What Was, Is, and Will Be
What does it mean to be saved? That was the question I sought to shed some light on in yesterday’s podcast. It’s an important question, the answer to which determines how we understand what it means to be a Christian.
There is way too much of a future focus on what salvation means to followers of Jesus. But the truth of the matter is that salvation, like eternal life, is something we experience here and now through faith in Jesus Christ.
In the podcast yesterday, I shared two verses that shed some light on the expansive, here and now, nature of salvation in the lives of believers. The first verse from Galatians 1:4 tells us that Jesus Messiah has “rescued us from this present evil age.” The second, from Acts 2:40, are the words of Peter as he concludes the first sermon of the new age of God’s kingdom established through Christ - “save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Salvation in Jesus Christ saves us from this present evil age and its corruption.
My daughter is not a Christian. It’s a long story, but it is what it is. She is, however, a committed and compassionate humanist. Because of this, I have often told her she is the best Christian I know. I even wrote a post about that. A few people took me to task over it, but Mary, who read the article, seems to understand better than them that the whole point of that article was not about her Christian faith or lack thereof. It was about those qualities that should be seen in every follower of Jesus.
But Mary, in spite of being a humanist, clearly recognizes how inhuman so many people and systems in our world can be. In other words, my non-Christian daughter is very aware of this evil age in which we live. And there is no human government, no human system of justice that can change that. Yes, some are better than others, but to quote the words of Romans 3:23, “all fall short of the glory of God.”
Christians who understand the fulness of our salvation in Christ understand that salvation is more than a one-time past event. Rather, it is an ongoing process in which, through our faith in Christ, we are delivered more and more from the ways and thinking of this world, and which will someday result in a final and complete deliverance.
Consider these verses of Scripture -
“For it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:8)
“ . . . for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (I Peter 1:9)
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:18)
“. . . our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11)
So our salvation in Christ Jesus is the beginning of a deliverance from this present evil age, this corrupt generation, in which we live; saved from its ways of thinking, living, and behaving. That aspect of salvation is known as sanctification, a word that simply refers to our growing in holiness. And the word holy means to be separate, distinct, other.
This growing distance from the ways and attitudes of this age begins when we trust in Jesus. And as we continue to trust him, day by day, year by year, it grows. And again, the good news is that someday we will be delivered from this corrupt age fully and completely.
As we grow in the ongoing, present awareness of our salvation in Christ, we begin to experience more of God’s eternal life. “Now this is eternal life,” Jesus said in what has been called his “high priestly prayer” for his disciples, “that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) And the “knowing” Jesus speaks of here is not the knowledge of facts or information; it is personal, intimate, relational knowledge.
There’s so much more I could say, and these short posts have the potential of raising more questions rather than providing answers. But that’s okay! Questions lead serious followers of Jesus to seek answers. And those answers come more than anything else in the form of a growing, authentic, passionate love for what God has done for us through His Son, Jesus.
In Christ,
Dan
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