Salvation

– WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU BECAME A CHRISTIAN?

All my blogs are intended to be read by Christians, however, with this particular blog I would just like to re-visit what happened to you when you became a Christian, so that we can build on this foundation in future blogs.

I would like to examine this in three parts –

The process prior to salvation
The moment of salvation
The process after salvation

1. The process prior to salvation

Prior to salvation, a process takes place in your life which commenced at the beginning of time itself. The apostle Paul writes:-

“For he (God) chose us in him (Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Eph 1:4)

Although we have freewill to choose to follow Christ, or not, our all-knowing father knew from the beginning of time, who would accept his gracious gift of salvation through faith in Christ.

As we get closer to the point of accepting Jesus as our saviour, the Holy Spirit is working in our lives, helping us to recognise our sinful condition before God. Jesus said:-

“… he (the Spirit) will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin, and righteousness and judgement: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me…..” (John 16:8-9)

It is only when we become aware of our sinful nature in the eyes of God (“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Rom 3:23), that we realise our need of salvation.

2. The moment of Salvation

When the Holy Spirit gets us to this point of realisation, we confess our sins and turn away from sin, looking to God for forgiveness and salvation. At that moment in time, several things happen:-

We receive forgiveness – Once we accept Jesus as the only means of salvation, the forgiveness is immediate and comprehensive. From that point in time, our past, present, and future sins are forgiven. It follows that God sees us as being right in his eyes.

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom 3:22).

“there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” (Rom 8:1)

We receive the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit lives within us and we are effectively born again with a new nature/spirit. Jesus said to Nicodemus :-

“I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the kingdom of God, unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (Jn 3:5-6)

Paul also told the Roman churches that:-

“if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” (Rom 8:9)

We receive adoption – We are adopted as brothers and sisters of Christ.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he commenced with “Our Father.”. Paul explained to the Roman churches that “you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry “Abba, Father.”” (Rom 8:15). And to the Ephesian church he wrote “he (God) predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ….”. (Eph 1:4-5).

This is a royal adoption – Jesus is king and we “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,…” (1 Pet 2:9).

All of the above happens at the moment of salvation. It is planned and actioned by God, and all we had to do is accept the gift.

This gift of salvation should not be underestimated. It was costly to God – he gave his only Son that we might be saved. The holy God and creator of the cosmos sees us as new, righteous, forgiven beings, as if we had never sinned. He treats us as his family, and we can call him Father. Indeed, God has come to live on earth by dwelling in our bodies – we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

Furthermore, this gift cannot be lost or taken back – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:35-39).

3. After receiving Salvation

So, we were chosen, we are forgiven, the Holy Spirit lives within us, and we have been adopted as a brother/sister of Jesus. Immediately after receiving salvation, you might have a few questions!

Why me? The principal reason that you are saved is because God loves you – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:16) Our first reaction should be thankfulness and to return that love.

Do I need to be baptised? There are many examples in the New Testament (particularly in the book of Acts) of people being baptised after receiving salvation. Baptism is NOT a condition of receiving salvation, but it is a public way of showing that you belong to the family of God. If you were baptised as an infant (practiced by some denominations) then, strictly speaking, you do not need to be baptised again. However, this is a personal choice and should be discussed with a trusted Christian friend or pastor. After some prayer and careful consideration, if you feel a need to be baptised, even if you had been previously baptised, then you should probably proceed with a fresh baptism.

What do I do next? Firstly, it should be noted that your salvation is completely secure. You do not have to preach, pray, witness, praise God, or do anything else. You are saved! The criminal on the cross had little time to do anything after he acknowledged Jesus, yet Jesus said to him “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

However, it is likely that you will want to respond to this marvellous gift by giving something back, or wanting to feel more worthy of being chosen, or just sharing the gospel with others. When Paul famously proclaimed that there is nothing that we can do to earn salvation, he also went on to say that there is work to be done after salvation. “For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:8-10)

How can I serve in the Kingdom of God? When Jesus was asked which is the greatest commandment, he said:-

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself”. (Matt 22:37-39)

So, your first objective should be to develop your relationship with God. This involves many aspects, e.g.

Prayer and Praise – constantly recognise and praise the one true and holy God and thank him for all his many blessings to you.

Obedience – Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn 14:15). It should be noted that obedience is NOT a pre-condition of receiving salvation. Alistair Begg, preaching on the first part of Romans chapter 8, said that “Glad obedience to God’s moral law is simply our [the Christian’s] logical act of worship” (Keswick 2010).

Stop sinning – Jesus conquered the power of sin when he died on the cross and was resurrected. We have the same ability due to the Holy Spirit living within us. Personally, I have found it difficult to stop sinning, but it is certainly possible to reduce your sin. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

The second part of serving God concerns your relationship with your fellow man. Again, there are many aspects to this, but all are typified by love, e.g.

Evangelise – Spreading the Gospel near and far is an act of love for other people. If you don’t feel called to be actively involved in this ministry, then you should at least consider supporting evangelism activities with prayer and financial support.

Forgive others – The common form of the Lord’s Prayer includes the lines “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. We should not hold grudges.

Social Action – Christians should get involved in trying to rectify injustices in the world, such as – eradicating poverty, tackling modern day slavery, opposing war, bullying, domestic violence, racism, persecution of Christians, Climate Change, pollution, animal rights. Unfortunately, the list seems endless.

Prayer – Jesus commanded that we pray for others. Prayer for other people / situations is a marvellous act of love.

What will happen in the future? As believing Christians, we rely on God’s promises that we will spend eternity with Him. There are many theories and interpretations of various prophecies, which give some indication of how and when this will happen. However, for me, it is a mystery probably beyond the understanding of mankind to comprehend. It is a matter of faith. I’m happy to rely on God’s promises regarding the future because I can look back and see the many promises that he has already fulfilled.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

So, how do we make this happen? The key to this is the Holy Spirit. He helps us to become more like Jesus, who is the ultimate example of how God wants us to live. It is up to us to give the Holy Spirit more control of our thoughts and actions so that he can develop the correct attitudes to living in the Kingdom of God. If we have the right attitudes (focused on loving God and others), then the actions will follow. Jesus taught his disciples the correct way to live by his example and teaching, e.g. “the sermon on the mount” (Matthew chapters 5-7). Paul also lists the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, verse 22. We will examine some of this teaching in future blogs.

SUMMARY

In summary, in accordance with God’s plans, you have been saved. This salvation was totally free and undeserved. However, there are implications regarding how you live the rest of your life as a Christian disciple.