Salvation Summaries

I am going through each book in the New Testament (again) and writing bullet point comments about how a person becomes a Christian and how a Christian should live.  The following notes are from the book of Colossians.

Summary

A person is saved from hearing and understanding the gospel, receiving Christ as Lord of one’s life, and dying to one’s old, sinful way of life.  God is the One who actually saves a person though, and He does this by forgiving that person from their sins, and making them alive with Jesus.  Salvation appears to take place at one point in time.

A number of spiritual changes take place in a person when they become saved. Their sins are forgiven, they are reconciled with God via Christ, and they are spiritually raised to a new life in and with Christ.

As a Christian, you are to act differently than you did before, for you have died to your old way of life, put on your new self (you are a new creation), and because Christ now lives in you.  One of the first and most important things you should do is to understand God’s will, for without knowing God’s will, it will be difficult for you to live in a way that pleases Him. You are to live your life like that of Jesus, and set your minds on heavenly rather than earthly or worldly things. You are to let the word of Christ dwell richly in you (you do this from daily Bible study).  You need to devote yourselves to prayer (which means more than at mealtime and bedtime). You are to be thankful, compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forgiving and loving. In short, whatever you do in word or deed, you are to do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father (Col 3:17).  And you are to make the most of every opportunity you have with unbelievers by acting graciously toward them.

How a person is saved (and other verses relating to salvation)

• Your part in the salvation “process” is to:
  • Hear and understand the gospel of God’s grace (Col 1:5-6).
    • For this to take place, another Christian must preach or spread the gospel.
  • Receive Christ as Lord.
    • So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness (Col 2:6)
  • Die with Jesus to your old way of life; your life of flesh and sin (Col 2:11, 2:20, 3:3)
• Salvation appears to take place at a point in time and is from hearing the gospel.
  • Just as you received (not are in the process of receiving) Christ as Lord (Col 2:6)
  • Paul said the gospel was bearing fruit since the day the saints in Colossae heard it (Col 1:6-7)
• God saves you by:
  • Forgiving you of your sins (He canceled all of the sin debt that you owe and cannot repay, and nailed it to the cross), and
  • Making you alive with Jesus.
    • When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. (Col 2:13)

Characteristics of a Christian

• Qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light (Col 1:12)
• Reconciled by Christ’s physical body through death to be presented to God as holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Col 1:22)
• Forgiven of all transgressions, with the certificate of debt cancelled and nailed to the cross (Col 2:13-14)
• Raised up with Christ (Col 3:1)
• Christ lives in a Christian (Col 1:27)
• A brother/sister in Christ (Col 1:2)
• Displays outward expressions of faith and love, as these are a byproduct of salvation (Col 1:5)
• Loves other believers (Col 1:4)
• Circumcised (the putting off of the sinful nature) by Christ, buried with Him in baptism, and raised with Him through your faith (Col 2:11-12)

• A few verses indicate that a Christian has assurance of salvation.
  • For He has rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13).
  • When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col 3:4)
• However, Col 1:22-23 seems to imply that salvation is conditional on having a steadfast faith:
  • He has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him– provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven…
  • The question this verses raises is whether “holy and blameless” is synonymous with salvation. Also, it’s important to note that the verse does not say “that you continue in your faith”, but rather “that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith.”

Characteristics of non-Christians

• Alienated from God (Col 1:21)
• Evil behavior (Col 1:21)
• Spiritually dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of one’s flesh (Col 2:13)

How a Christian should live

• Ask God for spiritual wisdom and understanding to know His will (Col 1:9)
• Live a life that is worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him (Col 1:10).
  • How do you do this?
    • By being filled with a knowledge of God’s will (thus, this requires effort, such as bible study, listening to sermons, etc.). Note: If you do not know God’s will, it appears you cannot live a life that is worthy of and pleasing to Him.
  • What does this type of life look like?
    • You bear fruit in every good work
    • You grow in your knowledge of God (thus, this requires Bible study too)
• Walk in Christ (Col 2:6).
  • John MacArthur says this means to live a life patterned after Christ’s.
• Grow (be built up) in Christ and in the establishment of your faith, including your knowledge of doctrine (Col 2:7)
• Set you mind on things above, not on worldly things (Col 3:2)
• Set aside anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech (Col 3:8)
• Do not lie to others (Col 3:9)
• Love other believers (Col 1:4)
• Be prepared to endure everything with patience (Col 1:11)
• Be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. Bear with one another and forgive (Col 3:12-13)
• Put on love; love others (Col 3:14)
• Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (Col 3:15)
• Be thankful (Col 3:15), and joyfully give thanks to God the Father who has saved you (Col 1:12). Sing with thankfulness in your heart to God (Col 3:16)
• Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you (just as you are to be filled with the HS, you should be filled with God’s word- the Bible – too), (Col 3:16)
• Devote yourselves to prayer (Col 4:1)
• Don’t be deceived by false teaching (Col 2:8)
• Put on your new self each day and grow in your knowledge of the Lord (Col 3:10)
• Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father (Col 3:17)
• Christian wives – submit to your husband. Christian husbands- love your wife. Christian children – obey your parents (Col 3:18-20)
• Christian employees – whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men…It is the Lord Christ whom you serve (Col 3:23-24)
• Make the most of every opportunity with unbelievers. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt (Col 4:6)

Who God is

• Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 1:3)
• Has a will and a desire to interact with His creation. It was God’s will that Paul become an apostle of Jesus Christ (Col 1:1). God commissioned Paul to preach His word (Col 1:25)
• Through Jesus He reconciled all things to Himself (Col 1:20)
• Bestows grace and peace to believers (Col 1:2)
• Worthy of our thanks for saving people (Col 1:3)

Who Jesus is

• Image of the invisible God (Col 1:15)
• By Him all things (things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible) were created (Col 1:16); they were created for Him (Col 1:16)
• He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15)
• He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.(Col 1:17)
• He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.(Col 1:18)
• He is the head of the body, the church (Col 1:18)
• In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col 1:19)
• Through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.(Col 1:20)
• Lives in the (heart) of a believer (Col 1:27); this appears to be via the Holy Spirit.  Paul said that Christ powerfully worked in Him (Col 1:29)
• Means by which people receive forgiveness from their sins, or redemption
• In Him, wisdom and knowledge are hidden (Col 2:3)
• In Him, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form (Col 2:9)
• He removes the body of flesh from a person who becomes a new believer (Col 2:11)

Other

• Baptism
  • Paul presents baptism as something for believers, and thus it would exclude infants. Baptism is associated with dying to one’s old way of life; the life of flesh and sin (2:12, 2:20, 3:3). Those who immerse a new believer to illustrate dying to one’s old self and then raise the believer to illustrate being raised to new life through faith would find support for this practice in these verses.
• Prayers by Paul:
  • When praying for other believers, Paul often thanked God for their faith in Jesus and love for other Christians (Col 1:3-4)
  • You can use one of Paul’s prayers for the Colossians when you pray for yourself or other believers.  Simply ask God to 1) fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding 2) so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way. To please Him, ask Him for help in bearing fruit in every good work, growing in your knowledge of Him and receiving strength for endurance and patience. Conclude your prayer with joyful thanks to the Father who has saved you!