A common question Christians often ask one another is, “When did you become saved?” Although I say my “moment of salvation” occurred on December 23, 1999, it was an evolution of sorts, a gradual attraction to “godly” things that led me to Christ. I believe I was in the process of being saved years before that date.
In an article titled “Hour of Decision” in the December issue of Christianity Today, theology professor Erik Thoennes explains what being saved means and what the Bible teaches about the process. An excerpt:
The term saved is popularly used to refer to regeneration and justification. But when the Bible uses the word salvation in a spiritual sense, it describes the broad range of God’s activity in rescuing people from sin and restoring them to a right relationship with himself. Salvation in the Bible thus has past, present, and future tenses. A believer has been saved from the guilt of sin (justification, see Eph. 2:8), is being saved from the power of sin (sanctification, see 1 Cor. 1:18), and will be saved from the judgment and presence of sin (glorification, see Acts 15:11).
While the subjective experience of being saved may look very different from person to person, the objective state of being saved is definite and absolute. From God’s perspective, there is a definitive point in time when those who have trusted in Christ pass from death into life (1 John 3:14).
Indeed, all you have to do is believe Jesus is Lord and Savior, that he died for your sins, and that he rose from the dead. The saved person may give in to doubt from time to time and question his salvation, but he will never lose it. If the blood of Christ has washed away his sins, he is saved for all eternity, even if he backslides.
There’s more to the salvation story, of course, but that’s the gist. The experience is different for each Christian, but the effect is the same. It doesn’t matter whether the story of how you came to Christ was dramatic or subtle; it’s a story worth telling over and over.
Are you doubting your salvation? The Bible admonishes us to become more Christ-like even as we work out our salvation “with fear and trembling.” As Thoennes writes, “[T]he ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in making a person more like Jesus is the clearest indicator that one has been made a new creation in Christ.”
What’s your salvation story? If you’re not a Christian, are you drawn to Christ in some way? I assume you’re a little curious if you’re reading a Christian’s blog. Erroneous assumption, perhaps.
Update: As a point of clarification, the Bible also teaches that we must repent of, or turn away from, our sins. It’s what I believe, but I neglected to say so in the post.
Related posts:
- The Risen Christ
- What It Means To Be A Christian
- Jews Need to be “Perfected”: What Ann Coulter Was Trying to Say
