Interesting tidbit - 23 (2 Cor 7:9-10)

Q: What exactly do the verses in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 (cf 1 Cor 5) mean?  They seem to be saying that as believers we need to ask for forgiveness when we sin to be saved.  Does this mean we lose our salvation each time we sin and have to ask for forgiveness in order to be saved again?

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.


A:  There are different kinds of salvation in Scripture. Paul spoke about the salvation of our souls in Ephesians 2:8-9, but he also spoke about his physical salvation from prison in Philippians 1:19 (cf. Ex 14:13):

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance (The KJV uses the word "salvation" instead of "deliverance"; both words are derived from the Greek word sōtērian).

Paul also told Timothy that if he continued in sound doctrine, he would "save" both himself and his hearers from the misery that always comes from not continuing in sound doctrine (1 Tim. 4:16). There is also the salvation from despair that the hope of the Rapture gives (Rom 8:23-24). And the Rapture itself is called a salvation in Romans 13:11.

The salvation in the verses you ask about is yet another kind. Paul says he made the Corinthians sorry "with a letter" (2 Cor 7:8), i.e., his first epistle to them, in which he scolded them for not disciplining a man for his sexual immorality (1 Cor 5). They then "were grieved into repenting" about this (2 Cor 7:9).  And remember, the word repent means to have a change of mind, not to ask for forgiveness.  So the Corinthians changed their minds about allowing this man to stay in their assembly. This "saved" them from the dangerous leavening effect that his presence would otherwise have among them, and so their godly grief produced a repentance that leads to salvation, a salvation they would not regret or repent of (change their minds about) later.

This also worked another kind of salvation among them, one similar to the salvation Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 5:5, where he speaks about the sexually immoral man and tells them:

"to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord."

In context we know that delivering this man to Satan meant putting him out of the assembly (1 Cor 2-5:2-13). Letting him wallow in sin might destroy his flesh, but it would bring him back to the Lord, and "save" him from a loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat (1 Cor 3:15). The Corinthian assembly would also be saved from such loss by their obedience to Paul's instructions. Their godly grief worked this kind of repentance to salvation as well, another salvation they would not regret because no one at the Judgment Seat will ever repent of (change their mind about) having done the right thing.

Repentance and Grace

When unbelievers, convicted by the Holy Spirit of the seriousness of sin and of judgment to come, cry out to the Lord to save them, they have, of course, repented, or changed their minds, as the Greek word signifies. Many pastors and speakers today, however, thinking only of the fact that unbelievers need this change of mind, conclude that the best way to produce results in their ministry is to stress repentance.

It should be remembered, however, that Israel's response to the calls to repentance under the Law was undeniably meager: John the Baptist called Israel to repent but was beheaded as a result (Matt 3:1-12; 14:3-10). The Lord Jesus took up the cry where John had left off (Matt 4:17), but was crucified for it. After the resurrection, He sent His disciples to preach "repentance and forgiveness of sins...in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47). But Jerusalem refused to repent, and it was not long before blood flowed again as Stephen was stoned to death and a great persecution followed (Acts 8:3).

Israel's hardness of heart increased too as the call to repentance was intensified.  Notice the progression:  While John's murder was permitted by the people, Christ's was demanded by them, and Stephen's was actually committed by them. So the so-called "Great Commission" was bogged down from the start, because if Jerusalem and the covenant people refused to repent, what hope was there that the "nations" (Luke 24:47) would?

"...but where sin increased, GRACE abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, GRACE also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom 5:20-21).

After calls to repentance failed, the ascended Lord reached down to save Saul, who was far from being in a repentant mood, on the road to Damascus. Our Lord didn't speak to him in judgment but rather in the tenderest of tones showed him the glory of His grace.  Paul, this "trophy of grace", was then sent out to proclaim "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

Repentance was the theme of God's message from John the Baptist until Paul, while grace, proclaimed through the cross and received by faith alone, gradually displaced it as the theme of God's message for today (Acts 20:24).

Along this same line, most believers know that Paul taught that if you are saved, the Lord has already forgiven you "all our trespasses" (Col 2:13).  But they also know that the apostle John taught that the Lord is "is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" if we confess them (1 John 1:9). So to reconcile these two opposite and contradictory messages, they conclude that believers are forgiven when they are saved, but need just a little more forgiveness when they sin. This despite the fact that forgiveness of sins is something believers receive the moment they are saved, along with salvation, justification, and redemption. Most believers wouldn’t dream of asking for more salvation, justification, or redemption when they sin, but asking for more forgiveness is the only way to get Paul and John to say the same thing.

Yet more reasons why it is so important to observe the progression of Scripture!

Redeemed

Recently I heard this phrase used:  "We are all in the process of being redeemed."  Can this be true?  Are believers really being bought on the installment plan?

Our English word "redeem" is actually a translation of three Greek words:

Agarazo: to buy at the market.

Ex-agarazo: to buy out of the market.

Lutro: to set free (upon receipt or payment of the ransom price)

The Easton Bible Dictionary explains redemption more fully:

[It is] the purchase back of something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom. The Greek word so rendered is apolutrosis, a word occurring nine times in Scripture, and always with the idea of a ransom or price paid, i.e., redemption by a lutron (see Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45). There are instances in the LXX. Version of the Old Testament of the use of lutron in man's relation to man (Lev. 19:20; 25:51; Ex. 21:30; Num. 35:31, 32; Isa. 45:13; Prov. 6:35), and in the same sense of man's relation to God (Num. 3:49; 18:15). There are many passages in the New Testament which represent Christ's sufferings under the idea of a ransom or price, and the result thereby secured is a purchase or redemption (comp. Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Gal. 3:13; 4:4, 5; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Titus 2:14; Heb. 9:12; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19; Rev. 5:9). The idea running through all these texts, however various their reference, is that of payment made for our redemption. The debt against us is not viewed as simply cancelled, but is fully paid. Christ's blood or life, which he surrendered for them, is the "ransom" by which the deliverance of his people from the servitude of sin and from its penal consequences is secured. It is the plain doctrine of Scripture that "Christ saves us neither by the mere exercise of power, nor by his doctrine, nor by his example, nor by the moral influence which he exerted, nor by any subjective influence on his people, whether natural or mystical, but as a satisfaction to divine justice, as an expiation for sin, and as a ransom from the curse and authority of the law, thus reconciling us to God by making it consistent with his perfection to exercise mercy toward sinners" (Hodge's Systematic Theology).

Hodge couldn't be more emphatic — our debt has been fully paid.  It is not being paid little by little, bit by bit.  Christ died to pay the penalty against us once for all.

Hebrews 9:11-15 speaks of this — "he entered once for all into the holy places ... thus securing an eternal redemption."  If believers are all in the process of being redeemed, as being claimed, wouldn't Christ have to be dying again and again (Heb 9:6-10)?  (See also Once for all.)

Hebrews 9:11-15 — But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Titus 2:14 tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, "that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." Our Lord died to redeem us from all iniquity, and He redeemed us unto Himself to be his people. He desires that we should be zealous of good works, but as believers we belong to Him now — bought outright, paid in full.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).

No, we aren't being bought on the installment plan.  We are fully redeemed now. We were "bought with a price" and "redeemed to God” (1 Cor 6:20; Titus 2:14). We were "redeemed from the curse of the law" (Gal 3:13). And some day our mortal bodies will be made incorruptible and perfect (Rom 8:22-24). What a glorious day that will be!

May I suggest that instead of saying, "We are all in the process of being redeemed," a more appropriate statement might be, "We are all in the process of being sanctified"?  But even then we must be careful, for the Bible speaks of sanctification as being both already completed (positional) and in the process of being completed (practical).  We should be clear about which one we are speaking.  (See also Who we are - part 3.)

Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed through His infinite mercy,

His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, redeemed,

His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,

No language my rapture can tell;

I know that the light of His presence

With me doth continually dwell.

I think of my blessed Redeemer,

I think of Him all the day long;

I sing, for I cannot be silent;

His love is the theme of my song.

 

by Fanny J. Crosby

Once for all

In Romans 3 Paul declares that God has presented Christ as payment for man’s sin, and that we are made righteous in God’s sight by faith in His blood, entirely apart from works (Rom 3:21-26). However, in this same passage he also says that this forgiveness concerns the sins previously committed (v 25). What does Paul mean by this?

Some believe this verse means that God forgave us up to the point when we trusted Him in faith and thereafter we must ask for forgiveness in order to have a "fresh sprinkling" of His blood to cover our sins. This is not true, however. Our sins have been forgiven past, present and future (Heb 10:10, 14), and when God looks at us now, He sees Christ's righteousness (1 Cor 1:30; Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9).

In Romans 3:25 Paul is not saying that only our past sins have been forgiven, he is looking back to past ages, saying that people who lived under the Law (like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, etc…) were actually saved by the redemption Christ brought, although His death was still future in their day. In other words, Christ died, not only for the sins we commit, but also for those “previously committed.” The believers of past ages simply believed what God told them then, and He counted them righteous (Gen 15:6) on the basis of Christ’s coming payment of sin. Hebrews 9:15 says the same thing; Christ’s death redeemed the sins committed under the first covenant.

The fact is, when we don't believe we're eternally forgiven, we become sin-focused instead of Christ-focused, and the more we think about sin, the more we sin (Rom 7:7-13). If only all believers could have the assurance that we are forever forgiven, what tremendous freedom we would experience from unnecessary guilt...

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming — not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am — it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will, O God.'" First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Heb 10:1-14).

...and from sin itself, for grace teaches us to say no to sin:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-12).

Some time ago I came upon a publication that included this quote. I think it states rather well our standing in Christ today:

When the Israelite who hears that Christ's sacrifice has taken away his sin continues to go on the Day of Atonement to offer animal sacrifices, what is he saying about the blood of Christ? When the Catholic continues to rely on his priest for forgiveness, what is he saying about the Spirit of grace? When the Protestant continues to send up prayers of confession to bring about forgiveness, what is he saying about the blood of the covenant? The Christian world tells the Israelites, "You no longer have to offer animal sacrifices." The Protestants are saying to the Catholics, "You don't have to confess to a priest, you can go directly to God." And God in heaven is saying to all of us, "IT IS FINISHED."

Neither repetition nor supplementation needed

The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming — not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am — it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will, O God.'" First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the Law required them to be made). Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy

(Heb 10:1-14).