Promises in Receiving ChristSample

Promise 1: You are saved and set free from sin.

What was your life like before you received Christ? When God looked down upon you, what did He see?

Before conversion, you lived a life that was separated from God, lived as though you were dead toward God. Note the words in the above Scripture, “you were dead” (v.1). How can you be living and yet be dead? To answer this question, you need to understand that death, in Biblical terms, means separation. You lived a life in disobedience and sins (Ep.2:1-3).

Note that it is disobedience and sins that separate you from God. To disobey means to turn aside or wander away from God and His Holy Word. To sin means to miss the mark. It is what is meant by coming short of the glory of God, short of His perfection and righteousness (Ro.3:23).

When you are converted, you are redeemed and forgiven your sins through the death of Jesus Christ. To redeem means to deliver, buy back, or set free by paying a ransom. For example, a prisoner of war or a kidnap victim is ransomed or redeemed—saved from the threat of death.

In every case, the person is powerless to free themselves. They cannot make the payment demanded to liberate themselves from bondage. When God redeems you, the most wonderful thing happens: your sins are forgiven. The word forgive means to pardon, to release, to let go. Your sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ. How? Jesus died for you. He took the penalty of your sins and bore the punishment Himself.

Saving faith is not head knowledge, not just a mental conviction or intellectual commitment to Christ. The right kind of faith, saving faith, is two things:

First, saving faith is believing in Jesus Christ, believing in who and what He is, that He is truly the Son of God, the Savior and Lord of life. It is believing that Christ died in your place—for your sins—on the cross, and rose again (1 Co.15:3-4). It is fully trusting Him and His sacrificial death as payment for your sins. You must confess or acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and turn your life over to live for Him.

Second, saving faith is the surrender of your life to Jesus Christ. It is the surrender to live for Christ—to obey Him and to live righteously as you walk through life day by day. Anything less is not true saving faith. True saving faith is obedience to God’s Holy Word.