I have absolutely no idea what preacher or teacher first presented the thought of a three-fold salvation, that we have been saved from the penalty of sin, are saved from the bondage of sin, and one day will be saved from the presence of sin. I know I didn’t! But when I think about it, it’s a great summary of the past, present, and future aspects of out salvation.

We have been saved from the penalty of sin,.

Joh 3:18  “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Freedom from the penalty of sin, that the one who believes and trusts in Christ is no longer under God’s judgment, but is ‘no longer condemned’ is the heart and soul of the gospel message we are called to share. That our lives are forever changed is true, and sharing how God has changed our lives should be part of our on-going relationship with those around us, our personal stories are the by-product of our salvation, not the reason we invite people to Christ.

We are saved from the bondage of sin.

Rom 6:6  “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

When I read the New Testament, especially the letters of Paul to churches, freedom from the bondage to sin and the requirements of the law (dead works) seems to be a major theme, right up there with warnings against last days (since the resurrection) false prophets and teachers invading the church. There is much about how we should behave and conduct our lives as believers in order to bring glory to the God who saved us.

We will be saved from the presence of sin.

Rev 21:3 , 27 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Will we have better marriages, success in business, material prosperity, great health, etc? Maybe, maybe not. Those things are never promised in scripture, yet everywhere you turn, you see it. What we have, and are promised is peace – we have been made at peace with God through the righteousness of Christ, and we can have peace in the midst of the ‘stuff of life”. Sadly, that which is never promised seems to be a main theme these days, both as an evangelistic tool to invite people to Christ, as well as what we should expect for our Christian lives.

Do we need to constantly harp about ‘sin’ and nothing else? NO! By all means talk about the earthy ‘benefits’ of salvation and stories of changed lives. But we need to keep the main things the main things.

Precious brothers and sisters in Christ, we have been saved from the penalty of sin, are being saved from the bondage of sin, and one day will be saved from the presence of sin.