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“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and . . . also for the sins of the whole world. . . . And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming”
I John 2:1-2; 28.
Salvation is not a one-time, past event—at least not entirely. Salvation is a continuing process, even up until today. In this passage, we see that all the verbs are present tense: “we have an advocate,” “He is the atoning sacrifice,” “continue in Him.” These are not things that happen once and then are finished; they continue. You don’t “get saved” and then go on with your normal life.
Now I’m not saying that Jesus dies over and over again, or that you need to get saved again and again. There is a time when you decide to repent of your sin and follow Jesus, but if you really think about it, God is not bound by time—He sees it all at once. It’s all the same to Him whether you’ve been saved a day ago, a week ago, or ten years ago. What matters is today! Jesus, by His death, burial, and resurrection saved me from Hell. Today, if I sin (perhaps I should say when I sin), I have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One, Who is taking care of my sin in God’s eyes today just as much as He did 2,000 years ago. Every day I must die to myself and commit to follow Him. I must continue in Him every day by His grace. That way I’ll be ready for when He comes back and delivers me from my sin entirely, and my salvation will be complete.
What happened in the past is not what matters. What matters is today. Are you continuing in Jesus? Is He your atoning sacrifice today?
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ® Used by permission. All rights reserved.