Salvation and Faith

I want to say a few things today about an element and terminology of the Gospel that has been just about completely lost to this generation of the body of Christ, and few things could be more integral to the faith of the followers of Christ. I'm talking about 'conversion.' Conversion is actually the same thing as redemption, the same thing as the new birth, the same thing as getting into Christ, the same thing as the remission of our sins; but the point is that is is NOT the same thing as 'salvation.' The reason that the idea of conversion has been lost is because it has erroneously been replaced by 'salvation.' Please don't misunderstand me, salvation is obviously a real thing, but it is NOT conversion, new birth, redemption, or any of the rest that I've mentioned here. The difference is that conversion is at the BEGINNING of our faith, and salvation is at "the END of our faith," as the scripture plainly states: "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ... Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls" (I Pet. 1:7,9). I'm going to get to the reason that salvation can ONLY be at the end of our faith in a moment, but right now let me say a couple of things about conversion. "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (Lk. 22:31,32). You may notice that Jesus did not say to Peter, "When you get saved," but rather, "When you are converted." The disciples of Christ were not born again while Jesus was still on earth because Jesus clearly said that receiving his Spirit was the new birth, and that no one could receive the Spirit until after he went away (Jn. 3:5,6; Jn. 16:7). The apostle Paul confirmed the new birth as being the same thing as receiving the holy Ghost as well, saying it is the Spirit that washes us from our sins, thereby sanctifying and justifying us (I Cor. 6:11). Jesus spoke of conversion in another place, plainly saying, "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mat. 18:3). Again you may note that he did NOT say "Except ye be 'saved,' and become as little children." Peter also spoke of being converted in the same exact vein as having our sins taken away and being born again, which again is to say the same exact thing: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

I should note that the scriptures are clear that 'receiving' the holy Ghost is the same thing as being 'baptized' with the holy Ghost, and that the experience is always accompanied by "speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance," as it was in the beginning (Acts 2:4). I won't deliberate on that particular point at the moment, seeing I've written countless posts and articles on that element of the faith. Nonetheless, neither Jesus or the apostles ever said or wrote anything about anyone 'receiving salvation' at the beginning of their faith. The reason is evident by the scriptures, and I've really provided proof enough by the quote from 1 Peter 1 above. But let's look at more anyway. When the prophet Simeon saw the baby Jesus, he said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation" (Lk. 2:29,30). Simeon's eyes had seen the Lord's salvation because it is the person and physical presence of Jesus which IS salvation! When Jesus met the tax collector Zacchaeus and told him that he was coming to his house for dinner, he clearly stated, "This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham" (Lk. 19:9). Jesus didn't mean that Zacchaeus was going to 'get saved,' but rather that Jesus, who IS salvation, was coming to his house for dinner. The great 'getting saved' verse, Romans 10:9, was actually an exhortation to believers who were already in Christ, to maintain their faith and confession that Jesus is the Son of God, and that God raised him from the dead, until the end; so that they could 'obtain salvation.' Paul also said similar words to the established congregation of the Thessalonians: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to OBTAIN salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thess. 5:9). I want to further establish the reality that the physical presence of Jesus Christ himself is salvation, by backing up one verse from the verse I just quoted: "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the 'hope' of salvation" (I Thess. 5:8). Now lets add to that Ephesians 4:4: "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in ONE HOPE of your calling." That 'one hope' is the one that Paul said we should wear as a helmet, "THE hope of salvation." So let's look at that one hope just a little bit closer in the scriptures: "But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of THE HOPE and resurrection of the dead I am called in question" (Acts 23:6).

To be certain that Paul was saying that the resurrection of the dead is THE hope of the Gospel, we'll quote him once more on the matter: "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: And have HOPE toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead" (Acts 24:15). So what we can easily conclude by continuous confirmation of the scriptures is that "the hope of salvation," which is the "one hope" of the Gospel; is in fact being raised from the dead with immortality at the second coming of the person of Jesus Christ to this world. John clarified this point, and gave us the prerequisite of making that grade as well: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath THIS HOPE in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (I Jn. 3:2,3). Jesus made it crystal clear at the tomb of Lazarus that just as he IS salvation, he is also the resurrection of the dead: "Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I AM THE RESURRECTION, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (Jn. 11:24,25). So again we see that it is when Jesus comes back from heaven physically and in person that the dead and living who are found faithful, will be caught up to meet him and changed from mortal to immortality by his physical presence (I Thess. 4:16,17; I Cor. 15:52-54). And again, there is but ONE hope of the Gospel, and that hope is salvation, which in fact is the resurrection of the dead; which in fact is the physical presence of Jesus. This is why the apostle Paul said in Romans, "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it" (Rom. 8:24,25). Our hope is not something that we presently see or have. If it were then it wouldn't be a hope, as Paul explained. Rather our hope is salvation, and salvation is the act of being raised from the dead by the physical presence of Jesus Christ, as the scriptures have shown us plainly and clearly. This is also why Paul said again in Romans: "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom. 13:11). As was the case with Romans 10:9, so also in this passage he is speaking to born again believers in Rome, saying that salvation was something yet in the future for both himself and those to whom he wrote. So being baptized with the holy Ghost by Jesus is to be converted to Christ, as the scriptures also affirm: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body [of Christ]" (I Cor. 12:13). And salvation is at "end of our faith," even as the apostle Peter declared to us. Much more could be said, but I'm not writing a book here today, only a post. I'm sure I'll be back with more on this topic though. God bless.