Are we saved, or being saved?

RamiC said:

So if I said we are catching up wih our salvation? Growing in comprehension of what it means? We go to church to improve our understanding of our salvation?

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Fellowship is definitely one of the ways we grow in understanding. It is also a means of acknowledging that we cannot rely on ourselves. The church is the body of Christ, with many members all contributing according to their gifts. It takes humility and weakness to say, I cannot do this on my own, but rather, Christ works through the next person to help me understand and grow, so that He is glorified and no one can boast and say, I did it. It's always God working. The church and gathering are ways that He works to glorify Himself through us and toward Himself.

Rose_bud said:

Although in other passages Paul highlights the immediate and complete work of salvation. I understand, that in this particular passage, he is referring to the ongoing work of salvation. In the sense that the cross is a one-time event that becomes a reality for those called and who accept it, yet, as we yield and understand the message and Person of Christ, the fullness of what was accomplished on our behalf becomes a lived reality.

Those who are weak and foolish by human standards are the ones being saved, as they can acknowledge that there was nothing they could do to attain this salvation. In contrast, the foolish who are perishing in their folly believe that worldly wisdom can attain the gift of God. This is a contrast between the wisdom of the world and that of God, resulting in those who perish and those who are being saved.

In essence, Paul is saying that the more we acknowledge our weakness and need for God, the more His life in us becomes our salvation and lived reality.

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Yes, we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. Unless, of course, we do not abide.

Mercy Shown said:

Yes, we are saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. Unless, of course, we do not abide.

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That fits with Scripture much better than salvation as a single point in time, that one can never abandon.

Markie Boy said:

That fits with Scripture much better than salvation as a single point in time, that one can never abandon.

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You are so right. Why would a God of love chain people to his side if they did not desire to be with him?

There are 3 tenses to salvation.

1. We have been saved from the PENALTY of sin (justification)
2. We are being saved from the POWER of sin (ongoing sanctification)
3. We will be saved from the PRESENCE of sin (glorification)

RamiC said:

"18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

Any comments on this one? It was the lesson in my local church today. I never thought of it quite like this before. I am not saved yet, but I believe and confess, so I am in the process of being saved. I am intrigued...

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We have been saved from the penalty of our sin (Ephesians 2:5), we are belong saved from continuing to live in sin (Philippians 2:12), and we will be saved from God’s wrath on the day of the Lord (Romans 5:9-10). Our salvation from sin would be incomplete if we were only saved from the penalty of our sin while our lives continued to be directed at being doers of sin, so there must be an aspect of our gift of salvation from sin the we are experiencing in the present by directing our lives towards being a doer of God’s law. In Titus 2:11-13, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so we are not required to have first done those works in order to earn our salvation as the result and we are not required to do those works as the result of having first been saved, but rather God graciously teaching us to be doer of those works is the aspect of His gift of salvation that we are experiencing in the present. In Titus 2:14, Jesus did not just give himself to pay the penalty for our sins, but also to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works.