A Four Fold Salvation — Part 16 Last One!

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

The theme of Exodus is redemption—how striking, then, to see that God begins His work of redemption by making His people to groan and cry out under their bondage! The portion Christ bestows is not welcome—until we are made sick of this world.

Second, in Exodus 12 we have a picture of God's people being delivered from the penalty of sin. On the Passover night, the angel of death came and slew all the firstborn of the Egyptians. But why spare the firstborn of the Israelites? Not because they were guiltless before God—for all had sinned and come short of His glory. The Israelites, equally with the Egyptians, were guilty in His sight, and deserving of unsparing judgment. It was at this very point that the grace of God came in and met their need. Another was slain in their place—and died in their stead. An innocent victim was killed and its blood shed, pointing to the coming of "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The head of each Israelite household sprinkled the lamb's blood on the lintel and posts of his door and hence the firstborn in it was spared from the avenging angel. God promised, "when I see the blood—I will pass over you" (Exo. 12:13). Thus Israel was saved from the penalty of sin—by means of the lamb dying in their stead.

Third, Israel's wilderness journey adumbrated the believer's salvation from the power of sin. Israel did not enter Canaan immediately upon their exodus from Egypt—they had to face the tribulations and trials of the desert, where they spent forty years.

But what a gracious and full provision did God make for His people! Manna was given them daily from heaven—a figure of that food which God's Word now supplies for our spiritual nourishment. Water was given from the smitten rock—emblematic of the Holy Spirit sent by the smitten Christ to dwell within us—John 7:38, 39. A cloud and a pillar of fire guided them by day and guarded them by night, reminding us of how God directs our steps, and shields us from our foes. Best of all, Moses, their great leader, was with them, counseling, admonishing, and interceding for them. This is a figure of the Captain of our salvation, "Lo I am with you always."

Fourth, the actual entrance of Israel into the promised land foreshadowed the believer's glorification, when he enters into the full enjoyment of that possession which Christ has purchased for him.
The experiences Israel met with in Canaan have a double typical significance. From one viewpoint they presaged the conflict which faith encounters while the believer is left upon earth, for as the Hebrews had to overcome the original inhabitants of Canaan before they could enjoy their portion, so faith has to surmount many obstacles if it is to "possess its possessions," The land of milk and honey into which Israel entered after the bondage of Egypt and the hardships of the wilderness which were left behind—were manifestly a figure of the Christian's portion in Heaven after he is forever done with sin in this world.

"You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). First, He shall save them from the pleasure or love of sin by bestowing a nature which hates it—this is the great miracle of grace. Second, He shall save them from the penalty or punishment of sin, by remitting all its guilt—this is the grand marvel of grace. Third, He shall save them from the power or dominion of sin, by the workings of His Spirit—this reveals the wondrous might of grace. Fourth, He shall save them from the presence or in being of sin—this will demonstrate the glorious magnitude of grace. May it please the Lord to bless these elementary but most important articles to many of His little ones, and make their "big" brothers and sisters smaller in their own esteem

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 15

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

Not so much is revealed in Scripture on this fourth aspect of our subject, for God's Word was not given us to gratify curiosity. Yet sufficient light is made known to feed faith, strengthen hope, draw out love, and make us "run with patience, the race that is set before us." In our present state we are incapable of forming any real conception of the bliss awaiting us—yet as Israel's spies brought back the bunch of "the grapes of Eschol" as a sample of the good things to be found in the land of Canaan—so the Christian is granted a foretaste and earnest of his inheritance in glory.

"Until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). It is to the image of a glorified Christ, that we are predestinated to be conformed. Behold Him on the Mount of Transfiguration, when a foreview of His glory was granted the favored disciples. Such is the dazzling splendor of His person, that Saul of Tarsus was temporarily blinded by a glimpse of it; and the beloved John in the isle of Patmos "fell at His feet as dead" (Rev. 1:17), when he beheld Him.

That which awaits us can best be estimated, as it is contemplated in the light of God's wondrous love. The portion which Christ Himself has received, is the expression of God's love for Him; and as the Savior has assured His people concerning His Father's love unto them, "and You have loved them—as You love Me" (John 17:23), and therefore, as He promised, "where I am—there you may be also" (John 14:3).

But is not the believer forever done with sin at death? Yes, thank God, such is the case! Yet that is not his glorification, for his body goes to corruption, and that is the effect of sin. It is written of the believer's body, "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:42-44). Nevertheless, at death itself the Christian's soul is entirely freed from the presence of sin. 

This is clear from, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor" (Rev. 14:13). What is signified by "they will rest from their labor?" Why, something more blessed than ceasing from earning their daily bread by the sweat of their brows, for that will be true of the unsaved also. Those who die in the Lord rest from their "labors" with sin—their painful conflicts with indwelling corruption, Satan, and the world. The fight which faith now wages—is then ended and full relief from sin is theirs forever!

The fourfold salvation from sin of the Christian, was strikingly typified in God's dealings with the Nation of Israel of old. First we have a vivid portrayal of their deliverance from the pleasure or love of sin, "And the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning" (Exo. 2:23, 24). What a contrast does that present from what we read of in the closing chapters of Genesis! There we hear the king of Egypt saying to Joseph, "The land of Egypt is before you—in the best of the land make your father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen" (47:6). Accordingly we are told, "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions therein, and grew and multiplied exceedingly" (47:27).

Now Egypt is the Old Testament symbol of the world, as a system opposed to God. And it was there, in the "best part" of it, the descendants of Abraham had settled. But the Lord had designs of mercy and something far better for them—yet before they could appreciate Canaan—they had to be weaned from Egypt. Hence we find them in cruel bondage there, smarting under the lash of the taskmasters. In this way they were made to loathe Egypt and long for deliverance there from.

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 14

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

Therefore, when it is said that the believer "allows not" the evil of which he is guilty, it means that he seeks not to justify himself or throw the blame on someone else, as both Adam and Eve did. That the Christian allows not sin is evident by his shame over it, his sorrow for it, his confession of it, his loathing himself because of it, his renewed resolution to forsake it.

IV. Salvation from the PRESENCE of Sin.

We now turn to that aspect of our subject which has to do solely with the future. Sin is yet to be completely eradicated from the believer's being, so that he shall appear before God without any spot or blemish. True, this is his legal status even now—yet it has not become so in his present experience. As God views the believer in Christ, he appears before Him in all the excellency of his Sponsor; but as God views him as he yet is in himself (and that He does do so is proved by His chastenings), He beholds all the ruin which the Fall has wrought in him. But this will not always be the case—no, blessed be His name, the Lord is reserving the best wine for the last. And even now we have tasted that He is gracious—but the fullness of His grace will only be entered into and enjoyed by us, after this world is left behind.

Those Scriptures which present our salvation as a future prospect are all concerned with our final deliverance from the very presence of sin. To this Paul referred when he said, "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Romans 13:11)—not our salvation from the pleasure, the penalty, or the power of sin—but from its very presence! "For our citizenship is in Heaven—from whence we also look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:20). Yes, it is the "Savior" we await, for it is at His return, that the whole election of grace shall enter into their full salvation; as it is written, "Unto those who look for Him—shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Heb. 9:28). In like manner, when another Apostle declares, "We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5), he had reference to this grand consummation of the believer's salvation, when we shall be forever rid of the very presence of sin!

Our salvation from the pleasure of sin is effected by Christ's taking up His abode in our hearts, "Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Our salvation from the penalty of sin was secured by Christ's sufferings on the Cross where He endured the punishment due our iniquities. Our salvation from the power of sin is obtained by the gracious operations of the Spirit, whom Christ sends to His people—therefore is He designated "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9 and cf. Gal. 4:6). Our salvation from the presence of sin will be accomplished at Christ's second advent, "We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own!" (Phil. 3:20, 21). And again we are told, "We know that when He shall appear—we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). It is all of Christ from beginning to end.

Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God, reflecting the moral perfections of his Maker. But sin came in and he fell from his pristine glory, and by that Fall—God's image in him was broken and His likeness marred. But in the redeemed that image is to be restored, yes, they are to be granted a far higher honor than what was bestowed upon the first Adam—they are to be made like the last Adam. It is written, "Those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son" (Romans 8:29). This blessed purpose of God in our predestination, will not be fully realized until the second coming of our Lord—then it will be that His people shall be completely emancipated from the thralldom and corruption of sin. Then shall Christ "present to Himself, a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault" (Eph. 5:27).

Salvation from the pleasure or love of sin takes place at our regeneration; salvation from the penalty or punishment of sin occurs at our justification; salvation from the power or dominion of sin is accomplished during our practical sanctification; salvation from the presence or in being of sin is consummated at our glorification, "Whom He justified, them He also glorified" (Romans 8:30).

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 9

A Four Fold Salvation 

I tried to resist not tagging any information on my own in this post. Oh! Well, I failed big time.

As I was reading the post, I realized if you pay close attention to what Pink is saying and if you put it all together you’ll find there are so many steps in between that we are to bring them together to become a whole Christian like A. W.Tozer said.  Amongst those steps, we can see prayer is a major part of it. But this is not the reason why I could not resist adding those comments. The real reason is that when we read Romans 7 a lot of us Christians get stuck there, we reason, if Paul was having a hard time to get the flesh under control we are fine. But it is a lie. This has caused somewhat a division in the Church since the 1950’s or so, because some pastors believe that believers have two natures and some like pastor Charles Stanley believes, believers has one nature.

God showed me how important it was to remain in the Spirit so that I do not feed the flesh. As He revealed this portion of Scriptures to me, it was simply phenomenal. While in words there seems to be a difference in their disagreements over having one or two natures, but in what we are experiencing in our bodies and the way we are called to live out the Christian life, both groups are right. I do not want to go on more about this because it would take a post by itself to explain why? But know this, while it is true we have two natures, God expects us to constantly walk in the Spirit which means we walk in the nature He provided for us in the new birth. Walking in the spirit is not something you conjure up by magic. It is not “feelings” and it is not imaginary. It is about taking this Christian life in the same way Christ lived it out on earth. Which mean we have to first acquire His attitude.

We also need total obedience to God and a life given to prayers. You cannot separate them.  And if we do not walk in the Spirit to remain in constant union with Him, well the life of obedience is shaky as well as  our prayers will be shaky too. This does not mean you are not going to make mistakes and disobey sometimes, but your attitude is right vis a vis God. When I first started walking seriously with God, He made it clear to me that I needed to cultivate the same attitude of obedience that Jesus had with His Father. I found what I needed in Andrew Murray book, THE SCHOOL OF OBEDIENCE BY ANDREW MURRAY. When I was reading it, I knew that the Holy Spirit was with me every step of the way and the book was like food to my soul. I was convicted, I was changed, I was motivated, I was equipped, and I acquired a new attitude to move forward with Him.  

The reason a lot of us are stuck and content to be the type of Christians in Romans chapter 7, is because we are not truly practicing these steps that Pink mentioned in this paragraph (But not only must the new nature be fed….) If we have been practicing them for years and we know that the flesh has not been subdued, then that means, we are doing things with the Pharisee’s mindset, this is why it is not working. Remember, the Pharisees spent hours in God’s word on a daily basis, but their mindset was wrong.  – Christ’s attitude was “how can I glorify God” --- The Pharisee’s attitude was “self concerned, self-preservation and avoiding disgrace” these are two worlds apart. This is why they missed out on God.

As we feed the new nature according to God’s standards, not the Pharisee’s standards, we set out to obey with motivation solely to please the Father, and we are given to prayer, we find out all those steps fall into place in our lives. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is carrying it all for us. Not only that, we find that what seemed to be a lot to do, is really a piece of cake because we jump from the life in chapter 7 of Romans to the life in chapter 8. Paul did not remain the man in chapter 7 and he found freedom by becoming the man in chapter 8. He lived in Christ. And as we keep walking with Him, He tells us when we have something we are not relinquishing properly.

I am going to stop myself here. But, please do yourself a favour and download this little book from my site. I do not want your name or email address, you simply go on the site, http://apprehended.ca/ scroll to the middle of the page and click “download.” Read it with the right attitude in your heart. I am saying that because I know people who read this book and felt there was nothing there.

Even though we have the Holy Spirit today, a lot of us are still in this state with God for whatever reason see Luke 24: 16. In comparison read Luke 24: 45. What happened to the apostles in verse 45 should be happening to all of us, all the time as we read the word of God. This is also one of the ways we end up with so much light and knowledge of spiritual things to the point where we do not need to ask nothing anymore. 

Arthur Pink, 1938 

The believer still has the carnal nature within him, and he has no strength in himself to check its evil propensities, nor to overcome its sinful solicitations. But the believer in Christ also has another nature within him, which is received at the new birth, "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). The believer, then, has two natures within him—one which is sinful, the other spiritual. These two natures being totally different in character, are antagonistic to each other. To this antagonism, or conflict, the Apostle referred when he said, "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh." 

Now which of these two natures is to regulate the believer's life? It is manifest that both cannot, for they are contrary to each other. It is equally evident that the stronger of the two will exert the more controlling power. It is also clear that in the young Christian, the carnal nature is the stronger, because he was born with it, and hence it has many years head start over the spiritual nature—which he did not receive until he was born again.

Further, it is unnecessary to argue at length, that the only way by which we can strengthen and develop the new nature, is by feeding it. In every realm, growth is dependent upon food, suitable food, daily food. The nourishment which God has provided for our spiritual nature is found in His own Word, for "Man shall not live by bread alone—but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). It is to this that Peter has reference when he says, "As newborn babes desire the pure milk of the Word—that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2). In proportion as we feed upon the heavenly Manna, such will be our spiritual growth.

Of course, there are other things beside food needful to growth—we must breathe, and live in a pure atmosphere. This, translated into spiritual terms, signifies prayer. It is when we approach the Throne of Grace and meet our Lord face to face—that our spiritual lungs are filled with the breath of Heaven.

Exercise is another essential to growth, and this finds its accomplishment in walking with the Lord. If, then, we heed these primary laws of spiritual health—the new nature will flourish.

But not only must the new nature be fed. It is equally necessary for our spiritual well-being, that the old nature should be starved. This is what the Apostle had in mind when he said, "Make no provision for the flesh—to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:14). To starve the old nature—to make not provision for the flesh—means that we abstain from everything that would stimulate our carnality—that we avoid, as we would a plague—all that is calculated to prove injurious to our spiritual welfare. 

Not only must we deny ourselves the "pleasures of sin," shun such things as the saloon, theater, dance, card table, etc.—but we must separate ourselves from worldly companions, cease to read worldly literature, abstain from everything upon which we cannot ask God's blessing. Our affections are to be set upon things above—and not upon things on the earth (Col. 3:2). Does this seem a high standard and sound impractical? Holiness in all things is that at which we are to aim—and failure so to do explains the leanness of so many Christians. Let the young believer realize that whatever does not help his spiritual life—hinders it.

Here then, in brief, is the answer to our question, what is the young Christian to do in order for deliverance from indwelling sin? It is true that we are still in this world—but we are not "of" it (John 17:14). It is true that we are forced to associate with godless people—but this is ordained of God in order that we may "let our light so shine before men—that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in Heaven" (Matt. 5:16).

There is a wide difference between associating with sinners as we go about our daily tasks, and making them our intimate companions and friends. 

Only as we feed upon the Word—can we "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). Only as we starve the old nature—can we expect deliverance from its power and pollution.

Then let us earnestly heed that exhortation, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24).

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 8

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

But to be without condemnation is only the negative side—justification means to declare or pronounce righteous, up to the Law's requirements. Justification implies that the Law has been fulfilled, obeyed, and magnified—for nothing short of this would meet the just demands of God. Hence, as His people, fallen in Adam, were unable to measure up to the Divine standard, God appointed that His own Son should become incarnate, be the Surety of His people, and answer the demands of the Law in their stead.

Here, then, is the sufficient answer which may be made to the two objections which unbelief is ready to raise—How can God acquit the guilty?

How can God declare righteous—one who is devoid of righteousness? Bring in the Lord Jesus and all difficulty disappears! The guilt of our sins was imputed or legally transferred to Him, so that He suffered the full penalty of what was due them; the merits of His obedience is imputed or legally transferred to us—so that we stand before God in all the acceptableness of our Sponsor, Romans 5:18, 19; 2 Corinthians 5:21, etc. Not only has the Law nothing against us—but we are entitled to its reward.

3. Salvation from the POWER of Sin.

This is a present and protracted process, and is as yet incomplete. It is the most difficult part of our subject, and upon it the greatest confusion of thought prevails, especially among young Christians. Many there are who, having learned that the Lord Jesus is the Savior of sinners, have jumped to the erroneous conclusion that if they but exercise faith in Him, surrender to His Lordship, commit their souls into His keeping—He will remove their corrupt nature and destroy their evil propensities. But after they have really trusted in Him, they discover that evil is still present with them, that their hearts are still deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and that no matter how they strive to resist temptation, pray for overcoming grace and use the means of God's appointing, they seem to grow worse and worse instead of better, until they seriously doubt if they are saved at all. They are now being sanctified!

Even when a person has been regenerated and justified, the flesh or corrupt nature, remains within him, and ceaselessly harasses him. Yet this ought not to perplex him. To the saints at Rome, Paul said, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body" (6:12), which would be entirely meaningless had sin been eradicated from them. Writing to the Corinthian saints he said, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Cor. 7:1). Obviously such an exhortation is needless if sin has been purged from our beings.

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). What need have Christians for such a word as this—except pride still lurks and works within them? But all room for controversy on this point is excluded if we bow to that inspired declaration, "If we say we have no sin—we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). The old carnal nature remains in the believer—he is still a sinner, though a saved one.

What, then, is the young Christian to do? Is he powerless? Must he resort to stoicism, and make up his mind that there is nothing but a life of defeat before him? Certainly not! The first thing for him to do is to learn thoroughly the humiliating truth that in himself he is "without strength." It was here that Israel failed—when Moses made known to them the Law, they boastfully declared, "all that the Lord has said—we will do and be obedient" (Exo. 24:7). 

Ah! how little did they realize that "in the flesh there dwells no good thing." It was here, too, that Peter failed—he was self-confident and boasted that, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will! Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!" (Matt. 26:33, 35). How little he knew his own heart! This complacent spirit lurks within each of us. While we cherish the belief we can "do better next time," it is evident that we still have confidence in our own powers. Not until we heed the Savior's word, "without Me you can do nothing," do we take the first step toward victory. Only when we are weak (in ourselves) —are we strong.

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 7

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

Ah, my reader, it is this experience which prepares the heart to go out after Christ—those who are whole need not a physician—but those who are quickened and convicted by the Spirit are anxious to be relieved by the great Physician. "The Lord kills—and makes alive; He brings down to the grave—and brings up. The Lord makes poor—and makes rich; He brings low—and lifts up" (1 Sam. 2:6, 7). It is in this way that God slays our self-righteousness, makes us poor, and brings us low—by making sin to be an intolerable burden, and as bitter as wormwood to us.

There can be no saving faith until the soul is filled with evangelical repentance. Repentance is a godly sorrow for sin, a holy detestation of sin, and a sincere purpose to forsake it. The Gospel calls upon men to repent of their sins, forsake their idols, and mortify their lusts, and thus it is utterly impossible for the Gospel to be a message of glad tidings to those who are in love with sin and madly determined to perish rather than part with their idols.

Nor is this experience of sin's becoming bitter to us, limited unto our first awakening; it continues, in varying degrees, to the end of our earthly pilgrimage. The Christian suffers under temptations, is pained by Satan's fiery assaults, and bleeds from the wounds inflicted by the evils he commits. It grieves him deeply—that he makes such a wretched return unto God for His goodness, that he requites Christ so evilly for His dying love, that he responds so fitfully to the promptings of the Spirit. The wanderings of his mind when he desires to meditate upon the Word, the dullness of his heart when he seeks to pray, the worldly thoughts which invade his mind when reading Scripture, the coldness of his affections toward the Redeemer-cause him to groan daily; all of which goes to evidence that sin has been made bitter to him. He no longer welcomes those intruding thoughts which take his mind off God—rather does he sorrow over them. But "Blessed are those who mourn—for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4).

Third, our salvation from the pleasure of sin may be recognized by the felt BONDAGE which sin produces. As it is not until a Divine faith is planted in the heart—that we become aware of our native and inveterate unbelief; so it is not until God saves us from the love of sin—that we are conscious of the fetters it has placed around us. Then it is, that we discover we are "without strength," unable to do anything pleasing to God, incapable of running the race set before us.

A Divinely-drawn picture of the saved soul's felt bondage is to be found in Romans 7, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. 

For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members" (vv. 18, 19, 22, 23). And what is the sequel? This, the agonizing cry, "Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin!" If that be the sincere lamentation of your heart, then God has saved you from the pleasure of sin.

Let it be pointed out, though, that salvation from the love of sin is felt and evidenced in varying degrees by different Christians—and at different periods in the life of the same Christian, according to the measure of grace which God bestows, and according as that grace is active and operative. Some seem to have a more intense hatred of sin in all its forms than do others—yet the principle of hating sin is found in all real Christians. Some Christians rarely, if ever commit any deliberate and premeditated sins—more often they are tripped up, suddenly tempted (to be angry or to tell a lie) and are overcome. But with others the case is quite otherwise—they, fearful to say—actually plan evil acts. If anyone indignantly denies that such a thing is possible in a saint, and insists that such a character is a stranger to saving grace, we would remind him of David—was not the murder of Uriah definitely planned? This second class of Christians find it doubly hard to believe they have been saved from the love of sin.

A Four Fold Salvation — Part 5

One of the reasons why some “Christians” are living the defeated life and have no idea what it means to have their identity anchored in Him is because they have not really received Salvation yet. We have millions of people out there who have been persuaded to say the sinner’s prayer without a true understanding of what being a Christian entails. While I do not have a problem about us asking people to ask Christ into their hearts but I have a problem with the way it’s done. It is purely mechanical, not enough information is given to make an informed decision, in some cases we have intimidation and more often than not, we push people to do it. The first time I received Christ it was handled in one of those ways I described above, and when I realized what he did to me, I was upset for a little while.

However, since I was invited to Church I kept going, every Sunday before I knew it, I was roaming all around the Church participating in all kinds of activities while serving, in the meantime, I was not a Christian yet. Nevertheless, I enjoyed being part of something, I liked the culture and it was like belonging to a nice and exclusive club. During that time, I became curious about Christianity. I know what it means to dread being baptized and you wish you did not have to do it. I know what it means to roam around the Church without being a Christian and I know the difference when Christ enters your heart on His terms and you are sealed with the Holy Spirit.

I thank God that over time I became curious and investigated. But, what about those who never get to meet with Him and instead they fall into a coma in the Church while waiting to go to heaven? Since, true grace from Him changes you in the depth of your being, why is it some professed Christians never changed? Why is it for some of us if it was not for the outward activities our Christianity would be the best kept secret? Why is it some never feel the need to go deeper? Why some are not craving for more of Him?  Why is it we have millions out there with no idea that there is a world of a difference between being saved in your sin and being saved from sin? Why do we have millions of people in the Church still clinging to some vague idea of salvation and some prayer they might have said years ago while having no idea of what intimacy with God means? Attending Church, being baptized and Church membership do not make anyone Christian.

While we are selling some kind of man-made Salvation, we have the audacity to tell people they have been sealed with the Spirit as if we could manipulate the Holy Spirit to be complicit in our deceitful ways. It isn't for nothing we have a whole bunch of famous singers living the Hollywood life, which is our modern version of Sodom and Gomorrah, yet still thinking they are children of God. This is the culture we live in and this is how we are selling Christianity. Sadly, most of the recipients believe what we are selling because it is an easy gig to them—cheap grace.

While you might not be dancing and showing every part of your body to make a buck, but, if you are still sitting in the pews unchanged by the Holy Spirit, on the inside after decades of calling yourself Christian, well, you either have a problem or God is a liar and the New Testament Salvation has no power to change a man. 

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

What, then, say the Scriptures? So far from God's Word denying that there is any delight to be found therein, it expressly speaks of "the pleasures of sin," yet it immediately warns us that those pleasures are but "for a season" (Heb. 11:25), for the aftermath is painful and not pleasant; yes, Studies in the Scriptures July, 1938 22 unless God intervenes in His sovereign grace, they entail eternal torment. So, too, the Word refers to those who are "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God" (2 Tim. 3:4).

It is indeed striking to observe how often this discordant note is struck in Scripture. It mentions those who "love vanity" (Psalm 4:2), "him that loves violence" (Psalm 11:5) "you love evil more than good" (Psalm 52:3), "scorners delight in their scorning" (Proverbs 1:22), "those who delight in the abominations" (Isaiah 66:3), "their abominations were according as they loved" (Hosea 9:10), "who hate the good and love the evil" (Micah 3:2), "if any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15). To love sin is far worse than to commit it, for a man may be suddenly tripped up and commit it through frailty.

The fact is, my reader, that we are not only born into this world with an evil nature—but with hearts that are thoroughly in love with sin. Sin is a native element. We are wedded to our lusts, and of ourselves no man is able to alter the bent of our corrupt nature any more than the Ethiopian can change his skin or the leopard his spots. But what is impossible with man is possible to God, and when He takes us in hand this is where He begins—by saving us from the pleasure or love of sin. This is the great miracle of grace, for the Almighty stoops down and picks up a loathsome leper from the dunghill, and makes him a new creature in Christ, so that the things he once loved he now hates, and the things he once hated he now loves. God commences by saving us from ourselves. He does not save us from the penalty of sin—until He has delivered us from the love of it.

And how is this miracle of grace accomplished, or rather, exactly what does it consist of? Negatively, not by eradicating the evil nature, nor even by refining it. Positively, by communicating a new nature, a holy nature which loathes that which is evil and delights in all that is truly good. To be more specific.

First, God saves His people from the pleasure or love of sin—by putting His holy awe in their hearts, for "the fear of the Lord is to hate evil" (Proverbs 8:13), and again, "by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil" (Proverbs 16:6).

Second, God saves His people from the pleasure of sin—by communicating to them a new and vital principle, "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit" (Romans 5:5), and where the love of God rules the heart, the love of sin is dethroned.

Third, God saves His people from the love of sin—by the Holy Spirit's drawing their affections unto things above, thereby taking them off the things which formerly enthralled them.

If on the one hand the unbeliever hotly denies that he is in love with sin, many a believer is often hard put to it to persuade himself that he has been saved from the love thereof. With an understanding that has been in part enlightened by the Holy Spirit, he is the better able to discern things in their true colors. With a heart that has been made honest by grace, he refuses to call sweet bitter. With a conscience that has been sensitized by the new birth, he the more quickly feels the workings of sin and the hankering of his affections for that which is forbidden. Moreover, the flesh remains in him, unchanged, and as the raven constantly craves carrion, so this corrupt principle in which our mothers conceived us—lusts after and delights in that which is the opposite of holiness. These things are they which occasion and give rise to the disturbing questions that clamor for answers within the genuine believer.

The sincere Christian is often made to seriously doubt if he has been delivered from the love of sin. Such questions as these painfully agitate his mind—Why do I so readily yield to temptation? Why do some of the vanities and pleasures of the world still possess so much attraction for me? Why do I chafe so much against any restraints being placed upon my lusts? Why do I find the work of mortification so difficult and distasteful? Could such things as these be—if I were a new creature in Christ? Could such horrible experiences as these happen—if God had saved me from taking pleasure in sin?

Well do we know that we are here giving expression to the very doubts which exercise the minds of many of our readers, and those who are strangers thereto are to be pitied. But what shall we say in reply? How is this distressing problem to be resolved? How may one be assured that he has been saved from the love of sin?

A Fourfold Salvation—Part 4

The way the triune God taught me in the wilderness has always been in three fold. He taught me verbally, then showed me, then proceeded to let me experience what He just taught me. Some experiences last few seconds, some few minutes and some few days. He usually takes the experiences away because He does not want our lives to be just about experiencing Him. Nevertheless, it was indeed an intense period at His feet for seven years. Granted, since I came out of the wilderness, things are not as intense as they used to be and the experience part of the process is very far apart. But, I know because I experience Him less, does not mean His pattern has changed. He is truly a God of order. I also learned that this process of His is a pattern that He follows in working out Salvation in our lives. Through it, I also learned why we cannot separate salvation from discipleship, justification and sanctification. They are just one long string of grace as far as God is concerned.

Those steps in our lives like justification, sanctification, etc are just the impartation of what we have received. He showed me in a beautiful way how Salvation and the impartation process is like having all the ingredients to make a specific cake where not one ingredient is missing, but they are all laid out on the table. Then, together we make a beautiful cake that I could not even begin to envision on my own. When you get to know God you know He has a sense of humour. Most of my vision where He is teaching me, He always shows me myself as a seven or eight years old child. Anyway, though we were making the cake together, I have never left His side and my job was limited to sometimes pass the ingredients to Him and sometimes He would let me get involved in the mix up process, but the mixer and the utensil being used to mix up, never leave His hands even though I am involved. Picture making a cake with your child and you ask him or she to press the button of the electrical appliance for you to make the child feels useful. That was the extend of my work.

When we know Him up close and personal, we also know every step we take after Salvation enters our heart, while we take those steps through faith and it seems to be our work, but it is no less the author of Salvation working in us to will and to do.

Now, often times we say that, people are living in defeat because they do not know who they are in Him. You know what? It is true sometimes we are not aware of our identity in Him, as such we cannot live out the blessings this identity has in store for us. We are not able to transfer on a daily basis what we know of Him and process the knowledge into the heart until it takes root within. Make no mistake about the reason why these types of Christians are defeated, because they do not know Him personally. I am not making this up, it turns out that I was there too at one point in my Salvation.

But, we cannot assume that everyone living in defeat is simply because they do not know who they are in Him. If we do not learn to properly diagnose in the spirit, especially if we are called to be Bible study leaders, we will not be able to help those that we are  called to help,  nor we are able to pray for them properly.

Some are living in defeat, especially if they have  called  themselves Christians for a few decades and they have been going to Church, serve and read the Bible etc., yet they are still defeated because they have not really received Salvation yet. Yes - I dare say it, I will expand on it further tomorrow. 

A Fourfold Salvation

Arthur Pink, 1938 

Second, the meritorious cause of salvation is the mediation of Christ, this having particular respect to the legal side of things, or, in other words, His fully meeting the demands of the Law on behalf and in the place of those He redeems.

Third, the efficient cause of salvation is the regenerating and sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit which respect the experimental side of it; or, in other words, the Spirit works in us what Christ purchased for us.

Thus, we owe our personal salvation equally to each Person in the Trinity, and not to one (the Son) more than to the others.

Fourth, the instrumental cause is our faith, obedience, and perseverance—though we are not saved because of them, equally true is it that we cannot be saved (according to God's appointment) without them.

Our salvation originates, of course, in the eternal purpose of God, in His predestinating of us to everlasting glory. "Who has saved us, and called us with a 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" (2 Tim. 1:9). That has reference to God's decree of election—His chosen people were then saved, completely, in the Divine purpose, and all that we shall now say, has to do with the performing of that purpose, the accomplishing of that decree, the actualization of that salvation.

I. Salvation from the PLEASURE of Sin.

It is here that God begins in His actual  application of salvation unto His elect. God saves us from the pleasure or love of sin, before He delivers from the penalty or punishment of sin. Necessarily so, for it would be neither an act of holiness nor of righteousness, were He to grant a full pardon to one who was still a rebel against Him, loving that which He hates.

God is a God of order throughout, and nothing ever more evidences the perfection of His works, than the orderliness of them. And how does God save His people from the pleasure of sin? The answer is—by imparting to them a nature which hates evil and loves holiness. This takes place when they are born again, so that actual salvation begins with regeneration. Of course it does—where else could it commence? Fallen man can neither perceive his desperate need of salvation, nor come to Christ for it, until he has been renewed by the Holy Spirit.

"He has made everything beautiful in His time" (Eccl. 3:11), and much of the beauty of God's spiritual handiwork is lost upon us, unless we duly observe our "time." Has not the Spirit Himself emphasized this in the express enumeration He has given us in, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he  predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:29, 30)? Verse 29 announces the Divine foreordination; verse 30 states the manner of its actualization. It seems strange, that with this Divinely-defined method before them, so many preachers begin with our justification, instead of with that effectual call (from death unto life—our regeneration) which precedes it. Surely it is most obvious that regeneration must first take place—in order to lay a foundation for our justification. Justification is by faith (Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; Gal. 3:8), and the sinner must be Divinely quickened before he is capable of believing savingly.

Ah, does not the last statement made throw light upon and explain what we have said is so "strange"? Preachers today are so thoroughly imbued with free-willism that they have departed almost wholly from that sound evangelism which marked our forefathers.

The radical difference between Arminianism and Calvinism is that the system of the former revolves around the creature, whereas the system of the latter has the Creator for the center of its orbit. The Arminian allots to man the first  place, the Calvinist gives God that position of honor. Thus the Arminian begins his discussion of salvation with justification, for the sinner must believe before he can be forgiven; further back he will not go, for he is unwilling that man should be made nothing of. But the instructed Calvinist begins with election, descends to regeneration, and then shows that being born again (by the sovereign act of God, in which the creature has no part) the sinner is made capable of savingly believing the Gospel.

Saved from the pleasure or love of sin. What multitudes of people strongly resent being told that they delighted in evil! They would indignantly ask if we suppose them to be moral perverts? No indeed—a person may be thoroughly chaste and yet delight in evil. It may be that some of our own readers repudiate the charge that they have ever taken pleasure in sin, and would claim, on the contrary, that from earliest recollections they have detested wickedness in all its forms. Nor would we dare to call into question their sincerity; instead, we point out that it only affords another exemplification of the solemn fact, that "the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9). But this is a matter that is not open to argument—the plain teaching of God's Word deciding the point once and for all, and beyond its verdict there is no appeal.

A Fourfold Salvation ─ Part 2

When it comes to salvation, there is no question that the Roman Catholic Church went way too far and they added so much to God’s Word that they resemble to the Pharisees in their interpretation of the law. In the same way, Protestants, to rectify the situation and distance itself from the Roman Catholic, has unquestionably taken out too much of the Word of God that they are left with an empty shell (some sort of mould) that does not quite fit with God’s Word. So, most Protestants when it comes time to prepare a sermon, write a book, read our Bible etc, they start to unravel the gospel according to what they are holding onto so preciously and everything must fit the mould they have been given. What is wrong with the Protestant model is that we are in fact telling God how we want Him to interpret Salvation and we are dictating our terms.

At the end of the day, both groups butchered God’s vision and goal for Salvation. The fact is, when true Salvation comes in contact with a man’s soul, you can see the ugliness within. Now, this is not something we repeat like parrots without ever knowing what it means inwardly. This is not a matter of repeating glibly few verses out of context and without the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

It is a knowledge of ugliness within that causes you to disgust yourself and disgust sin and you know and compute that without Christ you are nothing. You are aware of how desperately you need Him and the sweet preciousness of the cross, because you have come face to face with your helplessness without the work of the cross in your life. This is not an experience reserved for the few as if God unjustly does not show it to other Christians. IT IS SIMPLY THE EFFECT OF SALVATION IN YOUR SOUL. It is the life of Christ within bringing up the contrast between who we are now with His life operating in us as He breathe His life within us.

I would hate to know that you are taking just my word on this or worse, you are screaming apostasy, instead of going directly to Him.

A Fourfold Salvation

By A. Pink 1938

The fact is, that the great majority of professing Christians fail to see that "salvation" is one of the most comprehensive terms in all the Scriptures, including predestination, regeneration, justification, sanctification and glorification. They have far too cramped an idea of the meaning and scope of the word "salvation" (as it is used in the Scriptures), narrowing its range too much, generally confining their thoughts to but a single phase. They suppose "salvation" means no more than the new birth or the forgiveness of sins. Were one to tell them that salvation is a protracted process, they would view him with suspicion; and if he affirmed that salvation is something awaiting us in the future, they would at once dub him a heretic. Yet they would be the ones to err.

Ask the average Christian, Are you saved, and he answers, Yes, I was saved in such and such a year; and that is as far as his thoughts on the subject go. Ask him, to what do you owe your salvation? and "the finished work of Christ" is the sum of his reply. Tell him that each of those answers is seriously defective, and he strongly resents your aspersion.

As an example of the confusion which now prevails, we quote the following from a tract on Philippians 2:12, "To whom are those instructions addressed? The opening words of the Epistle tell us—'To the saints in Christ Jesus' . . . Thus they were all believers! and could not be required to work for their salvation, for they already possessed it." Alas that so very few today perceive anything wrong in such a statement. Another "Bible teacher" tells us that "save yourself" (1 Tim. 4:16) must refer to deliverance from physical ills, as Timothy was already saved spiritually. True—yet it is equally true that he was then in process of being saved, and also a fact that his salvation was then future.

Let us now supplement the first three verses quoted and show there are other passages in the New Testament which definitely refer to each distinct tense of salvation.

First, salvation as an accomplished fact, "Your faith has saved you" (Luke 7:50), "by grace you have been saved" (Greek, and so translated in the R.V.—Eph. 2:8), "according to His mercy He saved us" (Titus 3:5).

Second, salvation as a present process, in course of accomplishment, not yet completed, "Unto us which are being saved" (1 Cor. 1:18—R.V.); "Those who believe to the saving (not 'salvation') of the soul" (Heb. 10:39).

Third, salvation as a future prospect, "Sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Heb. 1:14), "receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21), "Kept by the power of God through faith Studies in the Scriptures July, 1938 20 unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:5).

Thus, by putting together these different passages, we are clearly warranted in formulating the following statement—every genuine Christian has been saved, is now being saved, and will yet be saved—how and from what, we shall endeavor to show.

As further proof of how many-sided is the subject of God's great salvation and how that in Scripture it is viewed from various angles, take the following, "by grace are you saved" (Eph. 2:8), "saved by His (Christ's) life" (that is) by His resurrection life (Romans 5:9), "your faith has saved you" (Luke 7:50), "the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21), "saved by hope" (Romans 8:24), "saved yet as by fire" (1 Cor. 3:15), "the like figure where unto baptism does also now save us" (1 Peter 3:21).

Ah, my reader, the Bible is not the lazy man's book, nor can it be soundly expounded by those who do not devote the whole of their time, and that for years, to its prayerful study. It is not that God would bewilder us—but that He would humble us, drive us to our knees, make us dependent upon His Spirit. Not to the proud—who are wise in their own esteem—are its heavenly secrets opened.

In like manner it may be shown from Scripture that the cause of salvation is not a single one, as so many suppose—the blood of Christ. Here, too, it is necessary to distinguish between things which differ.

First, the originating cause of salvation is the eternal purpose of God, or, in other words, the predestinating grace of the Father.

A Fourfold Salvation ─ Part 1

I shared with you in one of my posts that God in a vision showed me why He was sad because of what we Christians had made of His plan for Salvation. The reason we messed it up so bad is because most of us are not working with the Holy Spirit and He is still elusive to us. Because once you learn true Salvation from His point of view, you are ruined for everyone else.  I chose Arthur Pink not because He is the only one of those writers who understood true Salvation from God’s point of view, but because he is easier to relate to and his writing is simple.

If you read any one of those puritans or classic authors you will find that they all understood Salvation in the same way along with several great pastors today. Unfortunately we do not have enough of those great pastors in today’s world. Too often we scream apostasy, when in reality the attitude that we need is to go directly to God and tell Him to teach us from His point of view because we are tired of the discrepancies we see out there. We scream apostasy instead and feel our job is done and we are off the hook while Satan is amused. God will not be mocked. In the same way unbelief has its consequences when we read Romans 1:18-21 through those verses God will judge the unbelievers because they have it within to recognize and worship God but they chose not to. Those of us who claim to have received Salvation but chose the external things only to show what they have is enough, I would not like to be in your shoes when you meet with Him.

In the same way the unbelievers know there is a God in Heaven because Romans 1:19 says“since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.”  Many of us have chosen to remain the type of Christian as those in the stony or the thorny ground in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:28-33, and never advanced to become inwardly “the good ground.” God regulates each one of us inside to choose Him so we can go deeper and learn from Him. But for convenience sake we chose otherwise. When we read articles such as those I am going to post the next few days, we choose to scream apostasy and put our fingers in our ears or we can go directly to God and ask Him “would you teach me so that I can understand and learn from you?” I promise you that even choosing to go forward with Him, is still a work of divine grace. Blessings

A Fourfold SalvationBy A. Pink 1938

The subject of God's "so great salvation" (Heb. 2:3), as it is revealed to us in the Scriptures and made known in Christian experience, is worthy of a life's study. Anyone who supposes that there is now no longer any need for him to prayerfully search for a fuller understanding of the same, needs to ponder, "If any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know" (1 Cor. 8:2). The fact is that the moment any of us really takes it for granted that he already knows all that there is to be known on any subject treated of in Holy Writ, he at once cuts himself off from any further light thereon. That which is most needed by all of us in order to a better understanding of Divine things is not a brilliant intellect—but a truly humble heart and a teachable spirit, and for that we should daily and fervently pray—for we possess it not by nature.

The subject of Divine salvation has, sad to say, provoked age-long controversy and bitter contentions even among professing Christians. There is comparatively little real agreement even upon this elementary yet vital truth. Some have insisted that salvation is by Divine grace, others have argued it is by human endeavor. A number have sought to defend a middle position, and while allowing that the salvation of a lost sinner must be by Divine grace, were not willing to concede that it is by grace alone, alleging that God's grace must be plussed by something from the creature, and very varied have been the opinions of what that "something" must be—baptism, church-membership, the performing of good works, holding out faithful to the end, etc. 

On the other hand, there are those who not only grant that salvation is by grace alone—but who deny that God uses any means whatever in the accomplishment of His eternal purpose to save His elect—overlooking the fact that the sacrifice of Christ is the grand "means"! It is true that the Church of God was blessed with super-creation blessings, being chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and predestinated unto the adoption of children, and nothing could or can alter that grand fact. It is equally true that if sin had never entered the world, none had been in need of salvation from it. But sin has entered, and the Church fell in Adam and came under the curse and condemnation of God's Law.

Consequently, the elect, equally with the reprobate, share in the capital offense of their federal head, and partake of its fearful entail, "In Adam all die" (1 Cor. 15:22), "By the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation" (Romans 5:18). The result of this is that all are "alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts" (Eph. 4:18), so that the members of the mystical Body of Christ are "by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Eph. 2:3), and hence they are alike in dire need of God's salvation.

Even where there is fundamental soundness in their views upon Divine salvation—yet many have such inadequate and one-sided conceptions that other aspects of this truth, equally important and essential, are often overlooked and tacitly denied. How many, for example, would be capable of giving a simple exposition of the following texts, "Who has saved us" (2 Tim. 1:9). "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12), "Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Romans 13:11). Now those verses do not refer to three different salvations—but to three separate aspects of one and unless we learn to distinguish sharply between them, there can be nothing but confusion and cloudiness in our thinking. 

Those passages present three distinct phases and stages of salvation—salvation . . .

as an accomplished fact,

as a present process,

as a future prospect.

So many today ignore these distinctions, jumbling them together. Some contend for one and argue against the other two; and vice versa. Some insist they are already saved, and deny that they are now being saved. Some declare that salvation is entirely future, and deny that it is in any sense already accomplished. Both are wrong.