Salvation?

 It all starts with God's grace. 

In Ephesians 2:8-9 it says, "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."

See God loves you so much that even as a sinner He prepared a way for salvation.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

In John 1 it says that in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  

Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.  In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.  (Colossians 1-2) (see the "GOD" page about our Triune God, the Trinity)

So believe and trust in God's love, put your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.  That He came and lived a perfect life, defeating sin.  That He died on the cross and resurrected from the dead, defeating hell and death for all those who believe and trust in Him by putting their faith in Him.  

We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:14)

Salvation is not a prayer one can say and it is done, it is a turning away from this life and turning to God through Christ.  A surrender of self, recognizing that Christ is Lord and accepting Him as your Lord and Savior.  This surrender is often followed by a prayer called the sinner's prayer, something like this:

"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask You for forgiveness.  I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.  I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life.  I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and my Savior."

Many believe that there is a God and even that Jesus was real.  Is that belief enough?  What is true faith?  What is saving faith?

Saving faith is followed by repentance.  

Repent and TURN to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19)

In the book of James (2:19), it says that even the demons believe there is one God, and tremble.  So just a belief that there is a God that had a Son who died and resurrected does not save.  But if you put your faith in Christ and you trust in Him with your life, if you truly do that then the Holy Spirit indwells you and you become a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When you become a new creation things start happening inside of you, and your desires start to change.  You cannot change, well you can try, before you put your faith in Christ. Many times that ends in defeat, trying to be good enough for God, we can't in and of ourselves accomplish that.  It's a complete surrender to Him, to take your sinful life and give it to Him, surrender and commit it to His will.  

Then comes what you would call sanctification, which starts to transform you from the inside out.  He forgives your sins and starts to cleanse you.

Once you truly put your faith in God through Christ then He will start to mold you, guide you and transform you.  This is a lifelong process, that is an important thing to know so you don't get discouraged dealing with sin.  There is no perfection, only Christ can be that, and it's through Him we find our completeness and righteousness.  

As you mature in Christ you will start to realize, as you grow with Him, that on our own we are not worthy of His salvation.  We will see our sins clearer and clearer thanking Him more and more for His grace.  With that being said we are responsible for our sins and called to turn from them as the Holy Spirit shows them to us.  

At first it seems the Holy Spirit deals with the big obvious sins, laying it on our hearts to turn from them.  Then He deals with those in our thoughts and motives, He is always molding us to Christ, transforming us.  Like I said before, it's a lifelong process.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that he disciplines his body and makes it his slave.

Also in Philippians 2:12 he says to work out your salvation with trembling and fear.

True salvation is not a prayer once said that leads to no change.  It is a turning away from your old life, and turning to a new one that holds things of this world as rubbish compared to the glory that awaits you. Christians throughout history have given their whole life, suffered and died for their faith in Christ, which He may also ask of us one day.  But He asks from all of us today to trade this life for the one to come.  

So How Do We Do That?

In Romans 12:2 it says, 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.'

Renew your mind by prayer, worship, read His word (the Bible), go to church, fellowship with other believers, and meditate on things of God, things that are good and pure.  Follow Christ's teachings of baptism and the Lord's supper, remembering His blood that He shed for us and His body He gave for us.  

Paul focuses heavily in his writings on salvation being through faith and grace alone, that not of our works but by our faith and the grace of God we are saved.  We get a balance by James, in the book of James, that the grace we experience that led to true faith, should lead to good works and service towards building God's kingdom.  We should seek to help others, and support ministries that help others, being the hands and feet of Christ, to which we were called.  His body!

In James we see that faith without works is dead.  He says to show your faith by your works, which leads to the service we give to God, which shows the dedication of our lives to Christ.

At first it may seem like we are just trying be renewed and transformed within our own life to walk with Him, but the Holy Spirit will start guiding you to do things for others, and to serve Him by serving others.  

Jesus said in Matthew 25:35-40, (paraphrased) that when He was hungry you gave Him food, when He was thirsty you gave Him drink, when He was a stranger you took Him in, and when He was naked you clothed Him.  They asked when they did that, and He replied, "Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

Serve your brothers and sisters in Christ, help in their needs.  We have all been blessed with something, those blessings were given to us to be used for the Kingdom of God.  You may be led to give, to serve in a church, to spread His word to your friends, family, coworkers, or to congregations of people here or abroad.  Whatever we have been blessed with should be used for His work.  

A truly prosperous life doesn't mean health, wealth and prosperity.  It means that whatever you have that if you try and help others with it then somehow it doesn't run out.  It means to be able to walk in peace beyond your understanding even through the storms of life.  It means that even though we are sinners and struggle, we can know God, be healed spiritually and walk in His presence.  That is what a rich and blessed life looks like!

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)

A sacrificial life means different things for different people in different circumstances. There are those who literally sacrifice their lives to worship God and for the furtherance of the gospel.  All the Apostles faced persecution and death, as well as there are thousands upon thousands of martyred Christians throughout the world today regularly.  And if you or I are called to die that kind of glorious death then may God give us His grace and strength to do so without hesitation or fear.  

But most of us probably won't face that kind of persecution, so how do we sacrifice this life for the one to come.  Are you called to do something other than what your doing now?  Can we live below our means to be able to help and give to others, and ministries more?  Can we work less to be a light and leader in our own homes with our own families?  Do you need to work more to give more?  Is there time you are spending on something or nothing that can be used to serve others? 

The answer is given to us as we walk with Christ, being in fellowship with the Father and guided by the Holy Spirit.  He will show you your path to live in His will.  Be in prayer, in His word, worship and meditate on Him continually and your path will be lit up and clear as the time comes for you to walk in it.  

When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.   (Colossians 3:4)

Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, by the power which enables Him to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

So it is with the resurrection of the dead.  What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.  It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. (1 Corinthians 15:42-43)

As Christ resurrected to glory, so will you.  Hold on to your faith, don't let this life overtake you making you its slave.  Persevere, fight the good fight, finish your race.  Something amazing awaits you full of glory and is so majestic that we can't even imagine it.  This life is but a vapor, it's over quick and an eternity full of God's love with the King of kings is but a heart beat away.