Becoming who we are!

(Written by Jack Kelley)

If you like, you can think of this as a follow up to our study titled OK, I'm Saved.  Now What? Having shown that once we became a believer all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross, and the Lord not longer counts our sins against us, we now turn to the logical follow up question.  How should a believer respond to such an incredible gift?

Paul devoted much time to describing the appropriate response to the free gift of eternal life and it's summed up in his admonition “Only let us live up to what we've already attained” (Phil 3:16). By the wording he used we know this is not something we do to achieve or maintain our salvation. He said we've already attained that. We do this as an expression of our heart felt gratitude for having been given the gift of eternal life.  Make no mistake here, as unbelievers we were surely destined for the fires of hell.

Ok, I am saved. What now?

(Written by Jack Kelley)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17).  Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16).

These two verses summarize all that the New Testament has to say about life after salvation.  Once we're saved, God sees us as a new creation.  Note the use of the past perfect tense in these verses; the old has gone, the new has come, we have already attained.  We  don't make ourselves into a new creation, we have been made into a new creation.  It's not a process we undertake through hard work and self-sacrifice.  It's not even something that happens over time through careful submission to the prodding of the Holy Spirit.  It has already happened.  Hebrews 10:12-14 clearly states that the Lord's once-for-all-time sacrifice has made us perfect forever. (Has made, not is making, or will make.)