Three Tenses of Salvation – Justification

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Did you know that salvation has three tenses: past, present, and future?

• Past Tense – What God has done for sinners through the work of Jesus on the cross – Justification
• Present Tense – What God continues to do through the Holy Spirit to make us more like Christ – Sanctification
• Future Tense – What God will do at the second coming of Jesus when he comes to judge and rule – Glorification

Today, we will be looking at justification.

How are sinners saved?

By God’s grace. It is all God. God loves you. Not because you are lovable or because you are worthy. God loves you because he is God. God’s love for sinners has nothing to do with us. God’s love for sinners has everything to do with God and God’s character.

Jesus tells us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son so that whosoever should believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

This is all God. This is all grace. God loves you. Because God loves you, God made a plan for you to be changed from sinner to a child of God. This is all God’s doing.

All those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior have been saved. This is a done deal. God did it all. Jesus paid it all. When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior our status and standing before God is changed to sons and daughters of the King. We are justified by Christ through faith. We stand before God just as if we had never sinned because Jesus takes on our sin and receives the wrath of God’s anger and judgment on our behalf. But this is not the whole story. Jesus rose again from the dead so that those who received him as Lord and Savior rise with Christ as sons and daughters.

That’s justification. This is all God. This is all grace.

Just as we did nothing to deserve God’s grace, there is nothing we can do to make God forsake us. Once we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are God’s own.

If you’ve received Jesus as Lord and Savior, you need not ever doubt your standing before God. God is your Father.

This is the good news of salvation!

Rest and be encouraged by the truth of Justification. God has done it all. Jesus has paid it all.

Amen!