“How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation” (Hebrews 2:3)
“Time past and time present are both together in time future,” wrote T.S. Elliot. His rhythmic words simply and eloquently describe the ordinary flow of history. But the letter to the Hebrews presents a very different perspective on God’s purposes and patterns in the flow of history. There, it would be true to say, the future determines the past and the present, rather than the other way round. To understand Hebrews — and thus to understand how the Bible as a whole works — we need to understand this riddle: The invisible is more substantial than the visible. The future comes before the past. The new is more fundamental than the old. What does all this mean? Simply put, it means that the story of the Lord Jesus, His person and work, is not a divine afterthought, No — the coming of Christ was in the plan before the fall. Everything that precedes it chronologically actually follows it logically. From one point of view, of course, the Old Testament serves as the model of what Christ would come to accomplish. But Hebrews teaches us never to lose sight of the fact that the Old are simply a shadow. This is why Hebrew 10:1 describes the law as “but a shadow of the good things to come.” Christ is the original; He is the Messiah. Our salvation depends on God’s covenant, rooted in eternity in the plan of the Trinity, foreshadowed in the Mosaic covenant, fulfilled in Christ, enduring forever. No wonder Hebrews calls it “great.” the salvation is so great because of the greatness of the Savior who provides it.
Salvation is the central theme of the Bible, and indeed the very heart of the gospel. Salvation is a promise, a reality and a hope. Mankind has four enemies: Satan, Sin, Sorrow and Death – so man’s greatest need is salvation. (Luke 19:10) The bottom line is that you need to have your sins forgiven! Only Jesus can forgive those sins and give you salvation. Salvation is not found in a religion or good works, but in a Person... The LORD JESUS CHRIST! "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Shall be saved"(Romans 10:13) Jesus is incomparable; therefore anything we compare him always fall short. He is bigger than our comprehension and wiser than the wisdom of wise men, brighter than all the stars of the universe. There may be another Mother Teresa, Shakespeare, Lincoln, Einstein, or Edison but there will never be another Christ. God only has one son His Name is Jesus. He stands alone. Jesus Christ is the only foundation for salvation. Christianity is all about a person and His name is Jesus Christ. Bible says “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
The author of Hebrews wrote about the “great salvation”, but more than that, he speaks of “such a great salvation”.
(1) It is great because of the great love that provided it: Look up John 3:16 and notice the ‘God so loved the world’ there!
(2) It is great because of the great price paid for it. Salvation cost God the best that He had. To provide salvation for us it cost Him the gift of His only Son (1 John 4:9). Creation cost God a word – “And God said” (Genesis 1:3); but redemption cost Him “His only son” – it cost Him the gift of the Savior who went to the Cross to die for us (John 1:1-2, 14).
(3) It is great because of the great blessings included in it. Salvation includes every blessing that we need, because salvation provides for our need completely in the gift of Christ Himself (Ephesians 1:3). When we talk about being saved we mean being forgiven (Acts 13:38-39); being cleansed (1 John 1:7); receiving eternal life (1 John 5:11-12); having joy (1 Peter 1:8); peace (Philippians 4:7); grace (2 Corinthians 9:8); and heaven as our home (John 14:1-3). What a wonderful provision God has made for us!
The Hebrew and Greek words for salvation imply the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification." Salvation has a three-fold nature in regards to its timing. It has a past, present, and future aspect to the believer in Christ. Salvation, therefore, in its broad sense, has to do with both the soul and the body, with the present life as well as with future life. It has reference, not only to the remission of sin’s penalty and the removal of its guilt, but also to the conquering of the power of sin and to the final removal of the presence of sin from the body. It is only by recognizing this that one can grasp the full sweep of the Bible doctrine of salvation. We can best accomplish this end by carefully considering each tense. All three tenses are roughly summed up in 2 Cor. 1:10 NKJV: "who delivered us from so great a peril of death, (past tense) and will deliver us, (present tense): He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,” (future tense) “Sin” is any thought, word, or action that is contrary to the character or law of God. “
First we have been saved from the PENALTY of sin. Note the following passages: ““Your faith has saved you; go in peace."" (Luke 7:50). "By grace have you been saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8)...who saved us and called us with a holy calling" (2 Tim. 1:9). "...according to his mercy he saved us" (Titus 3:5). Those who are in Christ have already been saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 reads “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” As Christians we have assurance that we have already been saved. Salvation in the past refers to two great acts of God – our justification and subsequent adoption into His family. In justifying us, God declares that the requirements of righteousness required by the law have been satisfied on our behalf. The righteousness of Jesus is imputed to us so that God declares we are innocent. In this way we are saved from the damnation we so richly deserve. Adoption is the declaration of God whereby those who have been justified are declared to be His children. They are adopted in His family and become heirs to the riches Christ gained for us. While this is a past reality, it looks to the future for its fulfillment.
Second we are being saved from the POWER of sin. Those who are in Christ continue to experience salvation. In 1 Corinthians 1:18 we read “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” The process of salvation is ongoing so that it is a present reality as much as it is a past reality. Salvation in the present refers to two more great promises of God – sanctification and perseverance. Sanctification is a process that is ongoing in the lives of believers. The Holy Spirit indwells us at the moment of salvation and begins to affect change in our lives so that we become more and more conformed to the image of holiness modeled in Christ. As we allow the Spirit to lead and guide us, we grow in grace. Salvation, then, in its present reality, allows us to slowly but continually be freed from the power of sin. It is with reference to the present tense of salvation that Phil. 2:12 speak when it says: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." The meaning of this passage is that the Philippians believers were to make effective in their lives the new life that God had implanted in their hearts. There are other passages in which salvation is not mentioned, which, nevertheless, refer to the present process of salvation; such as Rom. 6:14; Gal. 2:19,20; 2 Cor. 3:18. In the present tense of salvation believers are being saved through the work of the indwelling Spirit from the power of sin to hinder the new life. It is thus equivalent to progressive sanctification.
Third we shall be saved from the PRESENCE of sin. More than just the past and present, salvation points forward to the future. Salvation’s future reality points forward to our upcoming glorification. Glorification is a future work of God in which the dead will be raised and in new bodies will be ushered finally into the kingdom of heaven. In the following passages salvation is spoken of as something yet future. Rom. 5:9, 10; 8:24; 13:11; 1 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14; 1 Thess. 5:8; Heb. 10:36; 1 Pet. 1.5; 1 John 3:2, 3. Paul tells us in Rom. 8:23 what this future salvation is in the main. It is "the redemption of our body," by which he means the application of redemption to the believer’s body. This will take place in the resurrection of those who sleep in Christ (1 Cor. 15:52-56; 1 Thess. 4.16) and in the rapture of those who are alive at Christ’s coming in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). It is only then that the regenerated spirit will enter into the full fruition of salvation. Thus we read that the spirit is to be saved "in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:5).
This is why Bible says “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” (1 John 3:6, 9) Those who are Heaven-born are Heaven-bound and bear certain character or birthmarks. If we do not bear these birthmarks, then we need to evaluate and ask ourselves if we have ever truly saved. Jesus doesn’t love us because we’re lovely; He simply loves us. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. “Such love the great prototype of all self-sacrificing human love. There may be the sacrifice of mother for child. But this, in a sense, is self for self; But God's love - for the weak, for the ungodly, for sinners… herein is love indeed! And such was his love to us, in Christ. Our faith in him, then, must be a faith which shall never let go its hold, which shall trust unto the uttermost. Also, our love must be a reflex of his. Even for those who are most distasteful in their sin, a redeeming love must be felt and shown. Therefore if a person is saved, it will show in his life.
So the idea of being born again means that we should be transformed day by day into the image of Christ. Although we should strive for perfection (Matt. 5:48), it doesn't mean that we'll be perfect. However When we're born again we receive a new, godly nature (Eph. 4:24), but our old nature also still exists. Paul talks about this in Romans chapter 7 when he says "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not... For I joyfully concur with God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members." (vss. 18, 21) This is why Paul makes such big deal about God's grace in the book of Romans. He writes "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand." (vss. 1-2) So, ‘past’ salvation is the assurance of eternity with our Lord while ‘present’ salvation describes the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Our salvation is assured the moment we enter into a genuine relationship with God through faith in Christ. Yet, despite this guarantee, we must go about allowing the Holy Spirit to make us in reality what we know by faith.
1 John 1: 6 -7 state "If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” “ “The most miserable man in the world is not an unsaved man; but, rather, a saved man who is out of fellowship with God. When we are saved, God doesn’t fix us up so that we cannot sin anymore; He fixes us up so that we cannot sin and enjoy or escape it anymore.” We are not saved by keeping the commandments; we are not saved by walking as Jesus walked; we are not saved by loving our enemy; but if we are saved, these things will be present in our lives. We keep His commandments, not in order to be saved, but because we love Him, so we are to walk as Jesus walked.
