PUTTING ON CHRIST "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." (Romans 13:11-14, NKJV) Devotion 15 of 33 OUR SALVATION Here, the word "salvation" is used in the fullest sense. It presumes the individual is presently enjoying the "firstfruits of the Spirit" (Rom 8:23), is being "changed from glory unto glory" (2 Cor 3:18), and is waiting for God's Son to return from heaven (1 Thess 1:9). – Tomorrow:
" . . . for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed."
Here the Spirit confirms why slumbering souls are in such danger. Something is fast approaching that requires our alertness and readiness. This is no time to be lacking in spiritual alertness and awareness! It is no time to be sleeping.
There are approaches to "Christianity," for want of a better term, that tend to lull the soul into a state of complacency. These approaches are largely academic or pedantic. They approach Scripture like a history book, and rely upon human analysis and wisdom, leaving little, if any, place for faith.
At one extreme, a strictly historical view of the faith can be embraced. In this perspective, the emphasis is placed upon "2,000 years ago." Perhaps you have heard people use this phrase. This approach demands, and vaunts, theological positions above faith, and tends to a legalistic approach to the people of God and their responsibilities.
At the other extreme, souls are led to major on, what they call, "prophecy." In this case, little is learned from the past, the present is relatively unimportant, and what is coming on the earth becomes the emphasis. This approach depersonalizes religion, and encourages a view of prophecy that is confined to temporal things. Men become more afraid of coming temporal judgments, or a tyrannical global ruler, than they are of being cast into hell. Their minds are thus drawn away from the words of Jesus. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt 10:28).
Amidst these varying emphases, the Spirit fairly shouts to us, "NOW!" He is calling us to a consideration of where we stand in relation to Divine appointments. He is making a strong appeal to our hearts. Those who correctly assess the "now" have learned from the past. They know what God has accomplished for them in the past, and their faith pulls those realities into the "now," making them relevant, profitable, and precious to the soul. Living in the power of the "now" factor, also reaches forward to things God has appointed for the future, bringing them into our current consideration.
Thus the soul is moved to live in the prospect of the future because of the effective work of God in the past. Those living by faith in the "now" build upon the past and prepare for the future.
While those so characterized are in the process of being conformed to the image of God's Son (Rom 8:29), the process is far from being complete. The most immediate proof of this is our body. Because it remains under the curse of death, it is called a "vile body" (Phil 3:21), and "the body of this death" (Rom 7:24). Because salvation includes the reclamation and renewal of the body, we are said to be "waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:24). That redemption is not experienced in healing, for a healed body is still a "vile" one, and still must die. This "redemption" will occur at the resurrection of the dead, when "we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).
Salvation is frequently viewed from this perspective – namely, to be completed in the future.
1. Paul wrote to the Corinthians telling them his afflictions and distress were actually for their salvation, even though they were already in Christ. "Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation AND SALVATION" (2 Cor 1:6).
2. One of the pieces of our protective armor is the prospect of being saved. "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the HOPE OF SALVATION. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to OBTAIN SALVATION through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess 5:8-9).
3. Paul's ministry was with a view to the people of God obtaining salvation. "Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may OBTAIN THE SALVATION which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Tim 2:10).
4. The holy angels minister to "those who will INHERIT SALVATION" (Heb 1:13-14).
5. God has begotten us again to a living hope, "to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for SALVATION READY TO BE REVEALED in the last time" (1 Pet 1:3-5).
6. Currently, we are being "SAVED" by Christ's life, in which He ever lives to make intercession for us (Rom 5:10; Heb 7:25).
7. Believers will yet stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to give an account for their deeds, whether they are good or bad. In prospect of that time, the Spirit declares, "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself SHALL BE SAVED; yet so as by fire" (1 Cor 3:15).
8. There is such a thing as being "SAVED IN THE DAY OF THE LORD" (1 Cor 5:5).
9. "Our salvation" is complete from the standpoint of provision and Divine determination. It is, however, in the process of being brought to completion IN us. We are not in heaven yet, and ought not allow thoughts to take hold of our minds that approach life as though we were. Here, "our salvation" speaks of the absence of all conflict and deficiency, and the appropriation of the inheritance that is presently "RESERVED IN HEAVEN" for us (1 Pet 1:4).
It is most unfortunate that this perspective is rarely emphasized in the modern pulpit. In fact, "salvation" itself is rarely mentioned among believers, except in relation to those who are lost, or "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1-3). However, "salvation" is a principal subject in the Spirit's word to the churches.
The day in which we are living is "the day of salvation." This is more than the time sinners can be saved. Salvation also includes the nourishment, or succor, of the saints. As it is written, "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in THE DAY OF SALVATION have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (1 Cor 6:1-2).
As already affirmed, "salvation" is also viewed from the standpoint of its culmination, or completion. This is when we will receive our new bodies, which are currently kept "in heaven" for us (2 Cor 5:1-5). It is also the time when we will be divested of all deficiencies and removed from all conflict. That is the "salvation" that is "nearer" than when we believed. It is salvation in its completeness.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to view salvation as beginning now, but being completed at the appearing of Your Son in all of His glory.