What You Should Know About
Sin And Salvation
by J. W. Jepson, D,Min.
Copyright © 2007 by J. W. Jepson.
All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:
The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this book, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.
*Permission is given for publication of excerpts and condensed versions.
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(KJV) Scripture quotations from the King James Version are public domain.
(NKJV) Scripture quotations from The Holy Bible, New King James Version are copyright © 1990 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
(NASB) Scripture quotations from the New American Standard Bible are copyright © 1972, The Lockman Foundation.
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Contents:
Chapter 5. The Consequences Of Sin
Chapter 6. We All Need The Good News
Chapter 7. The Ground And The Conditions
Chapter 8. The Atonement
Chapter 5
The Consequences Of Sin
Sin has horrible consequences, both in this life and in the next. This follows from the fact that sin by its very nature is destructive, destructive in practice and totally destructive in its potential. Sin is not a plaything. It certainly is not a harmless indulgence.
"Fools mock at sin" (Proverbs 14:9 NKJV). The original Hebrew behind this verse includes the frivolous way "fools" attempt to appease God.
In spite of all the harm and suffering that human sinning is causing worldwide every day, the tendency among the general public is to treat it lightly. It is dismissed as a weakness, when in fact it is willfulness. It is regarded as a trifle, when in fact it is a tragedy. It is excused as a mere fault, when in fact it is a felony. It is denied as a mere religious or cultural taboo, when in fact it is the undeniable reality in the entire drama of human suffering. In sociology and the social sciences, whenever human problems are discussed "there is an elephant in the room." Its name is sin.
Sowing And Reaping.
Many of the consequences of sin are the product of the operation of the inexorable law of sowing and reaping. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life" (Galatians 6:7, 8 NKJV).
Kind produces kind. Sow oats ands you get oats. Sow sin and you get corruption. Sowing to the flesh and hoping for "crop failure" is a losing gamble. On the other hand, sow to the Spirit and you get the fruit of the Spirit, including life everlasting.
The consequences of sin are not limited to the present time or the present generation. In Exodus 34:7 we read that God maintains His "mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children to the third and fourth generation" (KJV). The two powerful points here are: (1) that the judgment God often brings on sinners in this life has consequences that their descendants have to live with for three or four generations, and (2) that sinners usually lead their descendants to follow their example, committing the same sins and therefore suffering the same judgment.
An illustration from my own ministry experience is a good example of this. The well-known evangelist/theologian Charles G. Finney had a close friend who named his own son "Finney" in honor of Charles Finney. The son rejected Christ and went his own way. So did his children, and then their children. In the early 1970's, when I was the pastor of Santiam Chapel in Lyons, Oregon, a school teacher and her family began attending the church. About that time I taught a series of Wednesday night classes on what is called "moral government theology," using Charles G. Finney's Lectures on Systematic Theology as a text. The school teacher attended the classes. After she was converted she said to me that it was the study of "Finney's theology" that brought her to Christ. When she told her mother and her grandmother (neither of whom was a believer), they informed her that she was directly descended from the man who had been Charles Finney's friend. Her grandmother was a granddaughter of the man who had been given "Finney" as a first name. So far as I know, neither the mother nor the grandmother became believers. So, here we have a man who turned away from the truth, rejected Christ, went his own way, and helped send three generations of his own descendants to hell! That was only one line of his descendants, and it took four generations to restore just that one single line. Only God knows what happened to the others.
"Because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them" (Leviticus 27:39 NASB).
The prophet Jeremiah lamented, "Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities" (Lamentations 5:7 KJV).
Physical Death.
One of the universal consequences of sin is physical death. God said to Adam, "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17 NKJV). The literal translation is "dying you shall die." Later, in 3:19 God said to Adam "Dust you are, and to dust you shall return." (NKJV).
Paul wrote, "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12 KJV).
God pronounced physical death on the entire human race because He had to do so. God foresaw that human sinning would become universal; therefore, to protect society from the unlimited effects of unrestrained sin, God put a limit on each person's opportunity to continue and to progress in sin in this life. Yet, as we have just noted, sin still has consequences beyond this life, both for the individual and for all whom he or she influences (family, friends, community).
Guilt.
By guilt is meant real guilt, not just guilt feelings. Guilt has to do with one's standing before God, the Judge of all.
It would be a futile folly for a person who is found guilty of a crime in a court of law to protest to the judge: "But, your honor, I don't feel guilty." The judge would immediately and sternly remind the criminal of the facts of the case. Guilt is based on facts, not feelings. Some human courts make mistakes; the court of God never does.
If a person sinned three sins a day (and some people sin three sins in three minutes), at the end of fifty years of sinning there would be against that person's record in the court of God almost fifty-five thousand sins. And that is just counting individual sins. Add to that the continuous, unyielding set of the will in the course of disobedience. Some boast that they will take their chance; they have no chance.
"My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me" (Psalm 40:12 NKJV).
Alienation.
Another consequence of sin is alienation, especially alienation from God. This is called "spiritual death." Spiritual death is not an inner metaphysical state, something that happens to the essence of either one's soul itself or one's spirit itself. It has to do with one's relationship with God.
Fellowship with the Father and the Son is the very essence of eternal life (John 17:3). Apart from that relationship there is no eternal life. Sin prevents fellowship with God. Sin shuts God out of the soul. Before we come to Christ we are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), alienated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18).
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18 KJV).
"Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2 KJV).
Hell certainly is a place of total and eternal alienation from God. It is also a place of eternal torment. To say that Hell is separation from God means nothing to a person who never experienced fellowship with God. In fact, that sounds like good news to people who want nothing to do with God.
Sin also breaks fellowship with God; and if that fellowship is not restored, the soul will become alienated from God. Samson did not realize that the Lord had departed from him (Judges 16:20). Samson trifled with his relationship with God and paid a heavy price for it. Whether under the Law or under grace, no one can live with a broken relationship with God here in this life and then have an eternal relationship with Him hereafter.
"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 5:6 NKJV). These words were written to believers.
Sin results also in alienation from others: spouse, parents, children, family, church, friends, associates. The whole range of human relationships can be broken by sin.
And, of course, sin results in the alienation of the sinner from himself by the inner war being constantly waged by his passions against his reason. This is the plight of the "wretched man" of Romans, chapter 7.
Illness.
Sin often results in physical illness and disease. Dissipation takes its toll: drugs, tobacco, alcohol--the whole irrational lifestyle of partying and indulgence.
Much of the mental, emotional, and even physical illness that devastates so many in our culture is the result of sin. A biblical lifestyle is a healthy lifestyle. Sin is unhealthy, to say the least.
Frustration, Boredom, Despair.
Because feeding one's indulgences only strengthens them and increases their demands, more and more is required to gratify them. Pleasures become commonplace. People get bored and want something more, something new, something with a bigger "charge" to it.
Frustration sets in. Some of this frustration happens because people cannot get what they want. Frustrated self-indulgence can break out in violence. James 4:1-3 says, "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (NKJV).
Some of sinners' frustration is due to God's opposition to their selfishness. God cannot bless people in their rebellion and their determination to self-destruct. God loves them too much for that. So, when people set themselves against God, they should not be surprised when God resists them. God will work to frustrate their selfish plans and efforts. The sinner is "hell-bent" on the road to ruin, and an offended yet loving God is placing roadblocks in front of him. The stubborn soul keeps crashing through them. The Holy Spirit, the "arresting officer of heaven," lays "spike strips" across his lane, but he hits them and keeps on going.
Do not declare war on God; you cannot win. The person who joins Satan's rebellion is doomed to frustration, failure, and ultimate despair.
"The way of transgressors is hard" (Proverbs 13:15).
Abandonment To Sin.
God said, "So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels" (Psalm 81:12 NKJV).
As long as a person is alive and capable of making moral choices, the door of salvation remains open to him/her. As the saying goes, "Where there is life, there is hope." The Holy Spirit is faithful to convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8). Nevertheless, God does not deal with sinners forever. In some cases the time comes when God withdraws His Spirit from an individual and abandons the soul to its sins and its fate. From that point on continued persuasion is futile and therefore no longer a virtue. Deeply grieved, the Holy Spirit withdraws. The Holy Spirit has been faithfully "telephoning" the person for a long, long time; but if the person persists in refusing to answer "ring after ring," eventually the Holy Spirit "hangs up" on that person. Yes, the person can still be saved by repentance and faith in Christ; but if people will not do so when the Spirit is striving, what hope is there that they will do so after God leaves them alone?
At times God has "given up" entire cultures to their sins. They were determined to pursue their evil ways against all reason and revelation, and to train their children to do likewise; so God just removed all restraints and let them have what they wanted, along with the consequences.
"But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels" (Psalm 81:11, 12 NKJV).
Referring to the idolatrous, pagan world, Paul writes, "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies between themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 1:24, 25 NKJV).
A note of hope is in order here. Some people have despaired because they have been led to believe that they have committed the "unpardonable sin" and have been abandoned by God. If you are worried that you have "sinned away your day of grace," let me assure you that you have not. The fact that you are concerned about it is proof that you have not done so. A person who has been "abandoned by God" is completely unconcerned about it and could not care less. So, flee to Christ now and by faith rest your soul in His grace and mercy.
Eternal Death.
Persisting in living in spiritual death will ultimately lead to eternal death, also known as "the second death." Ezekiel 18:4 states categorically that the soul that sins shall die. This cannot refer to physical death, because all human beings experience physical death. It is referring to eternal death. Listen to what the Scriptures say about eternal death, the second death:
"What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!" (Romans 6:21 NIV);
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (verse 23 KJV);
"For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" (Romans 8:6 KJV).
"Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death" (James 1:15 NASB);
"My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19, 20 NASB);
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Revelation 20:14 KJV);
"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolators and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death" (Revelation 21:8 NIV).
This is the horrific final destiny of those who are abandoned by God. They persistently rejected God, His law, and His gospel. They successfully fought off the Holy Spirit, resisting His efforts to save them, and making themselves so obnoxious to Him that He could stand them no longer.
Jesus said, "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." (John15:6 NIV).
Jesus said also, "The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:49, 50 KJV).
The inspired apostle wrote that they who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thessalonians 1:9 KJV). Destruction does not mean annihilation or going out of existence. Destruction here means ruin.
The eternal ruin of one's soul is a loss beyond comprehension. Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36, 37 KJV). Even if a person were able to achieve the full gratification of every possible selfish desire, what would that person have in the end? Nothing. Worse than nothing. He sold his soul for temporary selfish pleasures. Now they are gone; their memory mocks him; he has lost everything, especially his soul.
People who object to the justice of the eternal punishment of sinners do not have a right understanding of the serious nature and the criminality of sin. They do not have a right understanding of the serious nature and the criminality of sin because they do not have a right understanding of the person, the holiness, and the moral governance of Almighty God.
Sin is putting self first, above God, above others, above all. Inherent in that choice is the willingness to sacrifice God to self. The willingness to sacrifice God to self necessarily implies a willingness to sacrifice others also to self if and when necessary to self. Remember that a sinner is someone who has chosen to make the gratification of his/her desires the ultimate pursuit of life. This means that the sinner will yield to and thus be controlled by his/her strongest desires. The strongest desires rule the sinner, whether those desires are to kill and plunder or to enjoy the honor of being the person to find the cure for a disease. If the gratification of self is the ultimate end of pursuit, it is sin.
Of course, it is not sin to enjoy the fulfillment of some worthwhile goal so long as the motive has been the honor of God and the good of others, and not merely the gratification of self.
Also, the fact that the person has not had the means or the opportunity to achieve his/her selfish goal does not lessen the guilt of the sinner. How many "Adolf Hitlers" and "Joseph Stalins" are there who never were or never will be put in a position to become one? When a person chooses to put self-gratification first, who knows what will become that person's ruling passion? Does even the sinner himself know what he is capable of, given the right circumstances? He has already chosen to put self first in disregard for God's infinitely greater interest, well-being and happiness. How far will he go in his willingness to subordinate others if necessary to achieve the gratification of self? Is there any evidence in his present attitude and course of action to indicate that he would give up the pursuit of his chosen end before he destroys his family, ruins their souls as well as his own, and destroys everything that gets in his way if necessary and possible? Nothing in his present course of life indicates if and when he would turn to God and abandon his destructive ways. He might, and one hopes that he will; but while he continues in his sins, no limits to what he is capable of are in sight.
The Bible says, "One sinner destroys much good" (Ecclesiastes 9:18 NKJV).
The Bible records an incident that illustrates this point. We read about it in 2 Kings, chapter 8. Benhadad II, the king of Syria, was ill. The prophet Elisha went to Damascus to visit him. Benhadad sent a present to Elisha by Hazael, a senior member of his court. When Elisha saw Hazael, the prophet stood staring at him for a while and then began to weep. Hazael asked him why he was weeping. Elisha replied that he knew that Hazael will become the next king of Syria. He said he knew what Hazael will do to Israel. Hazael will burn their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, smash the little children to death, and rip open the pregnant women. Hazael replied, "How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?" (verse 13 NIV). Yet, that is exactly what Hazael did!
Let’s imagine a private conversation between two executives at an accounting firm. The first asks the second, “Would you embezzle millions of dollars from the company if you knew you could get away with it?” The second executive responds, “Well, yes, I would.” The first man asks another question. “How about five dollars?” The second man retorts indignantly, “What do you think I am? a thief?” The first executive replies, “We have already established that fact. Now we are merely discussing at what price you’ll take the money."
Every sinner has his or her "price." As long as a person lives to gratify his or her desires, what that person is willing to do will depend on what becomes the strongest desire, the desire that overcomes all opposing desires.
The nice, pleasant, neighborly, community-minded, hardworking "dear hearts and gentle people" who do not love and obey God have no idea what they are capable of. This includes the "nice," sweet teen-age girl who quietly says "no" to Jesus Christ as definitely and as firmly as a woman of the streets. Both have made the same evil choice; only the ways they follow it differ.
Choosing to put self first opens all possibilities. It just depends on the form and the strength of the ruling desire. No wonder it is called "total moral depravity."
The son or daughter who turns away from God even if it sends a heart-broken father or mother to an early grave is a murderer. The determination to do what one pleases in spite of how it hurts God and others is proof that the sinner is capable of anything.
"I don't want to hurt you, but . . . ."
Proverbs 12:10 says, "the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel" (NIV).
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV).
To the self-righteous Pharisees Jesus said, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15 NKJV).
In Proverbs 6:16-19 we read, "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (NKJV).
The prophet Zechariah writes, "And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath; for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord" (Zechariah 8:17 KJV).
God hates sin because it is the most destructive choice possible. If allowed to continue and grow unchecked, sin would ruin everything and everybody. Every sinner exhibits the willingness to do so if necessary. As long as the sinful choice of the heart (will) continues, so long does the guilt of the sinner continue; and so long as the guilt of the sinner continues, so long must the punishment continue. Unless the person repents, all three will continue forever.
Sin is a crime of such magnitude that a just God cannot punish it with anything less that its guilt demands--eternal punishment.
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 KJV).
"And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever" (Revelation 14:11 NKJV).
Though it is delayed, the penalty for sin is inevitable. "Though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished" (Proverbs 16:5 KJV). "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:1 KJV).
"Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 23:23 KJV). "For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14 KJV). Jesus said, "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known" (Luke 12:2 KJV).
It was to the self-righteous, pseudo-religious Pharisees that Jesus directed His most stern rebukes. "How can you escape the damnation of hell?" He asks (Matthew 23:33 NKJV). In Romans 2:2, 3 Paul writes in the same tenor to those who judged others for committing the very sins they themselves were committing. "We know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?" (NKJV).
Good News!
The Old Testament ends with the words, "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:6 KJV).
Thank God the Bible does not end there!
Romans 3:23 is "the great transition." It begins with the death sentence, "The wages of sin is death"; it ends with the good news: "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (KJV).
The good news is next!
Chapter 6
We All Need The Good News
Sometimes people need to hear the bad news before they are ready to hear and welcome the good news. Suppose a sure cure is found for a terminal illness. Who are the most excited about the news? The people who have the illness. A person who does not have the illness, or a person who has it but does not yet know it, will agree that it is very good news indeed--for someone else.
So it is with sin. People who are not keenly aware of the guilt and consequences of their own sin are usually not the ones who eagerly welcome the gospel, the "good news." Yes, many do come to Christ because of a life crisis or out of a sense of the emptiness and meaninglessness of life without God. Some come the intellectual route--they investigate the historical data, weight the claims of Jesus Christ, think things through, and come to the conclusion that the Christian faith is true. Such people are truly converted and become faithful disciples. Nevertheless, the deepest and strongest converts usually are the ones who turn to Christ out of a deep conviction of their sinfulness.
This was David's frame of mind when he wrote, "My iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me" (Psalm 38:4 NKJV). The preaching of the apostles emphasized repentance from sin. Peter urged his hearers on the day of Pentecost, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins . . . " (Acts 2:38 KJV).
Jesus did not say that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its need for meaning and fulfillment or its spiritual emptiness (although He does make them aware of that). He said that the focus of the Holy Spirit work with the unconverted will be to convict of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8). The angel told Joseph that he was to call Mary's Son "Jesus," because He would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
God does use our life crises, our disillusionment, our inner emptiness and sense of the meaningless of life apart from God, our intelligence, and every other means and occasion to get our attention and turn us to Himself. Still, somewhere in the process we must face and deal with the "sin issue."
People are not desperate to be saved until they realize that they are lost. Most people in affluent societies are going through life fairly satisfied in their self-centered existence, feeling good about themselves, and enjoying the ride and "the pleasures of sin for a season." Tell them that they need Jesus, and they will ask, "why? I'm okay." They are dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), and they assume that is the normal way to live. They are carelessly heading for judgment like the passengers on a pleasure cruise drifting toward the falls, oblivious to what lies ahead. These people will never "get saved" unless and until somehow God gets their attention and wakes them up to their sinfulness and guilt.
We must face the truth about ourselves, acknowledge that we have sinned and that our greatest and most urgent need is forgiveness and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.
A minister by the name of Ed Martin tells about a lady he met years ago in a city in West Virginia. She was well-dressed and appeared to be a person of culture and refinement. This lady came forward in a gospel meeting in response to Ed Martin's invitation to receive Jesus Christ. He took her by the hand and began to lead her in a "sinner's prayer."
"Dear Lord, I know that I am a no-good sinner. I know I can't save myself. . . ."
The lady never said a word. Ed looked at her and said, "Don't you want to be saved?"
She replied, "Yes, Eddie, I do want to be saved, but I'm not a sinner."
"Then you can't be saved," he said. "Jesus died only for sinners."
"But, Mr. Martin," she insisted, "I'm a good sinner."
"A good sinner! Lady, there are no good sinners. You will have to take your seat. God can't save you until you become conscious that you are a no-good sinner and need His forgiveness."
"But, Mr. Martin, you don't understand. I'm really not a bad sinner."
Ed Martin told her to go back and sit down. She held on to his hand with a vise-like grip. Finally, she looked him in the eyes and said, "Oh, please forgive me. I know I'm a no-good hell-deserving sinner. I am a proud, no-good sinner. I do need Christ to forgive me of my sins."
"Wonderful!" he replied. "Now, lady, you are ready to do business with God."
Chapter 7
Salvation: The Ground And The Conditions
The difference between the ground and the conditions of anything is this: the ground is the basis, the originating and effective cause, of an action; the conditions are those things that did not bring it about, but that must be there for it to happen.
For example, suppose a man chooses to give his son a car. His son is three years old. The ground of his choice is his love for his son. The obvious conditions are that his son has to be old enough to drive, learn how to drive, and get his driver's license.
Now, his father's motive in wanting to give him a car is the ground of the action. The other considerations are the conditions; they had nothing to do with the father's motive. If the conditions were the ground, then the father would be obligated to give him a car when the conditions are met, whether he wanted to or not, or whether or not he promised to do so.
People commonly confuse the ground and the conditions of salvation. They fail to see the essential difference between the two.
The Ground of Salvation.
The "ground" or basis of salvation is the originating cause. That one and only originating cause is the unconditional love of God. "For God so loved the world that He gave . . ." (John 3:16). In fact, God's love is the ground of everything God does or allows to be done. Nobody forces Him; nobody obligates Him. God is love. That is the definition of His character and the motive for all of His actions.
Salvation also has necessary conditions. Meeting these conditions does not earn us anything or any merit. These conditions do not obligate God to save us, and these conditions do not save us. Still, they have to be met before God can wisely and safely do so. The three conditions of salvation are: an atonement, repentance, and faith. Again, none of these three conditions obligates God to save us. Christ's death on the cross did not obligate God to save us; neither do our repentance and faith obligate God to save us. Salvation is a free, unmerited act of God's grace motivated by His love.
The Conditions Of Salvation.
One condition of salvation--an atonement--only God can fulfill. We cannot save ourselves. Nothing we can do will atone for our sins.
God forgives us because He loves us. Some mistakenly assume that this is enough. They reason that if God loves us, he will forgive us in spite of everything. But if God forgave us only because He loves us, He would be acting recklessly. He would be like a father who gives his three-year-old son a car or a rifle only because he loves him--only far worse!
Two conditions of salvation--repentance and faith--only we can fulfill. God will not do it for us. He will and does do everything wisely possible to bring us to repentance and faith, but He will not do it for us and He will not make us do it. We must do it, and He commands us to do it--now!
Sometimes the Scriptures teach that faith is the single condition of salvation, and in a real sense it is. This is because genuine saving faith includes and therefore implies repentance. When we place our faith in Christ, we turn to Christ, the object of our faith. It is faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). When we turn toward one direction, we automatically turn away from the opposite direction.
In the following two chapters we are going to explore all three of these conditions in depth, beginning with The Atonement.
Chapter 8
The Atonement
I have written on The Atonement at least three times. It All Adds Up To Love; What You Should Know About Jesus Christ; and I Will Lift Up My Eyes (edited by Dan Johnson)--all contain a chapter on this great redeeming act of God in Jesus Christ. All cover the main theme and parallel each other in general. "The Meaning Of The Passion Of Christ" is also a separate article on the internet at www.christcenter.net or www.jwjepson.com in the Treasury Of Faith section. For our purpose here I have chosen to use the chapter in I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, with pertinent revisions and expansions. At the beginning it will cover some of the things we have already explored; then it will go on into the heart of this challenging and inspiring truth.
"Atonement" is not the best word for the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Strictly speaking, "atonement" is an Old Testament provision expressed in the Hebrew word, kaphar, meaning "to cover." The sacrifices under the Old Covenant "covered" sin temporarily. Only the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross could actually remove sin. The sins of Old Testament believers were "covered" by the sacrifices. The believers were saved "on credit." Their faith in God's temporary provision under the Law was counted as faith in God's permanent provision in Christ.
The New Testament provision is not the "covering" of sin, but the removal of sin. In the New Testament the word "atonement" is found only in the King James Version of Romans 5:11. Even there the original word means "reconciliation."
In word and in song we often hear that the blood of Christ "covers" our sins, that our sins are "under the blood," or that God "sees our sins through the blood of Christ." We understand what people mean in principle by these statements; however, they are not strictly correct. The blood of Jesus Christ does not "camouflage" our sins; it removes them entirely--blots them out, washes them away.
Also, though it is appropriate and is used in Acts 1:3 in regard to the suffering Jesus endured, "passion" does not describe the full meaning of Christ's redemptive sacrifice on the cross. Jesus did suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; and that suffering was a part of the great redemptive drama. However, it was Christ's death that accomplished the redemptive condition for our salvation. If Jesus Christ had suffered everything and yet had not died, we still would have no savior.
Focusing on the suffering and the wounds of Christ is a devotional exercise; however, it can take our focus away from the actual redemptive event itself--His vicarious death. So, when speaking of the "passion" of Christ, we mean the entire, completed redemptive act, culminating in Christ's death.
We must understand also that Christ's vicarious death involved the "shedding"--the pouring out--of His blood. His was a complete sacrifice. Sometimes it is said, "all it took was one drop of Jesus' blood to wash away my sins." If that were so, the blood He lost prior to His actual death would have been sufficient. It was the pouring out of His blood in death that completed the redemptive prerequisite for our salvation.
This leads to a very important understanding. The only sins that Christ's sacrificial death actually forgave (secured the immediate forgiveness of) at the time were the sins of past believers and the past sins of the believers then present. His death did not automatically forgive anyone's future sins or the sins of anyone in the future. Christ's death provided forgiveness for everyone; it becomes effective only for those who believe when they believe.
For that reason we must not think and speak of Christ's redemptive act in terms of a financial transaction. It is popular to say that Jesus "paid" our debt. Redemption does indeed include release from the power of our sin and also release from our legal obligation to the penalty of our sin under the moral law. Nevertheless, if Jesus literally "paid the debt," all our past, present, and future sins were already forgiven before we were converted, and even before we were born. In that case, we would not need to repent and put our faith in Christ. All of our sins would have been forgiven already and automatically.
If you owe money on an account somewhere, and someone comes in and pays it off in full, you do not have to do anything. You do not have to believe it, accept it, or even know about it. You might, but it would not be necessary.
Understanding this will keep us from error. Christ's death did not automatically save and forgive all the future sins of the "elect," allowing them to sin with impunity. We are clearly told in 1 John 1:7 that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin only if "we walk in the light, as he is in the light" (KJV). "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" if we confess them to Him (verse 9).
Understanding this will also keep us from another error called "universalism." Universalism teaches that everyone will be saved. Both this error and the one just mentioned emerge out of the misconception that Christ's death actually and automatically "saved" us and forgave our sins ahead of time. The first error holds that Christ died only for the elect and thus forgave their sins ahead of time. Because it is easy to demonstrate from the Scriptures that Christ died for all, the other error concludes that Christ forgave everyone's sins automatically and all at one time.
A clergyman said to me once, "On the cross Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' That took care of it."
Nonsense!
Again, Christ's death on the cross provided full and free salvation for everyone; it becomes effective for the individual person only when we repent and put our faith in Him and His completed redemptive work.
A wrong view of God leads to a wrong view of sin; and a wrong view of sin leads to a wrong view of Christ's death on the cross.
The Meaning Of The Passion Of Christ.
A red traffic light means stop, and most of us are careful not to run through it. We might kill somebody or get killed ourselves. Also, that traffic signal has a penalty behind it, and it is the penalty that makes it a law. Without a penalty that stop light would be only very good advice. But because it is backed up by a penalty, people take it seriously. People pay more attention to penalties than to advice. And the greater the penalty, the more seriously they regard the law.
Now, God is not dealing with minor infractions. Planet Earth is in open mutiny. God is dealing with open, total rebellion in the human heart.
The fact of sin needs no proof. A drowning man needs no proof of the existence of water. He is surrounded by it and it is fast choking the life out of him. So it is with sin. It is everywhere, and billions of people are "drowning" in it.
If a person sins only three sins a day (and some people sin three sins in three minutes!), at the end of fifty years of sinning there would be against that person's record in the court of Heaven no fewer than 54,787 sins!
Who can truthfully say "I have never sinned?" None! All of us have sinned (Romans 3:23), and this fact alone completely cuts the ground from under all self-righteousness. We have all sinned, and the soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:4). That is why the law cannot justify us. The only way a person can be justified by the law is never to break the law. Once a person breaks the law, the law can only condemn. The broken law demands the penalty. Justice demands that God impose the penalty for sin, and this He will do because He is just. God must because God is just.
Nothing is nearly as destructive as sin. The whole creation must be protected against it at all costs. The moral law, supported by the most horrific penalty possible, stands as the universal bulwark against sin.
Yes, God has a world of guilty sinners on His hands; and as the moral Governor of the universe He is obligated to uphold moral law and moral order. That means the execution of the penalty on those who have broken the moral law. And that includes all of us.
But God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). God wants to forgive if possible, not punish.
So here is the problem. How can God exercise mercy safely? Forgiving sin is the most dangerous thing God can do. It means setting aside the penalty for someone who has broken the universal moral law. The most terrible penalty possible has not prevented people from sinning; now should God remove even that deterrent? It would be wrong for God to do so. If even one person can get by with doing wrong, the integrity of moral law is violated. God cannot remove the penalty without acting in reckless disregard for the well-being of the entire universe of moral beings.
If God is going to forgive sin--that is, set aside the penalty for someone who has sinned--something must be put in the place of the penalty that will do what the penalty is intended to do. It must say to all once and for all that mercy must not be misunderstood as laxity.
If God is going to forgive sin and still be just, something must be done so the offer of mercy and pardon will not lead people to think, "That was easy. God must not be very serious about sin after all."
Well, what can that be? Repentance?
Repentance is a necessary condition of forgiveness. Unless we repent, we cannot be forgiven (Luke 13:3, 5). But repentance alone is not enough. It is too easy in the sense that it promotes the "I-can-do-it-myself-whenever-I-get-ready" notion. No, our repentance alone will not save us. We have sinned against the holy Lord God of the universe, and only He can forgive us.
Then, why doesn't God just go ahead and forgive everybody? Because God is no fool. We would not respect Him if He did, just as we would not respect a judge or a governor who opened all the prisons and released all the inmates.
Either the guilty must suffer the penalty or someone who is innocent must suffer and die in the place and on behalf of the guilty. The innocent substitute cannot be punished because it is impossible to punish someone who is innocent. Nevertheless, someone who is innocent can suffer in the place and on the behalf of the guilty.
Hebrews 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. God kept this fact before ancient Israel continually. There were morning sacrifices, evening sacrifices, sin offerings, peace offerings--all intended to demonstrate that the only way sinful man can approach a holy God is on the condition that the person's sin has been atoned for (covered) by the substitution of the sufferings and death of an innocent being. When the guilty person saw the innocent animal suffering and dying in his place, he knew that his sin caused that suffering and death. That poor animal was bearing what he himself deserved to bear. It showed him that sin results in death, and the animal was dying in his place.
Yet, it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4).
Why?
Because the sufferings and death of an animal could not and did not have the necessary moral force. Seeing an animal suffer and die in our place is not enough to cause us to hate our sins and turn us to God. Thus the sufferings and death of an animal cannot satisfy the demands of the broken moral law. They could not satisfy the moral requirements of public justice and thus fulfill the necessary condition for us to be forgiven.
Then, who can make such a sacrifice on behalf of sinners?
Another mere human being cannot do it. For one thing, all of us have sinned. We would have to suffer the penalty for our own sins, and so we could not do it for someone else.
Shall an angel come from Heaven and become the sacrifice? No, because even the sufferings and death of an angel (were that even possible) would not have sufficient influence to break the power of sin in our hearts and lives, and thus be an effective preventive of sin. For that reason they could not satisfy the demands of the broken moral law.
Humanity has sinned, and humanity is accountable. Man must bear the penalty.
Who, then, can make the required sacrifice? Who can be our substitute? Who can take our place and satisfy the demands of the moral law, that we have broken? Who can make a sacrifice of such magnitude and influence that, once it is clearly seen and understood, will do what even the penalty itself has not done? Who can take our place and redeem us from our sin and its horrific consequences?
It must be someone who is innocent, someone therefore who can take the place of the guilty and bear the sins of the guilty, demonstrating to all that the exercise of mercy does not compromise the moral law. Mercy is free, but it is not cheap; it will cost the innocent substitute everything.
It would have to be someone of the highest status, position, and authority, because his sufferings and death would have to have the utmost universal influence. When people truly understood what he had done for them, it would have to affect them deeply and powerfully enough to turn their hearts to God and break the power of sin in their lives and cause them to forsake it totally. They would have to see that their only hope of forgiveness and salvation is to place their trust exclusively and entirely in the substitute and what he did for them. Only then would it satisfy public justice and make pardon morally possible.
It would have to be someone who would do it solely out of supreme love, because he certainly would not owe it to us.
But who can do this? Who would do this?
There is only one--God Himself!
But how can God do that? God is God, and not man. How can He be a substitute for us?
But, look? Who is this leaving the throne of eternal majesty, laying aside His divine prerogatives, taking on Himself full humanity, entering and developing in the womb of a virgin named Mary, and then as a new-born baby lying in a manger as the angels watched in wonder? It is God Almighty in the Second Person of His eternal Trinity. His name is JESUS! God took upon Himself human flesh. He became one of us to save us.
John the Baptist announced Him; "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29 NKJV). This must have amazed John’s hearers. They were familiar with sacrifices that atoned for sin, sacrifices that had to be repeated regularly. Wasn’t God’s “lamb” the one they sacrificed in obedience to the Law of Moses? In effect, John is saying, “No! Here is God’s real Lamb!” Also, they knew of sacrifices for their nation. Here John is announcing that God’s Lamb, Jesus, is able to take away the sins of the whole world!
The scene changes. We come now to Calvary. The sight shocks us. Jesus is hanging on a Roman cross. We stare at the blood that gushes from His wounds. We remember what God said in Leviticus 17:11, "The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul." The truth hits us like a sledge hammer--that is the life-blood of the Son of God being poured out for our sins!
So, how great is the guilt of sin? How great is God's commitment to provide the one and only way to forgive our sin without doing immeasurable harm by destroying respect for the moral law? How great is God's love, grace, and mercy? LOOK AT OUR SUFFERING, DYING SUBSTITUTE!
It is the spectacle of the ages. The great offended Lawgiver once and for all upholding the honor and integrity of the moral law by personally suffering under its penalty on behalf of us who violated it. He fully satisfied the requirements of Divine justice that would make mercy possible. If the offender ever thought that his or her sins were not so bad after all, that God is not really serious in His pronouncements against evil--all he or she has to do is to look at the suffering, dying Savior for a correct view of the matter. We look and see our Substitute dying in agony and blood, and immediately we realize "that suffering, that death is because of my sins; it cost God everything so I could be forgiven."
With one last heave of His holy soul, our Savior cries out, "It is finished!" He dies under the burden of our sins. He bridges the unbridgeable chasm between God and man, and brings us together.
“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV). In Christ God does provide and offer salvation to the whole world; yet only those who will repent and believe will receive it.
In the death of Christ on the cross, God shows us several things.
He shows us how valuable we are. We are created in His own image and capable of endless joy or misery.
He shows us how much He loves us. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16 NKJV).
He shows us the seriousness and the wickedness of our sins. He shows us how much we hurt Him by our pride, rebellion, and blasphemy; by the way we have ignored, rejected, and abused Him in our cruel selfishness. It shows us the guilt of how we have treated others in our selfishness.
We see God's determination to forgive us only on conditions that would satisfy the demands of the moral law and effectively break the power of sin in our hearts and lives.
If the sight of Almighty God, our Creator and lawful Sovereign, taking on Himself full humanity to die in agony and blood on an old rugged cross under the burden of our sins and knowing that our vile sins help nail Him there--if that does not break our stubborn hearts, make us love God and hate sin, then nothing will!
Now we see our sin in all of its ugly reality. How detestable, how repulsive it is! It has been said that temptations lose their power in the presence of nail-scarred hands. How can we even think of holding on to or going back to the sins that nailed Jesus Christ to the cross? How can anything that hurts Jesus have any appeal to us? We would rather die than hurt Jesus!
A hymn by Charles Wesley asks, “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain, for me who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me!”
Isaac Watts expressed it so powerfully in one of his hymns:
"When I survey the wond'rous cross on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
"Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast save in the death of Christ my God;
all the vain things that charmed me most I sacrifice them to His blood.
"See, from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down;
did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?
"Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small;
love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
When we hold the communion bread and cup, we are saying to all mankind: “This is what motivates me; this is why I love and follow Jesus Christ! He died for me; I live for Him!
The Bible says that Jesus "gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:14 KJV). "And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians 5:15 NIV).
Paul declared, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14 KJV).
Now God can forgive us! Christ died for us.
“He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5 KJV).
Christ “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity . . . . (Titus 2:14 KJV).
He "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4 KJV).
"Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18 KJV).
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:12-14 KJV).
"Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Hebrews 9:26 KJV).
After he realized what he had done, Judas Iscariot sank into despair. "I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood!" he cried (Matthew 27:4).
The word of God warns us: "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:29 NKJV).
Let us go once more to Calvary. You are standing at the foot of the cross. Jesus is dying. The guilt of your sins is pressing down upon Him. Suddenly, the Savior looks up. His eyes meet yours. He calls you by name. He says, "I am doing this for you--because I love you."
Can you turn around, walk away, and go on living the life and doing the things that nailed Him there?
Doesn't everything in you move you to fall on your knees and cry out, "My Savior and my God! I didn't know you love me this much! Jesus, I give myself to You. I'm through with sin! Forgive me! I believe You! You are my Savior and my Lord! I love You and I will live for You forever!"
Come. He is waiting for you.
What You Should Know About Sin And Salvation, chapters 9-10