Salvation Summaries

In my last post, I talked about how a person becomes saved, or a Christian, according to the book of Romans.  If you’ve not read it, please do so now, as it is more important than this one.  With that said, I think you will find this post more interesting to read, as I talk about the many spiritual changes that take place when a person becomes a Christian, and I would guess that most people are unaware of these.  I also include a one question test that can largely determine whether you are a Christian or not.

What happens (spiritually) when you become a Christian?

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, becoming a Christian is a BIG deal. It is not simply agreeing with a statement or verse that sounds true, and then trying to live better.  Rather, when you become a Christian, or saved, a number of spiritual changes take place within you. These changes, and a belief in someone who died and rose to life, set Christianity apart from all other religions (so when you hear someone say that all “roads” lead to heaven, or that all religions are basically the same, please correct their misunderstanding of this).

So, what are the spiritual changes that take place within you when you become a Christian?  I counted at least seven according to the book of Romans:

• Your sins are forgiven. Contrary to popular thought, what prevents a person from going to heaven is not the lack of being nice and kind to most people, but the failure to have one’s sins forgiven by the One who is in heaven. Sin is the “big picture” issue, or the elephant in the room, that cannot be overlooked, and must be dealt with.  Romans 4:6-8 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

• You become united with Jesus Christ.  Romans 6:3-5 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

• You receive God’s Holy Spirit, which is an act of His love toward you. All people receive God’s Holy Spirit at the time they become a Christian, and this affects how they live going forward (for more on this, see my posts on Galatians, where I talk about the “fruit” of the Spirit). Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

• You escape God’s wrath and now have peace with God – Also contrary to popular thought, people who are not Christian are under God’s wrath. When you become a Christian, your spiritual standing before God changes; you change from being an enemy of God and under His wrath, to a child of God and at peace with Him. We sing about this at Christmas time in a carol, with the words “peace on earth and good will toward men” (can you guess the name of this carol?). Romans 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

• You become a child of God.  Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

• You are no longer a slave to sin; you are a slave to righteousness.  Romans 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.Romans 8:9-10 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

• YOUR MINDSET CHANGES. THIS POINT IS SO IMPORTANT, I CAPITALIZED IT TO HELP ENSURE YOU READ IT. I believe there are many people – millions of people – who claim to be a Christian, but in reality are not, and I can largely prove this to them by asking them to take a simple test.  The test consists of one question, and I’ll give it to you now. If you respond with the answer “the Lord,” you are likely a Christian; if you say “myself,” you are likely not a Christian. What is the question?  It is this: Do you live to please the Lord, or yourself?  Paul makes it clear in his book that when a person becomes a Christian, that person’s mindset changes from no longer living to please oneself, but to please the Lord.  If a person continues to live a sinful lifestyle each day, for example, and does not “break away” from it to live for the Lord, then it is very likely that no change in mindset has taken place, and thus that person remains unsaved.  Or, if a person claims to be a Christian, but there is no change in that person’s lifestyle, then that is a strong indicator that no change in mindset has taken place.  Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.Romans 8:13-14 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 14:7-8 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 12:2 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Conclusion

When a person becomes a Christian, or saved, a number of spiritual changes take place within that person.  The most important are the forgiveness of sins, receipt of the Holy Spirit, and union with Jesus Christ.  Please see my post, 1 Corinthians Part 2 of 3, for more information on spiritual changes that take place in you when you become a Christian.

The spiritual changes that take place in a person do not stay hidden though; they change that person’s mindset, and the way that they live. Politicians, including the president of the United States, can say that he (or she) is a Christian, and all of the reporters will believe it, but saying you are a Christian does not make you one.

A simple one-question test can largely determine whether you (and others you know) are a Christian, and the test is this: Do you live to please the Lord or yourself? If it is the Lord, you passed, and are likely a Christian (other questions can be answered to more accurately determine whether you are one – please see my other posts for more information). If it is self, you failed, and are likely not a Christian.  If you failed, please read my prior posts – especially Matthew Part 4 of 5 – on how to be saved.