Holy Hormones Bible Study: Teaching — not Entertainment
I AM SAVED. I AM BEING SAVED. I WILL BE SAVED.
The tenses of Salvation
Brace yourself! This is more of a teaching blog than an entertaining one. It may not be an easy read because there is more here than a normal, well adjusted person would normally want to know but it will be worth it. It is the detail which makes me a boring person that brings the Bible alive for me. But if you happen to like what you read, there’s more to be found here.
[NOTE: Important words analysed below are identified with Hebrew/Greek transliterations into English and Strong’s Numbers so that whoever wants to can check them out — it is strongly recommended that you do. I use the Blue Letter Bible (https://www.blueletterbible.org/ BLB)]
Can you lose your Salvation?
This is a question often circulating in the Pews. “For every verse that says you can’t lose it, there is a verse that says you can,” is the common lament. But what is salvation? I’m open to correction but, sadly, it appears that we suffer from being bombarded with mental clichés where words are taken for granted. We think we know what they mean but we don’t. Also, we live in the Land of the Catchphrase where it is expected that the answer to difficult questions be shorter than the original question — and contain no big words. “That seems to makes sense,” or, “This is what the verse means to me,” has more weight than, “That is what the facts are.” Too much L-O-R-E. Not enough L-A-W.
What is salvation?
Hebrew: deliverance, help, rescue. Greek is similar flavour.
This article will not address, “Rescue from what?” Only the word, salvation. Enough to say that Joshua, Yeshua, Yehoshua, Jesus are all variations of the transliteration from Hebrew. You can certainly work it out.
Is it a one-off event or a process?
Back-tracking, I’ve discarded a number of clumsy attempts to present a picture to convey the idea. Finally, I’ve had to resort to a long forgotten recess of a misspent youth. Be patient with me. When I was young and buff, truly a sight to behold, my life revolved around Judo. I imagine that everyone has seen a clean judo throw somewhere. A good one goes very fast and appears to be a single action. Actually, it is three separate actions in sequence. (The purists will correct me if I get it wrong. The religious spirit is everywhere.) Now don’t do this at home.
Pull off balance.
Get into position.
Lift and drop. (Gravity then takes over.)
Salvation is also mistaken for a single action but is not. There are three stages, as mentioned in Romans 8:30 (to avoid other arguments, only the latter part will be used.)
…. He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
The middle stage, hiding in plain sight, occurs during the period between justification and glorification. It is called sanctification.
Justification
Accept the Gospel by Faith. Declared, “Justified,”by the Father. That is, guilty but not having to pay the penalty for the Sinful Nature.
Action by Christ having active voice (He did it). Action by Saint having passive voice (We accept it being done to/for us) We can claim no credit.
Action by Christ having aorist tense. That is, He completed it on the Cross — nothing more need be done. It is like a snapshot. It cannot be changed. You had nothing to do with it. It is not yours to give back.
The Love of God is important but has saved no one. It is the Blood of Christ that saves. The Blood is what Jesus shed for what you have done. (Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sin.) Sometimes phrased, “Justasified never done it.” But that is an obscenity. Forgiveness has a price. Thank Christ you don’t have to pay it.
Sanctification
Between being born spiritually and dying physically it is living daily. In this state the Saints are set aside (consecrated) for the use of God. How we shine in Glory depends on how we live in Consecration. During this period, changes take place in the Saint. The action(s) are active voice and present tense on the part of the Holy Spirit in that the Holy Spirit is doing the changing and the process is continuous from conversion to the Saint’s final breath. The Saint receives the actions passively — the only obligation is to offer no resistance (a.k.a. obedience to the Will of the Holy Spirit and dying to one’s own will.) (For instance, Apostle Paul was “compelled” to preach the Gospel.) “Take up your Cross and follow me.” Every Jew at that time knew that the cross meant death.
Once the process begins it can’t be stopped. The process is metamorphism the same principle as a butterfly cocoon.
The Blood is for what we have done. The Cross is for what we are.
Glorification: Resurrection with an up-graded body that will last eternity. When we see him we shall be like him.
We will be as loving as He is.
We will be as joyful as He is.
We will be as peaceful as He is.
We will be as patient as He is.
We will be as kind as He is.
We will be as good as He is.
We will be as faithful as He is.
We will be as gentle as He is.
We will be as temperate as He is.
For us it will happen in the future but the Grammar shows that the Father has completed the action coincidentally with the Christ completing His. It cannot be changed. Those justified will be glorified — you can bank your eternity on God’s Word.
Work in progress
Justification and Glorification are assured — these are two components of Salvation that can’t be lost. It is written in John 10:28–30, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” That “no one” who can’t snatch includes you — if you have believed in your heart and confessed with your mouth. You can’t give it away because it’s not yours to give.
This source of the confusion.
Your Justification and Glorification is assured by the Christ and the Father, respectively. But the Sanctification stage depends on how you cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
Rewards can be lost through disobedience. Sanctification is where we gather the Crowns, the Rewards. (You should do a word study on these.) The purpose of these is demonstrated in Revelation 4 where the Crowns (stephanos g4735) are cast before the Throne of Majesty as an act of worship. This is a continual process. The greater your reward, the greater the Worship — and this now carries on for eternity.
But it is not quite that crisp. The process during Sanctification is unrelenting metamorphism — it is passive on our part — which cannot be stopped. However, there are instances when the process requires active participation by each Saint. The eagerness of the participation affects the glory of the reward. Not everyone entering Heaven (whatever that may turn out to be) will be equal. The parables of the talents apply here. Those who have will be given more. Those who do not have will have it taken away.
Bringing it together.
The Theological term for the study of religious doctrines of salvation is Soteriology. It is not necessary for your salvation to know the technical term for your salvation but just in case you come across the word at any time. The three stages are often called the Tenses of Salvation. They are demonstrated in the butterfly figure.
The Table is a mind-dump of points collected over the years. It shows the responsibility of the The Members of the Trinity in the Salvation process for the Saints.
Sanctification vs Penance
Some Sanctification actions and Penance are often confused, and the difference is important.
Penance is a form of self-flagellation dictated by the Roman Catholic Church (perhaps others as well. I’m not sure about the Muslim and Eastern Orthodox practices). It is designed to cleanse the soul by joining Jesus in His Suffering to earn a place in Heaven/Paradise. It is not ordained by God. Jesus is Sufficient for all such requirements.
During the Sanctification process, however, the Holy Spirit may lay it on a Saint’s heart to perform a task to show the Saint how far the Holy Spirit has brought them. However, it will not be pointless self-flagellation, or the like, to earn a place in Heaven. It may be returning something stolen, paying a neglected debt, or some kind of task that will Glorify God and edify the Saint. An example being Zacchaeus the Tax Collector, Luke 19:1–10, repaid four-fold the money he had stolen from the people.
A question that every pastor must eventually answer concerns accepting money from State sanctioned Gambling into the Church Coffers.
The forgoing evidence has not been presented to convince any reader but to allow a personal decision to be made. There is much more to know about this subject. Perhaps you’ll pay another visit, sometime.
All Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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