The Doctrine of Salvation, Part One
Saturday, June 19
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. You must teach these things and encourage the believers to do them. You have the authority to correct them when necessary, so don’t let anyone disregard what you say. (Titus 2:11-15)
The doctrine of salvation, as taught in the Bible, is in three tenses: past, present, and future. Past: we are delivered from sin’s penalty, namely, justification. Present: we are delivered from sin’s power, namely, sanctification. Future: we will be delivered from sin’s presence, namely, glorification.
In these verses, Paul addresses all three aspects of sin: its penalty in verses 11 and 14, its power in verses 12 and 14, and its presence in verse 13. All of this finds its efficiency in the perfect atoning work of Christ, a work that is put on marvelous display here in verse 14. Consider this fourfold portrait.
First, Jesus paid for us. He “gave his life to free us.” This refers to the vicarious and substitutionary nature of Christ’s death. The purpose given for His death is “to free us from every kind of sin.” Here we see the costly and liberating work of redemption (cf. Matthew 20:28; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Peter 1:18-19). In the words of Ellis J. Crum, “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay!”
This is the way Jesus described the reason for His coming: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The apostle Paul spells it out clearly in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” Jesus paid for us.
Doing the Word
Believe in Christ to be saved.
Prayer
Dear God, I believe in Your Son. I believe He came and He died to set me free from every kind of sin. Saved me. In His name, Amen.