What Salvation Does For Believers

Regeneration

Regeneration simply means to “impart life.” Regeneration is the act whereby God gives spiritual life to the one who believes. The word occurs only in Titus 3:5, but the idea is explained many times in the NT. In John 3:3, Jesus explains to Nicodemus that he needed to be “born again.” Regeneration is another birth, but not a physical re-birth but a spiritual birth accomplished by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit’s ministry to give new, spiritual life to the child of God.

In Titus 3:5, regeneration is connected to “washing and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” This is the cleansing that is produced in the believer through obedience to the Word of God. Regeneration is not accomplished through water baptism (so-called baptismal regeneration). Regeneration results in a new heart for the believer. Cf Ephesians 2:1-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17. The believer has two natures: the old, sinful nature that responds to the flesh, and a new, spiritual nature that responds to, and understands, God’s truth.

Justification

Justification is a legal term that means “to be declared righteous before God.” It means to “announce a favorable verdict.” Justification does not make someone righteous, but simply announces that the sinner is righteous. The sinner has been cleared of his sin by the work of Christ, and now is pronounced by the Judge to be righteous. Justification is given as a gift through the grace of God. Romans 3:24. It takes place at the moment of the exercising of saving faith and results in “peace with God” (Romans 5:1) and the granting of communion and fellowship with God (Romans 8:1).

Justification supplies the believer with the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is called “imputation.” Imputation means “to charge to one’s account, either as a credit or a liability.” Imputation works two ways:

Christ took upon Himself all our sin at Calvary
Upon belief in that work of Christ, the believer receives the righteousness of Christ

“Free justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone lies at the heart of the application of redemption. The faith that unites us to Christ also sucks in every spiritual blessing in him…There is no condemnation for the believer, no prison-cell existence, for what the law could not do in that it was weak through our flesh, God has done. He sent His Son in likeness of the flesh of sin and for sin to condemn sin in the flesh so that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in them. The spirit of bondage is gone” (Sinclair Ferguson).

Union with Christ

The sinner who is delared righteous is brought into vital union with Christ. This union with Christ is represented in the NT by various earthly relationships:

A building and its foundation. Ephesians 2:20-22
A husband and wife. Ephesians 5:18-33
A vine and its branches. John 15:1-11

The Apostle Paul refers to our union with Christ by the frequent use of the term “in Christ”. Romans 6:11; 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:4; 2:13 and many others. To be “in Christ” is to live in the power of the living Christ, to have His energy and will controlling and directing every activity of the believer.

Adoption

Adoption means to be placed into God’s family as an adult with all the privileges of adult sonship. Adoption means that the believer possesses all the rights and responsibilities of full-grown adults within the family of God. It also means we are to imitate our Father in every behavior. It was Christ’s redemption that makes our adoption possible. Galatians 4:5.

Freedom from the power of sin

One of the greatest blessings of salvation is that the believer is now free from the controlling power of sin in his life. Romans 6:1 asks the question, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” Paul is raising a hypothetical issue: if salvation is by grace, then why not sin as much as one pleases in order to increase grace? God’s emphatic answer is, “NO WAY!” Christians are those who have been freed from the power that sin had in their lives by virtue of their natural birth. Unbelievers sin constantly because they are driven and controlled by the sinful impulses of their flesh. But salvation changes that relationship to sin. Believers have the ability to say “no” to sin and to receive the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit to enable them not to sin. Romans 6-7.

Sanctification

The word sanctification comes from a word that basically means to set apart. Other words from the same root are “holy, holiness, and saint.” Sanctification is the Lord’s process of separating the believer from sin and setting him apart for holiness (MacArthur).

Sanctification is one of the fruits of our salvation. It is the on-going work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer to transform the believer into the image and likeness of Christ. Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; Colossians 3:5-17.

There are three aspects to sanctification –

Positional Sanctification – which relates to the believer’s position or standing before God as a redeemed believer. The moment the sinner exercises saving faith in the work of Christ, he is accounted as holy before a holy God; he is declared to be a “saint.” Cf Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1 and others.
Experiential Sanctification – this is the day to day relationship of the believer to God based upon his experiences in obeying the truth of God’s Word. This aspect of sanctification fluctuates because of the tendency of the believer to disobey God’s will and yield himself to sinful influences and desires. Peter commands all believers “to be holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16) which should be the goal of every believer. This work of sanctification grows as the believer dedicates himself to obedience to God’s sanctifying truth. John 17:17; Romans 12:1-2. However, in no way will the believer ever reach a state of “perfection” whereby sin is eradicated as a force in his life.
Ultimate Sanctification – when the believer experiences the resurrection and receives a new, glorified body, then believers will know true holiness and perfection as they are presented to Christ “without spot or wrinkle.” Cf Ephesians 5:25-27

Assurance of Eternal Life

Eternal life or eternal security, is the realization that one possesses eternal life. It is the reassuring knowledge that what God has promised regarding salvation the believer now possesses because of his faith in Christ’s work on the cross. The believer’s assurance is secured by three realities –

The purpose and power of God the Father – it is the purpose of God to bring to glorification all those whom He called and justified. Cf Romans 8:30. Just as sinners are saved by God’s power alone, so they are kept saved by the power of God alone. John 10:29-30.
The work of the Son of God – assurance is secured by the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Romans 8:33-34. Christ, as the believer’s high priest, constantly prays and intercedes for His children. John 17:15; 1 John 2:1-2
The indwelling Holy Spirit – the Holy Spirit seals each believer until the “day of redemption.” Ephesians 1:13-14