What Salvation Accomplishes and Is

One thing that keeps many people away from going to a Bible believing church is that they fail to see any tangible, real world value in going. They may be confused about why they or others should go. Afterall if I “do the best I can” in life that should get my ticket to heaven punched many think, that is if heaven is a real place. I believe that the number one reason to go is to learn about Jesus Christ and his purpose for living and dying on the cross. What benefits a person can gain from accepting that Jesus died for “their” sins, to pay the penalty for sinning against a holy God, is what salvation is about. The benefit is you get heaven because someone (Jesus) paid your admission price.

So, what did the death of Christ accomplish for you? Well Jesus’ death was a substitution for your sin, the penalty of your breaking God’s laws. He died in my place and yours, or to use the Greek term, in place of. Jesus himself said that his death would be a payment for many, Mark 10:45. His death was for the benefit of many, and in place of the many. 2 Corinthians 5:21 is a great verse to support this: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus’ death also provided redemption from sin. It paid the price that your sin and mine demands, death. Not only did it pay the price of my sin, but it also thereby removes me, and you if you have received Him as Savior, from the marketplace of sin and we can have full assurance that sin will no longer be the ruling principle in the life of one who is Born Again.

Another word used for redemption in the Bible means “to loose”. You are free, released from the bondage, penalty, and power of sin in your life. This is because of the substitutionary death of Christ for you and me; because as Hebrews 9:12 tells us the basis for freedom is the blood of Christ; and the result is to be a people eager for good works, Titus 2:14. The Christian is purchased, removed from bondage and set free!

When a person is “saved, born-again” they become reconciled to God. In believing in Christ (the Gospel) you are no longer an enemy of God but adopted into His family. You see Christ’s sacrifice on the cross appeased God’s wrath against sin for the one who places their faith in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. The fancy, theological word for the work of Christ is “propitiation”. He receives God’s wrath for man’s sin, thus for those who come to Jesus in/by faith, they receive the benefits of forgiveness because He paid the debt none of us could every pay. Jesus appeased the wrath of God that was towards our sin.

Therefore, there is nothing you can do to merit God’s favor and forgiveness. It is only in receiving Christ, trusting in His work of redemption that one can be saved.

Another benefit is that our sin nature is judged. The power of sin in our lives is cut-off, we are dead to sin according to Romans 6. Of course, we all still sin, but the greater power in the one born-again is the Holy Spirit of God. As I tell people, they sin just as much as they want to! That goes for me too!

Romans 10:4 and Colossians 2:14 tell us that today we are no longer bound to live under the Mosaic Law (not that Gentiles were ever commanded to do so). Because we can do nothing to merit God’s favor the Mosaic Law is not applicable to any people group today. It is a holy and just law; it is just that no can be right with God by keeping it because we all sin and fall short of the glory of God!

Finally, the blood of Christ which saves us also cleans us up from all our sins that are committed after becoming a Christian, 1 John 1:7. That is wonderful news! So if you are looking for freedom and forgiveness, look no further than Jesus. He has it all waiting for you if you will just come to Him with true repentance and faith.

Blessings to you this week!

(Dave Carroll is an area missionary with InFaith, America’s oldest Christian home mission agency, and Pastor of the Wolf Creek Baptist Church. You can contact Dave at 406.459.8935 or davecarroll@infaith.org)