Salvation from Sin’s Condemnation
There are at least three aspects to the eternal salvation into heaven’s
glory world. All three aspects deal with salvation from sin. The first
aspect which will be the topic of this essay is salvation from the
condemning effects of sin. The second aspect is salvation from the
bondage of sin. The third aspect is salvation from the corruption of
sin.
Salvation from the condemnation of sin took place at the cross.
Salvation from the bondage of sin takes place when we are born of the
Spirit. Salvation from the corruption of sin takes place in the
resurrection. Together these three deliverances make up our eternal
salvation from sin into heaven’s glory world.
We will begin our consideration of the salvation from the condemnation
of sin by noting those passages of scripture that indicate we were under
the condemnation or curse of sin:
1. Gen. 2:17 ‑ “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die.”
2. Rom. 6:23 ‑ “For the wages of sin is death…”
3. Rom. 5:18 ‑ “Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon
all men to condemnation…”
4. Gal. 3:10 ‑ “For as many as are of the works of the law are under
the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in
all things that are written in the book of the law to do them.”
5. Matt. 25:41, 46 ‑ “Then shall he say unto them on the left hand,
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels…and these shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal.”
Jesus’ declared purpose for coming into the world is set forth for us
in Matt. 1:20, 21, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the
angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son
of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from
their sins.” Thus, God’s declared purpose for Jesus to come into the
world was to save “his people” from “their sins!” That it was necessary
that someone should save us from our sins is declared in Matt. 19:25,
26, “When his disciples heard this they were exceedingly amazed, saying,
Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With
men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Thus
salvation from sin is not something men can bring about, but only God
can bring about.
That Jesus is the only one who could save us from sin is declared in
Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
Thus, we are saved by Jesus and none other. Paul punctuated this concept
in I Tim. 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of
whom I am chief.”
II Tim. 1:9 tells us that salvation from sin was by God’s purpose
before the world began and is by God’s grace: “Who hath saved us, and
called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began.” All of our works including the work of
faith, are excluded from having any part in bringing about this
salvation from sin’s condemnation. It is solely by the grace of God
that we are saved. Paul said we could not mix works and grace in Rom.
11:6, “And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is
no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace:
otherwise work is no more work.”
This salvation from sin’s condemnation is a completed salvation and
completely removed the curse of the law from us as declared in Gal.
3:13, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree.” When Christ hung on the tree of the cross, he became our curse
for us. According to II Cor. 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him.” Becoming sin for us and being made a curse for us Jesus suffered
the full and complete wrathful judgment of God that God demanded as
payment for our sins. He paid it all, all the debt we owed. The ransom
payment has been made. The condemnation of sin is past as we read in
Heb. 10:14, “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
are sanctified.” According to Heb. 8:12, God will no more remember our
sins and iniquities against us. According to Rom. 8:33 there is no
charge that can be laid to God’s elect for it is God that justifieth.
Yea, there is no condemnation of sin to them in Christ Jesus. May the
name of Jesus Christ be praised for ever by his people.
In our next essay we will consider our salvation from the bondage of
sin.