In the past three installments of Theology 101, we have considered salvation to include the incoming of Christ into our hearts, His consequent indwelling in our lives and the resultant witness made by His outworking.
Given these irreplaceable truths, Hebrews 2:3 raises an eternally important question when it asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”
This question takes on added significance when we ponder the greatness of the salvation which God provided upon sending His Son into the world to make this salvation possible.
That greatness lies in the fact that salvation is not only eternal, but also has remarkable significance for life here and now.
Resurrection
One aspect of salvation’s greatness is that it is spiritually a resurrection from the dead, as we see in Ephesians 2:1: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
Believers are made alive to fellowship with God here and now, as well as for the prospect of eternity with Him and all His redeemed people.
Ephesians 2:2 tells us this great salvation is a release from disobedience. Satan is termed “the prince of the power of the air.” The oft-recited Model Prayer contains the petition, “Deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13).
Our great salvation makes possible such deliverance. Jesus declared concerning some He encountered, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:44). Thus, Galatians 5:1 implores, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free.”
Rescue
Ephesians 2:3 tells us our great salvation is also a rescue from condemnation. Before coming to Christ, we humans are “children of wrath” given over to “the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.”
Without the salvation Christ provides, we humans are living in double jeopardy — over what we have done (the bad) and what we have not done (the good).
We have all sinned in thought, word and action, and we have not loved God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind (Matt. 22:37).
In summary, three major aspects of our great salvation are a spiritual resurrection from death, a spiritual release from disobedience and a spiritual rescue from eternal condemnation.
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