What Happens at the Point of Salvation

[AVBunyan]

I have mentioned before the reason folks have a hard time with OSAS is that they do not know doctrinally what happens at the point of salvation. So, let’s see what took place – if one can get this settled then, if the Lord is in it, then the OSAS will not become an issue. This a bit long but really not long enough but we can’t cover it all on this forum.

First – God is holy, just, righteous, and pure. God will accept nothing less that this standard if you are to spend eternity with Him.

Second – Your Condition Prior to Salvation Which Keeps You from God

You were born dead in trespasses and sins.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:

This is because you are born in Adam’s image and inherited his sin nature which was a fallen nature being separated and an enemy of God. Your righteousness is filthy rags and at your best state you are altogether vanity. Let’s get deeper – According to Romans you have no understanding, are not righteous, are no good, and are not seeking God. You are separated from God and blinded to spiritual truth – 1 Cor. 2:14 and II Cor. 4:3. Adam once was body, soul, and spirit – all separate and pure from sin. And now because of Adam’s sin your soul has become stuck to your dying and rotting flesh. You are in a mess.

Now the Problem – God can accept nothing short of perfect righteousness and holiness in order for you to spend eternity with him for without holiness no man can see the Lord and here it is not a practical holiness but a sinless perfection that you must have!!!

Now – how are you going to meet that standard? How are you going to take a nature that is fallen and restore it? How are you going to become perfect, holy, and righteous? How are you going to separate your soul from your rotting flesh and regenerate your dead spirit? Do you realize what a feat this is? Can you do this by:

1. Making a commitment to Christ?
2. Living a good life?
3. Repenting?
4. Praying?

Or whatever you have been taught to do?

The issue here is you are not just trying to live a good life again but…………

You have to become the righteousness of God while being in a sinful body here on earth!

I hate to be like a cold dish rag coming across your face but the bad news is – you cannot accomplish this. It will take a miraculous work by God not you obeying the commandments and living a good life of repentance.

Quick summary:

God is holy – you are unholy
God demands a sin payment for your offence – You cannot pay it
God demands a perfect sacrifice – You can’t be that for your blood is tainted with sin
Therefore – unless God does the word of restoration you will end up in the lake of fire where you were destined from birth.

Third – How can God bring you back without violating His holiness? God knows you can’t accomplish you becoming holy (even though you think you can) so God does the work for you.

1. Christ becomes the sin payment – God is satisfied with what Christ did for He is perfect, just and righteous.
2. God accepts the sin payment because Christ’s blood is not tainted with sin.
3. Christ dies for your sins, is buried, and is raised from the dead – finished.
4. Christ becomes sin for you – He becomes your sin payment for you.

Now – how do you get brought into this plan?

Fourth – Your Salvation

1. You were walking according to the course of this wicked world in sin and darkness not looking for God – Eph. 2:1; Rom. 3.
2. Somewhere you heard the word of God – Rom. 10:17.
3. The word convicted you of your sinfulness – Heb. 4:12
4. God regenerated your dead spirit – ***. 3:5
5. God separated your soul from your flesh – Col. 2:11-13
6. God put you into the body of Christ and you became bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh – Eph. 5:30
7. God sealed you with the Holy Spirit of promise until the day of redemption – Eph. 1:13
8. God forgave you based upon the finished work of Christ – Col. 1:14 and Eph. 1:7
9. God justified you based upon the faith of Jesus Christ not your faith in Christ – Gal. 2:16.
10. God made you righteous based upon Christ – II Cor. 5:17; Rom. 3:22
11. Then God opened your eyes and you believed – II Cor. 4:6.
12. God made you a new creature – II Cor. 5:17

Summary of above:

God has judicially declared you just, holy, and righteous in the person of Jesus Christ – no other way. When God put you in Christ you became righteous for He is righteous.

Now how are you going to accomplish this work without the 12 points I mentioned above?
Come on now – I’m listening – tell me how you can do what was required by God to make your standing and position with him perfect? What are you going to do to satisfy God’s demand for perfect righteousness?

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty here – the purpose for this post.

In order for you to be reconciled unto God those 12 points (plus others) have to be done and they can only be done by God.

So, how are you going to do those 12 points by your own power and if these 12 points were done for you then how are you going to undo them by your own power so you can lose your salvation? I’m listening.

The Plan –

See God’s holiness and then you will see your sinfulness and then and only then you will flee to Christ for there is no other hope.

The saint is made righteous by Christ – God sees the saint as righteous through Christ and Christ alone.

Do you want to be reconciled to God – then get in Christ.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

1 Pet 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

God bless

[nChrist]

AVBunyan,

AMEN BROTHER!

All glory, honor, and praise goes to GOD!

Men should be left with nothing but a humble thanks to JESUS and love for HIM because HE loved us enough to die for us.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Colossians 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

[AVBunyan]

All glory, honor, and praise goes to GOD!

Men should be left with nothing but a humble thanks to JESUS and love for HIM because HE loved us enough to die for us.

Ah - so true brother - grace should prduce a humble heart and praise from our lips for without Christ we can do nothing!!!

Thanks brother

[JudgeNot]

AVB – This is a great topic and I look forward to reading all the replies.  

For me - the answer is so simple.  (Naïve little children like me need simple.)

The instant one repents and confirms to Jesus that He is who He says He is and He did what He says He did, then “it is finished!”  

IT IS FINISHED are three of the most wonderful words in the history of God-kind.

(Then – there was also that really INCREDIBLE RUSH I felt when the spirit filled me that first time… Whoa!  God is SO wonderful!)  

God bless us every one!
JN

[Shammu]

AVBunyan, to me the most important words are, It is Finished. When Jesus spoke these words, he gave all who believed in him, life.

Resting with the Lord.
Bob

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

[Reba]

1 Peter 1:19-20

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
KJV


His death for us was a done deal before the foundations of the world... When was your name written in the Lambs book of life?

Rev 17:8

8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is
KJV

[2nd Timothy]

AVBunyan, to me the most important words are, It is Finished. When Jesus spoke these words, he gave all who believed in him, life.

Resting with the Lord.
Bob

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Amen DW.   The expression Jesus used "teleo" signifies the discharge of a debt, or completion of all owed.   This is probably what a centurian official would have written across the certificate of judgment clearing all debt owed by one who had been judged.  

It is finished, completed, payed for in full!   Justice and Righteousness has been fulfilled through Christ and we are FREE (dischaged from our sin debt) in Him!

Grace and Peace!

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

What a beautiful thread! In reading it, I'm simply thinking about a precious old hymn:

Jesus Paid it All,
All to Him I owe.

This is the simplicity of the Gospel of the Grace of God. This is why a child can understand it and have JESUS as Lord and Saviour forever.

YES! - we can have 100% assurance of Salvation. The portions of Scripture that confuse many and cause doubt require study to understand. There are no contradictions in the Scriptures. The portions of Scripture usually quoted that create doubt for some don't deal with Salvation in this age of the Gospel of God's Grace. The portions that cause the most confusion deal with exhortations for Christian living, Christian testimony before men, portions dealing with Israel instead of the CHURCH WHICH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST, and portions that dealt with times prior to the CROSS.

For us, our focus should be and is JESUS and the CROSS. If we do that, the confusion and doubt about Salvation is ended.

Love In Christ,
Tom

John 14:16-18  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

[AVBunyan]

Greetings brethren – what a blessing to see such a wonderful support for grace!

What I was attempting to do was to let the scriptures speak on what takes place at the point of salvation.  The reason was that many folks today think they make a decision for Christ and their salvation then becomes dependent upon how they “fulfill that decision”.  What they begin to do is look at their walk and make that the determining factor.  

Many do not differentiate between one’s standing and one’s state or one’s position and one’s practical.

The saints’ standing in heaven as God sees them is perfect in Christ Jesus – bone of his bone flesh of his flesh – the righteousness of Christ.  The saint’s state on earth is their walk and fluctuates depending upon whether one is walking in the spirit or after the flesh.  

What folks are doing is reversing the truths – they are trying to make their state their standing, their practical their position.  They are looking at their walk as determining their position.  They’ve got it backwards.  Instead of getting their position settled first they make a decision or commitment for Christ and then they start on their journey getting wrapped up with all different variations of one’s walk from scriptures that do no deal with positional truths and make them doctrine for their salvation!

One of the ways to get this issue settled is by studying one of the most neglected books of the body of Christ today and that book is the book of Ephesians.  The first 3 chapters deal with the saints’ standing in Christ as God sees them – the wealth.  Then after that is settled Paul then starts the second part of the book – their walk – how does the Christian based upon their understanding of the first three chapters. Look at Eph. 4:1 - I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, - Note the “therefore” – it is there because of the first 3 chapters.  Paul tells you to walk based upon the first three chapters.  Paul’s main books always divide into doctrine then duty.  

Problem is folks today don’t have the doctrine correct so they jump right into their duty and make their duty their doctrine for salvation and justification – hence all the debates over OSAS and salvation!

Since in the last days many will not endure sound doctrine then one can see why so many wrestle with OSAS and right duty.

God bless  

[Evangelist]

I'd like to add my kudos.

Since, on many other threads, references have been made to "feelings" and their subjectivity, I'd like to add this.

We are not saved by how we feel.
We are not saved by how anyone else feels.
We are not even saved by how Jesus feels.

We are saved on the basis of what Jesus did, prayed and asked for, and what God said He would do.

Period.  No feelings, no subjectivity.

I know in whom I have believed, and I trust that HE is able to deliver that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

Now THAT is security!!

[2nd Timothy]

I'd like to add my kudos.

Since, on many other threads, references have been made to "feelings" and their subjectivity, I'd like to add this.

We are not saved by how we feel.
We are not saved by how anyone else feels.
We are not even saved by how Jesus feels.

We are saved on the basis of what Jesus did, prayed and asked for, and what God said He would do.

Period.  No feelings, no subjectivity.

I know in whom I have believed, and I trust that HE is able to deliver that which I have committed unto Him against that day.

Now THAT is security!!

A Triple Amen Brother!  

I'll only add....If Jesus is your co-pilot, you might want to swap seats.  

[JudgeNot]

We are not saved by how we feel.
We are not saved by how anyone else feels.
We are not even saved by how Jesus feels.

We are saved on the basis of what Jesus did, prayed and asked for, and what God said He would do.

Period.  No feelings, no subjectivity.

Yep.
Amen again.
Sums it up for me.
Sums it up for everyone! (whether they believe it to be true or not.)

[Evangelist]

"and what if some do not believe?  God is faithful to Himself"