Salvation began for me at a specific point in time and continues each day!

God’s passion is for our spiritual transformation, but viewing our salvation as merely an event that occurred at a point in time is a misconception that stifles our transformation. The apostle Paul draws attention to this danger in 1 Corinthians 10. In that passage he challenges us to remember the fact that all of the children of Israel whom Moses led out of Egypt enjoyed a common experience. They all experienced God’s deliverance (salvation) from Egypt; God’s leading through the pillar of cloud; and God’s miraculous rescue by taking them through the Red Sea on dry ground.

In fact, Paul says, “all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.” Then Paul cautions us, “Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us.” (1 Corinthians 10:2-6 NLT)

The point is we may be able to point back to a past salvation experience, but what does our relationship with Jesus Christ look like today? Are we following him? Do we submit daily to him longing for his character to be formed in us?

Jesus indicated that following him involves far more than an initial decision. He said to the crowds, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23 NLT)

Let’s look at this issue through the analogy of marriage. What if my wife and I wrapped our whole married life around our wedding experience 35 years ago? To be sure, we could not say today that we’ve been married for 35 years had we not had a wedding and gotten married. But how foolish it would be to continue to reminisce only about the wedding and not get on with the joys and challenges of getting to know each other and living our lives together.

Imagine if after 35 years of marriage all I have to talk about are those wedding memories: “What a beautiful wedding it was. We both cried. The cake was so delicious! We were so nervous, so naïve, so much in love! All our friends were there. The church was so beautiful, etc.”

It’s okay to reflect on all those details and it was wonderful. But let me tell you about the joys and challenges Linda and I have faced together since then. Let me share with you how faithful God has been in our lives through the struggles of child-rearing, multiple career changes and two dozen moves. Let me describe how lovely she is and how much in love we are after 35 years! Do you see the difference?

That’s why our salvation in Christ, though it began for us at a specific point in time, continues each day. This is the liberating truth that catapults us into spiritual transformation. “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” (Romans 6:4 NLT) God’s passion is for our spiritual transformation!

©2009 Rob Fischer