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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Working Out Our Salvation
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9,10)
The above verse fits our current understanding of salvation.
The following verse does not fit our current understanding of salvation. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
When our doctrine is supported by some verses but not by others, our doctrine is not sound.
Typical evangelical preaching in our day presents the Christian salvation as a ticket to Heaven. A few "key verses," such as Romans 10:9,10 are lifted from their contexts and used to "get people saved." Numerous people have "come to Christ" in just this manner, including the present author.
The "ticket to Heaven" approach to the Divine redemption has been of benefit until the present hour. However, the nearness of the Day of the Lord is bringing with it a renewed understanding of the salvation that is in Christ, a much broader perspective and one that embraces all that is presented in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The current teaching is that if we confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth and believe in our heart that God has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead we will be saved.
The term "saved" ordinarily means we shall go to Heaven when we die to live forever in a mansion. What we shall do after that, if anything, is not always clear.
If the reader is a sincere, diligent Christian, he should be concerned that his basic belief is not supported by the Scriptures. What passage of the Scriptures teaches that being saved means we shall go to live forever in Paradise when we die?
If our reader cannot find such a passage, then perhaps he or she will be encouraged to examine what else we have to say on the subject of working out our salvation.
What do the Scriptures teach concerning salvation? The Scriptures present salvation as preservation in the Day of God's Wrath.
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (I Thessalonians 1:10)
In the Scriptures, salvation is presented as deliverance in the Day when God releases His anger, the anger that has been building since the time Satan and his followers chose to rebel against God's will.
To be continued.