Sunday Leftovers (10/29/06)

Those who are saved are saved eternally by the work of the eternal Godhead on their behalf. What does each member of the Godhead do for believers in Christ? [This list is nowhere near exhaustive, but it is a good starting point.]

The work of the Father to secure you

• He has sovereign purposes and has made an unconditional promise (Jn. 3:16; 5:24; 6:37; 2 Tim. 1:1; Titus 1:1-2) — it is an inter-trinitarian promise that cannot be broken!
• He has infinite power to save and keep you (Jn. 10:29; Rom. 8:31, 38-39; Eph. 1:19-21
• He has infinite love for the Son (and you) to keep you (Rom. 5:7-10)
• He has joy in fulfilling the prayer of the Son to keep you (Jn. 17:9-12, 20)

The work of the Son to secure you

• His substitutionary death secures you (Rom. 8:1; 1 Jn. 2:1-2; 2 Cor. 5:20-21)
• His resurrection secures your resurrection (1 Cor 15:20-23; Eph. 2:5-6)
• His eternal work as your advocate (Rom. 8:31-34; Heb. 9:24)
• His eternal priestly work for you (Heb. 7:23-25)

The work of the Spirit to secure you

• He regenerates you (Jn. 1:13; 3:3-6; Tt. 3:4-6)
• He indwells you (Rom. 5:5; 8:9; Jn. 7:37-39)
• He baptizes you (1 Cor. 12:13)
• He seals you (as a guarantee of a future promise, Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30)

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This morning I came across the following statement from Oswald Chambers:

I am not saved by believing; I realize I am saved by believing. It is not repentance that saves me, repentance is the sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus. The danger is to put the emphasis on the effect instead of on the cause. It is my obedience that puts me right with God, my consecration. Never! I am put right with God because prior to all, Christ died. When I turn to God and by belief accept what God reveals I can accept, instantly the stupendous Atonement of Jesus Christ rushes me into a right relationship with God; and by the supernatural miracle of God’s grace I stand justified, not because I am sorry for my sin, not because I have repented, but because of what Jesus has done. The Spirit of God brings it with a breaking, all-over light, and I know, though I do not know how, that I am saved.

The salvation of God does not stand on human logic, it stands on the sacrificial Death of Jesus. We can be born again because of the Atonement of Our Lord. Sinful men and women can be changed into new creatures, not by their repentance or their belief, but by the marvellous work of God in Christ Jesus which is prior to all experience. The impregnable safety of justification and sanctification is God Himself. We have not to work out these things ourselves; they have been worked out by the Atonement. The supernatural becomes natural by the miracle of God; there is the realization of what Jesus Christ has already done — “It is finished.” [Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 28.]