The scriptures reveal there are three phases of our salvation. Our salvation has a past, a present, and a future. Paul tells us that Christ saved us from the evil we’ve done in the past (Ephesians 2:5). None of us had anything to do with this part of our salvation, because we were spiritually dead, and the dead cannot do anything, think anything or say anything. We were helpless and hopeless, until Christ died on the cross, reconciling us to God (2Corinthians 5:14-19). This is the past tense of our salvation. We have been saved …period! We couldn’t do anything to accomplish it, and we can do nothing to destroy it. We have been saved from the penalty due our past sins (Romans 6:23), once and for all time, by the death of Christ. …but, what about now? What about the present and what about after we die?
The present tense of salvation is another matter entirely. This involves our walk with Christ, our abiding in him; it’s about our falls and victories, our disappointments and our joy. The commandment is to work out our own salvation, because God is at work within us, prompting each of us both to desire and to do God’s will (Philippians 2:12-13). The scriptures say we must reckon our old life (in Adam, the flesh) and its power over us to be dead (Romans 6:3, 10-11, 14). The past is dead, and now we must focus anew on Christ, our new Man or new Life (cp. Hebrews 12:1-2). Sin must not be permitted to reign over our lives anymore (Romans 6:12-13). Christ has saved us from both sin’s reward (death) and sin’s power, which is slavery to the flesh, or presently acting out the life of unrighteous Adam (1Corinthians 15:56; Genesis 3:6). While abiding in Christ, our strength is spent seeking to do good, and, whenever possible, to undo the harm we’ve done in the past.
In the present we are being saved from the power of sin in our life (Romans 6:12-14). The present is where we strive for victory, and this is where we fall and fail. Here, it is possible to destroy our life with evil and reject Christ after we have tasted of him. Here there is great hope for victory and the possibility of great loss and failure. It is important that our labor in Christ be in the Spirit, vis-à-vis guided from within, because seeking to serve Christ in the flesh, from without, vis-à-vis the law, will not yield spiritual fruit.
In the worst scenario, even if one blows it all and destroy all God has given him in this life, giving up the battle against the world and flesh, yet his future is secure in Christ. Of course, nothing of eternal value will be reaped from the time he spent upon this earth, and he will receive his portion with the unbelievers (cp. Luke 12:46). Nevertheless, Jesus will never fail. He is still our Savior. Although we’ll lose any reward that would have been our, Jesus remains committed to us, and he will not repent of saving us, for God is Love, and love never fails. (2Timothy 2:13; cp.1Corinthians 3:10-15),
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13 NASB)
According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he, himself, will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:10-15 NASB)
The third tense of salvation is yet future. In the present, we groan waiting for this salvation to be complete in our experience (Romans 7:23-25). We groan in our spirit, waiting for the glory to come. It is not only the righteous who groan, but all creation groans, waiting for that glorious time, when the presence of sin will be removed from our very lives (Romans 8:18-23), and our bodies will be redeemed (cp. 2Corinthians 5:1-8). We groan for the fulfillment of the promise of God in us, while the world groans for what it knows not. It seeks to satisfy its inner void with the depravity of sin. May God, hasten the day when the knowledge and the Spirit of Christ will fill this earth. May he be praised in all that he does.
The cross has done all this! I am nothing without Christ. My only boast is him. Without Jesus, I cannot change, for I am unable to repent, because repentance, itself, is a gift from God (Acts 5:31; 2Timothy 2:25). This is the Good News of the cross. This is Good News to me, and it is Good News for all.[1]
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[1] This study has been updated, as of December 2024.
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2 responses to “The Three Tenses of Salvation”
Eddie, this is a better article than the seventy weeks because I can get a sense of scripture from it. In the scriptures (1Corinthians 1:18 or 2Corinthians 2:15) Paul pretty much states he has salvation, but we must look at what Christ told him in 2Cor 12:9 which is what we are all depending on. By the same token we must look at a couple of more scriptures: Acts 17:30-31; Acts 26:20; James 2:14 and Rev 20:13.
My view of repentance may not be the same as yours because the definition does not warrant it. Repentance is to stop intentional sin: Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
BTW: The thief on the cross went to paradise With Jesus, where is it?
Repentance concerns our rebellion against God. Although we are to put away every sin, it is rebellion that is of main concern. Rebellion is the desire for independence from God–to do as we wish, when we wish and how we wish. This was the sin of Adam. All other sin can be worked out through cooperation with the power of God’s Spirit within us. Rebellion rejects God–period. Rebellion has no conscience, while all other sin carries the pain of guilt, and eventually a desire to change. We can’t change on our own, but all things are possible under the influence of God’s Spirit.
Concerning Hebrews 10:26, this has to do with those who reject Jesus as their Savior. In the first century it concerned Jews who for awhile received Christ, but later rejected him for the Temple sacrifices etc. There is no other sacrifice but Jesus (Hebrews 10:10, 12). He is the only one who perfects us forever. Today, it has to do with those who for awhile receive Christ, but afterward don’t value him as much (in name only) relying more on their own works for favor with God. There remains no other sacrifice for sin (willful or otherwise) than that Sacrifice of Christ. It is fruitless to look to anything else.
Concerning the thief on the cross, I’m not certain I understand the question. Are you asking where the thief went immediately upon death, or where ‘paradise’ is?