Hi and welcome!
That is correct. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation.
Do you value Jesus above all things? Are you sorry for your sins and sincerely purpose not to do them anymore? Do you place your hope of salvation, not in anything you have done, but in the finished work of Christ on the Cross? That's believing and repenting. And it doesn't have to be re-done each day.
Here's some Scripture and teaching on who you are in Christ when you are born again. It came from an article dealing with the question of if a Christian could lose their salvation, but it lays out the Scriptures really nice so I thought it might help. (
Can a Christian lose salvation?)
A Christian is a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (
2 Corinthians 5:17). A Christian is not simply an “improved” version of a person; a Christian is an entirely new creature. He is “in Christ.” For a Christian to lose salvation, the new creation would have to be destroyed.
A Christian is redeemed. “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (
1 Peter 1:18–19). The word
redeemed refers to a purchase being made, a price being paid. We were purchased at the cost of Christ’s death. For a Christian to lose salvation, God Himself would have to revoke His purchase of the individual for whom He paid with the precious blood of Christ.
A Christian is justified. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (
Romans 5:1). To justify is to declare righteous. All those who receive Jesus as Savior are “declared righteous” by God. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to go back on His Word and “un-declare” what He had previously declared. Those absolved of guilt would have to be tried again and found guilty. God would have to reverse the sentence handed down from the divine bench.
A Christian is promised eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (
John 3:16). Eternal life is the promise of spending forever in heaven with God. God promises, “Believe and you will have eternal life.” For a Christian to lose salvation,
eternal life would have to be redefined. The Christian is promised to live forever. Does
eternal not mean “eternal”?
A Christian is marked by God and sealed by the Spirit. “You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (
Ephesians 1:13–14). At the moment of faith, the new Christian is marked and sealed with the Spirit, who was promised to act as a deposit to
guarantee the heavenly inheritance. The end result is that God’s glory is praised. For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to erase the mark, withdraw the Spirit, cancel the deposit, break His promise, revoke the guarantee, keep the inheritance, forego the praise, and lessen His glory.
A Christian is guaranteed glorification. “Those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (
Romans 8:30). According to
Romans 5:1, justification is ours at the moment of faith. According to
Romans 8:30, glorification comes with justification. All those whom God justifies are promised to be glorified. This promise will be fulfilled when Christians receive their perfect resurrection bodies in heaven. If a Christian can lose salvation, then
Romans 8:30 is in error, because God could not guarantee glorification for all those whom He predestines, calls, and justifies.
Both may be habitual sin, but one is hated, despised and grieved over. There are efforts made to avoid falling into it. If it is showing itself beyond our ability to handle it we seek out council.
The sin by one who isn't really saved shows itself in a callousness towards sin. They may talk a lot about God being loving and merciful, and how no one is perfect. But the Bible says that "Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:9-10)" I think the key word here is "practice sin". All new believers bring baggage with us. We have to learn what is a sin to God and what isn't, what we need to overcome. We have to learn to "
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence,continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). I don't think you would be posting on this board if you weren't desiring to please God and willing to work out your salvation.
Now hopefully someone smarter then me will come along here.
