“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth…“
for salvation
This phrase states the purpose of God’s choosing us–eternal salvation. He saves us from the penalty, power, and, ultimately, from the presence of sin. We do not have to pay the penalty for our sin because Jesus paid that price for us.
Principle:
Salvation is a present possession.
Application:
Either we have salvation, or we do not. There is no in-between state. God will give it to you as a present possession. You can know now that you have life with God eternally.
It is impossible to be married and not know it. If you have salvation, you will know it and show it.
God cannot wink at your sin. If He did, He would not be just. Because God must maintain His integrity, He must deal with the sin issue. He chose to deal with it by the death of Christ. He chose to accept Christ’s death as our substitute for hell. Jesus took our hell and gave us His heaven. We do not have to reform ourselves; we accept the regeneration of Christ. He is the Author of our salvation. The only thing we offer Him is our sin; He offers salvation in Christ.
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15:3 ).
”He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).
“…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit…” (1 Peter 3:18).
If you operate under the delusion that you do not commit gross sins, this could cost you your soul. The standard for salvation is the “glory of God” (Romans 3:23). None of us measures up to being as good as God is good. Therefore, there is no hope in ourselves. Our only hope is that Christ’s death on the cross is sufficient for our salvation.
“So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household’” (Acts 16:31).
