We shall be saved by His life”
(Rom. 5:10).
These words give us
encouragement for difficult days when tempted by
forces beyond ourselves, but let’s be clear as to
what these words of the apostle Paul do not mean.
“Saved by His life” does not imply that salvation
comes from imitating the principles and godly
character of our Lord Jesus Christ. Following or
imitating the Lord Jesus Christ will not save
anyone. No one has ever been saved by imitating the
life of Christ. He alone lived a perfectly holy
life. No one else can ever measure up.
The apostle wrote, “For if
while we were enemies we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom.
5:10).
We are saved by the death of
Jesus Christ that atoned for all our sins (Rom.
5:6-9). His precious blood alone atones and cleanses
us from all sins. His blood purges our guilty
consciences. We have peace with God because of the
finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Our
salvation is complete and eternal from the moment we
believe on Christ. We are saved for eternity from
the moment we put our trust in Christ.
It is utterly impossible for a
sinful, totally depraved man to follow in the
perfect footsteps of our sinless Lord. Trying to
“live the Christian life” saves no one. “Saved by
His life” does not mean that we are saved as though
His life were an atonement for our sins. “Saved by
His life” cannot mean that it is His life on the
earth, rather than His death that saves sinners.
Christ paid the penalty for our sins by His death.
The unblemished, sinless Lamb
of God had to die as our substitute to put away our
sins. His perfect life had to be given up in death.
The moment we put our faith in
Jesus Christ as our Savior we were born again and
indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Because we have been
saved by grace, and not of our own works, the Holy
Spirit enables us by His power, as His redeemed
people, to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord. He
is more than our example of how to live His life; it
must be His life in us, not our trying to imitate
Him that empowers us.
We were saved from the penalty
of sin when we trusted in Christ as our Savior. Now
that we have been saved from the penalty of sin
through the death of Christ, we are now being saved
daily, hourly, and moment-by-moment from the power
of sin through the intercessory work of the risen
Christ and His indwelling Spirit. We shall be saved
from the presence of sin when we see Jesus face to
face in glory, and we will be fully conformed to His
image.
Salvation is a big work of God.
Our justification is the removal of the guilt and
penalty of sin and the bestowal of a righteous
standing in Christ before God’s law. This new
standing before God was given to us at the moment we
believed on Christ. Sanctification is the
progressive work of the Holy Spirit through out the
Christian life on this earth. It also began the
moment we believed on Christ as our Savior.
Moreover, glorification is the glorifying of our
resurrected bodies at the Rapture. When Paul writes,
“we shall be saved by His life,” he is not referring
our Lord’s life on earth as an example of how a
Christian should live. His example saves no one. His
blood does. His death was an atoning sacrifice for
our sins. We are justified by grace through faith in
His sacrifice for us on the cross.
We who have been reconciled to
God by the death of His Son shall be saved by His
resurrection life. Jesus Christ lives in glory to
complete in us the work which His grace had begun.
Therefore, the apostle Paul can say, “We are saved
by His life.” We are not left to our own resources
to live the Christian life after we have been saved
by God’s grace. The One who loved us enough to die
for us on the cross now lives to sustain all who
believe on Him for salvation. He is just as much
interested in us now as He was before He died for
us. He keeps us in His saving power. The grace of
God that saves us also keeps us. His sustaining
grace is with us day by day. Christ is alive and we
share in His life.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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