Justification

Tagged: justification, redeemed, repent, salvation, saved

The Meaning of Salvation

The very mission of the Son of God in coming to earth was to bring salvation to lost, sinful man.

Luke 19:10 – For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

I Timothy 1:15 – This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Salvation means:

The act of saving or delivering.

Bible salvation is, deliverance from the power and penalty of sin.

Matthew 1:21 – And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

I John 3:5 – And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Is salvation a possibility now? Yes!

Salvation can be neglected in this life.

Hebrews 2:3 – How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard [him];

Real faith in God is necessary to be saved.

Acts 16:30-31 – And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Romans 10:9-10 – That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Behold, now is the accepted time; Behold, now is the day of salvation.

II Corinthians 6:2 – (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

The Word of God records that many obtained salvation in the apostolic times.

I Peter 1:9 – Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

I Corinthians 1:18 – For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Salvation is described by three different aspects of the same work. Namely, Justification, Conversion, and the New Birth.

Justification is the legal aspect of salvation: to absolve from guilt, acquitted before God.

A saint is justified by faith. Christ has paid the ransom, the penalty for our sins; He has become sin so that we could become righteous.

Romans 3:23-28 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

II Corinthians 5:21 – For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Romans 5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

If we are justified, shall we continue in sin? The Word of God says NO.

Romans 6:1-2 – What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Bible conversion means to be converted or changed from what one used to be; to aquire different beliefs, desires, and attitudes.

Conversion is necessary to have victory over sin in this life and to make heaven our eternal home.

Acts 3:19 – Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Matthew 18:3 – And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Bible conversion does not change a sinner into a sinning Christian. It changes a sinner into a saint and touches every area of his life, enabling him to live a holy life.

The doctrine of the New Birth is fundamental and absolutely necessary in becoming a Christian.

John 3:3 – Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

All men are the creatures of God, but all men are not the children of God as popular belief has it today.

John 1:11-13 – He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I John 3:9-10 – Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

The New Birth is necessary. One must be born again or become spiritually alive.

Ephesians 2:1-2 -And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Is it possible to be born again in this life?

I John 5:1 – Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

It is impossible to experience the New Birth through good deeds or good moral life. The New Birth comes from above, it is a miracle of God.

I John 5:11-12 – And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

The New Birth gives us eternal life.

John 5:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Infant baptism, ceremonial rites, joining the church, or simply going to the altar cannot replace the New Birth. “Ye must be born again.”

The evidences of salvation, or, how we can know we are saved:

We have victory over sin; we do not sin.

I John 3:8-9 – He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

I John 5:18 – We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

The apostles knew it as a blessed reality.

I John 3:14 – We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not hisbrother abideth in death.

We can know that there has been a change when our sins have been forgiven.

Luke 1:77 – To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

Not only is there a freedom from the burden and guilt of sin, but there are new desires, new hopes, and holy directions in our lives.

II Corinthians 5:17-18 – Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Another evidence of salvation is that we love God and will obey His Word.

John 14:15, 23 – [15] If ye love me, keep my commandments. [23] Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

We will love our enemies.

Matthew 5:44-45 – But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

There will be a very special love for God’s children when we have been born again.

John 13:35 – By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.