Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers… this question about our salvation is perhaps the most frequently asked question I receive from both believers and non-believers. From believers, I believe this question is rooted in the fact that they know they’re still “falling short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) From non-believers, I believe they are concerned about not having the “fun” they think they’re having now, and they’re already concerned about establishing a “plan B”… just in case. So let’s look at what it means to “be saved”.
The first and most important question to ask is, “what are we being saved from?” And the obvious answer is, “our self.” Jesus said he came “to set the captives free”. (Luke 4:18) And what captives was he referring to? Us! We are born with a sin nature, meaning we are born with the focus of “self”. If you doubt that, look at a baby when he/she first comes out of the mother’s womb. What is the first thing a baby does? Cry. What does the baby learn to do when it wants something? Cry. What is the first thing a baby becomes aware of? “SELF”. The truth is, the baby can go from the cradle to the grave with the focus on “self” and miss the whole panorama God has planned for it, unless along the way it becomes aware of its own insufficiency. Living with the focus on “self” rather than on God is referred to as “living in sin”, and therein lies the problem.
Living “in sin” means we are following “our plan” and not “God’s plan” for our life, so what inevitably happens is somewhere along the way we all realize that something is missing. Consequently we try to fill that “hole in our soul” with alcohol, drugs, affairs, money, power, prestige, cars, boats, homes, and we discover we still aren’t “happy”. In fact, many times we discover these things only exacerbated our misery, and we are now facing predicaments we just can’t overcome through our own effort. This is when many of us are willing to cry out that famous prayer of surrender… “God help me”, and this is also that moment of truth found in James 4:10: “When you bow down (come in humility) before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.”
So here’s what happens when we are saved. We’ve become willing to turn our will and our life over to God’s will for our life. Neil Anderson, author of “Victory Over the Darkness”, refers to God’s two fold plan for our life. First, he wants us to accept his Gift of Grace. Second, he wants us to begin the process of Sanctification, meaning he wants us to become more Christ-like in our thoughts, words and deeds.
When we accept God’s Gift of Grace, we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. At the moment we say “I do”, an incredible transformation takes place in our spirit. 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes this event: “We become a new creation in Christ. The old has gone (our sin nature); the new has come.” (the Holy Spirit) At this moment we become “Justified” (made right) with God, meaning our sins are forgiven; we inherit eternal life; we are grafted into God’s family – we are now his child; we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit; we are now worthy and acceptable in God’s eyes; we are a Saint (more to come on this subject); we are heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm; and we are heir to all the promises in the Bible. Wow! How’s that for hitting the jackpot!! 2 Peter 1: 3 describes this new state of being: “As we come to know Jesus better, his divine power (Holy Spirit) gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness.” Now that I have laid this ground work, we are ready to deal with the topic of this blog regarding our salvation
As new believers, we quickly become aware of the battle we are in as a Christ-follower. As long as we were participants in this fallen world (meaning before we accepted God’s Gift of Grace), Satan pretty much left us alone because he already had us where he wanted us. But once we made a decision to pull away from the Dark Domain and walk in the Light, we now have a target on our back and satan isn’t going to give us up without a battle. But fear not, because Jesus told us: “In this world you are going to face trials and tribulations, but be courageous because I’ve overcome the world.” Since Jesus has overcome the world, so have we overcome the world because we are in Christ.
Bear in mind, we are in a process of becoming more Christ -like, and like any process, there are ups and downs. No doubt satan is a formidable foe, and he knows all the right buttons to push, and he knows our vulnerabilities. But since there are still strongholds in our mind that are filled with old habits and old thought patterns that we developed when we lived independently of God, many times the enemy uses them against us as he presents his lies and deceptions. When we fall victim to his tactics, many times we respond in despair just like Apostle Paul did in Romans 7: 14-25.
But here is the good news in all of this. When I listed above what it meant to be in Christ, one of the blessings was the new title, “Saint.” When this term is used in the New Testament, it means to be a believer; to be sin-free and set apart for sacred purpose. Even more important, it means that now, even though we fall short of God’s glorious standard, it is not counted against us as sin because Jesus already paid the price for our sin. In God’s eyes we are a Saint who has fallen short in the process of becoming more Christ-like. All God wants us to do is get up and continue down the road to Sanctification so we can complete the process of being set apart for a sacred purpose. As long as we are in the process of becoming the person God created us to be, our salvation is totally secure!
But there is one unforgivable sin and the Bible is very clear about this. Mark 3:28-30;22 tells us: “I assure you that any sin can be forgiven including blasphemy; but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. It is an eternal sin.’ He told them this because they were saying he had an evil spirit.” The Pharisees said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets his power to cast out demons.” In other words they were demeaning the Holy Spirit’s power by crediting it to Satan. Hebrews 10:26-30 also tells us: “Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received a full knowledge of the truth, there is no other sacrifice that will cover these sins. There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. Anyone who refused to obey the Law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people. For we know the one who said, ‘I will take vengeance. I will repay those who deserve it.” I believe that is evidently clear.
As long as we are intent in honoring God with our choices, therefore becoming the person he created us to be, our Salvation is guaranteed. If however, we deliberately continue sinning after we have experienced the truth of God’s mercy and grace, and we walk away from our faith, as if to say, “Jesus sacrifice was not enough for me”, we would be guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Bear in mind, Jesus is the one who referred to this as an eternal sin.
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May God Bless Ya abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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