There’s a sentence in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that puts our salvation in a different way than you might expect. He wrote:

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:28-31, emphasis added).

Christ has become for us wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption. In light of those “in Christ” realities, I want to talk about two aspects of the good news: the once-for-all aspect, and the again-and-again aspect.

The once-for-all aspect of the gospel is that Jesus came and did all the work necessary to save the world. His death on the cross was the perfect sacrifice for sins. His resurrection from the dead defeated death and made the way to eternal life possible. Jesus has done everything necessary for your salvation and that of the whole world, and His work will never be repeated.

Your part is not to do, but to believe. You can’t earn your salvation by doing good works or by making sacrifices. You can only receive salvation as a gift through faith in Jesus. God gives salvation through faith, not works, so that no one can boast in themselves, and all the glory goes to Jesus. When you understand salvation by faith alone, you understand there’s no room for congratulating yourself. As Paul wrote, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Jesus did what He did once-for-all. It is objective and complete, regardless of what anyone thinks about it. However, what Jesus accomplished once-for-all for the world becomes yours when you believe. But how it becomes yours may not be what you expect. Read carefully what Paul told the Corinthians: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” In the moment you believe, you are joined to Jesus—put in Him. And then all that He is becomes yours. In other words, it’s not that God gives you salvation, so much as He gives you Jesus! And in Christ, you have everything you need! Because Jesus is wise, righteous, holy, and life itself, when you are put into Him, He becomes your wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption! And when that happens, it happens once-for-all, never to be undone or taken back.

That’s the once-for-all aspect of the gospel; here’s the again-and-again aspect.

As long as we live in this world, we stumble and sin; we drift, get distracted, and become overwhelmed with guilt and regret. We can also forget what we are in Christ. None of that undoes our union with Christ, but because of our constant failings, we need to hear that good news again and again. Those once-for-all gospel truths need to be applied to our consciences again and again, so that our faith continues to have something solid to hold onto. It’s not that you need Christ to redeem you all over again; you need to hear again and again that in Christ you are redeemed. Even though we were saved by grace once-for-all, we experience His grace again and again throughout our lives. As we stray, the gospel turns our attention back to Christ, and we rediscover what we are, once-for-all, in Him.

So, you see, the good news is for everyone. Everyone needs to be evangelized—especially believers. That isn’t because Christ needs to save you again and again, but because you need to hear again and again what He’s done for you once-for-all.      

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Shawn Lazar (DPT, McMaster Divinity College) is the pastor of Gateway United Baptist Church in Denton, TX. Purchase his book One-Point Preaching here and his latest book Once Saved Always Saved? here.