Continuing the previous thought, I am writing concerning those who boast of believing a “full gospel,” but have not grasped half of what they have in salvation. They claim to have passed the blessing of salvation long ago, but there is much concerning salvation they did not take. They claim to believe the “full gospel,” but do not possess “full salvation.” Now, I am not saying that they are not saved who have grasped but little of the salvation of Jesus Christ. Salvation is so vast a subject that there is no one who has fully comprehended it. As a matter of fact, I have yet to understand why God Almighty would even love filthy, ungodly, unrighteous, unholy sinners, but He does! A man asked a preacher this question – “Why did Jesus choose Judas, knowing that Judas would betray Him?” Simple was the preacher’s reply – “I have been dealing with a question much harder than that.”
“What question is that?” asked the inquirer.
“I have not been trying to understand why Jesus chose Judas; I have been trying to figure out why Jesus chose me!”
How true! When I speak of “full salvation,” I am not implying that we can understand it all; or even that we can begin to understand its fullness. However, we have much more in God’s great gift of salvation than so many of us realize. So many people today who are well-meaning Christians have such a discounted view of salvation. Their perception of salvation is far lower than its actuality.
Up to this point, I have been describing what is meant by the phrase, “full salvation.” In no way can I exhaust “full salvation,” but I do wish to give just a few points more regarding the nature of “full salvation.”
Full Salvation is Justification
So many within our ranks spend so much time arguing their view of sanctification that they have no concept whatsoever of justification. Justification is something to rejoice about! Justification is a legal term. It means that we have been to court. The evidence has been weighed. The jury has issued their decision. The judge has presided over the case, and that case is settled. Justification simply means, “Declared to be ‘not guilty.’” In our legal system, we do not use the term, “justification.” Rather, we use the term, “acquitted.” As for the sins which I have committed, the Judge of all the earth cannot find them. Satan, the infamous Prosecutor, cannot gather any evidence whatsoever against me! I have been justified by the blood of Jesus Christ!
How can one be justified, or declared “not guilty,” when indeed he has sinned? Make no mistake about it. The author of this post has sinned. I have committed deeds offensive to God Almighty. Yet, He has declared me to be “not guilty!” How did this happen? Did I successfully hide my sins from the all-seeing eye? Not a chance. Does God show favoritism to me? God forbid; for He is “no respecter of persons.” What He has done for me He is ready to do for you. So, how did this justification come about? How was I declared “not guilty” when I had sinned before God?
Two events occurred to bring about justification to my hopeless case. The first event took place about 2,000 years ago. The Father took my sins, and placed them upon Jesus. Look at the scripture:
Isaiah 53:6 – “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Understand this – Jesus Christ was, while He was in the flesh, perfect in every sense of the word. He never sinned in word, in thought, or in deed. But my sins were laid upon Him. He died like a criminal, crucified in the midst of thieves. Why was an innocent man crucified that dreadful day? He was dying, not for His own sins; for He had no sins for which to die. He was dying for my sin and yours. He took them upon Himself and paid the penalty of death for them! He died in my place.
Now, it is not enough for Christ to die. He died for every man, but every man will not be saved. One must trust completely Christ’s payment for our sins upon the cross. One must let go everything else, and trust solely in Christ’s work upon the cross to save him. This is called, “faith,” and at the moment of believing Christ’s work for salvation, a person is completely saved.
I stated that two events took place to bring about my justification. The first was my sins being placed upon Jesus Christ; the second took place in my life seventeen years ago. On March 13, 1994, I went down to an altar, and asked the Lord to save me, trusting Him and His work alone. At that moment, I not only trusted the Lord’s payment of my sins that were laid upon Him, but He immediately placed His robe of righteousness around me. The first event that resulted in my justification was when my sins were laid upon Christ; the second event is when Christ’s righteousness was laid upon me! Now, when the Father examines me in His court, He sees only the righteousness of Christ! He cannot find any sins against me, because Jesus Christ took them, and paid the penalty of death for them! He rose from the dead, proving that He died for my sins; not His own. Had He died for His own sins, the grave would have kept Him, for the wages of sin is death. But He resurrected from the dead, proving that the Father had accepted His payment of my sin and yours. Now, when we trust His payment for our sins, His righteousness is laid upon us, and the Father can rightfully declare us “NOT GUILTY!” Praise the Lord for this sublime truth!
As I previously stated, we do not use the word, “justification” in our present American legal system. We rather use the word, “acquittal.” Now, consider this. What is the opposite of justification? Knowing that we use the word “acquittal” rather than “justification,” let me ask it this way – “What is the opposite of being acquitted, the opposite of being found ‘not guilty’?” The opposite of being found “not guilty,” of course, is the act of being found “guilty!” In our legal system, we call this, “conviction.” If one is found guilty of a crime, he is “convicted.” The Bible term for “convicted” is “condemned.” The exact opposite of being justified is being condemned. To understand what a blessing it is to be justified, let us look and see what the Bible says about being condemned, which we Christians are not, since we have been justified.
John 3:18 – “He that believeth on him is NOT CONDEMNED: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
He that believeth on Him is NOT CONDEMNED! When I completely believe on, or trust, Jesus Christ, I am in no wise found guilty for any of my past sins! Believing on Christ erases them from the record!
That’s great news regarding my past sins, but what about presently? Am I justified presently, or was justification something regarding my past only? Let us see how the scriptures answer us:
Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore NOW no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Justification is my PRESENT condition before the court of the great Judge! What does the future hold for them who believe on Christ? What does the Bible say about our justification in the future?
John 5:24 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and SHALL NOT COME INTO condemnation, but is passed from death unto life!”
There is no possible way for the man who is trusting Jesus Christ for FULL SALVATION to come into condemnation! There is no route from “faith in Christ” to “condemnation.”
Even though the scriptures are plain, that if I believe on, or trust Jesus Christ, I am justified rather than condemned, there are those who would try to condemn me. There are those who would tell me that I am condemned, even though I am trusting solely in Jesus Christ. They say I am condemned because I have not kept every commandment in the Bible. Others say I am condemned because I do not worship on Saturday. Others say I am condemned because the preacher who baptized me in water did not say the word, “Jesus” before he dunked me. Others say I am condemned because I do not perform sacraments. You may ask, “How do you answer these accusations of condemnation?” The Bible has a word for those who would try to condemn me, in spite of God’s justification. Notice:
Romans 8:33, 34 – “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
I learn two things from this passage. First, it is clear that if God Almighty says I’m justified, or declared to be “not guilty,” then no man has any power whatsoever to declare me guilty! No one, not even the devil himself, can condemn me when God says I’m justified! Second, I learn from this passage the blessed truth that is revealed to us here in the form of a question – “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect?” From this passage, it is not only true that no man can condemn me when God justifies me; but it is equally true that no one can even lay anything to my charge! Not only can I not be condemned when God justifies me; you cannot even bring charges against me!
Romans 5:1 – “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
MORE TO COME…
