IV. TULIPS' meaning for SALVATION

1. Why is "TULIPS" used as an explanation of salvation?

Then, going forward from your birth, the acronym explains the logical and chronological order DURING YOUR LIFETIME HERE, for choosing to obtain a relationship with God as He wills it to be.

Let's run through the "backward" use, first. Chronologically, starting with "S", is God. No creation, yet: it's eternity past. It's God's decision to create. God's Essence as a Person must be understood to see why He makes the Sovereign choices He does, and why all creation is subject to His Choice from that moment forward, yet any free will in that creation is not compromised.

The "P" is a sort of printout of God's Choices which He chooses to base partly on the choices of those free will creatures He chooses to make. He knows all in advance. Yet, such knowledge doesn't in any way restrict or "condition" His Own Free will. Being Veracity, He chooses to make His decisions based on Truth, i.e., the facts. So, the "P" is a subset of His Decisions, with respect to the "facts" about who will choose to have a relationship with Him and who will not.

For "P" to be implemented, though, there will have to be Inalienable Grace: the Grace is yet another provision, to implement "P". Grace, though, needs a basis, which "L" justifies; "L", in turn, is supported by "U", the payment for sins, so Righteousness is satisfied. Thus, "T" can be allowed to exist.

NOTE: it does not matter at what time in history He pays for sins, for purposes of "T" being allowed or not. The foreknown fact that He will successfully pay is alone necessary. (Notice how, without foreknowledge, no creation could be justified.)

So much for the "going backward" usage of TULIPS. 

Going forward, now, starting with one's birth in time: one is born totally depraved. Unlimited Atonement has occurred (we're post-Cross), but you learn the Gospel on it sometime AFTER you are born. Question is, do YOU accept it? If so, you'll next give the password: a "yes", to the "L".

So, next, if you've believed, meaning "yes", then the "I" post-salvation becomes yours also, the "P" is also yours, and you have a relationship with God ("S" standing for God, here). 

Once this backward-forward use of TULIPS is grasped,

 
• It's easier to see why salvation is only through Christ (and is not some meanie's way of keeping people out of Heaven), and 

 
• Post-salvation, using TULIPS makes it much easier to remember many doctrines with just one word.

 
• Post-salvation, your Wealth, Your Inheritance is not immediately conveyed to you, fully. You get some "funds" right away, no matter how "apostate" you might be or later become (logistical support, for example, including the apparati to learn Him). Some of the biggest pre-death benefits are based on your first becoming a spiritual adult, which in turn depends on how much Bible Doctrine you LEARN (understand and believe, using God's system, which is NOT related to or dependent on human IQ). The teaching you need to learn to "grow up" is easier to learn, if you've a firm grasp of the TULIPS doctrines -- because those doctrines are the foundation for all of the others.

2. Is Calvinism the only application of TULIPS?

A few churches make MAJOR changes in the doctrine of salvation: chiefly, that you have to "do" something. The intention of these teachings seems to be benign, but folks can actually NOT be saved by using such teachings.

For example, to say "I invited Christ into my heart", or to say you have to be water-baptised to be saved, or to say that you must out-loud "confess" that you believe to be saved -- all of these statements are serious misinterpretations of verses in Scripture. You are NOT saved by doing any of these things. Simply believe in Christ.

Belief in Christ is not a meritorious act, and you aren't DOING anything at all. God the Father says His work is sufficient, and you merely believe that promise. At that very moment, you receive many assets, starting with a new human spirit, eternal life -- many, many assets. V. will cover some of them, as I have time to write it up.

If you have trouble here, do a search on the phrase "debt". In the Greek, Romans4:4 very clearly says that if works, then you cancel faith; there is another one which says you are basically digging yourself into a pit of debt, by works. When I remember where it is, I'll post its cite here. 

To otherwise "triangulate" and thus prove the faith-alone interpretation, review Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews (the faith-alone is a major theme running throughout all three books, which should become clear if you read them repeatedly -- as all of us need to keep doing).

3. But there are "Christian" churches which say Christ's payment on the Cross only makes you eligible to be saved, and you have to do certain things, too (besides believing in Him); that, if you don't do these things, you don't end up going to Heaven. How do I know, then, that what they say is wrong, and what you say is right?

Consult God. That is always what He wants. Anything you hear or read as an adult is YOUR responsibility to accept or reject, before the Lord, whatever the authority or credentials of the person giving you information. So, you have to determine for YOURSELF, before the Lord, what is the right answer. Never blindly rely on anyone, never blindly reject anyone. Always test for the "sense" of what is said. Because, you never know who the Holy Spirit may be using to teach you.

God is ABSOLUTE RIGHTEOUSNESS. We are not. The churches which proclaim that you must do things besides believe in Him ONCE to be saved do not see the fact that man can't contribute to salvation due to Total Depravity.

You will need to talk with God about this question, and ask for Him to help you see that Christ's payment is sufficient to save you. He will then take the circumstances and the time given you to demonstrate this truth. It takes some time.

This website is no more than a sort of witness to what Scripture says. It is not my material. I merely put its statements into my own words. The truth of what's here God will confirm, since you are NOT supposed to blindly accept or reject just anything you hear. After all, there are lots of statements out there, all of them claiming to be Scriptural!

That is how He works with any statement -- you have to hear it in order to be aware of it, but you shouldn't just automatically believe what you hear -- you must test what you hear, and get confirmation from Him, to verify you've tested correctly, too!

In short, any statement should be tested, and should be subject to confirmation from Him before you believe it -- whether the statement is your own, or someone else's (like here). This seeking means you have to want to analyse what you hear, and you have to want Him to confirm or correct it. If these two wants are lacking, you won't get any further. God will not force the answer on you: you have to want to know -- you have to want to analyse. It is a time-consuming process -- after all, it is a life-and-death matter, and God is Infinite! So quickie-answers are not to be expected.

So much for the "warning". Here are some lines of thinking you can use to analyse the question. They are not all of the lines of thinking you can use, but you'll see other ones as you look at these -- if you are inclined to do so.

A. Examine Scripture on the subject

Whole books in the Bible are devoted to banishing the (subconscious) arrogance which says man can do anything at all to earn or contribute to his salvation: Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews stand out in this regard. If you read them prayerfully, even the English will become clear.

The BIG reason it's true you can't add to Christ's Work, is Christ. All of creation was designed by Him and for Him (Col.1:16-17). His Payment is essentially a payment to recreate man, which Payment He wants to do alone, and ONLY if the person He made be born agrees. See "L" on His Humanity's Role as Mediator. You didn't have a choice in Him creating you the first time. You DO have a choice in Him recreating you. You only get to make that choice ONCE: it's like agreeing to be married, where subsequent divorce is not possible, because the minute you believed in Him, your "old man" dies (this is the major theme of Romans 6-8, especially 7, which uses the marriage analogy). You can't divorce a dead man! Further, Christ, the "new husband" of Romans 7, CAN'T die (see Heb 7 on this), and REFUSES to ever divorce you: 1Tim2:11-13. So you CAN'T get out of it.

Thus, all Gospel messages should carry a warning label: BEWARE! if you believe in Christ ONCE, you cannot reverse that decision. Still, your assent is not a commitment. God makes the commitment. Ezekiel 16 illustrates that fact, in very graphic (and, to some folks, offensive) language. God makes you so to make you His Own. He finds you abandoned ("weltering in your blood"), the umbilical cord still attached to the dead (old-sin-nature) mother; He then cleans you up (saves you), and cares for you forever, even if you later "prostitute" yourself by loving others rather than God.

Christ uses creation to glorify His Father; the Father uses it to glorify His Son. The Spirit uses it to glorify them both. So all Three Persons take on roles to recreate you.

That is why Christ is THE ELECTION. All the other election verses are a RESULT of His. Search the Bible on the phrase, "in Christ". Also, please read the "P" section over again. It has lists/explanations of some key verses on the foregoing, and on the topic of why you can't lose your salvation.

Obviously, if you can't add to Christ's work, you can't lose your salvation: the two go together. (If you could add something, you could undo it and thus lose out, wreck, what you'd needed to add. However, depraved man has nothing attractive to offer).

B. Learn something of the Original Languages of Scripture, because they make things clear you might miss in a translation.

Any one verse on salvation is painfully clear in the original languages -- that you can only be saved via a moment's faith in Christ alone, and that ONLY and PERMANENTLY saves you. This clarity is usually accomplished via the tense of the verb. Verb tenses in the original languages are far more varied and therefore precise than we have in the English language.

For example, in the Greek language you have something called the "aorist" tense. English does not have this tense -- Russian does, so does today's Greek.

This is the tense usually used to show that a moment's faith is all that is required. Aorist comes in four "flavors" : constantive, culminative, gnomic, and punctiliar. The last one means just a moment, the point-of-action of the verb. This is the heart of the meaning of the aorist tense. This usage, in the verses which speak of your faith in Christ, is the one which makes it so completely clear you just believe ONCE to be permanently saved.

"Permanently saved" is usually conveyed by the culminative aorist tense. This tense means the one action has permanent results, for it stresses the results of the one action. 

There is also the perfect tense, which we have in English ("have had"). Unlike the English, the perfect tense conveys permanence. This tense is also used in salvation verses to show that a moment's faith has permanent salvation results.

Some good examples of these Greek uses are in Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 2:16, Acts 16:31(a different Greek tense but same characteristics), and Romans 5:1 -- which says you are JUDICIALLY JUSTIFIED (from dikaioo, a legal term for complete justification/vindication) PERMANENTLY in its first phrase - and only AFTERWARDS do you do anything -- by Grace, still.

Where do you go to see this proof? Well, I've not found any site other than my pastor's which teaches these verses word-for-word in the original languages. His site is CLICK HERE for rbthieme.org. His Integrity of God book, the Blood of Christ book, the Basics tapes are good locations to get the catalog of these verses in the English. The church can tell you of any other tapes which go through the pertinent verses. They never ask for money, so don't give any. [My pastor is retired, but his son separately teaches at the same church, if that matters to you: CLICK HERE for www.berachah.org.

Other churches probably have catalogues of verses in the English showing faith-alone in Christ permanently saves. You can probably get these verses from them at no charge. Just remember that because the English doesn't have the tenses used in the inspired, infallible original writings, you have to read and think a lot harder, to see the fact that faith-alone for a moment permanently saves you. God will help you see this: don't be disheartened over the time it might take for you to understand.

In short, there are many verses proving salvation is by faith alone and permanent. There are likewise many more explaining why it is NOT true that works do ANYTHING to help you get saved. (See especially Romans 4:4 and Gal 5:3 in this connection.) As I have time, I'll post more of them here.

C. Use Logic to test the "sense" of the idea. Here are some sample "lines" you can use to test.

Logic itself will help you cut through the false arguments that you have to do something besides believe in Christ. Let's go through some questions you can apply to test what you hear.

Those claiming you have to do something to add to Christ's work on the Cross do so in the name of God's Righteousness, or do so in the name of claiming that "faith" has to be ongoing -- one's faith can't turn off, and "keep" salvation. Let's look at these claims.

If God is so Righteousness that Christ (not you) had to pay for sins at all, then if Christ paid for sins AT all (and He did), how could there be anything left for you to do? As we saw in the "T", God knew in advance that there would be sin, and took responsibility for allowing it. As we saw in the "U", "L", and "S", God's taking responsibility for allowing sin, was for the Son to take on Humanity and pay for sin on the Cross. So how can anything be left for you to add?

This much, even those who teach you have to do something will admit is true. What they dispute is the COMPLETENESS of the payment. They are basically saying that the Atonement, even if you also believe in it, was somehow less-than-enough to save you -- that you, not God, must engage in actions to "complete" your being-able-to-get-to-heaven, in order to honor Christ. (They get this idea because they interpret every verse which has "save" or "salvation" in it as ONLY meaning that category of salvation which means you go to heaven. That "save" and "salvation" have more than one meaning in all languages, including those of Scripture, is disregarded.)

Were that true, then God is not God, because His Righteousness would be less than TOTAL. How so? Because if we need Christ's payment in the first place, and God didn't have Him pay for ALL of the problem, then God did something LESS than TOTAL -- which is inconsistent with His God-ness (see "S"). Remember, God is Infinite: the offense of sin offends the INFINITE Righteousness of God. It's not the finity of the sin, but the Infinity of God which determines the value of the offense. So whatever is done to "atone" must be of infinite value in the Eyes of that same Infinite Righteousness.

Now, as to the need for you to keep on believing and obeying Him to get to Heaven -- how much sense does that make? The heart of the claim is, yes, He did the atoning work for sin, but you have to keep on believing in it, and ALSO must return to that belief when you fail, in order to actually get to heaven. Think about what that means.

Either the Lord atoned for sin, or He didn't. If He did, then why would you have to keep believing He did, to be saved? Wouldn't it be a sin to stop believing? Of course it would be. So, didn't God know in advance that you would stop? Of course He did. So, wouldn't that sin have also been judged on the Cross, before you were born? Of course it would have been.

Moreover, to say you'd have to keep believing in what is a fact apart from your belief is to say the fact of His Atonement is not a fact unless you believe it is - in short, a fact is only a fact if you believe it true? That is obviously illogical.

Ah, but these churches claim that your initial acceptance of Christ (initial faith in His Saving work) is only the beginning, and you have to keep that acceptance "on", as it were. In short, if you change your mind or disobey God at any point, and don't repent, you can turn your salvation off. You can undo your acceptance, in other words, and cancel your salvation.

How much sense does that make? If our being born in sin is the problem in the first place, and it is, and Christ paid for sins, and He did, then what else is there left to do? If you believed He paid the first time, you believed in His Work -- not your own. He did that Work -- His Work is OVER, FINISHED -- He even said "It is finished" before He voluntarily died on the Cross. You weren't even alive then.

Going further with this line-of-thinking: the moment you first believed in Christ--- can you take it back? No, because you can't go back in time to that moment -- supposing you even REMEMBER when that moment is, which you might not remember -- and undo it. Time cannot be reversed. You cannot undo that moment of faith. You can change your mind later, but so what? It cannot cancel TIME. That is why the "born again" analogy is used in John. You cannot undo your birth. You cannot undo your second birth, from the Spirit (see John 3), either. Recant all you like, you cannot undo TIME.

YOU CANNOT UNDO TIME: you cannot undo His Work on the Cross because God knew in advance all the sins you were ever going to commit for your whole lifetime -- LONG before you were born -- and imputed them to Christ on the Cross. 'Including all those (to you, yet-future) times you'd stop believing.

You can't go back in time. God was paid for you 2000 years ago: think of the "interest" on that payment, so to speak! Can you really sin as big as all the interest on HIS HOLY Payment? He's bigger than you are! That's why His payment is enough! Can you go back in time and stop His payment? Can you go back in time and stop your first birth? Can you go back in time to the first time you believed in Him and undo your "born-again" spiritual birth? No No No. So -- how can your recanting be of any effect at all? It would be effective only if it could undo Time.

2Tim2:11-13 put this fact into a song: if we are faithless, He remains faithful: for He cannot deny Himself." Recant all you like -- He remains faithful.

In short, it isn't whether you LATER disbelieve, but whether you EVER once believed in Him, which saves you. See the end of the "P" subpage (in the "THIRD CONCEPT" subsection) for some important verses on this topic.

D. Closely examine the verses which SEEM to say you have to add something to your salvation, or that you can lose it, for the "logic" of the interpretation you hear given.

The verses most-frequently cited to claim this continuing-faith behaviour is needed are the "work out your salvation" verse, and the book of James.

Phillipians 2:12's "work out your salvation" is a play on "works" and play on "salvation" -- Bible's Greek has many such plays-on-words. Even if you don't know the Greek, think - how do you "work out" what you don't already HAVE? The idea is, to parlay what you have: v.13 makes it clear God does this "work out", even, not you: He does the work, you get the credit..heh.

(A main theme in Phillipians is cost, God's work. As usual, Paul plays with the meanings of words like "work", "cost", "salvation/deliverance", humourously and ironically, to convey truth.)

Also think through the "JUSTIFIED" explanation, above: Romans 5:1 ties in here.

The "faith without works is dead" verse in James is another one commonly used to claim salvation didn't "take" (didn't really happen) unless you have visible-to-others works, or to say you can't be saved UNLESS you do works.

How much sense does that make? If Christ had to go to the Cross at all, how is it you can work for salvation? If Christ had to go to the Cross at all, how is it you faith is worth anything? Wouldn't your faith be dead, anyway, given Total Depravity? If you're honest with yourself, you have to admit, "I sin." So, if one sins, what will be the quality of the faith, the works: they will be the quality of a sinner's faith and works: DEAD to God. Heb9:14 and 1Cor3:15, the "righteousness..filthy rags" verse, and all the "drag" and "draw" verses make it pretty clear that works avail nothing, show nothing, do nothing. Same for faith. Any value of faith or works must be something GOD makes, and what He makes might not be visible to one's fellow man. Morality is usually from a desire to think well of self, to be approved by others; so you can't go by morality to decide if one is "Christian".

Why are those works' verses there, then? Ah, they do have an important purpose. They relate to the outward behavior complementary to your POST-salvation life. As 2 Cor 5:17 says in the Greek, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new-in-species creature! The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come!" (The Greek words "kaine ktsis" are usually translated "new creature" in most English bibles, but the Greek words mean "new-in-species", not just "new creature". The "in Christ" phrase relates to position in Christ on the Cross -- see Romans 6 on this -- we were baptised in His Death, meaning we died with Him on the Cross -- even before we were born. So, upon salvation, we are forever IN CHRIST because He was Resurrected, and are thus baptised into His Life, as Romans 5-8 explains.)

Once you are in Christ, you are born-again, and are structurally a different species of human than you were beforehand. You acquire a human spirit --part of the 40 things God does for you at your initial faith in Christ. Question is, what happens now? What is the life-in-Christ while still down on this earth about? The verses about faith and works are REALLY about how to live your outward life AFTER salvation. BIG Hint that this is true: such verses are addressed to "brethern", "saints"; both words are technical Bible terms for believers, who are ALREADY saved. (Christ is Our Groom, we are Body of Christ, Bride of Christ, per the Bible. Hence we are "brethern" with respect to each other, and "sanctified" with respect to our "Bride" status..see Eph 5 for yet more on the marriage analogy.)

The "V" subpage here explains the basics of this life. The inward life, which by FAR is the most important! is to learn the Father's Son: 2Pet3:18 and all the "know" commands in Scripture help you see this fact. Just as the Father was only pleased with the thinking of His Son, so the Son will only be pleased with a Bride whose thinking becomes compatible to His. That is our main reason for being in this body after salvation: to learn Him, to train to become a fit Bride.

However, you don't just live life in Spirit, or in your mind; you have a body, which has bodily needs, and there are a bunch of other bodies in your periphery. So, this outward or lateral aspect to your life also needs a code to live by: thus, all the deeds-commands in Scripture.

The unbeliever is usually moral. Morality is a good way to live in peace. It has inherent value, and God invented morality for the entire human race, not just for believers. So, every religion on the planet has a moral code in it. So, being moral helps the unbeliever to see Christ in you, by his standards of what a "Christian" should be. The actual standards are FAR higher: the inward life..Romans 12 is a good summary of the inward life, and Romans 13 (w/ parallels in Lev26, Deut28-30) is a good summary of the outward life. Deut 30:20 expresses the principle of being moral so that one's life on this earth will be blessed; so one's periphery will also be blessed.

Of course, if morality is a good way to live in peace for the unbeliever, how much more for the believer?

So, try reading all those verses which are claimed to be about works-salvation, as if they were about the post-salvation outward life, and you'll see more clearly why they REALLY ARE about post-salvation life. The Holy Spirit will prove it to you.

What about those "Baptism" verses, though? Well, there are seven different kinds of "baptisms" in the Bible, so first you have to learn which "baptism" is in view. These are differentiated with "of" clauses, like "baptism of Moses", "baptism of the Spirit", etc. The baptism of water is just a testimony to the fact that you HAVE believed in Christ; it's a custom. The Greek word "baptizo" means essentially to identify with, to associate with, to bond; it is not something YOU can do, and clearly is not accomplished by inanimate water???! What, you can be saved by taking a bath, or by being sprinkled? Then everyone who's ever been wet is saved?

So, see .. you don't even have to know the Greek meaning of the word. It makes no sense to say water saves you, or plays a role in making you saved. The "everyone..born of water and the Spirit" verse references first, physical birth (ask any mother about what "breaking water" means, an expression which is as old as time); second, spiritual birth (due to faith in Christ). Again, common sense tells you that taking a bath or a sprinkling can't do anything but make you physically wet (and maybe cleaner).

What about "inviting Christ" into your heart, life, or whatever? I honestly don't know what to call that phrase, except "arrogance". Innocent arrogance. What, you can tell God what to do? "The heart of man is deceitful, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" says Jeremiah. You're inviting Christ into a pumping organ? or into a depraved soul? And what is man's life? If even our righteousnesses are "filthy rags", how would God find such an invitation attractive? NOOOOO. God the Father is the one who invites (remember the wedding parable, the one where guests refused to come?). You either accept the invitation by believing in Christ, or you do not. Your loss, if you do not.

What about "Lordship" salvation, or making a commitment? How much sense does that make? Does a dead person make invitations or commitments? We are spiritually DEAD in Adam (Romans5:12ff, 1Cor15:22). Moreover, if God, not you, does the inviting, certainly your calling Him Lord or claiming to make a commitment means nothing at all. Christ made the commitment: the Cross. God the Holy Spirit has to make you reborn. You can't commit, God has to commit you. You can AGREE to HIS commitment, just once. And even there, as we saw in "T" and "I", He has to make that very-dead faith alive. See, total depravity is SOOO bad, it keeps on wanting to assign man merit; keeps on wanting to say you should do something, which is the arrogance of saying you can do something. Paul excorciates that thinking in Galatians, in language so strong, the translators had to tone it down, just as they did with "filthy rags" (which really means "menstrual rags"..but the prudish won't admit that).

Think out the above issues, as you're inclined. The Holy Spirit will show you what's true, and probably will add many other confirmations not here listed, lest you mistakenly think you're just believing me!

E. "Salvation" has more than one meaning, so not every verse with "saved" or "salvation" in it means the kind of "salvation" which gets you to heaven.

"Salvation" in the Greek has multiple meanings, but for some idiotic reason the translators into the English didn't uniformly translate the different meanings although the original makes them plain. (Men are fallible, God is not; thus we have the Scripture to "catch" such errors.)

"Sozo" is the Greek verb. "soteria" is the Greek noun. English uses "save" and "salvation" in many ways; the words don't ONLY signify whether one goes to heaven. The Greek also uses these words in many ways.

For example, if I say I "saved" money on something, you wouldn't automatically assume it had to do with my going to heaven, would you? If I said "wow, i was saved!" you'd not say that "saved" ONLY meant heaven -- rather, you'd look at the rest of what I said to determine what I was saved FROM. The translators may have understood what "save" and "salvation" actually meant, but didn't always fix the translation to show what it meant.

"Deliver", and "deliverance", and "saved from cost", and "save" as a quantity (saved from damage, from extra effort, or some other problem) are other meanings of these Greek words, just as in the English.

For example, all the "endure to the end" verses are talking about the deliverance from historical disaster, and the warning is to keep the faith so you will be physically saved from the disaster. (God uses disaster to punish, and if one wants to avoid being punished, "keep the faith"..hold on to the doctrine...keep trusting Him. Check it out.)

What am I saying, here? That the heart of the problem in the idea that you have to keep on working or keep on doing something to keep your "salvation" is based on a an incorrect interpretation -- that "salvation" can ONLY mean the kind that gets you to Heaven.

There are actually 3 stages to salvation. You can't even get the 2nd or 3rd stage without FIRST being "born-again". That "born again" is what makes you go to Heaven, not your works. It is called "positional sanctification": this position is referenced in the NT wherever you see the phrase "in Christ". Do a verse search on that phrase -- it will help you see why you can't lose your salvation.

The second stage, formerly called by theologians "experiential sanctification", is what the verses on continuing-faith and works reference. This process determines your relative status IN Heaven, not whether you will get there.

Finally, the 3rd stage, ultimate sanctification, is the acquisition of your resurrection body (post-death).

F. Give the idea of God's Grace the benefit-of-the-doubt that it might be TOTAL.

Romans 4:4 and Gal 5:3 make it clear that if you think something needs to be added to faith in Christ, you are essentially saying faith is not faith, but works, and at the same time you are saying you owe debt, so you deny Christ paid for you.

Take the precaution, then, of simply believing in Christ. No added works on your part. If you do this, but later you think it wasn't enough, at least you gave the benefit-of-doubt to the idea, which was a fair thing to do.

Better still, you will at least be saved (even if you later disbelieve it!) because you did this ONCE. Sure, if you later disbelieve faith alone is enough you will have a miserable life down here trying to earn your salvation, but at least you won't MISS being saved!

If you never merely believe, but persist in thinking you must add to His Work, then you will not only be miserable on this earth trying to (allegedly) earn your salvation, but you will go to Hell. Why take that chance? It's at least worth believing just in case it's true, isn't it? What do you have to lose? Would God not understand? Give Grace the benefit of the doubt..

4. I'm still not clear on what salvation "is"!

To: God; Heaven; Relationship with the Godhead forever; Christ; Royalty; a life of greater enjoyment, even down here, than you can dream of; riches beyond your wildest imagination; importance, as a person, You! beyond your ability to describe.

From: Hell, chance, meaningless pain, loneliness, despair, guesswork, meaningless effort, peasant living, emptiness, futility.

When you believe in Christ, you become a different species of human being, as #3 above briefly covered (2 Cor5:17 in the Greek): you are placed in Christ, and are "one" with Him, as it were (search on the verses with "one" in them, and especially Jn17's prayer). You are Indwelt by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (search on the verses which say "in" and reference Any Member of the Godhead). You are "sealed to the day of redemption" by the Holy Spirit.

Sealing was a signature guarantee, in the ancient world. Then, a person had a ring, called a signet ring, on which he made an imprint to signify a document or other written material belonged to him or was agreed-to by him. Sealing meant one was bound to the item on which the seal appeared. Because you are sealed, your body is a "temple of the Holy Spirit", as it says in Corinthians. The Father and the Son also guarantee your inheritance in Christ. Search on the words "guarantee" and "inheritance" and their synonyms.

You receive a huge portfolio of assets, which the Holy Spirit delivers to you partially, over time -- some of these assets -- at least 40 of them -- you get the second you believe in Christ. The rest are added to you as you mature in your spiritual life.

1Peter makes a huge deal out of your portfolio: he makes an analogy to the financial "equipping" of a Greek play, in Chapter 1. It was very expensive to put on a play, in those days, so Peter's analogy is about a LOT of wealth.

The Book of Ephesians has an almost-endless sentence, in the Greek (but not the English!) of Chapter 1, for about the first 20 verses, to stress the endlessness of our wealth. Ephesians is the flagship book of our portfolio of assets in Christ (although Hebrews is a close runner-up).

You are, for example, Royal Family of God. This is due to your being in Christ. Traditional theology calls this "positional sanctification". It has nothing whatsoever to do with how good you are, but how good Christ is. As we saw in subpages "P" and "S", everything is about Christ! We benefit due to Him; unbelievers thus benefit due to us, despite the fact that we are a separate "kingdom", right smack dab in the devil's own world.

Your new position means you share in all He is and has: this is what He prayed for, in John 17. For example, at the moment you believe in Christ you receive the Father's Eternal Life, the Son's (Deity) Eternal Life, the Father's Righteousness, and the Son's Righteousness at the moment the Holy Spirit makes you "born again" (creates a human spirit for you).

There are lot of verses on these facts. The Integrity of God book, and the Romans tapes (see #3 for how to get them) list the many citations, too many to list here.

Search on the words "royal", Bride of Christ", "in the Beloved", "in Christ", "son" ,"child" and "saint" to see this. For example, the Corinthians, one of the worst groups of believers to ever grace the planet, are all called "saints" by Paul, in his letters!

"Saint" means "set-apart". Also search on the word "priest", in the New Testament. You're that, too. This is your position.

Now, how you learn to live out your position (the real meaning of the "work out your salvation" verse, the real meaning of the verses in James 1 about faith and works), is to become a "doer of the Word", as James puts it; to be "transformed...by means of doctrine" as Paul puts it in Romans 12; to "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ" as Peter puts it at the end of 2Pet. This is the process of "experiential sanctification" another traditional theological term.

Phillipians 3 has a lot to say on those believers who grow (1st 15 verses) versus those who retrogress (e.g., verse 18 et.seq). The goal, is "to come to know the love for Christ...fullness of God" in Eph 3:15-21. Romans 15 covers the topic also, on how the mature believers are to "bear the weaknesses of the weak" baby believers.

These are BIG jobs, and they require training. You weren't reborn to flip over hamburgers, but to be ROYAL, priestly. 'Which requires a long period of training, before one is qualified to do any works. After all, even a baby must grow up before he can get a job. After all, a seed must first sprout and grow to a fruit tree, before it can bear fruit. The idea that you get saved, and then immediately work work work is ...well, not logical, is it?

"Ultimate sanctification" is the third and final stage of your "salvation" -- the "redemption of our bodies", as Paul puts it. That happens at and after death: you lose the depraved body at death.

TO SUM UP: "salvation" really has 3 parts to it. These 3 parts are sequential deliveries of the assets in your portfolio, "in Christ". They are: 
 

1. "positional sanctification": the rebirth and all positional assets, WITHOUT WHICH YOU CANNOT DO ANY WORKS, with its concomitant "sealing to the day of redemption" (guarantee you will go to Heaven, for example, and guarantee of your salvation assets, plus partial delivery of them);

 
2. "experiential sanctification": the experiential assets of learning Bible Doctrine which, if you use them, will enable you to receive the "maturity" (English uses "perfect", a bad translation) status: riches of your on-earth portion of your inheritance, which riches add to your inheritance in eternity (if you use them down here);

 
3. "ultimate sanctification": the new body at death, and your forever-Royal status, both on earth later, and in heaven: with Him.


Do a search on "saint","sanctify", "sanctification" and synonyms like "holy" and "set apart" to at least get a glimmer of these three stages to your deliverance (another meaning of "salvation", rarely translated in English), in Christ.

5. But what about "by their fruits ye shall know them"?

Of course, the "fruits" of the widow who put in the two coppers would thus be worth less than the guy before her, who put in the talents, by this definition of "fruits"! Which, of course, is the opposite of what the Lord said of her (Mark 12:42)...

Let's look at the "fruits" passage.

It is in Matthew 7:16, and is about false teachers. The Chapter is about judging and false doctrine. Notice it is not about mere outward behaviour, but rather about false thinking, teaching, and in particular, about the false rabbinical teachings. Of course, false behaviour results.

Do also a verse search on "fruit", and "fruits", and synonyms. 

You will find that believers are producing bad fruits, too. Corinthians, James -- -these are letters addressed to bad believers, who fornicate, murder...etc. David murdered Bathsheba's husband, but had long been saved when he did it.

Moses had long been saved when he sinned at 2nd Meribah. Abraham had long been saved when he went into Hagar, at his wife's request.

"by their fruits"? Well, they'd not be saved? 

What, is God's Omniscience so deprived, He didn't impute ALL sins to Christ? Search on the "passing over" of sins verses to see they were set aside expressly for the Cross -- so, didn't God make sure all sins were paid for, "for His Name's sake"?

Paul is talking about believers in Phillipians 3:18 and following; about believers, in the mock-self of Romans 7. Check it out...

Also, one final shot: which is worth more to God, what you are thinking, or what you are doing? Take this test of Scripture: look for all the "know" passages (and their synonyms) versus all the "do" passages -- and see how what you are supposed to know far outweighs what you are supposed to do. Then look at 1Cor 13, where Paul compares the relative worthlessness of works, versus love; and Phillipians 3:8, where Paul condemns all of his religious works, as "dung" (the "s" word, really).

"and to come to know the love for Christ" in Ephesians 3 is a passage of the high supremacy of learning Him -- the "fruit" of thinking.

"For My ways are not Your ways...nor My thoughts your thoughts"

"For man sees on the outside", The Lord told Samuel, when Samuel was looking at Jesse's sons, "but God sees on the inside."

Even if it is but two coppers ("pennies")...a single thought which pleases Infinite God is of infinite value -- to Him. God, not man, is the FIRST PERSON who has the right to say what is worthy. God help anyone else, who thinks he has the right to judge!