July 22 I Monday

Psalms 31-32

Acts 23:16-35

“I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.”  —John 10:9

We are all born separated from God, and the moment we are born, we begin in a state of perishing, which leads to eternal perishing. This can be replaced with a state of living and eternal life that is a gift of God through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

There is a past, present and future tense to our salvation. In the past tense, we can say we have been saved from the penalty of our sin. We have been saved the moment we come in humble repentance to Christ, recognizing He paid the price for our sin. The theological term is that we have been “justified.” The penalty
for our sin has been paid for and we are legally freed from it before God.

In the present tense, we are being saved from the power of sin on an ongoing daily basis. In this life, we will battle with the old corrupt nature. We also battle with satanic attack, but we have a continuing salvation that is ever active; the theological term is “sanctification.” Having been saved, we are in the process of sanctification. Paul tells us, “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” (1 Corinthians 1:18). “Being saved” is in the present tense, and our confidence
is in being delivered daily from sin’s dominion through the resurrected life of Christ.

In the future tense, the Bible says we will be saved, and in this sense, it is being saved from the presence of sin. The theological term is “glorification,” which means we will be fully restored to the moral character of God. Peter tells us, “In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time”
(1 Peter 1:3-5). There is a future dimension, a fullness of salvation that has yet to come.

The saving death of Christ deals with our past, the saving life of Christ on which we depend for daily deliverance deals with our present, and the saving coming of Christ when our salvation will be complete deals with our future. Salvation is received, not by our own merit, but solely by the grace of God, who has given us His Son, our only means of receiving salvation.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You that my salvation is forever secure in You in the past, present and future. Continue to sanctify me in Your ways.