Are you sure of salvation?
Are you sure of your salvation? Can you be sure? What exactly is salvation again?
What is salvation again?
In an ealier post I described salvation in terms of the three tenses of salvation: past, present and future. Justification is the past tense (if you are saved that is) where you are removed from the penalty of sin. Glorification is the future tense where you are removed from the presence of sin. In between these is sanctification, the present tense, where you are removed from the power of sin. Sancification is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit and you agreeing with the Spirit to make choices to follow the Spirit in his quest to make you like Jesus. This is what goes on as a believer “works out his salvation with fear and trembling”, as Paul said in Philippians 2:12
Unlike santification the believer has very little to do with what happens in justification and glorification. As Paul says in Romans 8:30
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
(I won’t get into the apparent paradoxes involved in predestination vs. freewill except to say what appears to be predestination is really freewill, depending on whether you are inside or outside the created universe. The Holy Spirit calls everyone with a soft voice. Eventually, you either listen to that voice and enter the transaction that triggers justification, or you ignore the voice until the Spirit stops calling you.)
The main point of the verse is that justification and glorification are up to God. Nothing you could do could possibly affect your justification or glorification. Once you make the decision to agree with God that you need to be saved, God takes care of justification, cleaning up your sin debt, sealing your spirit with the Holy Spirit, etc. see 2 Cor 1:21-22. Glorification takes place at the rapture or resurection, depending on which side of the grave you are on when Jesus comes back for us. see 1 Cor. 15:51-53 and 1 John 3:2 on glorification.
Can you be sure?
The big question, though, is can I be sure of my salvation? John 10:27-30 answers that pretty well.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand.I and [my] Father are one.
If if no man is able to pluck me out of Jesus or his Father’s hands, and I am a man (human, that is) then nothing I can do will cause me to lose my salvation.
What is the point of sanctification?
Sanctification, as I said, is that process that goes on in a believers life between Justification in the past and Glorification in the future. Sanctification is the present you give back to Jesus for giving you eternal life. 
A lot of people do not get too far along with sanctification. It is a lot of bother, what with going to college or finding a job or working to support a family. They might go to church regularly or just Easter and Christmas, throw some money to charity, read the bible when they notice it. Except for Sundays and holidays, they probably do not think about God very much.
Mainly though, they just will not grow very much spiritually. How they they be more like Jesus when they do not set themselves apart from the world and draw close to God? How can they be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:1-2) when they do not read the word of God?
You might say, “what difference will it make? I am going to heaven and all that, so who cares?” If you look at 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 you might change your mind:
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
The works you do to “get brownie points” by following rules or doing what people say “a Christian should do this” is what Paul calls wood hay and stubble. What you get out of following the lead of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process is gold, silver and precious stones. So what? Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 tell us that we shall all stand before the jusgement seat of Christ. This is where all believers will give an account of how they spent their lives, in good ways and not so good. As your life is reviewed you will probably be disappointed at time you wasted, not following the spirit, not living up to what you could have done. I say this to explain why God should have to wipe away our tears. (Rev 21:4) This also explains Paul’s paranoia about losing his rewards (1 Cor 9:27)
This judgment is not for saying you go to heaven or hell. That has been decided by your response to what Jesus did on Calvary. The “judgement scene” you see at the Judgement House dramas churches do is a bit misleading. Believers and non-believers do not stand at the same judgement seat. Non-believers are judged at the end of time, after the second resurection. This is called the great white throne judgement. Rev 20:11-15
Basically sanctification is a choice of hanging out as a hippy or refugee after Jesus judges our works on earth, or hearing him say “well done my faithful servant” and being rewarded with crowns for service to Him. I don’t know if you know this, but hippies and refugees stink. I would rather not have all my works burnt up. I would rather hang with the people who smell good. Still, being a hippy in heaven is better than being in hell.
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What is salvation?
You hear a lot about salvation: are you saved?, John 3:16, sinner’s prayer, walk the aisle, whatever. Something to the effect that you say a prayer or something and you are going to heaven. They might hand you a bible or a pamphlet and tell you to get baptized or join a church or something, but what is really involved in this salvation thing?
The three tenses of salvation
I am saved, I am being saved, I will be saved! The past, present and future tenses of salvation. Interestingly, you have three parts that need to be saved: your spirit, your soul and your body.
Salvation is a 3 stage process. When you decide you want Jesus to be your lord and trust that He paid for your sins when He died on the cross, that is what most people call salvation, as if it is a destination in itself. John 3:16, Eph 2:8-9
Past tense of salvation: Justification
Actually it is a beginning. This is what the bible calls justification. (Romans 10:9-11) This fancy word word means that to God it is just-as-if you had never sinned. Justification is a complex process but all of the heavy lifting gets done in the spiritual realm. This is a transaction that takes place at one point in your life. You are sealed with the Holy Spirit and your spirit is made alive. (Eph 1:13) At this point you are free of the penalty of sin. (Rom 8:1-2) Continue reading »
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| Tags: glorification, inherit, justification, overcomer, reign, salvation, sanctification |
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The Person of Christ
This appeared in a tweet I received today. It is an interesting article that expounds on the deity and humanity of Jesus. There are numerous references to scripture throughout. It is a worthwhile read!
It is interesting to note… and reflect upon the fact that while the God of the universe, forever put on flesh… He will forever bear the marks of His purchase. Yet we are given temporal bodies and we mark them with sin, and when we repent of our sin and accept the finished work of Jesus, we are given an eternal PERFECT body!
Happy reading… by the way, the article is in a pdf file, so you can take it with you. And for those who already have the ESV Study Bible… it is in there, too!
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Radiometric Dating… is it infallible?
I was asked by an atheist about how I can question radiometric dating, the basis for dating the age of rocks in science. Evolutionists use this data as “proof” for the age of the earth. Radiometric dating is a measurement based on radioactive decay of certain elements to validate the age of artifacts and rock layers. Some will claim this is infallible, but is it?
It is a bit odd, for the evolutionist who rejects Christianity because of its “assumptions.” However, the premise that we can know the rate of radioactive decay may be essentially based on assumption. The assumption that the speed of light is a constant, meaning it is the same today as it was 1,000 years ago, 5,000 years ago, or even (allegedly) 1,000,000 years ago. Radioactive dating alone would seemingly put any creationist out of business… but to put it in perspective, there are outs! Continue reading »
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| Tags: Creation, God, Jesus, man, salvation, sin |
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The Room
Brian’s Essay: The Room…
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The Greatest Gift
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| Tags: devotion, poetry, salvation |
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