SALVATION

It begins with acknowledging you are a sinner and that God sent His Son to pay the ransom required to redeem your soul; Jesus' death on Calvary's cross satisfied a debt you could not pay and His resurrection secured the transaction.

But 'saving faith' is not just an intellectual assent to these truths. You can believe that Jesus Christ is able and willing to save, and yet be as far from the Kingdom of God as the man who rejects the Lord altogether. 

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9

C H Spurgeon - There must be confession with the mouth. Have I openly avowed my faith in Jesus as the Savior whom God has raised from the dead? There must also be belief with the heart. Do I sincerely believe in the risen Lord Jesus? Do I trust in Him as my sole hope of salvation? If I can truly claim that I have both confessed Christ and believed in Him, then I am saved. 

Observe salvation in its entirety ... 

Past Tense - Salvation is a distinct event ... it became yours at the moment you exercised simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. (Romans 5:9)

Present Tense - You are being perpetually rescued from sin's power to corrupt. To us who are being saved, Christ is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18) Jesus' strong hand never lets you go and His presence wards off the enemy of your soul. 

Future Tense - Your eternal salvation is waiting to be revealed ... an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith. (1 Peter 1:4-5). 

Therefore, you see that God's plan of salvation is all-encompassing. It includes forgiveness that remembers your sin no more; deliverance from the curse and penalty of iniquity; emancipation from sin's power to enslave you; transformation of your soul into the image of Christ, and finally ... the resurrection of your body; made fit for your eternal home in glory. 

The Word of God emphatically declares ... 'Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved' (Acts 16:31), 'He that comes unto me I will in no wise cast out' (John 6:37), 'By grace are you saved' (Ephesians 2:8), and 'You are complete in Him' (Colossians 2:10). These are Promises that cannot be broken.

My prayer is that you have accepted God's gift of salvation and can say with all assurance ... "I came to Christ and He received me. His salvation, His promises, and His advocacy are now mine."