Those who are living in the flesh, trusting they will be drawn up to meet the Lord when He appears in glory, may discover in that day that redemption had come previously and they had not been watching. They have been carrying their Bible under their arm but resurrection life has not been dwelling in them.

This is what happened to Israel when Christ came the first time. This is what may happen to many present-day Christians when Christ comes in the clouds of glory.

The Lord has His ways of concealing His Glory from the rebellious and spiritually proud and showing His intentions to those who tremble at His Word and seek His face diligently.

We cannot "accept Christ" and then wait to die and go to Heaven. There always is a present burden of the Holy Spirit, a movement toward the full deliverance of the elect. There is something to do now, in the Lord.

Let us consider, for a moment, the scope of the redemption in Christ. There are at least seven aspects of the Christian salvation:

Salvation from guilt to forgiveness.

Salvation from spiritual death to eternal life.

Salvation from spiritual bondage to spiritual freedom.

Salvation from disobedience to obedience.

Salvation from Satan's image to Christ's image.

Salvation from emptiness to fullness.

Salvation from bodily corruption to bodily incorruption.

Salvation From Guilt to Forgiveness

The Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross of Calvary as the payment for the guilt of our sins. The soul that sins shall die. This is the Divine edict. Atonement must be made by blood. The blood of Jesus appeased the wrath of God, balancing the Divine scales of righteousness.

It is not possible for a human being to appease God, to make an atonement for his sins. Only the blood of Jesus can make an atonement for sin. The most debased of sinners can come to Jesus in faith, repent of his sins, be baptized in water, and receive the full Divine pardon.

Many wretched, destroyed people have come to God's Lamb throughout the centuries of the Christian Era and received the full Divine pardon. The love of God goes far beyond the ability of human beings to comprehend.

God forgives those who come to Him through Christ. He forgives them totally. Our sins and rebellions are put on Christ's account. Our court record is expunged—made as though there had been no transgression.

This first aspect of redemption has been preached thoroughly by the Christian ministry. It has been preached so thoroughly that the Christian salvation has come to mean only forgiveness. Grace means forgiveness. Salvation means forgiveness. Redemption means forgiveness. Such is the modern perception of Divine grace.

Added to limiting the definition of salvation to the forgiveness of our sins has been the idea that the goal of forgiveness is to permit us to enter Heaven—there to live forever in a beautiful mansion.

The myth of residence in Heaven as the goal of the Divine redemption has destroyed the true scriptural concept of redemption—that of restoring to man what was lost in Eden.

To be continued.