Romans 1:16- for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. KJV
This is the scripture I am using as my basis to show that the word salvation covers all three of our subject words in the title of this letter. I am using Strongs Concordance and Mr. Webster as usual in my opening word study.
1411-dunamis or power= to be able or possible, ability, mighty wonderful work.
4991-soteria or salvation= rescue or safety, deliver, health, save, or saving.
3956-pas or every= all, any, the whole, everyone .
4100-pisteuo or believeth = to entrust, to commit, to have faith in.
Now let’s see what Mr. Webster has to say about the word Power= Possession of control, authority or influence over others. The ability to act or produce an effect. Legal or official authority, capacity or right. Power implies possession of ability to wield coercive force, permissive authority or substantial influence.
Salvation= preservation from destruction or failure. The agent or means or the course of spiritual experiences determining the soul’s redemption.
Every= being each individual or part of a group without exception. Complete or entire.
Belevieth= to have a firm conviction as to the reality or goodness of something, to hold as an opinion.
I want to start off by using some words by Charles Ryrie on this subject- “salvation has three faucets, Past- salvation from the penalties of sin. Present- salvation from the power of sin in daily life. Future- salvation from the actual presence of sin in heaven.”
Here is my take on salvation as past, present, and future. Your sins are forgiven and under the blood of Jesus, once and for all time after you believe and receive Jesus into your eternal spirit, and you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. (Acts 16:31 and 2 Corinthians 5:17)
Your past sins are covered and forgiven!
Your present sins are covered and forgiven!
Your future sins are covered and forgiven!
But so as not to give anyone a license to be free to sin, your spirit is clean and born of God by the new birth, your soul and body are still under the old life and habits. Once you renew your mind with the word of God (Romans 12:2) you will be presently sort of immune to sin, just as Jesus walked the earth immune to sin, because he judged each moment of life with the word of God, and if it did not measure up to it, he discarded it as trash.
I like to use this past-present-future as this: The past is our future that the present is catching up to. The past is past, the present only exists as a micro second of decision, because the future is always just ahead of the past, separated only by this micro second of the present.
In the Old Testament the scapegoat was set free to carry the sins of Israel into the wilderness for a year, while the other goat was sacrificed for their sins. (Leviticus 16:1-34)
So does the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus not accomplish such a feat but for the whole world, and not just for a year, but for all time for those who believe on his name? Past, Present, and Future! The organized Church has really messed up the simple gospel message for over 2000 years!
In John’s letters to the church he makes several comments that has caused the Learned Men of God to stumble a lot.
In Romans 10:9- “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.” (Past)
In 1 John 1:9 he makes this statement-“if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John is talking to believers, not the world. (Present)
In verse 18 of chapter 5 he makes this wild comment – “we know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one touches him not.” (Future)
You cannot sin by your spirit as it belongs to God and will not sin (1 John 3:9) but you can and do sin by your soul and body. This is where the learned men of God miss it. If you sinned by your spirit then you would lose your salvation just as Adam did in the garden. We are not controlled by our spirit but by our souls. This is why we are to renew our minds with the Word of God.
In other words if our thoughts are controlled by Gods word, this gives us the help our spirit needs to direct our daily life in this sin filled world. We have over 6000 years of being controlled by our soul and bodies five senses. Hard habit to overcome and live like we are supposed to, but not impossible.
John wrote his letters to the church to encourage them and not condemn them. He knew we would sin and this is why he wrote the letters. Our sins are already forgiven, we just need to confess them as we make them, and acknowledge we need Gods help in overcoming our weaknesses daily. We are forgiven.
I can only make these comments after 62 years of being saved and hearing many things from the pulpit, some of which I have since discarded as being poppycock. The “church” has made us, the real Church, dependent on them and what they say, but in reality it is only their opinion which is determined by what they have been taught!
We are to read the Bible and do what it says and not some man. I do my best to give you what I have learned but it is still my opinion. You are responsible to read and study the Bible for yourself, not just what I or anyone else has to say. We just do our best to present what we have learned. Sometimes we learn things incorrectly. You are to find out for yourself what we say is true or not.
We are given teachers by God to help make available to you His words on how to live a successful and content Christian life on this earth! Do we mess it up at times? Of course we do. We each need help in our race of life just to stay on course and finish our assignments from God. This is why we need the ministry gifts and also personal study time alone each day if possible praying and reading our manual of life.
I want to leave you this more modern interpretation of our opening scripture from the Message Bible- “it’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary message of Gods powerful plan to rescue everyone who trust Him, starting with the Jews and then right on to everyone else.”
The Good News is the message from God that all is forgiven, and for everyone to come on home, the differences between God and man has been bridged by Jesus the Christ. This is the prodigal son story to all of mankind. (Luke15:11-32) Just come to Him, as He loves you more than you can imagine.
Remember, you will make it, just don’t give up. See you next time as we study the word of God together.
In His Service As Kilted Priest
The Kilted Priest 