Salvation: A Marvelous Work of God’s Grace
By Dan Qurollo
Burke County
Beginning in Colossians 1:10 and continuing through verse 12, Paul described four dimensions of a worthy walk: continuous fruit (vs. 10a), increasing knowledge (vs. 10b), increased power (vs 11), and increased praise (vs. 12). It is this latter dimension of praise that forms the basis of this article. As believers, we should respond with thanks to God the Father for the salvation He has given, for the work of salvation will occupy the praises of all believers for all eternity. The salvation that believers have today is a work for which God is responsible; therefore, it is a work for which God is to be praised.
The first work that God has done is “made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” A foundational element of salvation is understanding our condition prior to salvation. Romans 3:23 teaches, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Mankind is hopelessly lost and unable to save himself. Thank God for Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In our state of sinful and rebellious individuals, God publicly demonstrated His love towards those who are undeserving to provide a way of salvation. That way of salvation is found only by placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ. At that very moment, Colossians 1:12 teaches God has “made us meet.” In other words, God caused us to be sufficient – not because of ourselves, but because of the work done by Jesus Christ. We are given the “power [right, authority] to become the sons of God.” We are declared by God to be fitting to have a share in the inheritance that belongs to all believers. At the very moment, we placed our trust in Jesus Christ, we were made adequate and sufficient.
The second work God has done is He “hath delivered us from the power of darkness.” Ephesians 2:1-3 describes the state of every unbeliever by teaching, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” At the moment of salvation, God rescued us and freed us from the imprisonment of the power of darkness. Once again, we are unable to do this. This is a work that belongs to God alone. We have been rescued out of the domain of darkness. We have been rescued out of the sphere in which Satan’s power is exercised, the realm of spiritual darkness. Understand that the moment you were saved, you were delivered from the domain and rule of spiritual darkness. Therefore, you do not have to sin; you choose to sin.
The third work God has done is He “hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” As unsaved individuals, we operated in the realm of spiritual darkness. The moment that we placed our trust in Jesus Christ, God the Father transferred us from the domain and rule of spiritual darkness and placed us into the kingdom of His dear Son. Therefore, He is the One under whose rule we are now under. No longer in Adam, the believer has been placed in Jesus Christ. It is a position of absolute security from which we can never be taken, regardless of what we may experience or what we may do. John 10:27-30 teaches, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.”
It is in Jesus Christ that we discover the fourth work of salvation: “redemption through his blood.” The term redemption is a theological term that pictures an individual standing on the auction block to be auctioned to the highest bidder. When the bids are cast, those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ have been purchased by Him. Therefore, they have been released from sin and the bondage that it entails. No longer under the slave master of sin and death, the believer is forever a servant of Jesus Christ. He is redeemed and set free from sin. The means through which this is done is the blood of Jesus Christ. Those who place their complete trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ are saved. Romans 10:13 promises the individual who calls to Him in faith, “thou shalt be saved.” This saved person is now set free from the bondage of Satan, sin, and death. Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Finally, the fifth work of salvation is “the forgiveness of sins.” For some, forgiveness is a difficult reality to accept because we often base it on feelings. Forgiveness is the act of freeing from an obligation, guilt, or punishment. As difficult as this is to comprehend, forgiveness is the complete pardon and cancellation of sin. When God forgives, God forgives completely. The moment a person is saved, he experiences God’s forgiveness of all sin – past, present, and future. Psalm 103:12 teaches, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 32:1-2 teaches, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” Hebrews 10:17 states, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” God wills to remember them no more. God never recalls to mind that which He already forgave. The recall is either Satan, self, or both.
Rejoice in the salvation that you have been given. If you are a believer, embrace who you are in Jesus Christ. Each of us will quickly acknowledge that we are completely unworthy; remember it is not what you have done; it is what God did. You only need to trust Him.
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Dan Qurollo is pastor of Morganton Baptist Church. You can visit them online at www.morgantonbaptist.net, on Facebook, or on Youtube. You can read more from Dan HERE.
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