Bottom Rung
Early in my Christian life I was taught that salvation is the bottom rung of the spiritual ladder. It is certainly a necessary step in that we’re not capable of any spiritual growth without the power of the Holy Spirit and we receive the Holy Spirit upon our salvation.
The point my teacher was trying to make is that from the Lord’s perspective it is not enough to pray asking Christ to be our Lord and Savior. Once we invite Him to do that we must begin to follow Him and His teaching. In fact, a person who professes to be a Christian but does not obey scriptural teaching needs to question her salvation.
1 John 3:6 says, No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
The Bible is clear about salvation so if you do question it let me define Biblical salvation. God teaches us that all men are sinners, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23. Do you believe this is true of you? Are you a sinner?
The Bible also teaches that God is a God of love (1 John 4:16) who is full of grace and mercy toward the repentant sinner. But it also says that he is a just God who cannot let the guilty go unpunished, Exodus 34:7.
So, if we see ourselves as sinners then we must see our need for a Savior. We don’t want to face the wrath of God who promises judgment to those who will not repent but grace and mercy and removal of all of our iniquities to those who do.
1 John 1: 8-10 says; If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Man’s sin is the reason that God sent His one and only Son so that anyone who would believe that His death paid the price for their sin would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, Romans 6:23. This all means that when we admit that we are sinners and then believe that when Christ died on the cross He had my sin on His back. He died for my sin. As unworthy as we are to receive this kind of forgiveness for sin it is what a personal and merciful God did for the likes of you and me. It is a free gift available to any who believe that Jesus died for their sin, past, present, and future.
This requires faith and it is God who offers us this gift as well. Faith is the work of God in our lives so that we can believe that His Son died for our sins. This faith also includes belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the right hand of God the Father. HE lives so that we may also live.
The person who confesses their sin and receives Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives can rest secure that they will be with Him in heaven. But it’s even better than that. Eternal life starts the moment that we surrender our sinful nature to God. We are in the hand of God from that point and Jesus clearly says that no one can snatch one of His children out of His hand, John 10:28-29;
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.
If you are not sure that you belong to the Lord Jesus, pray now and ask Him to forgive your sin and be the Lord of your life.
Once this step is certain it is time to get to know God’s Word. No one is able to follow him whole-heartedly unless they know what He expects from His children. The only place to find that is in a good Bible believing church’s preaching and from your own study of God’s Word. In order to move up the ladder of faith we must be growing in knowledge, understanding, and practice of the Bible. The Bible calls this sanctification. A Christian who never grows past the bottom rung brings little if any glory to God and will find little or no satisfaction in this life.
Bearing fruit is the next step for the born-again Christian, John 15:1-4.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
This fruit comes from doing the work that God has already prepared for you (and each one of His children) to do to contribute to His kingdom. Will you ask Him to show you what work He has for you and then serve Him with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your mind?