Salvation in the past present and future

What is Salvation? Do I just have to believe in Jesus, then go on living my life free of guilt? Well, kind of. You can drop the guilt, but Jesus is asking us to walk in a new life. Not return to the old one. You are a new creature, and just like a new baby, you have to learn to walk and talk like the new creature you are. Let's get into it.

Justification: I was saved

Justification by grace is the sovereign, irreversible act of God whereby He declares the guilty sinner righteous, not because of any goodness in us, but solely through the perfect obedience and atoning death of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone. The moment a person trusts in Christ, the great exchange takes place: our sin is imputed to Him, and His righteousness is imputed to us. This is the heart of “I was saved”, a past, completed event that secures eternal standing before a holy God. No future failure can undo it, no present struggle can erode it, and no human effort could ever achieve it. As Ephesians 2:8–9 proclaims, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” The apostle Paul, once a self-righteous Pharisee, came to see this truth with blazing clarity: “And I was [formerly] advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age… but… God… was pleased to reveal his Son to me” (Galatians 1:14–16). He later wrote, “We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28). And in Titus 3:7, the Spirit-inspired summary rings out: “so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” This is the unshakable foundation of the Christian life, complete, final, and gloriously free.
This justification is by Christ, through His physical incarnation, and sacrifice, we are justified once and for all to be resurrected bodily at His coming.

Sanctification: I am being saved

Sanctification is the ongoing, Spirit-wrought process by which the justified believer is progressively transformed into the likeness of Christ, day by day, battle by battle, grace upon grace. While justification is a once-for-all courtroom verdict, “I was saved” from sin’s penalty, sanctification is the workshop of holiness where God, having declared us righteous, now makes us righteous in practice. It is not optional, nor is it automatic; it is the inevitable fruit of union with Christ, yet it demands our active cooperation through faith-filled obedience. The same Paul who exulted in justification wrote, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13). Here is the paradox of “I am being saved”: God is the author, we are the actors; He sovereignly empowers what He graciously commands. This lifelong journey is marked by growth in love for God, hatred of sin, and delight in His Word, even as the old nature resists. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Peter urges believers to “make every effort” to supplement faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, and love, “for if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful” (2 Peter 1:5–8). Sanctification is neither perfection in this life nor stagnation in grace, it is forward motion, often slow and stumbling, always sustained by the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead. Thus, the Christian life is not a static possession but a dynamic pursuit, rooted in justification, empowered by the indwelling Christ, and aimed at the final day when faith becomes sight. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit on your mind in the mental realm. The spiritual battlefield takes place in this invisible world. Will your mind/soul follow the Holy Spirit back to God, or chase after your dead sinful flesh leading to death?

Glorification: I will be saved

Glorification is the final, instantaneous act of God whereby the sanctified believer is fully and forever delivered from the very presence of sin, perfected in body and soul, and brought into the unclouded joy of Christ’s presence. While justification declares us righteous (“I was saved” from sin’s penalty) and sanctification conforms us to Christ (“I am being saved” from sin’s power), glorification completes the work by removing sin’s possibility and unveiling the full splendor of our adoption as sons and daughters. This is the consummation of “I will be saved”, not a hope we earn, but a promise sealed by the resurrection of Jesus, who “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:21).On that day, mortality will swallow death, corruption will put on incorruption, and every tear will be wiped away. “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Paul’s trumpet sounds the victory: “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven… When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:49, 54). Glorification is the end of the story for every blood-bought saint: no more temptation, no more failure, no more dim mirror, only face-to-face communion with the Lamb who was slain, reigning with Him in a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells forever. Glorification is the work of the Father in eternity. When Christ returns and all things are made new, we will live forever in relationship with God, in body, thanks to the justification of Christ's gift. Through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. Finally, by the glorification of God everlasting. If you have only heard of the first of these salvations I invite you to reach out to Jesus today, continue on the path you started when you invited Him into your heart. Walk in the Spirit and finish the race with boldness. Love in Christ, friends. Thank you for reading.