father directed (John 6:68; 12:27; cf., 26:39, 42). Jesus died in our place (Rom 5:8; 1 Cor 15:3-4), “the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18), and we are redeemed “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:19). Now, the Father is forever satisfied with the payment of Christ on the cross who paid our sin debt in full (Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). There’s nothing more to pay! Jesus paid it all! According to Francis Schaeffer, “Christ’s death in space-time history is completely adequate to meet our need for refuge from the true moral guilt that we have. It is final because of who He is. He is the infinite second person of the Trinity; therefore, His death has infinite value.”
There are different kinds of death mentioned in Scripture. Biblically, death means separation. Three major kinds of death are mentioned in Scripture, and these include: 1) spiritual death, which is separation from God in time (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-7; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:22; Eph 2:1-2; Col 2:13-14), 2) physical death, which is the separation of the human spirit from the body (Gen 35:18; Eccl 12:7; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23-24; 2 Tim 4:6; Jam 2:26), and 3) the second death (aka eternal death), which is the perpetuation of physical and spiritual separation from God for all eternity (Rev 20:11-15). Spiritual and physical death were introduced into God’s creation when the first human, Adam, sinned against God. God told Adam, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). Adam’s sin instantly brought spiritual death (Gen 2:15-17; 3:1-7), but not immediate physical death, as he tried to hide physically from God (Gen 3:8-10). Later, Adam died physically at the age of nine hundred and thirty (Gen 5:5). Though Adam was made spiritually alive again (Gen 3:21), his single sin introduced death, in every form, into the world (Rom 5:12-14; 1 Cor 15:21-22). Except for Christ, all are born in Adam (1 Cor 15:21-22), inherit his original sin (Rom 5:12), and are spiritually dead and separated from God in time (Eph 2:1-2). Those who reject Jesus as Savior will experience the second death in the lake of fire.
Jesus loved the Father (John 14:31) and submitted Himself to do the Father’s will (Matt 26:39-44; cf. Rom 5:19; Phil 2:5-8), which included enduring the illegal trials of His accusers, as well as the eventual mockings, beatings, and crucifixion. All that Jesus suffered was prophesied in Scripture (Gen 3:15; Psa 22:16-18; Isa 50:4-7; 52:14; 53:3-12; Matt 26:67-68; Mark 10:32-34). God the Father was in complete control of the circumstances surrounding the trials and crucifixion of Jesus (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). Though unjustly attacked, Jesus knew He was doing the Father’s will (John 6:38; 10:14-18; 12:27; 18:11) and did not retaliate against His attackers. Peter wrote, “while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 2:23).
Though the Father sent Jesus into the world to be an atoning sacrifice for sin, He did not force Him onto the cross. Jesus consented to come into the world and go to the cross and die for us. He voluntarily laid down His life. The writer of Hebrews states, “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but a body You have prepared for Me’” (Heb 10:5). Jesus, in hypostatic union, speaking from His humanity, said, “Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God” (Heb 10:7). Constable notes, “Jesus was not some dumb animal that offered its life without knowing what it was doing. He consciously, voluntarily, and deliberately offered His life in obedience to God’s will.”
Though many unbelieving Jews were directly responsible for collaborating in the crucifixion of Jesus, it was Gentiles who actually did the work of placing Him on the cross. That’s what Jesus foretold His disciples, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up” (Matt 20:18-19). It was said of the Roman soldiers, “After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him” (Matt 27:31). Luke records in Acts, “truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel” (Acts 4:27).
The cross overshadowed the life of Jesus, and He knew dying for lost sinners was the ultimate purpose of the Father. When facing the cross, Jesus said, “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour ‘? But for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27). For lost sinners, the cross of Christ is both personal and purposeful. It is personal, because “Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8), “for our sins” (1 Cor 15:3), and “not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). And His death was purposeful, “so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18), and that we might “reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Rom 5:10). The cross is God’s righteous solution to the problem of sin, as well as His greatest display of love toward sinners. At the cross, God judged our sin as His righteousness required, and pardons the sinner as His love desires. To understand the cross of Christ is to understand the heart of God toward a fallen world He wants to save.
Just prior to crucifixion, a person was scourged with a whip which had thongs that were braided with sharp objects such as nails. As an act of public humiliation, criminals carried their own cross to the place of execution, and once there, were stripped naked before being fastened to the cross, either with rope or nails. Being tied to a cross with ropes was less painful in the beginning, but would leave the victim to hang for a longer period of time, even days, which would make the experience more painful in the end. Some who were tied to the cross are recorded to have lasted for nine days. Nailing a person to a cross was more painful from the beginning and would have led to a quicker death. The body would hang between three to four feet from the ground. On occasion, the Romans would build a fire at the base of the cross and the rising smoke would cause the victim to choke. Sometimes a soporific was given to the victim to help numb the senses. In Jesus case, it was “wine mixed with myrrh” (Mark 15:23), which our Lord rejected because it would have clouded His thinking (Matt 27:34). In some situations the Romans would break the victim’s lower leg bones which would hasten death (called crurifragium), but according to Scripture, Jesus was already dead by the time the soldiers considered doing this (John 19:32-34). Unger notes, “In most cases the body was allowed to rot on the cross by the action of the sun and rain or to be devoured by birds and beasts.”
When God the Son added perfect humanity to Himself, this enabled Him to experience suffering and death with, and on behalf of, humanity. The suffering of Christ may be viewed in at least two ways: 1) His suffering during His time on earth prior to the cross, and 2) the suffering of the cross. As the God-Man, Jesus was perfectly holy in all His thoughts, words, and actions. Such perfect holiness brought with it a special form of suffering in this world that the rest of us could never know, since we are capable of yielding to the pressures of sinful temptation. When the time of His death was nearing, Jesus told His disciples “that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (Matt 16:21; cf., Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22). It’s noteworthy that Jesus said His suffering, dying, and resurrection were things that “must” happen to Him. The use of the Greek verb dei (δεῖ) here denotes divine necessity, which meant it was the will of God the Father that these things happen to Christ. Thomas Constable notes, “Jesus said that it was necessary (Gr. dei) for Him to go to Jerusalem. He had to do this because it was God’s will for Messiah to suffer, die, and rise from the dead. He had to do these things to fulfill prophecy (Isa 53; cf. Acts 2:22–36).”
Back in the early 90’s I faced a crisis as I held to a works-based salvation and constantly lived in fear of my eternal destiny. I had no assurance of my salvation because I never knew if I’d performed enough good works to validate my salvation. It was a terrible place to be. The solution came when I began to study the Scriptures carefully, stopped looking at myself, and fixed my “eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:2). I trusted Jesus at His word when He said, “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). And the apostle John, who wrote, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). And when I sinned, I trusted that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1), turned to the Lord in confession (1 John 1:9), and resumed my Bible study (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2) and walk of faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38). As I began to live by faith in God and His Word, my fear disappeared, the burden lifted, and my heart was filled with joy. That’s the blessing of learning God’s Word and trusting the Lord moment by moment. It’s the walk of faith.
A third area where the Holy Spirit is working in the hearts of unbelievers concerns judgment, “because the ruler of this world has been judged” (John 16:11). Satan has been judged and found guilty before God. This means that Satan and his world-system is condemned. Being the ruler of this world, Satan naturally rules in the hearts of all unbelievers. Three times Jesus referred to Satan as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Other passages of Scripture call Satan “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4), and “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), informing us “that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Satan rules as a tyrant who has “weakened the nations” (Isa 14:12), and currently “deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9). Satan continues to attack God’s people today (1 Pet 5:8), practices deception (2 Cor 11:13-15), and has well developed strategies of warfare (Eph 6:10-12). Furthermore, humanity is living in an “evil age” (Gal 1:4), under “the dominion of Satan” (Acts 26:18), whose sphere of influence is called “the domain of darkness” (Col 1:13). But Satan has been judged and his punishment is pending execution. Furthermore, those who side with Satan in this life will be judged with him in eternity. According to Ryrie, “At the cross, Christ triumphed over Satan, serving notice on unbelievers of their judgment to come.”
When Jesus returns to the earth after the time of the seven year Tribulation, He will establish His kingdom on earth.
The eschatological subject of the Rapture of the church can be related the study of Soteriology because it is regarded as a form of deliverance. When Messiah returns at the end of the church age, He will deliver His church from an evil world and a coming judgment that will last for seven years (Read Revelation chapters 6-18). A distinction is here drawn between Jesus coming for His saints at the Rapture, and Jesus coming with His saints at His Second Coming (Dan 7:13-14; Matt 19:28; 25:31; Rev 19:11-21). Jesus is now in heaven preparing a place for believers to be with Him there (John 14:1-3). Paul revealed Jesus will return for His church and that all Christians will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air (1 Th 4:13-18).
After Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to many on several occasions. His final appearance was to His apostles. Luke wrote, “And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50-51). And in Acts we’re told, “He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). It’s important to note that Jesus ascended bodily into heaven, and that He will return the same way. Jesus’ ascension into heaven was the beginning of His session at the right hand of God. Concerning Jesus’s session, R. B. Thieme Jr. notes, “At His session, the humanity of Christ was ‘crowned with glory and honor’ and exalted to a position far higher than the angels (Heb 2:9). The Father put all powers and authorities in subjection to His Son and confirmed the ultimate subjugation of all who oppose Him.”
Jesus’ resurrection is an essential element in soteriology. In fact, every writer of the NT assumes that Jesus was resurrected from the grave and treat it as an event that took place in time and space. Paul wrote that Jesus “was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:4), that He was “the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Cor 15:20), and that “having been raised from the dead, is never to die again” (Rom 6:9). After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to numerous persons over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3), namely, Mary Magdalene and other women (Matt 28:1-10; John 20:10-18), two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32), the disciples without Thomas (John 20:19-25), the disciples with Thomas (John 20:26-29), the disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-23), Peter, James, and more than 500 brethren at one time (1 Cor 15:5-7). After these appearances, Jesus ascended bodily into heaven (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11). It is recorded that God the Father “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph 1:20). Ralph Earle notes the importance of Jesus’ resurrection as follows:
The animal sacrificial system under the Mosaic Law taught that God is holy, man is sinful, and that God was willing to judge an innocent creature as a substitute in place of the sinner. The animal that shed its blood gave up its life in place of the one who had offended God, and it was only through the shed blood that atonement was made. A life for a life. The animal sacrificial system under the Mosaic Law was highly symbolic, temporary, and pointed forward to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Levitical priests would regularly perform their temple sacrifices on behalf of the people to God, but being a symbolic system, the animal sacrifices could never “make perfect those who draw near” to Him, for the simple reason that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb 10:1, 4). For nearly fourteen centuries the temple priests kept “offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins” (Heb 10:11), until finally Christ “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb 10:12), and through that one offering “perfected for all time those who are sanctified” by it (Heb 10:14). What the Mosaic Law could never accomplish through the sacrifice of symbols, Christ did once and for all time through His substitutionary death on the cross when he died in the place of sinners.
Jesus’ death on the cross was a satisfactory sacrifice to God which completely paid the price for our sin. We owed a debt to God that we could never pay, and Jesus paid that debt in full when He died on the cross and bore the punishment that rightfully belonged to us. In Romans 3:25 Paul used the Greek word hilasterion (ἱλαστήριον)—translated propitiation—to show that Jesus’ shed blood completely satisfied God’s righteous demands toward our sin, with the result that there is nothing more for the sinner to pay to God. Jesus paid our sin-debt in full. The Apostle John tells us “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf., 1 John 4:10). Jesus’ death on the cross forever satisfied God’s righteous demands toward the sins of everyone for all time! God has “canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:14). Regarding Christ’s death, J. Dwight Pentecost states:
It is in the understanding of the suffering and death of Christ that the sinner appreciates God’s great love and the price that was paid for our salvation. Christ suffered in our place, bearing the penalty that rightfully belongs to us. Scripture tells us that “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18a). Perhaps no section of Scripture in the Old Testament bears greater testimony to this truth than Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, in which the prophet reveals the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. Isaiah 53 is mentioned several times in the New Testament as specifically referring to Christ (Matt 8:17; John 12:38; Acts 8:30-35; Rom 10:16; 1 Pet 2:22-25), so that there is no mistake in the minds of the New Testament writers that the passage points to Jesus. According to John Stott, “The New Testament writers quote eight specific verses as having been fulfilled in Jesus…eight verses out of the chapter’s twelve are all quite specifically referred to Jesus.”
At a point in time, the eternal Son of God added humanity to Himself, simultaneously becoming God and man, Creator and creature, the unique theanthropic person (John 1:1, 14, 18; 8:58; 10:33; 20:28; Col 2:9; Heb 1:8). Jesus is the God-man and exists in hypostatic union, as a single Person with a divine and human nature (John 1:1, 14; 1 John 4:2-3), both natures being distinct and preserved, not mixed or confused, fully God and fully man. The hypostatic union is forever, from conception onward. Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary (parthenogenesis – Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23; Luke 1:26-38), who is the mother of Jesus’ humanity (Christotokos – bearer of Christ). Some see Mary as the mother of God (Theotokos – bearer of God), and though Jesus is God, His divine nature is without origin and eternal. Being the mother of Jesus’ humanity honors Mary without elevating her to a place beyond what the Scriptures teach. And Jesus was a Jew, born a son of Abraham, in the line David (Matt 1:1), the promised Messiah (Matt 1:17). Jesus grew in wisdom (Luke 2:40, 52), and lived a perfectly righteous life before God and man. The record of Scripture is that Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), “committed no sin” (1 Pet 3:22), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). In His humanity, Jesus walked in perfect conformity to God the Father’s holy character and divine revelation. Cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witness deny the full humanity and deity of Jesus, and for this reason are not within the true Christian community. Henry Thiessen states:
The apostle John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14). At a point in time, God the Son added to Himself humanity, forever uniting His divine nature with a perfect sinless human nature, becoming the God-man (John 1:1, 14, 18). In the field of systematic theology, this is called the hypostatic union. Lewis Chafer states, “Though His deity is eternal, the humanity was gained in time. Therefore, the theanthropic Person—destined to be such forever—began with the incarnation.”
God the Father is seen as the initiator, planner, and orchestrator of the salvation of mankind. God the Father is loving, merciful, and kind, and “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Salvation is necessary because of the problem of sin in the human race. All mankind is utterly helpless to bring about a remedy by human effort (Rom 3:10, 23; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16, 21; 3:21-22). Everyone is said to be “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart” (Eph 4:18), and “dead” in their “trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1; cf., Col 2:13). This refers to spiritual death, which means separation from God. We are trapped in sin and stand guilty before a holy and righteous God and are completely unable to save ourselves. Warren Wiersbe observes:
In Christian theology, the Bible reveals there is one God who exists as three distinct Persons (Gen 1:26; 11:6-7; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 Pet 1:2). The members of the Trinity include God the Father (Gal 1:1; Eph 6:23; Phil 2:11), God the Son (John 1:1, 14, 18; 8:58; 20:28; Col 2:9; Heb 1:8), and God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor 2:11-12; 2 Cor 13:14). God is three in Person, but one in essence, sharing the same attributes. All three are co-equal, co-infinite, co-eternal, and worthy of all praise and service. When studying the Bible, we learn that our eternal salvation is the work of the Trinity. It was planned and initiated by God the Father, agreed upon and executed by God the Son, and imparted to believers by God the Holy Spirit. According to Lewis Chafer:
Solatheosoterism is the correct biblical view. This teaches that our spiritual salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, plus nothing more. No good works are required for our salvation before, during, or after we trust in Christ. As stated before, good works should follow salvation (Eph 2:10), but they are never the condition of it. This is the record of Scripture in the OT, as “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psa 3:8), and “Our God is a God of salvation” (Psa 68:20 CSB), and “Salvation is from the LORD” (Jon 2:9). In the NT we read about Jesus, and that “He will save His people from their sins” (Matt 1:21), and “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13a), and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit 3:5), and it is “God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:8b-9). In these verses, salvation is always in one direction, from God to us.
As Christians, when we think of salvation, it most often pertains to our spiritual deliverance from the lake of fire, which is the place of eternal suffering for those who reject Christ as Savior. John tells us, “if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). Spiritual salvation is the most important kind of salvation mentioned in the Bible, for it matters little if one is rescued a thousand times from physical danger, but ultimately fails to receive deliverance from the danger of hell. God loves everyone and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). And He has made a way for lost sinners to be saved from hell and brought to heaven, and this through His Son, Jesus, for “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Over the past few months I’ve overworked myself into a slight state of depression, which is something I’ve done several times over the past 30 + years. By depression I mean the mental and emotional exhaustion I bring on myself when I’m overloaded for too long with too many projects (maybe burnout is a better word). Being overworked for extended periods leads to chronic stress, fatigue, frustration, irritability, recurring migraines, and a strong desire to withdraw from social activities (i.e., isolate) to avoid added stress and potential conflict. Much of this is my own doing, and I’m still learning my limitations and when to say “no” to the requests of others (this can take a while to learn).
Salvation is free. Paid in full by the Lord Jesus who died in our place on the cross, Who “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). Once saved, God calls us to a lifelong process of sanctification. Sanctification is the life we live after being justified, and this process continues until we leave this world, either by death or rapture. The sanctified life requires us to learn and live God’s Word (2 Tim 2:15; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38), be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16), and make ongoing good choices to stay on the path of God’s will.
Those who are children of Satan are called “sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:2), are under “the dominion of Satan” (Acts 26:18), and reside in his “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13; cf., Rom 2:19). These walk “in the futility of their mind” (Eph 4:17b), and are “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart” (Eph 4:18). Paul said that Satan “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4). But these are not unwilling victims; for though they are born into Satan’s kingdom and “held captive by him to do his will” (2 Tim 2:26), they also enjoy what he offers and are said to “love the darkness rather than the Light” (John 3:19). The word love in this passage translates the Greek verb agapao (ἀγαπάω), which is in the active voice and means they willingly love the darkness of Satan’s world system and all their affections are tied to it. They continue as residents of his kingdom by choice and not by chance. Freedom awaits them if they want it. Freedom in Christ. But they don’t want freedom. And when given the opportunity to be liberated from their captor, they prefer to clutch their chains of familiar pleasures and practices than to step into the unknown freedom and responsibilities of liberty in Christ. Jesus said of them, “you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (John 5:40).
It is to our benefit to realize we live in a fallen world, and when we walk with God, in total devotion to Christ, the world will reject us. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). We understand that the gospel of grace and solid Bible teaching will, on occasion, threaten other people’s pride and power, and we should not be surprised when they react negatively and with hostility, either verbally or physically. If possible, we are to get along with others and pursue peace (Rom 12:18), but never at the price of neglecting our mission to preach the gospel (Mark 16:15), or gather together for Bible study (Acts 2:42; 2 Tim 2:15), fellowship (Heb 10:25), worship (Eph 5:19-20), and prayer (1 Th 5:17). Because we live in a fallen world, there will be times when we must choose whether we will serve God or man. Of course, the correct choice is, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29; cf. Dan 3:18). And though we may enjoy periods of peace and blessing, the world is currently under Satan’s control, which means it will only get worse, not better. As Christians, we are both realistic and optimistic about the world and the future. Realistic that we will not win the world to Christ during our time on earth (though not for want of effort by sharing the gospel and Bible teaching), and optimistic because we know Christ is coming back and will make everything right when He returns. Lastly, we must keep our focus on God and His Word (Isa 26:3; Col 3:2, 16), as it provides mental and emotional stability when trouble comes (and it will). Adversity is inevitable, and we must handle it by wisdom and faith.
God’s greatest provision was for our eternal salvation, which came through His Son, Jesus, Who died in our place and bore the punishment that rightfully belongs to us (Rom 5:8; 1 Cor 15:3-4; 1 Pet 3:18). When we trust in Christ alone as our Savior, we receive forgiveness of sins (Eph 1:7), eternal life (John 10:28), are transferred into “the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13), become “children of God” (John 1:12), and are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). God’s wonderful grace is amazing! And God, having done the most for us at the cross, will not do less for us after our salvation. Paul wrote, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:31-32). Since God has already demonstrated His maximum love and generosity by giving His Son for our salvation, it only stands to reason that He will certainly provide everything else needed for our well-being, and for a life that glorifies Him and edifies others.
By faith we trust God and rest in His promises. Failure to trust God will result in worry, fear, and an anxious heart that is never at rest. Do our hearts ever become anxious? Of course they do. And does fear ever rise up? Yes, of course it does. Well over a hundred times in the OT & NT believers are told “do no fear” and “do not be afraid” (e.g., Gen 15:1, Deut 1:21; Isa 41:10; Matt 10:28; 1 Pet 3:14). These directives would be superfluous if sinful fear was not a problem for the believer. Sometimes we become like Peter and look at the storm around us (Matt 14:30), become frightened, and sink into what we fear. But when fear rises up, faith must rise higher, always trusting God to keep His Word. When trials come (and they will), we must see them as opportunities to grow in our faith (Jam 1:2-4). The benefit of living by faith is a relaxed mental attitude as the believer focuses on the Lord and His promises. Remember, God always keeps His promises, for “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num 23:19). Yes, He will always keep His Word, for “the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind” (1 Sam 15:29), for “it is impossible for God to lie” (Heb 6:18). God has integrity and keeps His Word, and “is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Eph 3:20a).
God will provide. The challenge for us, as His children, is to accept His Word as true and apply it to our lives on a regular basis. The walk of faith requires us to have discipline of mind and will, to learn and live God’s Word, and to stay focused on Him and His promises. As God’s children, we are to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). The walk of faith is what He wants, for He says, “My righteous one shall live by faith” (Heb 10:38), and “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). The life of faith is what Pleases God, “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb 11:6). Will there be failure on our part? Yes, more often than most of us would like to admit. But that’s why daily confession is important (1 John 1:9), as we acknowledge our sins to God, trust that He forgives, and then move back into a walk of faith. Let us continually learn and live God’s Word, always trusting the Lord will provide and that He will keep His promises to us. This way of living will glorify God, edify others, and result in a relaxed mental attitude for us as we lean on the Lord.
Paul was on mission for the Lord, as he said, “I am compelled to preach, and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). Certainly, there were times when others recognized Paul’s ministry and helped support him financially. In this way, they were partners with him in the Lord’s work. When writing to the Christians in Philippi, he said, “you sent a gift more than once for my needs” (Phil 4:16), then said, “I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God” (Phil 4:18).
Biblically, it’s right that a pastor be compensated for his work of ministry. Paul wrote of “those who work hard at preaching and teaching” (1 Tim 5:17), saying of them, “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages’” (1 Tim 5:18). Paul wrote elsewhere, saying, “If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?” (1 Cor 9:11), and “the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1 Cor 9:14), and “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him” (Gal 6:6). Concerning Paul’s statement in Galatians, Arnold Fruchtenbaum wrote, “The point is that if one is benefiting spiritually from any teacher—be he a pastor, a Sunday School teacher, an author, or a radio teacher—if one is being blessed by these ministries, if he is learning Scripture from them, then he is obligated to share his material goods with the teacher. He should be financially supporting those from whom he is receiving spiritual benefits.”
The more I understand biblical Christianity, the more I think our advance to maturity involves being willingly disadvantaged that others might receive an advantage. To be voluntarily disadvantaged means I am deprived of something so that others might gain an asset, an edge, a benefit, or an opportunity they might not have otherwise. This is charitable on my part, in which I give for the benefit of others. This is how Jesus lived, as He said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus voluntarily gave His life on the cross that others might obtain what they could not receive by any other means; forgiveness of sins and eternal life. What was a disadvantage to Him resulted in a benefit to us.
Solomon wrote, “A good name is better than a good perfume, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth” (Eccl 7:1). This seems antithetical to our worldly culture. That’s fine. God’s Word always challenges our secular viewpoint. A good name speaks of a good character, and a good character is more desirable than a good perfume. But why does Solomon say a good name is better than a good perfume? I’m glad you asked. In the ancient world, perfume was used at funerals to mask a body’s decay, and it was used on all, both the good and the evil. But whereas the pleasant aroma of good perfume is temporary, a good name will endure. It will endure to the end of one’s life and beyond. For this reason Solomon says, “the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.” But what is Solomon talking about? Why is the day of one’s death better than the day of one’s birth? I’m glad you asked. A birth marks a beginning of life, one with numerous possibilities, either for wisdom or folly, righteousness or wickedness, goodness or evil. Though there are forces at work (within and without) to push and pull us one way or another, our life is what we make it. And our value system and the daily choices we make, whether biblical or worldly, will direct us onto the path of righteousness or wickedness, and every moment is a choice to continue along that path or turn from it. For the righteous, as long as we are alive and walking with the Lord, there’s the possibility our good name may become ruined if we turn from that path. But if we maintain our goodness and integrity to the end of our life, our good reputation will be sealed forever. And among the righteous, “A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, and favor is better than silver and gold” (Prov 22:1), and “The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot” (Prov 10:7). The death of the righteous is like the setting of the sun on a beautiful day, with bright rays shining through the clouds and lighting the sky on fire for all to enjoy and revel in its glory.
This article is written primarily to the one who has recently been released from jail or prison. The intention of the article is to provide some helpful advice to be successful. I write to let you know that success is possible after a life in prison, as long as one measures success by the right metric. For the Christian, that metric is God and His Word, and success is measured primarily by it. People and societies have their own metrics for success, and Christians must be careful to abide by society’s norms, as long as they don’t conflict with God’s. This requires wisdom and discernment.
Study God’s Word: Learning God’s Word allows you to operate from a biblical worldview and to frame your life from the divine perspective. You are to “study to show yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15). And “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may grow in respect to your salvation” (1 Pet 2:2). Your walk of faith is critical, and you will often face obstacles from a world that cares little about you; a world that also has satanic forces that are set against you. But God is with you and for you (Rom 8:31-39), to give wisdom, grace, and strength to advance in this world, and you must live moment by moment staying close to God and relying on Him for everything. Realize that adversity is inevitable, but stress is optional, as you can take up the shield of faith and protect yourself from the fiery darts of the enemy (Eph 6:16).
Be Devoted to Prayer: Paul said, “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Col 4:2), and “pray without ceasing” (1 Th 5:17). Prayer is essential to spiritual success as you need to have upward communication with God to express yourself to Him. Prayer is the means by which you make requests to God, believing He has certain answers ready for you, and that you just need to ask (Jam 4:2). Life can be stressful, and developing the habit of prayer allows you to alleviate the pressures by “casting your cares upon the Lord, because He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7).
Let Your Past Help Others: Learn to let your past help others who face similar struggles. For over fifteen years I’ve had the privilege of teaching God’s Word in jails and prisons. For me to go back into that environment has been a blessing for me and the inmates that come to Bible class. Many have come to faith in Christ, and others have been helped in their walk with the Lord. My past experience of being in jail half a dozen times (mainly for petty drug offenses) and then going to prison allowed me to speak to others and offer helpful guidance. I’ve published two books that are specifically written for inmates, shared the gospel many times, and explained how to live spiritually while incarcerated. In this way, my past experience has been a help to others.
The greatest event in our lives occurred when we became “children of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26), believing the simple gospel message “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). Nothing compares with it. Nothing at all. For that single decision has forever changed the course of our lives and eternal destinies in ways we can never fully calculate. Through faith in Christ, we were forgiven all our sins (Eph 1:7; Heb 10:10-14), given the gift of righteousness (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9), eternal life (John 10:28), became “children of God” (John 1:12), were rescued “from the domain of darkness” and transferred “to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13), and are now brothers and sisters to Jesus, Who is “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim 6:15). These, and other wonderful blessings have been bestowed on us who are now, in Christ.
Now that we are God’s people and are growing spiritually, we are called into service to the King, to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (Eph 4:1). Paul uses similar language when writing to Christians in Thessalonica, saying, “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Th 2:12). We are called to a mission, and our mission field is wherever we happen to be and includes whoever we happen to meet. To fulfill our divine objective requires submission, humility, commitment, biblical education, field training, and advancement testing. We reach the spiritual high-ground by operating by faith as God’s Word saturates our thinking and directs our speech and behavior. And this dynamic life of service is executed in the Lord’s power, for “whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever” (1 Pet 4:11).
As we grow spiritually and walk with God, learning and living His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17), we will stand in opposition to Satan’s world-system and sow the seeds of spiritual insurrection in the lives of those who live and walk in his kingdom of darkness. We disrupt Satan’s kingdom when we share the free grace gospel that liberates others from spiritual bondage and brings them into relationship with God. The gospel is the only way a person can be delivered from spiritual slavery; “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). Once saved, we seek to influence the thoughts and lives of other Christians through biblical teaching (1 Tim 4:13; 2 Tim 4:2), fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), prayer (Jam 5:16), edification (Eph 4:29), encouragement (1 Th 5:11), love (1 Th 4:9; cf. Eph 4:14-15), and words of grace (Col 4:6).