salvation – Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: salvation

2 Thessalonians 2:13 – Believe the Truth

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Will

But we are obliged to give thanks to God always for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

Truth to Learn

Belief in the truth is of critical importance to everyone.

Behind the Words

The word “obliged” is translated from opheilō, which means “to be indebted” or “to owe something to someone.”

“Give thanks” is from the verb eucharisteō, which is made up of eu, meaning “good” and a form of charidzomai, meaning “to give” or “to grant.” It means “to show oneself grateful” or “to be thankful.”

The Greek word translated “beginning” is archē, meaning “the beginning.” When it is used without a definite article (the) or a direct object, as it is here, it nearly always refers to the very beginning (of time).

Haireō is the verb translated “chose.” This word means “to take.” When expressed in the middle voice (subject acting on itself), as it is here, it means “to take to oneself” or “to choose for oneself.”

“Salvation” is translated from soteria, which means “preservation from danger or destruction.”

The word “sanctification” is hagiasmos, which is based on the verb hagiadzō, meaning “to sanctify.” To sanctify something means to set it apart from common usage unto usage devoted to God. Thus, sanctification carries the meaning of being set apart or separated. Sanctification and holiness are often used interchangeably, both indicating separation from sin and dedication to God.

Meaning Explained

Discussion among Christians regarding election versus the responsibility of man is often charged with emotion and bias. Those who hold to the doctrine of election will often quote today’s verse or Ephesians 1:4,

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

While those who hold to the doctrine of “free will” will often quote Romans 10:13,

For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

The fact is that both election (God’s choosing of who will be saved) and the responsibility of man (man’s decision to accept Christ as Lord and Savior) are taught in the New Testament and both are true. We can’t understand how they can both be true anymore than we can understand how God can be three persons and still be one God.

In today’s verse Paul very clearly states that from the beginning (of everything) God chose us for salvation. It was not based on anything we would do, for then it would not be His choice, but ours alone. This choice, according to Paul, was accomplished through an act of the Holy Spirit who set us apart (sanctified us) for Himself and through belief in the truth of the Gospel.

Paul’s reason for talking about this here is not to correct any error in the church, but to contrast the “permanent earth dwellers,” about whom he has been talking, with believers. Those who will follow the antichrist will not believe the truth because God will cause them to believe the lie. We who are saved by the Spirit believe the truth because God chose us to do so.

Application

The real key to salvation is belief in God’s truth as presented in the Bible. Do you believe the truth?

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 5:9 – Why We Fight!

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Will

Because God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Truth to Learn

We need to realize what God has given us and fight for Him.

Behind the Words

“Because” is from hoti, meaning “that” or “because.” It serves to introduce something that is the reason for what was just said.

The Greek word translated “appoint” is tithēmi, which means “to set” or “to put in place.” Here it means that God did not place us in a position in which we would receive His wrath.

“Wrath” is from orgē, which properly means “strong desire” or “excitement of the mind,” that is “strong passion.” By implication it means “punishment,” but it is most often translated as “wrath.”

Peripoiēsis is the Greek word translated “obtain.” It is made up of peri, meaning “around” and a form of poieō, meaning “to make” or “to do.” Thus, peripoiesis carries the meaning of surrounding yourself with things. It is most often translated with the English words “acquire” or “obtain.”

“Salvation” is translated from sōtēria, which refers to “safety, deliverance, or preservation from danger or destruction.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse, Paul exhorted us to put on the breastplate of faith and love as well as the helmet of salvation. This is to be followed by being of a sober mind, thinking logically and rationally with a mind that is not under the influence of extreme thought patterns. You may know Christians who are so worried about losing their salvation that they have a difficult time moving forward in their Christian walk. Others are caught up in experiencing miraculous demonstrations of God’s Spirit and become distracted when they aren’t seeing such signs in their own lives. Still others are so bound by legalism that they spend all their effort trying not to break the rules their church has bound them with. All of these types of Christians are wearing so much spiritual fluff and have their minds so filled with distractions that they can’t effectively engage the enemy. As a result, they are easily defeated when they face spiritual battles.

Instead, Paul wants us to be dressed for battle and mentally prepared. The source of that mental preparation is knowledge of what the Bible actually teaches. The only way we can do this is to engage in regular, consistent reading and studying of God’s Word.

So, why should we always be prepared for spiritual battle? Why shouldn’t we live like the world, like those who have no clue regarding what the future holds? Because God did not put us here to receive His wrath; we will not experience the Day of the Lord. Instead we will be resurrected from the earth and granted complete salvation, that salvation which only comes from faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, out of a heart of true thanksgiving and gratitude, we should take up sides, put on the battle gear, and get ready to do battle for Him!

Application

Consider what God has done for us through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. Consider what He has promised us, both now and eternally. Given what He has already done, how can we possible just drift through life? We need to get in the race! We need to engage in battle! We need to give our all to serving Him who gave us the most precious gift we could possible get!

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 6:17 – The Sword, The Word

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Will

And receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

Truth to Learn

Christians have a sword to use in our spiritual battle.

Behind the Words

“Receive” is translated from the Greek verb dechomai, meaning “to deliberately and readily accept what is offered.” It is different from the word lambanō, which means “to take as a self-prompted action.”

The word “helmet” is from perikephalaia, which is made up of peri, meaning “around” and a form of kephalē, meaning “head.” Hence, we see that perikephalaia means something that goes “around the head.”

Sōtērion is the word translated “salvation.” This is derived from the verb sōdzō, meaning “to save,” “to deliver,” or “to preserve safe from danger.”

The word “sword” is from makaira, which is derived from machē (from which we get the word machete). Machē refers to “a knife.” Makaira refers to a short sword (a knife) used in close hand-to-hand combat. It is used in a thrusting or slicing manner. A different Greek word, rhomphaia, refers to a longer “broadsword.”

Meaning Explained

For a Roman soldier, the large shield (thureos) protected most of his body, but during actual hand-to-hand combat, the head had to protrude above the shield. Therefore, the helmet became a crucial piece of his armor. It was typically made of iron or brass, often adorned with a horsehair crest, dyed red. The helmet was so crucial that a soldier might continue to fight (and win) while missing any other part of his armor, but without his helmet he was as good as dead.

Paul said ours is a “helmet of salvation.” Like a Roman soldier in the physical world, any person is spiritually dead without salvation. In this metaphor a Christian is never without his or her helmet, but it must be worn to protect us in our battle. In other words, we must always be aware that salvation by grace, through faith, guarantees us forgiveness of all our sins and it secures for us the promise of eternal life. Notice that Paul tells us to receive (dechomai) this salvation. It’s not something we can take or earn; it is a gift that we can only receive by faith.

The final piece of our armor is the sword. This is the only offensive weapon in the arsenal. The Greek machaira was shorter than the romphaia, being slightly curved and having a single sharp edge designed for slicing. Paul tells us that our machaira is “the word of God.” Knowledge of Scripture is of vital importance in fending off attacks from our enemy. It is what Jesus Himself used against the temptations of Satan. It is good and useful to memorize Scripture, but it is even more important to read and study the Bible on a regular and consistent basis. I always encourage new believers to read their Bible daily, even if they think they’re not getting anything out of it. The Holy Spirit will direct our use of the Sword.

Application

Fifteen minutes a day is about 1/100^th of your life, yet fifteen minutes a day spent reading the Bible can make your life 100% better. Are you willing to devote 1/100^th of your day, every day, so that you can wield your sword in battle?

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 1:13 – Seal of Ownership

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Will

In Him you also hoped, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Truth to Learn

God has branded us as His property and His children.

Behind the Words

The word “hoped” does not actually appear here in the Greek text. It is borrowed from the previous verse as a parallel expression.

“Having heard” is from akouō, which refers to hearing in general. It is also used to refer to listening with attention.

The word “truth” is translated from the Greek word alētheia, which refers to that which is truth or reality.

The word “salvation” is translated from soteria, which is derived from the noun soter, meaning “one who rescues or saves.” Thus, soteria refers to “salvation or deliverance from danger or destruction.”

“Having believed” is from the Greek verb pisteuō, meaning “to be firmly persuaded regarding some truth,” or “to believe.”

The word “sealed” is translated from sphragidzō, which means “to stamp or to set a seal or mark upon something as a token of its authenticity or of ownership.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul talked about how the Jews had previously had their hope in the Messiah, the Christ, as the one who was to come and redeem them from their bondage. Notice that Paul used the pronoun “we” in the previous verse, since he also was a Jew who had previously had his hope in the Messiah.

In the current verse he uses the pronoun “you” to refer to the readers of his letter. In other words, Paul is now talking about Christians. He is telling us that we also hope in the same Redeemer, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Also remember that the word hope refers to more than just a fanciful desire; it refers to something that we fully expect to come to pass. Paul tells us that we have this hope because we listened attentively to the gospel message (good news) about salvation. But, Paul says that we did more than just listen attentively to the gospel, we believed it as the word of truth. That’s the thing which makes us Christians. We’re not Christians because we live in a Christian country. We’re not Christians because we belong to a Christian church. We’re not Christians because we obey God’s commandments. We’re Christians because we believe the good news that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.

Like Abraham in Genesis 15:6, the moment we believed the gospel message, God declared us to be as righteous as Christ. But, that’s not the best part of what Paul is telling us now. Once we believed and were declared righteous, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. This seal is very much like a brand on a head of cattle. It identifies who the owner is. In our case, the seal of the Holy Spirit identifies us as belonging to God; we now belong to Him because He has purchased us with sacrificial blood.

Application

We don’t know how God sealed us with the Holy Spirit, but we do know that He indelibly and undeniably identifies us as His property. Not only do we belong to God, He has adopted us as His children! He’s our God, our owner, and our Father!

In God's service, for His glory,

2 Thessalonians 2:13 – Believe the Truth

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Will

But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,

Truth to Learn

Belief in the truth is of critical importance to everyone.

Behind the Words

“Salvation” is translated from soteria, which means “preservation from danger or destruction.”

The word “sanctification” is hagiasmos, which is based on the verb hagiadzō, meaning “to sanctify.” To sanctify something means to set it apart from common usage to usage devoted to God. Thus, sanctification carries the meaning of being set apart or separated. Sanctification and holiness are often used interchangeably, both indicating separation from sin and dedication to God.

Meaning Explained

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

While those who hold to the doctrine of “free will” will often quote Romans 10:13,

For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

The fact is that both election (God’s choosing of who will be saved) and the responsibility of man (man’s decision to accept Christ as Lord and Savior) are taught in the New Testament and both are true. We can’t understand how they can both be true any more than we can understand how God can be three persons and still be one God.

In today’s verse Paul very clearly states that from the beginning (of everything) God chose us for salvation. It was not based on anything we would do, for then it would not be His choice, but ours alone. This choice, according to Paul, was accomplished through an act of the Holy Spirit who set us apart for Himself and through belief in the truth of the Gospel.

Application

The real key to salvation is belief in God’s truth as presented in the Bible. Do you believe the truth?

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 5:9 – Why We Fight!

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Will

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Truth to Learn

We need to realize what God has given us and fight for Him.

Behind the Words

“For” is from hoti, meaning “because.” It serves to introduce something that is the reason for what was just said.

The Greek word translated “appoint” is tithēmi, which means “to set” or “to put in place.” Here it means that God did not place us in a position in which we would receive His wrath.

“Salvation” is translated from sōtēria, which refers to “safety, deliverance, or preservation from danger or destruction.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse, Paul exhorted us to put on the breastplate of faith and love as well as the helmet of salvation. This is to be followed by being of a sober mind, thinking logically and rationally with a mind that is not under the influence of extreme thought patterns. You may know Christians who are so worried about losing their salvation that they have a difficult time moving forward in their Christian walk. Others are caught up in experiencing miraculous demonstrations of God’s Spirit and become distracted when they aren’t seeing such signs in their own lives. Still others are so bound by legalism that they spend all their effort trying not to break the rules their church has bound them with. They’re wearing so much spiritual fluff and have their minds so filled with distractions that they can’t effectively engage the enemy. As a result, they are easily defeated when they face spiritual battles.

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 6:17 – The Sword, The Word

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Will

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

Truth to Learn

Christians have a sword to use in our spiritual battle.

Behind the Words

“Take” is translated from the Greek verb dechomai, meaning “to deliberately and readily accept what is offered.” It is different from the word lambanō, which means “to take as a self-prompted action.” Thus, we could more accurately translate this word as “receive.”

Sōtērion is the word translated “salvation.” This is derived from the verb sōdzō, meaning “to save,” “to deliver,” or “to preserve safe from danger.”

The word “sword” is from machaira, which is derived from machē (from which we get the word machete). Machē refers to “a knife.” Machaira refers to a short sword (a knife) used in close hand-to-hand combat. It is used in a thrusting or slicing manner. A different Greek word, rhomphaia, refers to a longer “broadsword.”

Meaning Explained

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 1:13 – Seal of Approval

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Will

Ephesians 1:13 – Seal of Approval

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Truth to Learn

God has branded us as His property and His children.

Behind the Words

The word “trusted” does not actually appear here in the Greek text. It is borrowed from the previous verse as a parallel expression.

“Heard” is from akouō, which refers to hearing in general. It is also used to refer to listening with attention. It is expressed as a participle, so it could be expressed as “having heard.”

The word “truth” is translated from the Greek word alētheia, which refers to that which is truth or reality.

The word “salvation” is translated from soteria, which is derived from the noun soter, meaning “one who rescues or saves.” Thus, soteria refers to “deliverance from danger or destruction.”

“Having believed” is from the Greek verb pisteuō, meaning “to be firmly persuaded regarding some truth” or “to believe.”

The word “sealed” is translated from sphragidzō, which means “to stamp or to set a seal or mark upon something as a token of its authenticity or of ownership.”

Meaning Explained

In the current verse he uses the pronoun “you” to refer to the readers of his letter. In other words, Paul is now talking about Christians. He is telling us that we also hope in the same Redeemer, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Also remember that the word hope refers to more than just a fanciful desire; it refers to something that we fully expect to come to pass. Paul tells us that we have this hope because we listened attentively to the gospel (good news) about salvation. But, Paul says that we did more than just listen attentively to the gospel, we believed it as the word of truth. That’s the thing which makes us Christians. We’re not Christians because we live in a Christian country. We’re not Christians because we belong to a Christian church. We’re not Christians because we obey God’s commandments. We’re Christians because we believed the good news that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 10:10 – Heart and Mouth Connection

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Will

Romans 10:10 – Heart and Mouth Connection

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Truth to Learn

True belief and confession go hand in hand.

Meaning Explained

According to this verse and the previous one, the things required for salvation are belief and confession. It’s as simple as that, and yet not so simple, for I fear that there are many who have professed to be saved who really aren’t. They may claim to be Christians, they may even believe themselves to be Christians, but they really aren’t. Let’s see why.

Paul says here that “with the heart one believes unto righteousness.” In the previous verse he told us what it is we must believe: “that God has raised Him (Jesus) from the dead.” The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the proof that He is more than mere man. It is proof that He is God in the flesh. Implied in the belief in His resurrection is the belief that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and mine, for the sins of all of mankind. Also implied is the recognition that we are sinners and in need of salvation. Why is all this true? Because if He was resurrected from the dead, then He is God and everything that He said is true and, therefore, everything that is written in the Bible is true.

What does Paul mean by believing with the heart? This means more than mere head knowledge. It implies more than an act of understanding. It takes in the consent of the will, an inward, hearty, sincere, and strong consent.

Notice that I said consent of the will. This believing requires submission of our will to His. If we truly believe that Jesus is God, then we must recognize that we are the creatures whom He created and He is far above us in power, intellect, holiness, majesty, and glory. We are His subjects, not the other way around. We are here to do His will. He is not here to do ours. If we have not subjected our will to His, then we don’t really believe that He is God.

When we believe, according to what Paul told us in the earlier portion of this letter, God freely grants to us the righteousness of Christ. That is, in His record book we are recorded as being forever without sin!

But the second half of this verse says that “with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Does this mean that if you believe with your heart but don’t confess with your mouth, you won’t be saved? Let’s think about this. If one truly believes with the heart, then a verbal confession is the natural outcome. When we first get saved we want to tell others, especially other Christians. None of us who has any kind of exciting news ever wants to keep it to ourselves. We want to tell others! This is the case when we get saved, we want to confess it to someone; we want to tell others that we have been born again.

Application

As I said earlier, I fear that there are many who know about Jesus, who know the fact that he died on a cross. They may have even “asked Jesus into their heart” but have never submitted to the Lordship of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, the Judge of all mankind. To these, I fear, God will one day say, “Depart from me you worker of iniquity. I never knew you.” That will be a tragedy!

How about you? Are you submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ?

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 4:22 – Unearned Credit

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Will

Romans 4:22

And therefore “It was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Truth to Learn

Salvation is a gift which is credited to our account when we believe God’s message in the Bible.

Behind the Words

The word translated “therefore” is dio. This is made up of dia, meaning “through, either positionally or instrumentally” and the personal pronoun hos, meaning “who, which, or what.” Hence, dio literally means “through which.” It can be translated as “therefore, wherefore, or consequently.”

“Accounted” is a word that we looked at back in verse three of this chapter. It is the word logidzomai, which means “to count out as one would count out money when payment is being made” or “the crediting to someone’s account based on the payment made.” The Hebrew word used in Genesis 15:6, which this verse quotes, is khashab, meaning “to think, to reckon, to regard, to consider, or to be accounted.” Therefore, based on the Hebrew word it is translating, logidzomai means “to put to one’s account” or “to credit to someone.” One way to think of this is that it is something which God marks in His record book.

Meaning Explained

Remember the therefore rule? Whenever you see a “therefore” or a “wherefore,” you need to see what it’s there for. In this case “therefore” is in reference to the fact that Abraham was fully persuaded. That is, his faith was strong and unwavering. He completely believed God. And, because Abraham had a firm conviction that God would do what He promised He would do (make Abraham’s descendents as numerous as the stars of the heavens and make Abraham the father of many nations), God credited that faith to him as righteousness. That is, it was marked in God’s record book next to Abraham’s name giving him credit for being righteous. He didn’t earn it; it was simply credited to him as a gift.

This is the crux of what we call salvation. God tells us that we are sinners condemned to suffer eternally in Hell. He tells us that we need salvation and that the only way for us to obtain salvation is to accept the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross in payment for our sins. So, first a person has to believe that he or she is a sinner. Next, we have to believe that we are going to be judged for our sins and that the punishment for our sins is eternity in hell. But how do we know these things? We know them because that’s what God tells us in the Bible. If we don’t believe the Bible is God’s word, then we don’t believe what God tells us in the Bible and there’s no reason to believe in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

However, if we believe that we are sinners who are going to hell, then we must believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. How do we know that He is the Son of God who died on the cross to pay for our sins? We know this because God tells us in His message to mankind, the Bible. When we believe that we are sinners and that Jesus’ blood was shed on the cross as payment for our sins, as a result of our faith, God credits righteousness to our account.

Application

We don’t earn salvation by believing; God simply gives us credit for it when we believe His message. That is, He credits us with righteousness. He doesn’t owe it to us. It’s His gift to us. That’s grace!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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