What Is Salvation (Part 2)

For the first half of this article, please click on What Is Salvation (Part 1). 

Upon believing, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our salvation

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.” – Ephesians 1:13-14

When we put our faith in Christ, we received the Holy Spirit and are sealed in Him. The word for seal (sphragizo) refers to a signet mark, such as a stamp made with a king’s signet ring as a mark of authenticity and ownership. It means we belong to God. The presence of the Holy Spirit is also a pledge or “down payment” of our heavenly inheritance and redemption.

How do we know we are sealed and belong to God? The Holy Spirit tells us:

“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children.” – Romans 8:15-16

The Holy Spirit and our spirit testify that we belong to God. In other words, we inherently know in the deepest part of us that we belong to Him. We sense the affirmation of the Holy Spirit by faith.

Further evidence is demonstrated by the fruits of the Spirit growing in us, i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. We begin to reflect the character of Christ instead of the worldly values of selfish ambition, hatred, arrogance, etc.

Some say speaking in tongues demonstrates a true conversion or being “Spirit-filled.” But I don’t believe the Scriptures support this. Firstly, as the verse above states, we receive the Holy Spirit upon believing in Christ, not upon manifesting a spiritual gift. Secondly, the Scriptures say we receive different gifts according to God’s good pleasure:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, NASB

Since we operate as a body, people have different gifts and ministries for the benefit of the whole. God doesn’t single out one spiritual gift for everyone to have.

Thirdly, and this is important to understand, supernatural manifestations can be animated by God or Satan. We have to use discernment and cannot assume the supernatural is always of God. Remember, the Pharaoh’s magicians Jannes and Jambres replicated the first three plagues of the Lord with sorcery and witchcraft. Jesus also warned:

“False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” – Matthew 24:24, Holman

Supernatural gifts are real and Christians do perform miracles by the Holy Spirit, but it is also possible for demonic spirits to be behind prophecies, tongues, healings and even miracles. Satan uses these counterfeit manifestations to deceive people (1 John 4:1 tells us to “test the spirits to determine if they are from God.”). So there is a danger in saying everyone should speak in tongues, because it encourages people to seek supernatural experiences for their own sake, apart from their calling in the Lord, which can lead into the world of the occult.

However, if we focus on the witness of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit as evidence of true faith, then we are on solid ground.

Saving faith endures to the end

“Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him—if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.” – Colossians 1:21-23

In the verses above, the Apostle Paul summarized the gospel message and salvation concisely, and added a condition: If we are steadfast in the faith and don’t turn away from the hope of the gospel.

In fact, the Apostles and Jesus himself were fervently concerned that churches under their care remained committed and persevered in the faith. Consider these verses:

“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. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” – Philippians 2:12-13, King James 2000

Paul said we must work out our salvation with great care and commitment. This is not salvation by works – only the blood of Jesus reconciles us – but salvation unto good works. He was talking about the sanctification process, our growth in the faith, which is  essential. In truth, God works through us to perform his good will in the world as we “work out our salvation.”

The Apostle Peter said:

“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 3:17-18a, Holman

Be on your guard, or “Be sober!” and “Be on the alert!” as Peter put it elsewhere, so we are not led away by deception and sin and fall from our own steadfastness. Instead we should grow in our faith in Christ.

The Apostle John said we must “remain” or “abide” in Christ:

“What you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.” – 1 John 2:24, Holman

Jesus Christ in his letters to the churches in Revelation encouraged them to “hold on,” “be faithful until death,” and, for those who fell short in their faith, to repent.

To the church in Philadelphia:

“I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.” – Revelation 3:11, Holman

To the church in Smyrna:

“Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” – Revelation 2:10, Holman

To the church in Sardis:

“I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent.” – Revelation 3:1b-3a, Holman

Why all this concern about readiness, faithfulness, repentance and growth? Because God knows saving faith is fruitful and endures to the end.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained:

“When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown.” – Matthew 13:20-23

People respond differently to the message of the gospel. Some reject it outright; some seem to respond positively but then quickly fall away; some hold on for a while, but the worries and pleasures of the world choke it out. Jesus and the Apostles wanted as many people as possible to be in the last category: The seed sown in good soil that produces a many-fold return. This is why they consistently preached perseverance, faithfulness and growth.

A growing faith is a solid, reliable faith

People have different mindsets about salvation. Some aren’t concerned about it. These people may go to church, but in their daily life they mostly go along with the world. Prayer and obedience are not part of their daily lives. Do such people really know God? Others may live in constant fear of failing and losing their salvation, struggling with feelings of condemnation, fear and shame. To them I would say, Jesus came to heal us and set us free; it is the devil who is the accuser. I believe God would have us in between these extremes: Actively engaged with Him, growing in our faith and the grace and peace of God, and confident that:

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6, NIV

[Side note: When is God's good work in us complete? The day of Christ Jesus!]

The Apostle Peter said we should strive for a faith that grows:

“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.” – 2 Peter 1:3-11, Holman

This statement begins with the foundation of our entire faith experience: His divine power. The power of God in Jesus Christ, expressed through the promises of Scripture, enables us to escape the corruption of our flesh and the world. 

Then the passage urges us to continually grow and build our faith: goodness on faith, knowledge on goodness… self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection and (the greatest) love. If we are growing in these attributes, then our faith is healthy, fruitful and strong. In fact, it says we will never fall.

In this life, we do not arrive or cross the finish line – not until the day of Christ Jesus. We are not yet perfect. Even the Apostle Paul said he was not yet fully mature:

“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:12-14

If anyone thinks they know it all or have arrived, he is fooling himself. None of us have. Instead, we press on in our heavenly calling.

What’s the opposite of a growing faith? A stagnant or non-existent faith. If anyone is in this condition, first ask yourself whether you know God. Do you have the witness of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit? As the Apostle Paul put it:

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can't you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you--unless you actually fail the test?” – 2 Corinthians 13:5, Berean Study Bible

If your faith is genuine but stagnant or regressing, then you need to repent. Listen to what Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, which He first praised for their works, labor and endurance, but then said this:

“But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” – Revelation 2:4-5

Jesus is not satisfied with being anything other than our first love. The lampstand in this verse represents that church. I’m not completely certain what removing it means – perhaps dissolving the church because it no longer fully represents Jesus. Yet He also held out this hope to those who respond and overcome:

“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in God’s paradise.” – Revelation 2:7

The book of Hebrews also has more to say about stagnant or regressing faith. Its recipients received numerous admonitions, such as:

“We must therefore pay even more attention to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away.” – Hebrews 2:1

After pointing out that the recipients were still immature in their faith, and expressing a desire to move beyond the basics of the faith, the author said:

“For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt. For ground that has drunk the rain that has often fallen on it and that produces vegetation useful to those it is cultivated for receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and will be burned at the end.” – Hebrews 6:4-8

This passage says it is possible for a believer to fall away in such a way that he cannot be restored. Honestly, I do not know precisely what that means. This is mystery here. Because the Scriptures also contain the story of the prodigal son who comes back to the Father in the end. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, even in the admonitions to people who were spiritually “lukewarm” or “dead” or engaged in idolatry and sexual immorality, Jesus urged them to repent and held out the hope of all the blessings of the inheritance of the saints. The phrase “impossible to renew to repentance” implies a heart so hardened that the person never wants to repent. However, the Scriptures also say anyone who wants to repent, can, and be restored. Even the author of Hebrews, immediately after this statement, shifted the tone to hope and encouragement:

“Even though we are speaking this way, dear friends, in your case we are confident of the better things connected with salvation.” – Hebrews 6:9

All I can say is, Christian salvation is not to be taken lightly. Salvation not a notional belief in God or a heavenly insurance policy received after someone “prays a prayer,” but then lives however he wants. It’s following Christ to the end.

Our goal should be to have a strong, growing faith. If we have that, there is no need to worry. Seek the Lord daily and follow him. If we need to repent – and we all do at times – then repent and move on. Ours sins are covered by the blood of Jesus.

The question arises: Can we be secure in our salvation and heavenly calling? My belief is that only God can give that to you by faith. If it’s lacking, ask Him for it. Certainly I am not perfect and have not arrived, but I believe by faith that He who began a good work in me will complete until the day of Christ Jesus.

In his final words, King David said:

“Is it not true my house is with God? For He has established an everlasting covenant with me, ordered and secured in every detail. Will He not bring about my whole salvation and my every desire?” – 2 Samuel 22:5

My personal answer to those questions is yes, by faith, He will.

The Holy Spirit brings repentance, healing, peace, and hope; the devil brings guilt, shame, despair and condemnation

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” – 2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV

Finally, I want to talk about the difference between the voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of Satan. Their messages and intentions are completely opposed, though the devil is tricky and often tries to pass himself off as God speaking. The Holy Spirit brings conviction leading to healthy repentance, healing, peace and restoration. The devil brings accusations that lead to doubt, shame, guilt, fear and condemnation.

In the verse above, the Apostle Paul said godly sorrow (the good kind) brings repentance (i.e. a change of belief and behavior) that leads to salvation (i.e. sanctification, purification). It does so without regret (i.e. guilt, shame, self-loathing). In other words, godly sorrow frees us from sin and the psychological baggage of guilt and self-condemnation. We are free, free, free! God doesn’t want us to go around beating ourselves up. It’s the devil who wants that. Worldly sorrow (the bad kind) brings death, which in the Bible often means a distancing or separation from God. Worldly sorrow brings guilt and condemnation, which causes us to feel unworthy and despicable and to hide and run from God, like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden after they sinned. Thus, it brings death.

The truth is we are worthy because of the blood of Jesus Christ:

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:14, English Standard Version

One offering for all time. Period. That alone makes us worthy, because we are in Christ.

Furthermore, the ministry of the gospel is a ministry of reconciliation:

“Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us.” – 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Holman

And of healing and restoration:

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.” – Isaiah 42:3, Holman

Ours is a ministry of salvation, not condemnation:

“For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” – John 3:17

Yes, Judgment Day is coming when we will all stand before the throne of God. Those whose names are written in the book of life will be with Christ forever. The destiny of those without Christ will be the same as that of Satan and his angels:

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; and death and hades delivered up the dead who were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” – Revelation 20:11-15, King James 2000

But right now, we are in the time of reconciliation. There is hope for everyone. That should be the purpose and tone of our message. The Apostle James described wisdom from above, which I equate with the voice of God:

“But the wisdom from above is indeed first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and of good fruits, impartial, sincere.” – James 3:17, Berean Literal Bible

The voice of our Lord is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, merciful and full of good fruits. That it how we know it is His voice, when it has these wonderful qualities.

Satan’s voice is the opposite – impure, harsh, hostile, fearful, unreasonable, hateful, condemning and full of bad fruits. He is the accuser who cynically tears down the saints:

“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them before our God day and night.” – Revelation 12:10

Satan tries to cause us to doubt the truth of God’s word and to take blessings from us:

“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You can’t eat from any tree in the garden”?’” – Genesis 3:1-2, Holman

We should not listen to this serpent. We should listen only to voice of our Lord.

Satan’ deceptions are particularly devious and harmful when they are disguised as Christianity. If he can convince ministers and churches to present messages of condemnation or unrighteousness in a religious context, even by misinterpreting Scriptures, then he can corrupt people’s perceptions of God and drive them away from Him. Remember, when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted Scripture. But Jesus replied with other Scriptures that were correctly applied.

One of Satan’s tricks is to rebrand sin as something good: killing the unborn becomes women’s rights; senseless war and bloodshed becomes patriotism and stopping designated bad guys; sexual deviancy becomes love and tolerance; gender confusion becomes courageous self-expression. Up is down and black is white.

A second trick is to shift people away from salvation by faith in Jesus Christ toward a self-righteous, works-oriented approach by focusing on legalistic prescriptions, such as observing Jewish feasts, circumcision, forbidding consumption of alcohol, etc. The Pharisees were famous for legalism. If you are tempted toward legalism, read the book of Galatians in which the Apostle Paul thoroughly dispelled this idea:

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” – Galatians 5:18

A third satanic ploy is to subvert the gospel’s message of hope and reconciliation with condemnation, fear and despair. This can be a highly critical spirit that tears people down but fails to couch the message in love and hope. I have been guilty of this. Remember, the Holy Spirit brings conviction; the devil brings accusation. In the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus ended each one by promising unique and magnificent heavenly blessings to the faithful. Even to the church of Laodicea which He rebuked for being lukewarm, he showed love and a desire for intimate fellowship:

“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent. Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.” – Revelation 3:19-20

Other ways condemnation manifests are dark obsessions with losing one’s salvation, hell and damnation. People can torture themselves and others with this idea of committing the unforgivable sin by “blaspheming the Holy Spirit.” As I explained in the post What Is Blaspheming the Holy Spirit?, blaspheming the Spirit is not recognizing Jesus is the Messiah. Simple as that.

Some also believe that every time they sin, they lose their salvation and are headed to hell until they confess it and get re-saved. Here is what the Apostle John said:

“My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.” – 1 John 1:1-2, Holman

Neither I nor John is saying we should sin, but if we do, we have an Advocate in the heavens, Jesus Christ, whose sacrifice covers our sins. John also said not all sin leads to death, or separation from God:

“If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin.” – 1 John 5:16, Berean Study Bible

For regular sins we should pray for each other that we overcome it. John said there is a sin that leads to “death,” which I can only guess is the spiritual condition described previously in Hebrews 6 about someone falling away and becoming so hardened toward God that he cannot be restored. Again, I do not know exactly what that means or how a person gets to that place. But I infer from this verse that regular, “normal” sins do NOT lead to death and, therefore, this idea that a person loses his salvation every time he sins is false.

God wants us to repent when we sin. Some deeply ingrained attitudes and behaviors require a lot of wash-and-repeat cycles – repent, fall, repent, fall, repent… But we press on, asking for God’s help, and by faith in His power we will overcome.

Acknowledging our sins is part of repentance. How can we repent of a sin if we don't acknowledge it? However, the idea of confessing each sin in order to be forgiven of it sounds like offering a mini-sacrifice to earn God's mercy, which contradicts the Bible's teaching about Jesus' once-for-all-time sacrifice. This view of confession probably comes from a misinterpretation of 1 John 1:

“If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:8-9, Holman

This passage about being saved, as in believing in Jesus Christ. A person can only be saved if he first admits to being a sinner and needing forgiveness. If we say we have no sin, we can’t be saved. However, this is not a passage about a believer's sanctification. The subsequent verses about Jesus as our advocate and propitiation pertain to believers:

"My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins." - 1 John 2:1-2a, Holman

The idea of losing our salvation every time we sin is a doctrine of condemnation and fear. It encourages a morbid introspection and spiritual paralysis, causing people to continually gaze inward, wondering, “Have I sinned?” and afraid to step out and act for fear of failing and SINNING. But God wants us to step out, act and grow in our faith -- that's the point! We still live in fleshly bodies and are not yet perfected, not until Jesus returns. Listen to what Paul said:

“But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” – 1 Corinthians 4:3-5

Paul does not examine himself or engage in morbid introspection. His eyes are on Jesus Christ and he presses on in the faith, as should we all, without fear and without condemnation: 

“There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.” – 1 John 4:18a, Holman

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 8:1, NIV

This person’s testimony is a great example of overcoming condemnation and fear: Condemned to Hell? A Testimony of Hope about the Unforgivable Sin 

The spirit of condemnation also manifests as a dark obsession with hell and damnation. Yes, there is a hell, a holding place until Judgment Day for departed souls who were not reconciled with God. Jesus mentioned hell in six separate passages in the gospels. The Apostles did not mention it, except James when he used it as a metaphor about the tongue, though the Apostles consistently spoke about the judgment of God both in this life and in eternity. My point is that hell is about punishment and condemnation, but our ministry is of hope and reconciliation. Accordingly, our emphasis should be on Christ’s death and resurrection.

Conclusion

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16