Is Salvation Instant or a Process?
It took me a while to understand that Salvation is instant and also a process. Growing up, I went for the salvation altar call many times, especially when doubt would sink in and threaten my peace.
I'd feel joy flooding in after accepting Jesus into my heart but a few days later, I'd find myself repeating the same mistakes I'd cried about.
My heart wasn't changing. Even as a born-again Christian, I went back to doing the same thing I'd cried about.
I didn't understand this whole salvation thing. I’d been told accepting Jesus into my life would make me a brand new person.
But I wasn't changing within. Was there something wrong with me?
Maybe I was missing it and would go to hell. So I lived in fear of hell for many years until I started learning about God.
For years I was clueless about how to please God and tried to do so based on my own understanding and definition of things, not God's definition.
I tried coming with a kind of righteousness of my own when I only had to sit still and let Jesus have his way.
I read the bible erroneously in the past and I couldn’t discern my soul from my spirit.
This made me believe I was bound for hell since I still battled ungodly thoughts and my heart was not pure.
The Process of Salvation begins at New-birth
And how do we know we are saved? I explained this at the beginning of the How to hear God series.
You heard the gospel, believed in your heart and confessed with your mouth.
That was ALL it took for your spirit to be saved.
If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
Your piercings, extensions, make-up, and many other external factors CANNOT ADD or remove from your salvation.
Just say the word and the Holy Spirit’s coming right into you!
God did not save you because you were perfect.
No!
He saved you to make you perfect like Jesus.
You didn't work for it. You didn't deserve it. But He gave it to you anyway. He made you qualified for heaven.
You're a citizen of Heaven! Just like that. Hallelujah!
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:8
Soul Salvation is a continuous process
So while your spirit is saved, the part of you that still resists the Holy Spirit is your Soul. Your soul is where your emotions, your mind, your personality, and everything sensual about you stem from. This didn’t change when you got born again. You’ll have to be proactive and co-operate with the Holy-Spirit for you to see changes here.
God has saved your spirit, so you need to keep following Jesus until your soul is saved and your heart reflects His.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is ABLE TO SAVE YOUR SOULS.
1Timothy2:4
And this can be done by renewing our minds daily.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed BY the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God - Romans 12:2
How can we be transformed? By renewing our minds daily.
How do we renew our minds? By poring God’s word and making it our life.
Simple!
Garbage in, Garbage out. If we keep sowing to the flesh, we can’t expect to reap spiritual thoughts. We’ll keep battling habits and our old ways of thinking. But if we sow our lives into God’s word and yield more to the Holy Spirit, our thoughts will begin to reflect His.
It may take time, but the fruits you bear will tell.
For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit REAP ETERNAL LIFE
Galatians 6:8
The purpose of growth
When reading the bible, it’s easy to presume it all starts and ends with the New-birth experience. But if this were so, the bible would be contradicting itself.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, WORK OUT your own salvation with fear and trembling;
If you noticed, scripture doesn’t say WORK FOR but WORK OUT. You only ‘work out’ something within you. So the goal is to live from the victory Jesus won for us by taking up His new life. This happens by recognizing what Jesus did and by responding to his love through obedience
So you may be a heavenly citizen, but you need to fulfill PURPOSE which is to have Christ formed in you - Galatians 4:19
Scriptures worth reading
Why does scripture admonish believers against sin (1 John 1:8), about repentance (1Cor5:1-2), and hell? (Matthew 5:30, 1Cor 5:5)
If we were perfect already, why are we admonished not to grieve and quench the Holy Spirit? (Ephesians 4:30, 1Thess 5:19)
Believers are admonished to proactively seek out the narrow path and avoid the broad way (Matthew 7:14)
The Bible warns that those Christians who keep practicing unrighteousness won't inherit the Kingdom (Galatians 5:21)
Compare spiritual with spiritual
We need to balance scripture with scripture or we will err.
The New Testament was written to believers, not unbelievers.
It was written to show us our state before Christ, our present reality, and what we must do to abide in God’s will.
So while we thank God for saving our spirit, we need to arm our minds for the journey ahead.
We need to understand that our soul salvation is as important as the Newbirth and God is pleased when behold His Son until we become. It’s the only way we can come into our full potential as God’s children.
Perhaps you still see yourself acting ‘unchristlike’ on some days but don’t let that deter you. You’re a work in progress, but rest assured that your salvation in Jesus Christ is secure and you have eternal life the moment you said yes to Jesus. Because God doesn’t give false promises.
God knew you would need him all the days of your life, so he provided room for you to keep growing until you get it. Imagine if he didn’t, none of us would qualify to be citizens of heaven.
I hope this makes you rest assured that God’s got you and your transformation is vital in your journey.
You can check out my other posts below:
How can Christ be formed in you?
As Christians, can we ever be perfect?