Salvation: Past, Present and Future

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)

When I first became a Christian I thought of salvation in one verb tense only.  "I got saved!"  And, oh what a joy!  As the song says, "Life now is sweet and my joy is complete for I'm saved, saved, saved."  Little did I know in my young days as a Christian what I had.

All three tenses: past, present and future, are exemplified in salvation. In the past tense, the believer has been saved from the penalty of sin. Jesus paid once for all for our sins. "Christ died for our sins." (I Corinthians 15:3)  "He bore our sins in His own body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24) and many other passages.

In the present tense, the believer is being saved from the power of sin. "For sin shall not have dominion over you." (Romans 6:14)  With the aid of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit living within us God gives us the power to resist sin, temptation and the devil.

In the future tense, believers will one day be saved from the presence of sin.  Revelation 21:8 says, "But the fearful, and unbelieving. And the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."  See also Revelation 21:27.