Salvation has never changed
If you were asked, ‘Why did Jesus come to earth?’ what would you say? Jesus had no doubt about this. He said to Zacchaeus,
“I have come to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
In times of revival it was common for people to be asked,
“Do you know you are saved or aren’t you sure yet?”
Dr. Westcott was a very distinguished Greek scholar who became Bishop of Durham. One day he was travelling in a train when a young Salvation Army girl in uniform entered his compartment. She had just been to a training day in London. She sat down opposite him. After a few minutes she said to the Bishop,
“Excuse me asking you, sir, but are you saved?”
“Am I saved?” the surprised Bishop answered.
“Yes sir, are you saved?”
The godly Bishop smiled and then said,
“Well, my dear, which kind of ‘’saved’ do you mean. In the Bible the word is used in three tenses, Esosen is in the past tense, sodzomenois is in the present tense and sothesometha in the future.”
During the rest of the trip the bishop explained what it means to ‘have been saved’, ‘to be saved’, and what future salvation will be like.
Paul mentions all three senses in one verse, but note who has provided it, who is providing it and who will provide our future salvation. Away from Jesus there is no salvation.
“He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.” 2 Corinthians 1:10
The Bible’s message is clear, God has always called a people to be his representatives in his world. These people are to live in a close relationship with him and are therefore committed to living as he wants. God’s people have been chosen and put in the right with God, they have been given the status of being righteous. First there was Adam and his descendents, then Noah and his family, then Abraham and his descendents and finally Jesus himself and his followers. God’s people have always been characterised by a personal relationship with their Lord and this is shown in the way they live and speak. All they do is for the glory of God.
Salvation in the New Testament
Christians know that they have been forgiven their sin because God himself has entered this world as Jesus and he took the penalty for our sin on himself. The name Jesus, means ‘the Lord saves’. We are therefore safe because we have been saved from the penalty for our sin. We have been credited with God’s righteousness. In this sense, salvation is a done deal, it has already been won for us.
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” Titus 3:5
Salvation is not just forgiveness of sin, it includes the gift of the Holy Spirit who enables us to overcome temptations to sin. Through the Spirit’s power God’s people are enabled to live for God’s glory. This change is a demonstration of the Lord’s power.
“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.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Salvation is not just a legal deed of forgiveness, it is the beginning of a completely new life. Our lives are now committed to being lived for his glory
God has promised those who are his people, and who demonstrate this by the way they live, that he has a glorious future for us. In this life he will enable us to live as he wants but after we die he has promised us that we will live with him is a wonderful new earth. The following verse mentions this future salvation twice but note that our future depends on what God has done for us in the past through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life.” Romans 5:9-10
What a glorious difference this new life is compared to the old life from which we have been saved.
Psalm 27
Some people may think that this concept of salvation, in the past, in the present and in the future is just a New Testament teaching. How wrong they are. A saving faith in the God who has demonstrated his love in past actions and that affects how we live now is the message of the Old Testament too. The promise of future glory with God is also clearly taught. Psalm 27 is just one example of this. This psalm is all about the confidence David had in his Lord which showed itself even when he was facing life-threatening worries and dangers.
He could say,
“Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.” Psalm 27:3
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living . . . “ Psalm 27:13
The reason David had this confidence was because he knows that his Lord is his Saviour. This is another key word in the psalm.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?” Psalm 27:1
“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;” Psalm 27:5
“Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Saviour.” Psalm 27:9
Past
How did David arrive at having this confidence in the Lord? He knew it firstly from the Scriptures he had available which clearly portray the character of God and all he had done in the past. God had cared for his ancestors, the Patriarchs, he had ordained extraordinary miracles in the time of Moses to free his people from Egypt and subsequently he had given them the Promised Land under Joshua. The promises God had made all turned out to be valid.
For us today we have additional evidence. The very Son of God, the Lord Jesus, has now entered his world. He fulfilled all the prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah. His miracles were seen by many and his teaching was extraordinary. He came to die to take responsibility for our sin as the ultimate sacrifice and he rose again so proving that God had accepted his sacrifice.
Our faith, like that of David is based on evidence of what God has done for his people in the past. Similarly it is abundantly clear that God hates all forms of sin in any people and will punish people, whoever they are.
Present
David’s faith in a loving God affects his attitudes in the present. He lives his day to day life in the light of this faith in a Lord who loves him. He knows that nothing can happen to him that God does not permit.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?” Psalm 27:1
David’s faith permeates all his emotions and actions in the present, the relationship he has with his Lord fills him with joy:
“. . . at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.” Psalm 27:6
It also meant that he wanted to know his Lord better. What he wanted of him meant more than anything else.
“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’” Psalm 27:8
“Teach me your way, Lord, lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.” Psalm 27:11
Today we learn God’s paths and the way he wants us to live in exactly the same way that David did - from Scripture. Our aim is to then live closely with our Lord, just a David did.
Future
Look again at the tenses used in this psalm and note how often ‘shall’ and ‘will’ occur, I counted thirteen times in just fourteen verses. This psalm is very much future orientated. He knows the Lord will care for him both in this life and in eternity.
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” Psalm 27:10
David recognised that even the closest of relationships in this life will inevitably cease but his relationship with his Lord is eternal.
David finishes the psalm with the utmost confidence in his Lord’s eternal care,
“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13
The resurrection of the Lord Jesus gives us even greater confidence that we also will see the goodness of our Lord after we die and come to the ‘land of the living’.
Appeal
In the light of the fact that God has saved us and that we are being saved from the influence of sin and of the world David’s appeal to all of God’s people is timeless,
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
David knew that God’s Messiah was going to enter his world, just as we know that he will be returning. It is our responsibility to live in the light of this second coming:
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14
How privileged we are to share in this faith and what a privilege to come to this God with our prayers and petitions. If you can make the time look at 1 Peter 1:3-9 that Peter wrote when he was imprisoned and under great pressure. Note the senses in which he talks about his salvation and the effect this has on him.
BVP
May 2023
