According to the broadest meaning as used in Scripture, the term salvation encompasses the total work of God by which He seeks to rescue man from the ruin, doom, and power of sin and bestows upon him the wealth of His grace encompassing eternal life, provision for abundant life now, and eternal glory

The seven doctrines of salvation are: 

Forgiveness, Justification, Reconciliation, Redemption, Sanctification,
Newness of Life, and Adoption.

The seven elements or doctrines of salvation are divine works; they designate the divine side of salvation.

The word “salvation” communicates the thought of deliverance, safety, preservation, soundness, restoration, and healing. 

In theology, however, its major use is to denote a work of God on behalf of men, and as such it is a major doctrine of the Bible which includes redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, conviction, repentance, faith, regeneration, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification. 

On the one hand, salvation is described as the work of God rescuing man from his lost estate. On the other hand salvation describes the estate of a man who has been saved and who is vitally renewed and made a partaker of the inheritance of the saints.

The Motivations for Salvation

When we look at the stubbornness and rebellion of man, we ask the question, why should God want to save sinners? And especially, why should He want to give His unique and beloved Son to die the agony of God’s holy judgment in bearing our sin on the cross?

Scripture’s answer is that salvation redounds to the glory of His grace. Salvation brings glory to God and it does so because it manifests the nature and character of His person (Eph. 1:6; Phil. 2:11).

Salvation reveals a number of things about God that bring glory to the person of God and show us something of the reasons for salvation:

(1) It reveals His love.

That God would reach out to sinful man by sending His only begotten Son is the greatest manifestation of His love. It declares God provided salvation because He is a loving God (John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-10, 16).

(2) Salvation through the person and work of Christ is also a manifestation of God’s grace, the non-meritorious favor of God (Eph. 2:7-9).

Only Christianity offers a salvation based on grace rather than works. All the other religions of the world have man working to acquire salvation.

(3) The salvation of the Bible also manifests the holiness of God.

God provided salvation through the person and work of His Son because He is a holy God. In His love and grace God desired fellowship with man, but man’s rebellion and sin created a barrier between God and man that hindered any fellowship with man whatsoever because of God’s infinite holiness. Both God’s holiness and His love are satisfied, however, by the person and work of God’s Son so that man can be reconciled to God and fellowship restored.

(4) Adam and Eve were created in the image of God that they might give a visible display of God’s character as they walked in fellowship with the invisible God. But when the human race fell through Adam’s sin, the image was not only marred, but man lost the capacity for fellowship with God. Through salvation, the capacity for fellowship is restored and also is man’s ability to manifest, though imperfectly, the goodness of God.

The Three Phases (Tenses) of Salvation

Salvation in Christ, which begins in eternity past according to the predetermined plan of God and extends into the eternal future, has three observable phases in the Bible.

Understanding this truth can relieve a lot of tension from the standpoint of security and enable the believer to relax in the Lord and His grace while simultaneously moving forward in spiritual growth.

Phase I. 

This is the past tense of salvation—saved from sin’s penalty. Several passages of Scripture speak of salvation as wholly past, or as accomplished and completed for the one who has believed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This aspect views the believer as delivered once and for all from sin’s penalty and spiritual death

So complete and perfect is this work of God in Christ that the believer is declared permanently saved and safe forever

Phase II. 

This is the present tense of salvation and has to do with present deliverance over the reigning power of sin or the carnal nature’s power in the lives of believers

This phase of salvation in Christ is accomplished through the ministry of the indwelling Spirit, but it is based on the work of Christ and the believer’s union and co-identification with Christ in that work.

Phase III. This is the future tense of salvation which refers to the future deliverance all believers in Christ will experience through a glorified resurrected body.

It contemplates that, though once and for all saved from the penalty of sin and while now being delivered from the power of sin, the believer in Christ will yet be saved into full conformity to Jesus Christ

This recognizes and shows that the Christian in his experience never becomes perfect in this life. Full conformity to the character of Christ, experientially speaking, awaits ultimate glorification.

However, the fact that some aspects of salvation for the one who believes are yet to be accomplished in no way implies that there is ground for doubt as to the outcome of eternal salvation because all three phases are dependent upon the merit and the work of God in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have A Fabulous Day 👌