Salvation happens at a moment in time and a person is translated from being identified as unrighteous, to having the very righteousness of God, in Christ.
“For he hath MADE him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be MADE the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)
The believer’s identity is no longer an UNRIGHTEOUS person. He has been MADE a RIGHTEOUS person by God.
Salvation Is About A Change Of Position Before God
A Change of position from an unrighteous nature to a righteous nature.
If an unbeliever renounces his identity as an unrighteous sinner, he can never be righteous even if he renounces his sinner identity. The Bible is clear that all have sinned and fallen short of the Holiness of God. It matters not if a person renounces being a sinner. Their sins will one day need to be paid for. This is a true statement yes?
And now, after a person believes on Christ, they become a NEW CREATED SPIRIT. A direct creation of God, fully righteous and redeemed. Is this by our own efforts? No. Apostle Paul wrote,
“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.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)
And earlier in Ephesians Paul writes,
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV)
Now SEALED for eternity by the Holy Spirit this person has passed from death to life (John 5:24). Salvation is ETERNAL (John 3).
Now this believer has become a Son of God which is a term used in the Bible only for directly created beings such as Angels and Adam, as oposed to how we are born through pro-creation of our species. The born again believer has had a new BIRTH. Jesus described this to Nicodemus in John 3 as we are born physically through birth from our mother’s womb but our Spirit must have a birth and this birth is a birth into the family of God, who is Spirit. The believer has one new nature now which is The Spirit of God. Yet, our mind nor body is not yet redeemed and it has the old thoughts and beliefs of our old nature still which Apostle Paul called, The Flesh which is Sin bent. Our core being is not our body. Our core being is our Spirit. This Spirit is now the new eternal and POSITIONALLY RIGHTEOUS SELF, as we were translated to the identity of being righteous by God. (Romans 6 & 7, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 2)
Here is a great debate in the Christian community of believers today. Some believe a person can renounce their salvation and lose it as an act of the person’s free will. Others believe that if an believer renounces his identity as an righteous person, he can never be unrighteous even if he renounces his righteousness of God (in Christ) identity. The question is, which is correct by Scripture?
The Righteous And The Unrighteous Or Wicked. The Redeemed And The Unredeemed.
The Bible clearly shows that there are two main types of people. The saved (The Righteous & Redeemed) and the unsaved (The Wicked, The Unrighteous, The Unredeemed). The question is how is a person in one camp or the other? s believers, we did nothing in our own effort to be part of the righteous camp. We are not righteous because of our efforts according to Paul in many passages. It was Christ’s atonement and our belief in this grace gift of God that translated us instantly at the moment of belief to being positionally righteous and redeemed which is clearly seen in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in 1:13-14 and 2:8-10.
God’s love is so vast for us unconditionally. This unconditional love is not something we have earned through our own merit. It si simply the love of God. It is who He is. God is love. He sent Jesus, His only begotten Son to die for us to pay for the sins of the whole world so that we could, by belief on Him, become the Sons and daughters of God; born into His family. Jesus’ ONCE FOR ALL sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) is so powerful and binding it is just hard to believe. A God that loves us unconditionally.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 KJV)
“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.” (Romans 5:10 KJV)
“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to THE WILL OF GOD and our Father:” (Galatians 1:14 KJV)
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, NOT WILLING that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 KJV)
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV)
God’s love toward us is an unconditional love and yet we humans want to put conditions on to God’s Love. We think we need to add our own works to gain His favor. Good works are good, yes, but we gain God’s favor by believing on His Son, The Christ, and becoming born again in The Spirit. It is hard to grasp God’s unconditional love at times while living in this dark world, with sin abounding all around us. Yet, as believers we have been given a New Spirit which is the righteousness of God, in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-21) in our core being and we should be walking in newness of life. God’s grace and unmerited favor moves and washes over the believer in a constant way, always exceeding our failures in sin. It is like a wave on a beach, it keeps rolling in and covers the sand just as God’s grace is constantly covering our failures and sin.
“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive ABUNDANCE OF GRACE and of the gift of righteousness shall REIGN IN LIFE by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men UNTO JUSTIFICATION of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. BUT WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MOE ABOUND: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might GRACE REIGN THROUGH RIGHTEOUSNESS unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:17-21 KJV)
Once God makes a person a New Creation in the Spirit and a son/daughter in the family of God, that person is there forever. They cannot be UNBORN anymore than we can go back in our mother;s womb and be unborn.
If a person TRULY believes in salvation through Christ and not or own works they are eternally saved from the very moment of their belief (Ephesians 1:13-14). The belief must be REAL belief though and not some external religious effort. John wrote,
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” (1 John 2:19 KJV)
Just like Judas Iscariot, he was with Jesus and the other disciples during Christ’s Earthly ministry. Yet, in the end he betrayed Jesus and showed his true colors and that he did not actually believe Jesus is the true Messiah.
A true believer, will have a change in their life. A progressive change to Godly living. It does not happen overnight and so may not be self evident to others at first. But as time passes, their mind gets renewed by guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Romans 12, John 17:17). Their Spirit was MADE BY GOD a new creature which is the very righteousness of God, IN CHRIST.
“ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 KJV)
There are those who may claim they truly believed in Christ and then renounce him but that does not mean they truly believed. The belief must be REAL and when i is real, that person is instantly changed to the Spirit of God through imputation of God; Jesus took upon Himself OUR SINS and through belief on Him, God placed the righteousness of Christ on us! A truth that even many people who say they are believers know nothing about. Why? Because they may go to church and do good deeds to others and may talk about God or even Jesus, yet they have never believed the Gospel of Grace and believed on Christ alone in trust. They have never accepted the free gift of salvation through Christ crucified died , rose again. They were never truly born again.
It is true that even a believer can fail horribly and sin. They can even find themselves in a sinful lifestyle. Yet a believer will feel the guilt from the Holy Spirit guiding them back to right outward living. The Holy Spirit will always guide them to ‘change their mind’, that is to repent and confess (agree with God) that they have sinned. To ask God to help them overcome the evil thoughts in their mind and their wrong living having given in to temptations. But their belief is TRUE and they are eternally saved.
God keeps His word – even if we do not.
