I have been Saved, yet Am Being Saved...

https://billrandles.wordpress.com/2019/09/05/i-am-saved-and-i-am-being-saved-osas-pt-3/ ^ | 09-05-19 | Bill Randles

[pastorbillrandles]

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. ( I Corinthians 1:18-19)

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those whoare perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I Will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” ( I Corinthians 1:18-19 NASV)

There are many misunderstandings about Salvation which lead to the various positions people of good will and good faith labor under, concerning this issue.

One major problem is that the very nature of salvation is vastly misunderstood. Scripture presents Salvation as a process. There is a past, present and future aspect of Salvation.

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)

Paul presents the gospel here in it’s simplest form, and declares that by receiving this gospel, we stand in salvation…but then he adds a condition, “If Ye keep in memory …” that gospel. The Apostle then holds forth that it is a possibility to have believed in vain.

He does a similar thing in Collossians,

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; (Collosians 1:21-23)

What about these “Ifs”? Are they not conditions? “If we continue in faith…and be not moved away?… What? If not, What?

One solution to this question comes also from Paul, in the passage in I Corinthians 1 above. I am no Greek scholar and do not pretend to be, but I can read concordances and commentaries. The Greek language has a continuous participle, which would render the word “Perish” , as “are perishing”, and the Word “Saved” as “Being Saved”. We are in a continuous process in salvation from the day we commence to the Day of the LORD.

Again Paul in Romans 5;

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. ( Romans 5:9-11)

In this much loved and assuring passage, we are simultaneously told that Now (presently) we are justified, and yet “We shall be saved” (Future) … There is a past, present and future aspect to Salvation.

Instantly , when I accepted the Revelation of God in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, I was saved, (Justified). I then commenced an ongoing process of (Sanctification) discipleship, which I continue in to this day, and I await the final Salvation, when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. Then my Salvation shall be complete at the resurrection of my sin riddled body.

Until then, I am Being Saved… according to the Apostle Paul.

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; ( 2 Corinthians 1: 9-10)Next we will look at what Jesus taught us about salvation…

[metmom]

I am being conformed more and more every day into the likeness of Christ. (Some days better than others)

[JAKraig]

1st Cor. 15
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

I do not think being saved from death is what being saved really refers to when most people use the term today.

Because we are all sinners and because Christ took all the punishment for our sins we have the potential of being saved, we must however be accepted by Christ and He has let us know what will gain His acceptance.

I personally follow Christ to the best of my ability, sometimes I slip or don’t do as well as I would like but then that is why He suffered for my sins if I repent and ask for forgiveness. It simply does not happen because I confess Christ as Savior of the world. Although no person can earn His acceptance anyone can gain it but it takes more than words as so many people profess. It takes faith, hope and charity. If you don’t have hope in Christ you are as good as lost. If you don’t have faith which is very much related to that hope again, you are lost. If you don’t have charity then you don’t really have faith and are lost. But that is a discussion that has been going on between people of different religions for many, many years. I have a different question to put forth, although related to who is saved or when are they saved.

The vast majority of the people to have ever lived in the world have never even heard the name of Christ Jesus. Are they then doomed, through no fault of their own to eternal damnation? If they are damned am I to be punished for not telling those in my lifetime who I could have reached?

The Roman and other Catholic churches have a solution for this which has been around well over a thousand years, Purgatory. Peter the Apostle said Christ went to the spirit world, some would say Purgatory, to preach to the spirits of those where there and as the disobedient as in the days of Noah.

Somehow the offshoots of Catholicism lost Purgatory. It started with Luther, while not completely denying Purgatory it was completely redefined.

I have a problem with the vast majority of humanity who have never heard God’s word being condemned for eternity. Surely a God of love would not do that. There is much to admire in much of Protestantism but that condemnation is not part of it. I don’t think I could ever be a part of such an organization that condemns people because of where or when they were born.

[lurk]

I always love your stuff, brother. But the gospel of John and Romans eliminate the possibility of true believers losing their salvation.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

placemarker

[Jan_Sobieski]

I disagree. This verse is pretty clear about those who do not "continue" in faith...

Romans 11:17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

Additionally, the entire book of Hebrews is written to Messianic Jews who are defecting back to rabbinic Judaism.

[fproy2222]

Ping

[LeonardFMason]

According to the Apostle Paul(Various translations):

Believers in Christ are SAVED. It “the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

We ARE SAVED. God offers “the gift of his Son”. Once accepted he will not take it back.

Future “works”, “efforts”, “good deeds”, should be the fruit we bear as a result of being SAVED. We did all the sinning. God thru the finished work of Christ does all the saving. We are simply called, like the Phillipian jailer who asked “Sirs. What must I do to be SAVED, to “BELIVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED.”

New International Version
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

New Living Translation
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

English Standard Version
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Berean Study Bible
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Berean Literal Bible
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

New American Standard Bible
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

New King James Version
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

King James Bible
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

[LeonardFMason]

Ephesians 2

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. 1For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

NOT OF YOURSELVES, It is the GIFT of God, Not of works, lest any man should boast.

[PeterPrinciple]

Surely a God of love would not do that.

---

And there it is. God may be love but there are many definitions of love. I suspect there is one foremost worldly perspective in your mind.

Now God is MUCH MORE than love. He is many things but He MUST be JUST. That is who he is foremost. Mercy is at his discretion.

I encourage you to starting reading your Bible and let God tell you who he is, instead of you defining him.

Attributes of God is the terminology but again, go to the original source, don’t let others tell you about God.

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/15-amazing-attributes-of-god-what-they-mean-and-why-they-matter.html

[Jan_Sobieski]

What if you lose your faith?

[PeterPrinciple]

The Roman and other Catholic churches have a solution for this which has been around well over a thousand years,

---

Yes, a man made solution. We like that because it tickles our ears, puts us in control. Gives us another chance.

The response to false doctrine is, What does God say on the matter?

Now you may find verses to fit this man made doctrine. But when you look at God Word as a whole it does not fit.

Systematic Theology is something all should become familiar with. It is fitting man into God’s system, not God into man’s system.

Now systems are another issue. You can look at this one small point and say “THAT’S NOT FAIR”. But when we look at any system it soon gets beyond our comprehension. So the only options are to ignore the system and be in control of the one small thing or get on our knees and say God is God, and we are not.

Now this is not say give up, we can’t understand anything. God reveals somethings for us to understand and chew on to have an inkling of who He is.......................

[PeterPrinciple]

I do not think being saved from death is what being saved really refers to when most people use the term today.

---

Now there you raise a very good issue. We use the words but don’t give it much thought as to what it means.

What does God say on the issue?

We are saved from His wrath.

Repeat,

We are saved from His wrath.

[Ezekiel]

Jesus is like Joseph in Egypt: in the system but not of the system, because he operates on a higher principle lost on the comformity-consensus crowd.

Won’t people be surprised and stunned. Religious experts hit hardest.

[PeterPrinciple]

Faith + works = salvation

or

Salvation + faith = works

But note that both salvation and faith are a gift from God. But you knew that........................

Now I have the words (formula) but usually not the music to go with them...........................

[JAKraig]

I encourage you to starting reading your Bible and let God tell you who he is, instead of you defining him.

_______________________________________________________

First, I will assure you I read my Bible every day. I don’t go looking for strange answers to strange questions. To those that would say you may find answers in a few selected verses that however don’t reflect the meaning of the whole Bible, to that for the most part I say hogwash. If you read something and think it is out of step with the rest of the Bible rest assured it is you that is out of step in your understanding.

This topic of Justice being the answer for all those who never heard of Christ being punished eternally just means someone is not reading their Bible enough.

God is indeed a God of Love. Will Mercy rob Justice? God is a merciful God as much as He is a God of Justice. Justice, required a payment, a punishment if you will for my and everyone else’s sins. The punishment has already been given, already been paid. Christ Jesus made a deal for all those who would accept it. Follow Me He said and my punishment will cover your guilt. By His Grace He allows us to enter into His kingdom even though we don’t deserve it. Understand we don’t deserve it any more than those who never heard the work of The Lord, perhaps we deserve it less because we didn’t share The Gospel with them.

It is not a mystery, God loves ALL His children and will find a way for all who want to follow Him to do so. I didn’t say Purgatory was the way but at least Catholics understand that God is a loving God and will provide a way.

In 1st Peter when Christ visited the prison or spirit world where the dead are alive but not alive in Him, He preached to them. How I wish I knew what He said but I suspect He told them how they too could be saved, I hope that is what He did. Perhaps someday Christ will come back to the earth and send us to baptize them in the spirit world so they too can come forth in resurrection morning. Perhaps that is far fetched but to me it is far fetched that God would leave His children to suffer for something they couldn’t do.

When Christ returns to take over the institutions of the world He will wait 1000 years for the resurrection. Maybe at that time He will send servants into the spirit prison to teach and save them. Maybe they will be ressurected into flesh and taught again to they can be born of water and of the Spirit. Perhaps there is some other method we haven’t thought of but I will not believe in an evil God who saves a few fortunate souls from His everlasting wrath just because they were born in the right time and place. I am no better than those who were disobedient as in the days of Noah, perhaps worse because I know of Jesus and still sin.

[LeonardFMason]

More Equations:

Faith/Trust/Belief in Christ and his Finished work on cross = Salvation

Finished Work of Christ + NOTHING you OR I could do/add = Salvation

Love/Devotion for Christ = Works

[LeonardFMason]

What is “faith”?

Faith only has context and meaning based on WHAT/WHO you are putting faith in.

Some have faith in Climate Science. In this case faith is exercised in futility.

Faith in Christ and what He has done to SAVE us is faith exercised wisely.

I have explained the exercise of FAITH in the personal salvation one can have in Christ like this to my children:

F - Forsaking
A - ALL
I - I
T - Trust
H - HIM(The Lord Jesus Christ)

[Mr Rogers]

Justification then sanctification. Both are part of being saved.

[Elsie]

Scripture presents Salvation as a process.

There was no 'process' with the thief on the cross.