WHEN WERE YOU SAVED...?

I am so thankful for the work of grace that Christ did on my behalf on the cross.

Without His sacrifice and subsequent resurrection, I would be without hope - lost and separated from God. But God...

(Don't you love it when God butts in to your life?)

in His love for us and His infinite power, He saw fit to take the punishment that I deserved for my shortcomings, so that - if I trusted in Him - His death would be a substitute for mine and I would receive eternal life because He ultimately defeated that death by coming back to life.

So why do I still have sin in my life?

Good question.

Borrowing from some material by Mark Driscoll, I'd like to share something that has changed my life.

Just before Jesus died on the cross, He declared "It is finished!" This was a declaration of the completion of His blood being spilled as an atonement for the wrath of God towards ALL our sin.

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. -1 John 2:2 ESV

Therefore - in the PAST - Jesus took care of the PENALTY for our sin.

Fastforward. You as a sinful person, become aware of your sin. You realize you need a Savior. You make a conscious choice to accept Christ as such and repent of your sin. You are personally saved.

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. -Romans 10:9-10 ESV

So - in the PRESENT - Jesus takes care of the POWER of sin. Thus beginning a work of helping us to stop making selfish choices and start making godly choices.

Then - one day - when time ends and Christ comes back for all of His followers, there will suddenly be no more sin.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” -Revelation 21:3-4 ESV

So - in the FUTURE - Jesus removes the PRESENCE of sin.

I hope that helps you like it helps me. Let us rest in the payment made for our penalty - trust in the power for victory - and hold on to the hope for ultimate freedom in the future.

Let me know your thoughts and questions.