SALVATION IN THREE STAGES

"Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." II Corinthians 1:10

The word "salvation" is the all inclusive word of the gospel. It includes everything that is required to bring a sinful soul into the glorious and eternal union of life with Christ in heaven. Paul's deliverances from physical death give us an illustration of spiritual salvation in three stages. It is a mistake to view salvation in only one aspect as being the whole. The Primitive Baptists err in making the decree of God alone salvation. The fundamentalists err in making the new birth alone salvation. If we would view it rightly, we must look upon our salvation from start to finish as the work of God, recalling the past, observing the present, and anticipating the future.

1. WE HAVE BEEN SAVED. (II Tim. 1:9)

In one sense of the word, our salvation is eternal. God's elect have always been viewed by him in Christ, "accepted in the Beloved". In the decree of God we were eternally called, justified, and glorified. To be sure, all of God's elect were redeemed, justified, and sanctified at Calvary. Redemption was not only an act of mercy. It was a legal transfer. Our sins were imputed to Christ, and his righteousness was imputed to us. And we were saved by the new birth. Repentance and faith are as necessary for salvation as election and redemption. All who were chosen and redeemed shall in God's time be born-again. They will all repent and believe the gospel. At Calvary, Christ saved us from the penalty of sin. In the new birth he saved us from the dominion of sin.

2. WE ARE NOW BEING SAVED. (Phil. 1:6, 2:13)

While we are upon the earth, the Holy Spirit is performing within us that work of sanctification, which will result in glorification.

3. AND WE TRUST THAT WE SHALL YET BE SAVED. (Rom. 8:23; 13:11)

Not until we are brought before the throne of God in perfect holiness and purity, in body and soul, will our salvation be complete. But complete it shall be. God will not fail in his work. The future is as sure as the past.