All-Inclusive Christ — New Testament Reality

Salvation

Christ is not only the Redeemer; He is also the Savior. At the time of Jesus' birth an angel declared, “Today a Savior has been born to you in David’s city, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Christ is uniquely qualified to save us by virtue of what He is in His person and what He accomplished in His death and resurrection. Redemption is what Christ accomplished through His death to solve all the problems that men have with God and with one another. Salvation, however, is the application of redemption to us by Christ in resurrection. Whereas redemption was judicial, that is, based on God’s law, salvation is organic, that is, it is related to life. Christ carried out redemption once for all through His death, and He is now saving us moment by moment in His divine resurrection life. Romans 5:10 explains, “For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled.” Salvation is not a simple matter. On the one hand, we are saved from eternal judgment just by believing in the Lord and calling on His name (Rom. 10:9). Nevertheless, in our daily living we still need to be saved in His life from innumerable negative things including our temper, lust, pride, and jealousy. Thank the Lord for His perfect redemption as our firm foundation. Yet now, much more we need to go on to experience Christ as our Savior in life day by day. (Ron Kangas, A & C, 14)