Forever Changed

"Any talk of our behavior removing His salvation from us IS A LIE."

I stumbled across a video that paused me in place. A young man had spent 20 days seeking God, to see if He was real, and something miraculous had happened, something from within him. I grew up in the church. I’ve heard about salvation my entire life. Here was someone who’d never seen Jesus, now set free by Jesus. His language was ripe. But honestly, God cared more for the state of his heart and the Truth he finally held. God is real, he said. In just that short period of time, he was free of addiction. And he didn’t even have to try. Tears in his eyes, he told the camera, Jesus has all of me.

God had moved in, and what a beautiful thing that was to see. There was no pretending from him, no studied doctrine from the church. Nothing but raw emotion and relief.

Jesus abolished death, 2 Timothy 1:10. That word “abolished” is the same word translated “destroyed” in Hebrews 2:14. It means “rendered useless.” How can this be? And what does it mean to people like that young man, who now has Jesus Christ? What happened within him? Let’s read Romans 8:10. This is the God’s Word translation.

“However, if Christ lives in you, your bodies are dead because of sin, but your spirits are alive because you have God’s approval.”

Here, we see salvation. “If Christ lives in you” means this is spoken to the children of God. The next phrase, “your bodies are dead because of sin,” refers to the physical effect of sin. Adam was told if he sinned, which 1 Timothy 2:14 says he chose to do, that then he would die. He died spiritually, sin filled his spirit man, and he was separated from God (Genesis 3:9). He died physically, after 930 years. Because sin came on the earth, his body died.

Because there is sin on the earth, the body of man continues to die. God will remove death entirely one day. The verses which surround Romans 8:10 say this clearly AND give hope of our body’s complete restoration to eternal life. But our bodies, today, all die because of sin. Because of the fact sin exists. NOT because we’re consumed with it. A forgiven man will still die physically.

The next phrase completes our salvation. It says, “But your spirits are alive.” When we ask Jesus to live in our heart (the heart is the spirit of man), the Holy Spirit enters and gives eternal life. We are spirit beings. John 4:24 says, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” We were made in His image, as spirits. We have a soul (our mind, will, and emotions) and live in a body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). We must know this because there is a persistent error spoken in the church.

Thinking of that young man, there are still things God will change. In his thinking, in his behavior, his reactions. These don’t miff God. The Truth of salvation is that ONCE GOD COMES IN, once He makes our spirit man alive, nothing can make Him move out. Any talk of our behavior removing His salvation from us IS A LIE. Salvation is not iffy. God is sure. I love, love, love, Isaiah 32:18-19. A note in my Grandpa’s old Bible translates the word “sure” to “safe.” We dwell in safety. What we couldn’t obtain by being good enough, we can’t lose when “we’re not good enough.”

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;” (Isaiah 32:17-18)

This same thought goes to being saved (Jesus living in our spirit man) and us sinning again. Only Jesus lived as a man on the earth without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). What He’s given us is persistent forgiveness. Where an unsaved man or a devil filled with sin becomes consumed with the effects of sin, a child of God, because the Spirit of God lives within us, need not ever fear sinning. God knows us, inside and out, and Jesus’ blood is forever applied. We have only to ask for forgiveness, to say we’re sorry, and we’re free of it. Death no longer hangs overhead. Though we will physically die, spiritually we’re eternally alive, and so do not have to fear death. With no fear of death, no fear of illness, no fear of accidents, no fear at all, we overflow with joy and God’s goodness.

Here is the smile on that young man’s face. God had spoken, and he was forever changed. He discovered love for people. He learned the Voice of the Holy Spirit. God took someone broken, physically and emotionally, and dead, spiritually, and raised Him to life. God’s love encompasses for eternity all who call upon Him. Without any qualifications except they believe. And it heals the soul, mends the body, SO GREAT, unending, is His mercy.

Illustration by Spacepixel Creative on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com