Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
“God saved you then; is He saving you now?” I heard these words from my first spiritual father, Dr. D James Kennedy, when I was serving under him many years ago. I didn’t know what he meant by that statement then, but over time, I began to understand the great biblical truth contained in this most important Christian concept.
The two aspects of our salvation in this life come under the heading of (1) Justification – we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; and (2) sanctification – we are being conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ each day. When we were initially saved, we were justified and declared righteous in the sight of God because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Justification is a once-for-all legal declaration made over us by God. But each and every day after that, God is at work sanctifying us and making us more and more like Jesus. So we have been saved and we are still being saved as we make our way toward glory.
Each and every day we give proof of needing to be saved from ourselves. We say things we shouldn’t say. We do things we shouldn’t do. We think things we shouldn’t think. We are still sinners after we have been saved, sinners very much in need of God’s mercies, which are new for us every morning. And that is exactly what we get: God’s mercies that continue conforming us into the image of Jesus.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)
Far too many in the church believe they have been saved by grace but must then live on by the spiritual sweat of their brow. This notion smells like smoke and comes from the pit of hell, as my friend Steve Brown likes to say. We are being conformed to the likeness of Christ; we are not conforming ourselves. To be sure, we must be obedient to and cooperative with the work of the Spirit of God in our lives, but it is still His work, not ours.
So . . . God saved you then. Is He saving you now? Remember, sin no longer reigns in your life, but it most definitely still remains. It takes God’s mercies to complete the work of redemption He began inside each one of His children. There is not a day that goes by in which sin does not surface in our lives in our thoughts, words, deeds, and desires. And there is not a day that goes by when God’s fresh mercies are not poured out in abundance in our lives. Truly we have been saved . . . and we are still being saved!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 