Will This Last?
Before we became Christians...
You may not have been aware of the following. However, before becoming Christians, the Bible describes us as:
- enemies of God (Romans 5:10)
- helpless (Romans 5:6)
- ungodly (Romans 5:6)
- sinners (Romans 5:8)
- lost (Matthew 18:11)
- poor (Revelation 3:17)
- blind (2 Corinthians 4:4)
- under God’s judgment (John 3:36)
- dead through our sins (Ephesians 2:1)
- foolish, slaves to passions (Titus 3:3)
- doing evil deeds (Colossians 1:21)
- far from God (Ephesians 2:13)
- without hope (Ephesians 2:12)
- walking in darkness (John 8:12)
Now that we are Christians
From the moment we receive Christ into our lives, we have a new relationship with God, and a new life. Here is how the Bible describes us now that we have Christ in our life. We are:
- at peace with God (Romans 5:1)
- a child of God (John 1:12)
- completely forgiven (Colossians 1:14)
- brought near to God (Ephesians 2:13)
- sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
- no longer living in darkness (Ephesians 5:8)
- members of His kingdom (Colossians 1:13,14)
- loved by God (1John 4:9,10; John 15:9)
- given eternal life (John 3:16)
- secure in God’s love (Romans 8:38,39)
- saved by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8,9)
- Christ dwells in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17)
- chosen by God (Ephesians 1:4,5)
- crossed from death to life (John 5:24)
- alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:15)
- righteous in God’s eyes (2Corinthians 5:21)
- led by a caring Shepherd (John 10:27)
Jesus said, “…whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). He describes that further saying, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:28-30). He holds us securely.
Further we can be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
Jesus fully paid for our sins and once we thank Him for that, receive Him into our lives, desiring for our lives to be His, He makes us His child, giving us full forgiveness and acceptance with Him.
Our Relationship is Protected
This relationship is protected, not by what we do, but because of God’s character and Jesus’ death on our behalf. Jesus purchased our relationship with Him, canceling the penalty of sin that stood between us and God. And so we become His child, forgiven, indwelt by Him, declared righteous in His eyes, because Jesus covers our sin. Unfortunately, we still will sin. We still will find ourselves choosing to do things our way instead of God’s way. But this does not change the security of our relationship with Christ. We stand secure in this relationship, because of what God says about it. “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1).
Salvation through Jesus is purely God’s gift, received once by faith. At that moment we have begun a relationship with God that lasts eternally. Our relationship with Christ does not hinge on personal holiness, or levels of faith, or sacrifices, or good works or religious acts. God doesn’t intend for our focus to be on our performance. He desires our focus to be on Jesus.
Unlike other relationships we have in this world, our relationship with God is secure because He brought us into this relationship in the first place, and He is faithful to keep us unto eternal life. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
This Guest Post comes from StartingwithGod.com, a safe place to explore your new relationship with God and ask questions about your new faith. The above article was originally published here. 
