So the crucial question that has to be answered here is… at what point a person is saved, or should we say finally saved… The Atonement The New Testament sometimes says that salvation is an accomplished reality, and at other times says it is still in the future, a seeming contradiction that is not limited to salvation alone. For example… [All Emphasis Added] Ephesians 2:8-9 states that Christians have already been saved: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” But 1 Corinthians 1:18 says the process is ongoing: “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” While Matthew 10: 22 says it is still in the future: “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” As does Romans 13:11: “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” And 1 Thessalonians 5:8 that speaks of the “hope” of salvation: “… let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.” There are many many other examples relating not only to salvation but to other critical themes… justification, adoption etc. Many Christians have tried to reconcile these statements according to their beliefs that you are already completely saved but, as is so often the case, much speaking is used to explain the unexplainable, usually resulting in a totally unconvincing, patch up job. Let’s get down to brass tacks… an event cannot be both past and future, so either the authors of the New Testament were talking through their collective hats and we can drop the entire subject and go catch a movie, or what we believe does not entirely square with what the Bible says. So what is the answer? Can we be assured we have salvation now, or is it something we have to strive and hope for. Have we already been adopted as sons, or are we eagerly waiting for this adoption? Are we righteous now, or is it yet a distant hope? For those who are actually interested in what the Bible says on the subject… as opposed to what parents, pastors, friends, or denomination may have taught, the answer to all of the above questions is .. BOTH. As we mentioned earlier the almost universal belief in the church today is that we trust (or believe) that Jesus died on Calvary for us. However it does not take a huge amount of faith to believe in an event already passed. But it does take faith to actively trust that something or someone is able in the future to do for you what they claim. If you turn back to the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament if becomes quickly apparent that just the shedding of the blood outside the tabernacle was not an end in itself … it had to be brought to God and ‘offered’ as an atonement for sin. Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary.. the sacrifice itself, was but the first half of the process, with the second phase… the atonement, still in the future. Complete deliverance will not be realized until Christ puts away sin at the end of the ages, when He (Jesus) will appear “before the face of God for us”. [Hebrews 9: 26]. Which is why Scripture is replete with warnings about watching, being careful and not dropping your guard… Perseverance in living a righteous life is necessary for salvation. “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”(Matthew 10:22) “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13) “To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations.” (Revelation 2:26) But isn’t this very difficult to do? Yes! It can be. But God gave us help traversing this difficult path.. He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit and said we have to be… Born Again Please note: Christian conversion is a spiritual transformation. A person who is a creation of God becomes a child of God only when he or she is born by a special privilege or grant of the Almighty. It is not the turning over of a new leaf, or a “self-improvement” program in which I “add Jesus” to my life in order to become a better… more successful person. It is the receiving of a new life. When Christ saves someone, He does not grant that person a fresh start… He gives that person a new life… His! This unfailingly results in a new purpose, a new direction, a new meaning to life. Above all you realize that you owe your life to God. “He came to that which was His own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent or a husband’s will, but born of God”. (John 1:11-13) Jesus said: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Also Note… The “Sinner’s Prayer” is not found anywhere among the cases of conversion in the book of Acts in the New Testament, nor is there a single instance of any sinner instructed to pray for their salvation. On the contrary sinners were admonished to ‘repent and be baptized’. do not be deceived thinking that by saying the sinners prayer you are automatically saved follow the guidance of The Lord Repent and be ye baptised NOW !!!
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 00:56:04 +0000
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