We’ll delve into the multifaceted theology of salvation (aka soteriology).  We’ll look at all three tenses of salvation: how we were saved, are being saved, and will be saved.  Now, I realize this can be a very sensitive and controversial subject, depending on what your preexisting doctrinal commitments are.  However, I simply ask that you listen carefully and test what I say here against the scriptures to see whether it holds up.  Be a good Berean and see where God leads you.

—— Notes ——

Past Tense[1]

In Paul’s letters we find several different ways of talking about what God has done in Christ.  The most common is that we are “saved.”  Here is (perhaps) the most famous Scripture about how God has saved us.

Ephesians 2:8-9   God’s salvation is a gift that we accept by faith.  His grace reaches down, and we reach up through faith.  Then He pulls us up and out.  Because salvation doesn’t depend on works, no one can say, “I’ve earned it; I’m so great.”  Instead, we say God did it.  Isn’t He glorious?

In addition to describing gracious act as “salvation,” we also see these other ways of talking about, each emphasizing a different aspect of what He has done for us through Christ:

justified	Rom 2:13; 3:4, 20, 24, 28; 4:2; 5:1, 9; 8:30; 10:10; 1 Cor 6:11; Gal 2:16-17, 3:11; 3:24; 5:4; Tit 3:7
reconciled	Rom 5:10-11; 1 Cor 7:11; 2 Cor 5:18-20; Eph 2:16; Col 1:20-22
adopted	Rom 8:15, 23; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5
sanctified	1 Cor 1:2; 6:11; Eph 5:26
redeemed	Gal 3:13; 4:5; Tit 2:14
regenerated	Tit 3:5

When considering salvation (in the past tense), we may ask the question, “What are we saved from?”  This question is extremely helpful in clarifying our understanding.  Fortunately, we need only go back up to the beginning of the chapter to get the answer we seek.

Ephesians 2:1-10   According to verses 1-3, we’re saved from being dead in sin, going along with evil spiritual forces, living in the passions of our flesh, and being a child of wrath.  Verse 7 tells us we have a future to look forward to as well.  But, if we’re saved, what does that mean about how our lives should look?  Verse 10 tells us the purpose of our salvation is for good works that we should walk in.

 

Present Tense[2]

1 Corinthians 15:1-2   The Corinthians had already received the gospel some time ago; they believed it when they heard it.  Now they are “being saved.”[3]  Salvation is not just a one-time event, though there is an entry point.  We become saved, and then we continue in that reality.  Is it possible to lose your salvation?

 Southern Baptist Convention

Article Nine: The Security of the Believer[4]

We affirm that when a person responds in faith to the Gospel, God promises to complete the process of salvation in the believer into eternity. This process begins with justification, whereby the sinner is immediately acquitted of all sin and granted peace with God; continues in sanctification, whereby the saved are progressively conformed to the image of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and concludes in glorification, whereby the saint enjoys life with Christ in heaven forever.

We deny that this Holy Spirit-sealed relationship can ever be broken. We deny even the possibility of apostasy.

 

Lutheran Churches

Formula of Concord: XI Election

Therefore we should judge concerning this our election to eternal life neither from reason nor from the Law of God, which lead us either into a reckless, dissolute, Epicurean life or into despair, and excite pernicious thoughts in the hearts of men, for they cannot, as long as they follow their reason, successfully refrain from thinking: If God has elected me to salvation, I cannot be condemned, no matter what I do; and again: If I am not elected to eternal life, it is of no avail what good I do; it is all in vain anyway.

 

Westminster Confession of Faith

Chapter XVII: Of the Perseverance of the Saints

They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.

 

Nevertheless, what does the Scripture say?

1 Corinthians 15:1-2   This verse clearly teaches that you must “hold fast” to the preached word or else you believe in vain.  Only by persevering in faith do you remain saved.  Of course, this is not the only verse in Paul’s letters about this.[5]

Colossians 1:21-23
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,  22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,  23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Bob Mathieson explains this well:

“Many people are concerned about this, and I understand their concern initially, because they have made themselves feel good about the fact they could never lose it–it scares them. Someone says, “Are you telling me I can lose my salvation?” My response to that is, “That’s the wrong way to put it. You lose your car keys; you don’t lose your salvation. You forfeit your salvation; you walk away from your salvation. You don’t lose it. It not something where you are going to be surprised. This is a deliberate saying, ‘I’m going to do what I want to do with my life, I’m not going to continue to make Jesus Lord, and I’m going to continue on in some kind of sinful way.’ The only thing left then, is a fiery judgment that God will judge.”[6]

Also in Romans 11:13-24, Paul uses the illustration of an olive tree to show that the we remain connected by faith.  If we cease to believe, then like a withered branch, the gardener will cut us off.  Still, we can get back into the tree if we return to faith.

Romans 8:35-39   As long as we continue in genuine faith, God protects us from anything coming between us.

 

Future Tense[7]

Romans 13:11-14   Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  What are we saved from in the future?  According to Romans 5:9, “we will be saved by him from the wrath of God.”  Through resurrection God will save us from sickness, pain, suffering, and death.  By establishing the Kingdom, God will deliver us from the anxieties, fears, and sufferings of living in a world in rebellion to Him.

Romans 13:11-14   We don’t wait passively for our ultimate salvation.  Instead, we walk properly, living for God day by day.

2 Timothy 2:11-13
The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him,
We will also live with him;

If we endure,
We will also reign with him;

If we deny him,
He also will deny us;

If we are faithless,
He remains faithful–
For he cannot deny himself.

[1] Also see Rom 8:24; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 3:5

[2] Also see 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15

[3] NASB “you are saved”; ESV, NET, NAB, NRSV “you are being saved”; However, the NASB translates both 1 Cor 1:18 and 2 Cor 2:15 as “being saved”

[4] “A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation” http://chalcedon.org/resources/counsel-of-chalcedon-magazine/2012-issue-3-4/a-statement-of-the-traditional-southern-baptist-understanding-of-gods-plan-of-salvation

[5] Rom 11:13-24; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 9:27; Gal 5:19-21; 6:8-9; Eph 5:3-12; Phil 3:11-14; 1 Tim 4:16; 5:8; 2 Tim 2:11-13

[6] “Conditional Salvation with Bob Mathieson,” Truth Matters Podcast, episode 10, March 15, 2009, broadcast on WHAZ, https://truthmattersradio.wordpress.com/2009/03/15/conditional-salvation-with-bob-mathieson/

[7] Also see 1 Cor 3:15; 5:5; 1 Tim 2:15; 2 Tim 2:10

—— Links ——

• Check out more episodes and posts on Salvation
• For the textbooks, check out the New Bible Dictionary and Greg Deuble’s They Never Told Me This in Church.
• Also, listen to an interview with Deuble here.
• See other episodes in this Theology Class
• Find more Restitutio classes here
• More information about Converge 2019
• Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License