Baptism
The Washing Away of Our Sins

    As we go on with our study, a number of questions may have surfaced in the reader's mind. We should look at a few of them as we continue.
    We have been learning much about Christ's suffering for sin. But how does this agree with some doctrines that are widely taught?

Did Christ Die for Every Human Being?

    For example, does the Bible teach that Christ died for every person in the world? We read that Christ gave His life a ransom for all (I Timothy 2:6). I Timothy 2:4 declares:

    I Timothy 4:10 teaches:

    What about I John 2:2, which declares:

    If we are to come to truth, each and every verse that relates to the subject being studied must be faced. As we seek an understanding of these verses we must come to a conclusion that is harmonious with everything else that the Bible teaches on the subject being studied.

    To begin to understand these verses, we must first look at the cross. When Christ went through the atonement experience He came to the cross with an enormous load of sin laid upon Him. Whose sins were they? Let us suppose that the sins laid on Him included all the sins of every human being throughout time and throughout the whole world. As He stood to be judged, He would have been found guilty all of these sins. Therefore, when God poured out His wrath upon Him it would have meant that the full penalty for all of these sins had been paid. Thus, when Jesus arose on Sunday morning, it would have meant that every sin that would be or had been committed anywhere in the world had been paid for. Thus, there would be universal atonement and no one could end up in hell.
    But wait a minute. The Bible teaches in Matthew 12:36:

    And the Bible declares in Revelation 20:12:

    Romans 2:5-6 God warns:

    Indeed the Bible teaches in Matthew 7:13-14:

    These verses as well as many others teach that hell will be very heavily populated.
    Moreover, how can it be that someone must be judged for his sins when payment had already been made. Does that idea agree with the righteous justice of God? We quickly see that the notion that Christ paid for the sins of every person who has ever lived on earth is an impossible idea.

What About the Sin of Rejecting Christ?

    Some will argue that Christ paid for every sin except that of rejecting Christ. They read John 3:18 which teaches that "he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
    They forget that to reject God is a sin. God commands all men to repent. We read in Acts 17:30 where God admonishes "but now [God] commandeth all men everywhere to repent." To repent means we are to become saved, that is, we are to believe in Christ. To reject Christ is to be guilty of serious sin. In James 2:10 we read:

    Thus, if someone is to become saved the sin of rejecting Christ must also have been covered by Christ's blood. In fact, every human by nature is guilty of that sin. We read in Romans 3:10-12:

Universal Atonement: An Impossible Idea

    Indeed the idea that Christ paid for the sins of every human being is altogether impossible. We read in Matthew 1:21:

    Who are His people whom Jesus came to save? Jesus explains in John 6:37, and in John 17:2.

    Jesus came to save only those who had been given to Him by the Father.
    Elsewhere in the Bible they are spoken of as the elect of God. They are the ones who before the foundation of the world were written in the Lamb's book of life to receive the inheritance.
    That is why Jesus declares in John 17:9, "I pray not for the world but for them which thou hast given me for they are thine."
    Furthermore, in Revelation 13:8 and in Revelation 17:8 God speaks of those whom God never intended to save. These verses teach:

    Having said all this, what are we to do with I Timothy 2:4, I Timothy 4:10, and I John 2:2? The solution can be found by understanding God's usage of the words "all" or "every" or "any." For example, in Luke 2:1 we read, "that all the world should be taxed." Did this include China and the Indians of North America?

The context shows us that all the world that was to be taxed was that part of the world that was subject to taxation. The world that was subject to taxation was the Roman world as the context plainly teaches.
    Likewise, in I Corinthians 15:22 we read:

    Who are they who all die in Adam? The rest of the Bible plainly teaches that every human being is subject to death because we all came from the loins of Adam. What about the next phrase, "so in Christ shall all be made alive"? Is that also an all inclusive all that includes every human being? That cannot be. If that were so it would mean that every human being would have been given eternal life in Christ. If that is so, there would be no one in hell forevermore. That cannot be because the Bible is very clear that hell will be filled with people.
    We, therefore, must realize that the all of "so in Christ shall all be made alive" has in view all those who are to be made alive. They will become alive through Christ. The all therefore refers to the elect whom God has promised to save.
    Likewise, I Timothy 4:10 declares that Christ is the Savior of all men and then defines who these are by the next phrase "specially of those that believe." The all again identifies with the elect.

    In similar fashion, I John 2:2 teaches that Christ "is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only but also for the whole world." That is, in the whole world there is only one covering for sin. Only through Him can salvation be found. This is even so as Acts 4:12 teaches:

    I Timothy 2:4 and II Peter 3:9 are similar to each other.

    The "all men" of I Timothy 2:4 and the any and all of II Peter 3:9 can refer to the whole human race in the sense of Ezekiel 33:11:

    While God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, He does not act to save them. This is God's Sovereign right. He was not under any obligation to save anyone. That is, anyone except those whom God elected to salvation. These who were chosen to salvation are the all in Christ who will be made alive (I Corinthians 15:22). These are the all men whom God wills to be become saved. These are those whom God is not willing that they perish (II Peter 3:9). They are the all whom He wills that they come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). In other words, God will not end this world until each and every one He has elected to salvation has become saved.
    Thus, we know that the idea of universal payment for sin is without any Biblical support whatsoever. It is a man-made doctrine which has been developed as a basis for the so-called "free will" teaching. The free-will idea is the since every man's sins have already been paid for, the only action left to make that salvation

effective in the life of any individual is for him reach out and accept this salvation.

    The free-will doctrine is, of course, very acceptable to unsaved mankind. It means that I am the guarantor of my salvation. Christ has made the payment; His work to save me has been done, and now it is up to me to complete the action by accepting Him. Thus, I can become saved when I want to become saved. I can make a decision for Christ tonight. I am the final decision maker.
    That is why many other unbiblical doctrines are taught alongside this kind of salvation plan. For example, it is taught that babies are innocent until they reach the age of accountability. Also, it is taught that God loves each and every person whether He plans to save them or not. It should be obvious that once we begin to develop our own salvation plan we can design it in any way we wish.

    The free-will salvation plan is not the salvation of the Bible. It is a plan that man loves because he has placed himself in control of his salvation. It is a works-grace Gospel. As we shall increasingly see in this study, anytime we add even the tiniest bit of effort on our part to God's work in saving us, we are no longer under the grace

of God. How terrible it is to contemplate the future of all of these dear people who are blindly trusting their works-grace Gospel.

Is Christ's Death Sufficient for the Whole Human Race?

    Another attempt to get as close as possible to universal atonement and yet keep a bit of distance from it is based on another non-Biblical doctrine.
    There are those who teach that Christ's death was sufficient for each and every individual in the whole human race but efficient only for those who do become saved. Is this statement true? The answer must be, No way! Jesus in the atonement did not die in some generic way, thus paying for all the sins of the whole human race. As we have seen the atonement was a very judicial process in which specific sins were in view and the payment that was made was for those sins.
    Those sins were all of the sins that would ever be committed by those whom God chose to bring to salvation. If His death had paid for more sins than the elect, it would mean that there would exist additional people other than God's elect whose sins had been placed upon Him. Thus, God's perfect justice would not make possible the sentencing to eternal damnation of any of those whose sins were already paid. Anything less than this would be a flagrant violation of God's perfect justice. How could just God send people to hell forevermore if in any sense their sins had already caused Jesus to suffer hell on behalf of their sins?
    This is why we read in Matthew 12:36 and in Revelation 20:12:

    The sins of those standing before the Judgment throne of Christ on the last day in no sense had been taken or atoned for by Christ. His death paid for only the sins of those whom God elected to salvation.

Man Is Accountable Before God For His Sins

    It should be noted that because God has created mankind in His image, God holds man completely accountable. Therefore, at the Judgment Throne no one can argue with God. They cannot plead "we were spiritually a corpse. How can a righteous God hold us accountable for our sins." We must understand that every sin of which we are guilty is our sin. God created man as perfect beings. He created man in His own image, in His own likeness.

    God then warned them that as His sons, they are entirely responsible for their actions. If you sin, you must pay the penalty demanded by God's righteous law. That penalty is eternal damnation.
    Thus, when Jesus the Son of God became guilty with the sins of all whom He came to save, He came under the penalty of eternal damnation. Only because He is infinite God could God so intensify the punishment upon Him that in the timetable of the cross experience could the penalty be fully paid.
    Likewise, those whose sins were not laid upon Jesus must also give an account to their sins. They, too, will be found guilty even as Christ was found guilty. They, too, must pay the penalty demanded by God's perfect righteousness and justice, and that penalty is also eternal damnation. They will be cast into hell because of their sins. There is no other solution to the perfect justice of God.

What about Man's Responsibility?

    Sometimes the question is raised, "How can we reconcile God's sovereignty and man's responsibility insofar as salvation is concerned?" The answer is very simple. While God commands us to repent, to believe, to be washed (baptized) of our sins, mankind in himself can do none of these things. But because we were created in the image of God, we are entirely accountable to God. Yet we are totally unable to respond to any of these commands. Therefore, in the face of our total inability to respond to His commands, God sovereignly saves those whom He wishes to save. In so doing, Christ has taken the place of those whom He has saved by being accountable to God on their behalf.
    We do not have to solve the dilemma of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. God has done it all. We who have become saved are the beneficiaries of the grace and mercy of God without any contribution whatsoever on our part.

Does God Love the Sinner but Hate the Sin?

    A common doctrine taught in many churches is that God loves the sinner but hates the sin. This is not what the Bible teaches. Let us read Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5, and in Hosea 9:15.

    Because of their sin, the whole human race is under the wrath of God. God's fury is upon them because after creating man in His image and placing him in this beautiful world, man has rebelled against God and has come under the hatred of God.
    Where then is God's love? John 3:16 declares, "For God so [in this manner] loved the world." It goes on to tell us how His love is seen in the word in that "He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish [that is, should not remain under the wrath and hatred of God] but have everlasting life."
    In this revealing verse, God is teaching that His love is wrapped up in His salvation program. As we have learned, His salvation program relates only to those whose sins have been paid for. The bible teaches that this applies only to those who were elected to salvation. Thus, we understand Romans 9:13 where God declares, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" Esau was not saved and, therefore, remained under the hatred of God.
    Does not the Bible disclose to us that Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of their unbelief? In fact, the Bible teaches that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. In Ezekiel 18:23 and in Ezekiel 33:11 God declares the following:

    How terrible it is that God must send so many of those who were created in His likeness to hell forevermore. They must be sent there

because the perfect justice of God demands this dreadful penalty must be placed upon them.

God's Well-Meant Offer of Salvation

    A similar question is sometimes raised. Theologians speak about the "well-meant offer of salvation." The real question is, "Can a righteous God give a command that is impossible to obey?" The implication is that mankind apart from God must retain some ability, however small that might be, to obey God's commands to become saved.
    This, too, is a question that finds its answer not in some tiny ability of natural man to respond to the command. Mankind cannot respond spiritually we are a corpse.
    God can give the command because He created man in His image. Mankind was created to love God and to live in complete obedience to Him. Thus, even though mankind absolutely cannot and will not obey the command to become saved, God can still make that demand.
    The only reason anyone obeys that command is because God is doing all the work of salvation for and within that person.

Will Believers Be Judged on the Last Day?

    In this study, we have been probing into the very essence of salvation. This is because in understanding baptism, we have had to look intently at what really occurred when Jesus went to the cross. We have learned that at the cross our Lord paid for each and every sin that any one of God's elect would ever commit. Thus, judicially at the moment an individual becomes saved, he stands completely righteous before God. Does that mean that consequently he will never again have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ? Let us examine this question.
    Because man was created in the image of God, he is completely accountable to God for his actions. Therefore, God in His perfect justice demands that each and every human must stand before Christ as the judge and be examined as to his rebellion (his sins) against God. God declares in II Corinthians 5:10:

    This solemn declaration indicates the terrible situation every human being is in. Not one is without sin. Anyone who stands before the Judgment Throne will be found guilty. The penalty for sin has been thoroughly set forth in the Bible. The guilty one is to be cast away in hell to endure the wrath of God for evermore.

    This is why we pray "and forgive us our sins" (Luke 11:4). This is a prayer for salvation. Only those who have become saved will have had their sins forgiven. In the next petition, God further instructs us to pray for salvation by the language "and leads us not into trial" (temptation in the King James Bible). The Greek word translated temptation is pierasmos which is translated as trial, or testing, or temptation. In fact, every temptation is a trial, testing, or trying of the one who is being tempted to determine if he will stand or fall.
    The trial from which our Lord instructed us to pray that we might be delivered is that great trial of the last day. That great trial is at the Judgment Throne of Christ. We can understand this very readily if we see what happens to a man suspected of committing a crime. He is brought to trial. If he is found guilty, sentence is passed and the man must pay the penalty demanded by the judge who sentenced him. Likewise, every human is to stand for trial to determine if he is guilty of sin.
    Jesus instructed us in the Lord's prayer to pray that we might not be brought to trial. He adds "but deliver us from evil" (Luke 11:4). The evil from which we are to pray to be delivered is the evil of the tyranny of Satan, together with the evil of our sins. We are to pray

that we are to be delivered from the evil of the wrath of God which we so rightly deserve.
    These three petitions of the Lord's prayer are therefore effectively a prayer for salvation. When we have become saved, we know that these three petitions have been answered affirmatively. This is beautifully promised in the statement of Revelation 3:10 where God declares:

    In this verse, the Greek word translated as "temptation" is again the word pierasmos just as the word "try" in this verse is pierasmos. Thus, God is saying, "I will keep thee from the hour of trial." We will see that the hour of trial is that standing before the Judgment Throne of God to answer for our sins.
    How can this be? Does II Corinthians 5:10 teach that we must stand before the Judgment Throne of Christ? We can know the answer to this question if we realize that all of those who have become saved have already stood before the Judgment Seat of Christ. They already have met the demands of II Corinthians 5:10.

    Do you remember we learned that in the atonement we were completely identified with Christ? When He was judged and found guilty and endured the wrath of God as a consequence of that guilt, we in principle were there with Him. It is as if those whom He came to save were personally there with our Savior.
    Thus, each and every true believer has already met the condition imposed upon the whole human race by II Corinthians 5:10. In

Christ we have already stood before the Judgment Throne of God, ad we never again will be judged.
    That is why Jesus says in John 5:24:

    The Greek word krisis, translated "condemnation" in this citation, is found more than forty times in the Bible. In every instance except five it is translated "judgment." Therefore, John 5:24 clearly agrees with Revelation 3:10 that the believer will not be brought to judgment.
    In fact, if we look at the events that will occur when Christ comes on the last day, we will discover that there is no room for the possibility of the saved ones standing before the Judgment Throne. Let us see why this is so.
    I Corinthians 15:51-52 declares:

    In I Thessalonians 4:16-17, we are taught:

    Please note the closing phrase of these verses, "and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Does the above language allow the possibility of believers standing before the Judgment Throne of Christ? No! We have already been there when Christ as our stand in, our substitute, stood there.

    In fact, we will be with Christ and judging with Him. I Corinthians 6:2-3 assures us of this:

    We are assured by the language of Jeremiah 31:34 "I will forgive their iniquity, I will remember their sins are no more" that once we are saved, we will never again be reminded of our sins.
    Thus, we learn that the first great blessing of salvation is the fact that our sins have all been paid for, and we will never have to stand before the Judgment Throne of Christ. Judicially we have been made just. We have become robed with Christ's righteousness. This blessedness is bestowed upon us at the moment we became saved.

A New Creature in Christ

    There is more blessedness that comes to us at the moment of salvation. At the moment of salvation, a great miracle occurred in the life of the one who became saved. He became a new creature in Christ. He experienced the resurrection, and he was given eternal life. We should carefully examine the Bible references that help us understand these changes in the life and personality of the one who became saved.
    First of all, we should recognize that we as humans are made of two parts; a body and a soul, or we might use the phrase, a body and

a spirit. I Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12 speak of soul and spirit. However, throughout the Bible unless the word soul is speaking of a person as a whole personality, as "eight souls were saved by water" (I Peter 3:20), it appears that the words soul and spirit both speak of the spirit essence of man, that part of him that leaves the body when the person dies. Jesus speaks of these two parts of our personality in Matthew 10:28:

    During the time we live on this earth as physically alive persons, we are totally integrated beings consisting of a soul and a body. We cannot see our soul, but we know it is an essential part of our being. At death, the soul is separated from the body. In the case of the death of a believer, in his soul existence or spirit essence he leaves his body and begins to reign with Christ in heaven. In II Corinthians 5:8 we read:

    This explains why we read in I Thessalonians 3:13 about the coming of the Lord with all his saints.

    We read in I Thessalonians 4:14:

    From the moment of a believer's death until the end of time, in his soul existence, he is reigning with Christ in heaven. When Jesus

comes with all His saints, with the exception of a few who are already in heaven with their bodies, they will come with Him in their soul existence because their bodies are in the grave. Revelation 20:4 describes those who are in heaven living as souls without a body.

    The thousand years spiritually signifies the completeness of time from the moment of a believer's death until he returns with Christ at the end of the world.
    How can he enter heaven in his soul existence at the moment of death? We know that in his body, he can be with Christ only after his body experiences the resurrection to the last day. It will be a totally new body in which no sin will ever again be found. How can he in his soul or spirit essence go into heaven at the moment of death?

    We will find that at the moment of salvation, a glorious transformation took place in a person's soul. He became born again or born from above.
    In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus:

    The phrase "born again" literally means "born from above." When he was born physically he was born a completed person even though he was a little baby. Likewise, to be born from above has to refer to a completed person.
    How can this be? We know that to be born again cannot refer to our body. Upon physical death the believer's body is placed in the grave and corrupts even as does the body of the unsaved. Therefore the believer did not become a new creature in his body at the time of salvation. II Corinthians 5:8 declares:

    The part of us that leaves our body at death is our soul or spirit essence. In his soul at death the believer can instantly go into God's holy heaven. Why is this? Because at the moment of salvation he was given his brand new resurrected soul. No further change is required to permit us to enter into heaven in our soul. Even if physical death occurred ten minutes after a person had become saved, he is fully prepared, without any other change, to go into heaven in his new resurrected soul. On the other hand, our spiritually and physically dead body has to experience the resurrection of the last day before it can come into the presence of Christ.
    This agrees with Ezekiel 36:26, "a new spirit will I put within you." That new spirit is our new soul or our spirit essence. II Corinthians 5:17:

    It is in our new resurrected soul that we are a new creature. Our old soul has been recreated, as it were, as a totally new soul. In our new resurrected soul we are given eternal life. John 5:24 emphasizes the present reality of eternal life as the possession of the believer.

    In I Peter 1:23 God speaks of this spiritual transformation in the life of the believer:

    Literally the phrase "being born again, not of corruptible seed" would be better translated "having been regenerated not out of corruptible seed." The incorruptible seed out of whom the believer has been regenerated can be only the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:16 emphases this:

    Indeed, a wonderful transformation has taken place in our lives when we are given, at the moment of salvation, our new resurrected souls.

The Impact of Our New Soul on Our Life

    There is a great change in the life of a person who has become saved. Because the saved person has been given a brand new resurrected soul at the moment of salvation, great conflict arises in his personality when he sins. Let us read I John 3:9 and I John 5:18.

    In our new resurrected soul we never want to sin again. But we still live in a body that has not been saved. Therefore, in the life of the believer there is a constant "tug-of-war." We read of this in Galatians 5:17 and Romans 7:22-23.

    In our unsaved body we still love sin. In our new resurrected soul in which we already have eternal life, we never want to sin.
    The Bible uses phrases such as "old man" "new man," "outward man," and "inward man" to speak of the change in our personality after we are saved. In Romans 6:6 we read:

    The term "old man" in this reference, in one sense, relates to the condition we were in as a complete personality before we were saved. When we became saved, judicially as a whole personality, body and soul, we were crucified with Christ, so that all of our sins were judged and the penalty demanded by God's law for these sins was paid.

    In another sense, the term "old man" is speaking of the condition of our soul existence when in our whole personality we served sin. This is emphasized by the term "old man" as used in Ephesians 4:22 and Colossians 3:9.

    On the other hand, in contrast to the term "old man," God speaks of the "new man" in Ephesians 4:23-24 and in Colossians 3:10.

    In these verses the term "new man" refers to the part of our personality that has been created in righteousness and holiness. That part is our brand new soul in which we will never again want to sin.
    The contrast between the body and soul of the true believer is also emphasized by the terms "outward man" and "inward man." In II Corinthians 4:16 we read:

    The "outward man" must refer to our body which will be brought to the tomb and return to the dust. The "inward man" like the new man is our soul existence in which we have been given eternal life. In Romans 7:22 God focuses on the inward man:

    In this passage, God contrasts the inward man which is our new resurrected soul with our "members," the word "members" being a reference to our body. He speaks of the "law of sin which is in my members" and then indicates in the next verses, Romans 7:23-24:

    Thus, the longing of the saved person is for the resurrection of his body which wonderfully will take place when our Lord returns on the last day. Then there no longer will exist a tug-of-war within the personality of the believer. He will be a new man both in body and in soul.

A Constant Desire to Do the Will of God

    Given the fact that at the moment of salvation we were given a new resurrected soul in which we never want to sin again, we can understand why God declares in I John 2:3-6:

    The great evidence of salvation is the fact that we have an ongoing desire to do the will of God. That desire will always be present if we are truly saved. This is so because when we have become saved, we always will have as an integral part of our personality our new soul in which we never again want to sin.
    To say it a little differently, the true child of God will always feel badly when he sins. This is because sin causes him to violate his new resurrected soul in which he never wants to sin.

    We now can understand what God is commanding in Romans 12:1 and in Romans 6:12-13.

    God is teaching us that we are to reign over our bodies. In the body of the true believer, there still exists a "want to" to sin. In our new soul we never want to sin again. Because our sinful bodies remain an integral part of our personality, evidence is provided of salvation as we put down sin which continually wants to flow from our spiritually dead body.
    It should be noted, of course, that not only does the fact of a new resurrected soul give evidence or proof that we have been washed of our sins, but God Himself indwells us as a guarantee of our salvation. Ephesians 1:13-14 teaches this grand truth:

    Incidentally, verse 13 contains the words "after that ye believed," conveying the idea that the sealing by the Holy Spirit

comes sometime after salvation. The correct translation should be "in whom also believing ye were sealed." The sealing with the Holy Spirit occurs at the moment of salvation.
    This is also promised in Ezekiel 36:27, where we read:

    In Revelation 20:5-6 we read of the first resurrection. Five characteristics are emphasized as indicators of those who have experienced the first resurrection. These are (1) they are blessed, (2) they are holy, (3) on such the second death has no power, (4) they are priests of God, and (5) they reign with Christ. All five of these characteristics apply to any believer who is truly saved. That is why Colossians 3:1 and similar passages declare we have been risen with Christ.
    Since Christ was raised bodily never to die again, that means that the believer who was raised with him also was raised never to die again. That is, in the soul or spirit essence of the believer, he has been given eternal life.
    A first resurrection implies a second resurrection, which is the resurrection of the believer's body on the last day. Then in our whole personality we will be a new creature in Christ.
    Because in the first resurrection, in our soul existence which is as real a part of our personality as our body, we have eternal life and never want again to sin, we can understand why a true believer will not fall away. He can never be included with those typified by the seed that fell on rocky soil, or those typified by the seed that fell on stony places. Neither can such a person identify with the backsliders of Jeremiah 3:13-23. Nor can he identify with those who are spoken of in Hebrews 6:4-8 or in Hebrews 10:26-29.
    Instead, a saved person is identified with those spoken of in John 10:27-29:

    Please note the reference to eternal life.

    Other passages such as Romans 8:38-39, Philippians 1:6, and Hebrews 12:2 are true for a saved person.

    Therefore, we understand that when we have become saved we are given a brand new resurrected soul in which we will never again want to sin, but we must still live in our sin-cursed body. This situation becomes a continuous testing arena. If the one who claims to be a believer falls away, if he backslides into his old life, if he does not have a delight for everything in the Bible, there is evidence he is still not saved. I John 2:4-5 declares:

    Wonderfully, it is still the day of salvation and if a person becomes worried about his salvation, he can cry to God for mercy. The promise of Jeremiah 29:13 is still true:

    We are now able to see very clearly why God must be the only one who can do the necessary work to save a person. There are three major actions of God that are always required for salvation.
    The first action is that the individual who is to become saved must have been elected by God for salvation. This is entirely God’s action in accordance with His sovereign will. It is not based in any sense upon the individual’s worthiness. Each and every person stands before God as sinners who are in themselves spiritually dead and who will of themselves never seek salvation on God’s terms. These elected individuals were given by God the Father to the Lord Jesus Christ. John 6:37 declares:

    However, then a second great act which only God can do is required. These elected persons were given to Christ but they are sinners. Before they can come into God’s Holy heaven as sons of God they must pay for their sins. God’s perfect law demands eternal damnation as payment for their sins. Therefore those elect individuals who were given to Christ must first be sent to Hell to pay for their sins. Only after they had been there for evermore would they be cleansed of their sins and would be able to come into heaven as the possession of Christ. But this would never be accomplished. Hell is for evermore. Thus it was required that God would find a substitute to pay the penalty of eternal damnation on behalf of those who were elected and given to Christ.
    That substitute was Christ, Himself. Thus each and every dirty, rotten rebellious sin of each and every one of these elect persons was laid on the Lord Jesus Christ.
    He became sin for us. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (all of the elect). Then Jesus on behalf of all of these elect individuals had to stand before the Judgment Throne of God guilty with all of these sins. God’s perfect justice demanded full payment before Jesus would return to heaven.
    Only because He was eternal God as well as the son of man could He in the time frame of the cross fully make this payment. God could so intensify the punishment on our Lord that in the hours between His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemene and the time that Jesus cried from the cross “It is finished” the penalty of eternal damnation which each and every one of the elect faced had been fully paid. Christ’s resurrection on Sunday morning was the final proof that this was so.
    Thus we must clearly realize that salvation is altogether God’s action. No human could have any part in God’s sovereign decision to elect to salvation those whom the Father wished to give to Christ. No human could in any way assist Christ in making the required payment for their sins.
Because the sins of each and every one of those elected by God to salvation have been fully paid God can now forgive their sins. But one more giant step is required before these individuals can come to be with Christ forever more. What is still required is that God remove this person from the dominion of darkness and transfer him into the Kingdom of Christ. Moreover as a citizen of Christ’s kingdom he could no longer be the same person as he had been when he was a citizen of Satan’s kingdom. His will, his rebellious heart must be changed.
    Therefore at an appropriate time in this elect person’s life God the Holy Spirit must apply the Word of God to this person’s personality by making him a new creature in Christ. That is, this person at a time known only to God, must be given a new resurrected soul which is eternally alive and in which he never wished again to sin. That is, he must be born again or born from above. This great miracle is performed by God in God’s sovereign timetable any time between conception and the moment of this person’s death. Only when this has occurred has this person been raised with Christ, has been given eternal life.
    In God’s divine economy the action of giving this elect person whose sins were already paid for when Christ suffered the wrath of God on his behalf, a new resurrected soul is accomplished in the environment of the Word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The elect person at the time God applies the Word of God to his life whether as a baby in the womb of his mother or in a coma shortly before he dies or any time in between must be under the hearing of the Bible. God at the moment He gives this person a new resurrected soul will also give this person spiritual ears to hear. This is so even though this person may be physically deaf or have inadequate intelligence to physically understand the Biblical words.
    We know this to be true as we contemplate the raising of the stinking corpse Lazarus as recorded in John 11. This striking illustration of the giving of physical life to Lazarus is a dramatic portrait of how God gives spiritual life to the elect person at the moment of salvation.
    The promise of Jeremiah 29:13 that if we seek God with all our heart we will find him is a true promise. But no one, before God has given that person his new resurrected soul, will seek Him on God’s terms, Romans 3 declares that no one will seek Him. It is only when God has saved this person will he have a heart that seeks for God in a way that is pleasing to God.
    True, in his new resurrected soul he must continue to live out his life on earth in his body that still lusts after sin. But he absolutely knows that when Christ returns he will be given his new eternal spiritual body in which he will be living with Christ forever more in the new heaven and new earth.
    Thus, we can clearly know why salvation is by grace alone. It is absolutely impossible that anyone who became saved could have assisted in anyway in (1) becoming the elect of God, (2) in having his sins paid for, and (3) in receiving the miracle of a new resurrected soul. Indeed, we must give Christ our Savior all of the praise and honor for this salvation which none of us deserve.

Jesus, The Only Begotten Son

    Down through the ages, theologians have been puzzled concerning the meaning of the phrase "only begotten Son." It is found five times in the New Testament as the Bible speaks of Jesus. The verses are:

    The phrase "only begotten" is the Greek word monogenes. It is a word that has to do with a beginning, and that makes it a very strange word when applied to the Lord Jesus. After all, the Lord Jesus Christ is from everlasting. He has no beginning. The word mono, which is part of the word monogenes, is not the problem. Christ is the only Son of God. It is the word genes that is the problem. The word "begotten" signifies a beginning as when a child is begotten or born to parents.
    Wonderfully, the Bible is its own dictionary and commentary. God has given us sufficient information so that we can know why Jesus is repeatedly called "the only begotten Son."
    Searching the Bible, we find the word monogenes used four additional times in the Scriptures. In every one of these four usages, the following characteristics are in evidence.

    1. An only child is being featured.

    2. The child has died.

    3. The child was raised from the dead.

    Let us look briefly at these four instances. The first has to do with the raising of the son of the widow of Nain. We read in Luke 7:12:

    We read in the next two verses that Jesus raised him to life. In this account, we see three elements: an only child, death, and resurrection.
    The second usage is in connection with the raising of the only daughter of Jairus. We read in Luke 8:42:

    In verse 49 the daughter of Jairus is declared dead; but in verses 54 and 55 we read that Jesus raised her from the dead. Again, the three elements: an only child, death, and resurrection are in view.
    The third usage of the word monogenes is in connection with the only son who was grievously filled with an evil spirit. We read in Luke 9:38:

    We do not read of this only child physically dying. However, God very carefully chooses language to convey the idea of death. In Mark 9:26, the Bible records:

    Mark 9:27 concludes this healing with the language of resurrection:

    Therefore, we must understand that in principle all three characteristics - an only child, death, and resurrection - are in view.
    The fourth and final place where God uses the word monogenes is in Hebrews 11:17, where we read:

    Isaac, of course, did not actually die here. Nevertheless, God insists that in principle Isaac did die and was raised again for we read in verse 19:

    Again, we see an only child, death, and resurrection. Therefore, when God uses "only begotten" (monogenes) in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, we know for a certainty that it has nothing to do with His eternity past. It has nothing to do with Him taking on a human nature and being born of Mary. Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that these three elements - an only child, death and resurrection - must be in view. Indeed, that is precisely what happened to Christ. In the Godhead, He is the only Son. He died, that is, He endured the most horrible death, the second death. And He arose again.
    We could, therefore paraphrase John 3:16 to read: "For God so [in this manner] loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son [the only Son of God who endured the second death, eternal damnation, and who arose again], that whosoever believeth on Him," etc.
    Significantly, Christ is also called the "first born." In Matthew 1:25 and Luke 2:7, He is spoken of as the first born of Mary. In both instances, the word for "first born" is the Greek word prototukus.
    In Romans 8:29, He is declared to be the first born among many brethren. Moreover, in Colossians 1:15, He is spoken of as the first born of every creature; but in Colossians 1:18, God finally clearly defines the usage of the first born as it relates to Jesus in His death and resurrection. We read:

    Please note the phrase, "the firstborn from the dead." This statement harmonizes perfectly with our conclusion that the word monogenes identifies with the fact that Jesus arose from the second death, the eternal wrath of God.
    This, too, is the reason why all believers are called "first born." Because Christ was our substitute in enduring hell for us, we, also, have experienced the resurrection.

What About Christian Liberty?

    We sometimes hear the statement, "once we are saved, we are no longer under the law but are under grace." This statement is true; God teaches it in Romans 6:14. Unfortunately, there are those who want this principle to be true in their lives so that they can use it as an excuse to violate God's commands. They teach that somehow or in some way we have been liberated from God's commands. Therefore, the term "Christian liberty" is frequently used.
    It is true, of course, that the Bible speaks of the liberty a believer enjoys when he has become saved. This is set forth in passages such as Romans 8:21, I Corinthians 10:29, II Corinthians 3:17, and Galatians 5:1.

    The question is: What laws are we are no longer under and therefore at liberty to disregard? In this study we have seen very clearly that the one who has been saved has an intense desire to obey all of the commands of the Bible. Thus, because he has been freed from the enslavement to sin which was his condition before he was saved, he is at liberty to live in obedience to God in a way he had never been able to do before he experienced the grace of God.

    Moreover, he is no longer under the wrath of God because of his sins. All of the laws that call for God's righteous judgment to fall upon him have fallen upon Christ his Savior. He is not under judgment, but is under the grace of God.
    Furthermore, as a New Testament believer he is not to perform any of the Old Testament ceremonial laws such as those concerning the seventh-day Sabbath, the sacrifices or feast days, or the Passover. While we read about them and analyze them to understand how they relate to the atonement, we are not to physically observe them.
    With the above exceptions and clarifications, the whole Bible is the rule book of the kingdom of God. AS we have learned, the one who has been saved will have a desire to obey these rules because he has come to love Christ. We read in I John 5:3:

    Thus, we will not use the liberty we enjoy to violate the laws concerning the Sunday Sabbath, which God calls "My holy day." Isaiah 58:13 declares:

    The child of God will not use his newfound liberty as an excuse to use alcohol, tobacco, or other substances injurious to his health. He will not practice gluttony or sexual perversion. In his endeavor to reduce temptation he will be deeply concerned about the books he reads or television programs he watches. The Bible admonishes in Romans 6:14-18:

    God declares in I Peter 2:15-16 and in Galatians 5:13:

    Thus, we have learned that we are never to think of "Christian liberty" as a device or excuse to live other than completely righteously before God.

The Soul of the Unsaved

    What about the soul of the unsaved at death? His body, like the body of the saved one, is placed in the grace. But what about his soul? In his soul he cannot go into heaven because in no sense does he have any righteousness.
    On the other hand, Judgment Day, when he will be brought to trial to officially learn of his guilt, is not until the last day. So where

is his soul during the time interval between his death and Judgment Day? The Bible indicates his soul goes to a place of silence. Psalm 115:17 declares:

    In Revelation 20:5, God teaches that the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. In this sentence, the thousand years spiritually signifies the completeness of time from the death of a person to the moment when he will be resurrected to stand for judgment. The phrase "lived not again" effectively declares that he will not have conscious existence until the resurrection of the last day.
    On the last day, he will be resurrected both in body and soul and be tried as a whole personality, just as the unsaved who are living when Jesus comes again will be tried as a whole personality. As a whole personality, he will be found guilty and cast into hell to experience the wrath of God forevermore. Jesus declares in Matthew 10:28, "fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
    Incidentally, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus recorded in Luke 16 is not giving a chronology of the steps that leads into hell. If this were so, it would be a passage with many errors. For example, verse 22 says the rich man died and was buried, yet in hell he lifted up his eyes and asked for a drop of water to cool his tongue. How did these parts of his body appear in hell when there were part of his buried body?
    This parable teaches many spiritual principles, but it does not teach us when we physically go to a place called hell.

What Does the Word "Hell" Mean?

    While we are speaking of hell we should determine the meaning of the word "hell." When we carefully study the Bible, we find that in the first instance, hell is a condition rather than a place. We will learn that it is the condition of being under the wrath of God. Let us learn about this from the Bible.

    In II Peter 2:4 God gives us a very revealing statement. There we read:

    Who are those angels that sinned? They are all of the rebellious angels which are called demons, evil spirits, or devils in the Bible. Satan, the chief of those angels, is their head.

    This verse says they are in hell. Yet we read in I Peter 5:8:

    How can Satan and his evil spirits trouble us if they were cast into hell? The answer is that the essence of hell is to be under the wrath of God. They were cast into hell because of Christ's victory over sin and Satan. Because of Christ's victory over Satan at the cross, Satan was cast out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9). This guarantees that Satan and all the fallen angels are under the wrath of God, that is, they were cast down to hell. The fact that hell in the first instance is a condition rather than a place is also taught when we review the language describing the atonement. In Acts 2:27 God declares concerning Christ:

    Was Christ ever literally in a placed called hell? The answer has to be completely in the negative. Until He died physically, He was always in view as a whole personality. When He died physically, in

His soul or spirit essence, He went to heaven to be with His father. At the same time His body was in the grave.
    Yet Acts 2:27 teaches He was in hell, it says, "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." When was His soul in hell? The answer is that as long as God was pouring His wrath upon Him, He was in hell. In the

Garden of Gethsemane, as sweat was pouring from His body like drops of blood, He was in hell. When He was on the cross, He was in hell. No, He was not in a place called hell, but He was in hell because God was pouring His wrath upon Him.
    That is why we read in Ephesians 4:8-9:

    The phrase "lower parts" is a synonym for hell. When He was under the wrath of God spiritually, He was enduring hell. When He was enduring hell, we whom He came to save were with Him in

principle. When we were under the wrath of God, that is, when we were in hell before we were saved (as are all humans who are not saved), we were captives or slaves of sin and Satan. When our Savior endured the wrath of God (He spiritually was in hell) in His victory over sin, He led us out of hell as His captives or bond servants. That is, He brought us out from being under the wrath of God.

    Thus, we see clearly that hell is the condition of being under the wrath of God. At the end of the world, all those who are tried and found guilty will be officially condemned to be under the wrath of God forever.
    At that time, God will destroy the present universe with fire and recreate it a new heaven and earth wherein there is no sin, and those who are to be eternally under the wrath of God must be brought by God to a place which will be called hell. Then the teaching of Revelation 20:13-14 will be fulfilled:

    Death and hell delivered up the dead in them. The dead are the spiritually dead, all those who had not become saved. They are either in the grave because they have physically died or they are still living but are under the wrath of God. Those in the grave identify with the word "death." Those who are living identify with the word "hell" because they are under the wrath of God, that is, they are spiritually in hell. Both kinds of people must be judged.
    After they are judged, they will be cast into the lake of fire, which is another name for the place where they will be under the wrath of God forever. That is, death (those who had died) and hell (those living under the wrath of God) are cast in to the lake of fire.

Is the Church the Pillar and Ground of Truth?

    Many theologians read I Timothy 3:15-16 and conclude that the visible, corporate, external congregation or denomination is the final authority concerning the teaching of the Bible. These verses state:

    Immediately, we know that their conclusion is altogether invalid. In I Corinthians 3:11, God has given us the divine principle:

    Since Christ is the only foundation, we can be certain that the phrase in I Timothy 3:15, "the pillar and ground of the truth," cannot be modifying the word church. Instead, this phrase must be linked to the words that are the closest to it, which are, "the living God." The living God who is the Lord Jesus Christ is the pillar and ground of truth. We should never countenance an idea that places the visible church in a place where it is the basis or foundation of the Gospel. It must be kept crystal clear that the Bible, which is the Word of God, is always the final and ultimate authority in all matters in which the Bible speaks.

    Therefore, for example, every conclusion in this study, however rational and reasonable it may appear to be, must be subject to the intense scrutiny of the Bible. So, too, Confessions, Catechisms, Creeds, and any other explanation of the Bible, regardless of how ancient or carefully developed or widely accepted it may be, must be subject to the intense scrutiny of the Bible.

    We read that the house of God is built upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles in Ephesians 2:19-20:

    We must understand that in this citation, the foundation is the Word of God, the Bible. Jesus, Himself being the chief corner stone.
    In Corinthians 3:10, the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, asserts:

    The prophets and apostles lay the foundation which is Jesus Christ - How are we to understand this? We might recall that every true believer (those who have become citizens of the invisible eternal church), is qualified and mandated to bring the Gospel. The Gospel has as its foundation the Lord Jesus Christ. The word "prophet" and the word "apostle" both identify with those who bring the Gospel.
    The Bible declares in Acts 2:18:

    It is a prophet who prophesies. What does he prophesy? The Gospel. Thus, as any true believer declares the Gospel to anyone, he or she is a prophet.
    What about the word "apostle"? There were the twelve apostles who were personally called by Jesus, and this included the Apostle

Paul.* The marks of these apostles had to include the fact that they were personally called by Christ; they saw the resurrected Jesus; and God did signs and wonders through them (II Corinthians 12:12). They were called the twelve (I Corinthians 15:5).
    Additionally, however, every true believer who is qualified and mandated to bring the Gospel is called an apostle. In Acts 14:14, we read that Barnabas and Paul were called apostles. In Philippians 2:25, we read of Epaphroditus being called a messenger. The Greek word "messenger" in this verse is the word "apostle". Likewise, in II Corinthians 8:23, Titus is called a messenger, and in this instance also the word is apostle.
    We can understand these men being called apostles because the word apostle means to be sent. Jesus declares in John 13:16:

    In fact, the Greek word apostolos (apostle), is derived from the Greek word apostello, which is commonly translated as being sent to bring the Gospel. That is why Jesus who was sent to bring the Gospel (John 3:17, 3:34, 17:3, 17:221, etc.), is called in Hebrews 3:1, "the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus."
    We must understand that every true believer is a prophet and an apostle. We are to declare (prophesy) the Word of God, and we are sent (apostle) into the world with the Gospel. We are ambassadors of Christ who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Thus, we are laying the foundation which is Jesus Christ upon whom the whole kingdom of God is built.
    Returning to Ephesians 2:20, we can understand that the prophets and apostles whose foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ includes each and every one who has become saved. They, together with those who become saved as they send out the Gospel, are built into the house of God.

    * The Bible repeatedly emphasizes that there were twelve tribes of Israel, and yet there were actually thirteen because Joseph's was split into two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. Likewise, God emphasizes that there were twelve apostles although when Paul was named an apostle, they numbered thirteen.

    The Bible has something very interesting to say about believers in the new heavens and the new earth. Ordinarily, when the Bible speaks of a door or a gate, if it is to be understood spiritually, it frequently is speaking of Jesus who declares in John 10:9, "I am the door." Jesus is the door or the gate into the kingdom of God. This is so even as He is the foundation of the temple of God; the temple identifies also with the kingdom of God.
    However, in Revelation 21, God speaks of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, having twelve gates, each having the name of one of the twelve tribes. The New Jerusalem, which is pictured as a cube with each edge 12,000 furlongs in length, is actually the complete fullness (signified by the number 12,000), of all the believers, who have been given everlasting life and who inherit with the Lord Jesus the new heavens and the new earth. The twelve tribes also represent the fullness of all believers. They are so intimately identified with Christ in glory that they, too, are spoken of gates.
    Likewise, the twelve foundations of the city have the names of the twelve apostles. Since the number twelve signifies fullness and the word "apostle" points to those who have been sent out with the Gospel, and this includes all those who have become saved, the foundations are identified with the fullness of all believers. In Revelation 21, the believers are in glory and have become perfect in every way. God assures us, by the beautiful language of the gates and the foundations, of the strikingly intimate relationship that will exist between Christ and the believer in eternity. It is no wonder that the Bible declares in I John3:2:

    We have one additional question we should face as we go on in this study. Because of its great significance, we will examine it in the last chapter of this book.