Saved to the Uttermost
“He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.” Hebrews 7:25
We often live as if Jesus's work isn't enough. We think we need to add to his work with our efforts. But the truth of who Jesus is reminds us that he and his work are enough. Since Jesus is fully God, he is able to save us fully.
Often, we think of salvation as a one time act. You are saved. It’s binary: either you are saved or you are not saved. While, the New Testament writers talk about our salvation as a whole—as something accomplished and guaranteed by Christ—but they also will speak about this whole as having three movements: (1) You are saved; (2) you are being saved; (3) you will be saved.
This is far from a perfect analogy, but imagine a life-preserver ring. You’re drowning, and someone throws you the ring. There’s a sense in which as soon as that ring is on, you are saved. Your rescue is guaranteed. And yet, as the rope is pulled and you get closer and closer to the shore, you are being saved. You wait to reach the shore where you will be saved—the rescue is complete; you are once again on solid ground.
You are saved. We describe this as justification. When you trust in Christ by faith, the Father declares you righteous (justified) before him. You are saved. This is a one-time act that cannot be reversed.
Paul speak of justification in Galatians 2:15–16, explaining
“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified”
We are justified through faith. It’s not by obedience. It’s because of our background. Rather, on the basis of Christ’s finished work, God the Father declares us not guilty but righteous when we trust in Christ. And so, Paul will write similar in Philippians 3:9 that his desires is to be found in Christ Jesus, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” Christ’s righteousness is counted as our own. We are saved.
You are being saved. We call this sanctification. It is the on-going process in our lives where God works by his Spirit and through faith to make us more like Jesus. Thus, Paul encourages the Philippians, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13). By faith and through the the Holy Spirit, we are to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. We are to live as we are in God’s sight: holy. Such holy living only comes by God’s grace through faith.
You will be saved. We call this glorification. This is when our salvation will be complete when Christ returns and ushers in the new creation. As the Apostle John writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). In the new creation, we will be glorified in resurrected bodies to enjoy the new creation in God’s presence forever.
By the Spirt, Christ continues to apply his saving work to our lives. We need Christ to be God—not just to overcome the grave on the third day—but to continue to work in our lives today. We need him to extend the new creation that was begun in his resurrection. We need him to extend to all of creation and to complete his good work in our lives. We need the power of his indestructible life to continue to overcome the death and sin that is at work in us and in this world.
