Lord, help us to settle for nothing less than a genuine salvation experience.
Acts 11:26, “...So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”
Salvation is not a creed, doctrine, or belief in a certain theology. It is not signing a card, joining a church, or being raised in a Christian home. I read about a little girl who got saved one Sunday morning. Her heart was so full of joy that she sang and jumped for joy all the way home. When she got home she ran into the house and went to where her grandfather was sitting to tell him about her new found joy. Her grandfather’s response was, “if you are going to be good, you are going to have to be quiet.” She did not know what to make of her grandfather’s statement. She went out into the back yard to think about what all this meant. She went up to an old retired mule whose head was hanging over the fence. She said to the mule, “You must be a Christian, because you look just like my grandfather.
A Christian is saved. The Bible is very clear about what salvation is. Jesus told Nicodemus, “ye must be born again…” (John 3:3). Salvation is a “new life,” “An experience,” “A revelation.” What is a true experience of salvation? There must be conviction of sin by the Spirit through the Word of God; conviction that we have sinned and come short of the glory of God, that we have broken God’s law and are under condemnation, God’s wrath abiding on us. There must be repentance toward God, a broken and contrite heart regarding our sin. There must be confession and faith toward Christ (Romans 10:9, 10, 13). I do not understand it, but I have experienced it in my own life.
Prayer: Lord, help us to settle for nothing less than a genuine salvation experience.