Salvation and Transformation

 Q&A

“How Do I Know I Am Saved?” 

“I Mean—Truly Know, Without Any Doubt”

 

A dearly loved sister in Messiah asked me this question one day. She had already been a believer for a few years, but she was still learning and growing. Then she said...

“I want to always do what's right in God's eyes but sometimes I still mess up in spite of my best intentions. Then I feel like a failure. Do you think God still loves me? Have I displeased or disappointed God? Will He turn His back on me? Sometimes I wonder.” 

Three Important Points About Salvation and Transformation

Here's what I shared with her, that I believe every believer needs to understand and remember:

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is also called “The Gospel of the Grace of God” (Acts 20:24.) This is because When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior by faith, God's grace (His favor, goodwill, kindness that we did not earn, merit, or deserve) is poured out on us (Romans 5:15; 1 Corinthians 1:14,) and we are then saved by grace, not by our own "good works" or efforts, not by anything we could possibly do—or not do. We are saved Only because God's grace is immediately released over us from the moment we decided to put our trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation (Ephesians 2:1-9.)

2. The “Good Works” (Matthew 5:16, Romans 2:10, Titus 2:6-8, Titus 3:8, aka: “works of righteousness”, “works of God”, “God's works”,) refer to actions that are pleasing in God's eyes. They are given to us to perform, not for us to get saved through them, but (a) so that we can start our lifelong practice/training in the Process of Transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18,)—of being transformed every day, more and more, into the image of Christ, (b) so that we can spend our lives no longer in service of the Power of Darkness, but in service of the Kingdom of the Son of His Love (Colossians 1:13.) (c) so that we can become servants of the Most High God proclaiming the way of salvation (Acts 16:17,) and (d) become servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1Cor4:1,) and (e) become fellow workers with God to establish His Kingdom in the earth (1Cor3:9.)

3. God's transforming grace is with people who have a humble and contrite spirit, and a repentant heart (Psa 34:18, 51:3,17, Isa 57:15, Ezk 14:6, 18:30.) A humble spirit before God is one that has been broken. It has no pride or arrogance. It does not embrace, flaunt, hold on to, justify or seeks support for its sin. A contrite spirit is one that has been crushed, or that trembles at God's word (it is sincerely remorseful, conscious of guilt and of falling short, and wanting to make amends or corrections.) A repentant heart acknowledges its sin, and that sin is sin—no matter how much it wants it. And it makes every effort to turn away from what displeases God. It makes the decision and takes the hard, difficult steps towards making different choices--choices that truly honor God. This is the Big difference between the saved and the unsaved. Scripture says that God gives grace to the humble (Jam4:6, 1Pet5:5.) I believe that this is a different aspect of grace than the grace that is extended to every human being on earth today because of Messiah's sacrifice for us. Today, every single person on the planet enjoys the grace of God's patience--a postponement of judgement and execution for their sin (2Pet3:9.) But from the moment our heart and will are desperately hungry and thirsty for transformation in Christ, and we ask God to deliver us from sinning, He will also give us the grace that we need to achieve transformation and to have victory over the sin in our lives. This usually happens over time; but I've also seen transformation in certain instances happen suddenly—in just one moment. Either way, we will experience transformation.

We must realize that Full and Complete Transformation is Gradual—One step at a time. It's a Life-long Process and a Life-long Pursuit. It is Heaven's Pathway for Spiritual Growth.

Salvation is God's Amazing Gift to Us, Not Something We Could Possibly Earn

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” ~ Eph. 2:8-10.

The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) by Messianic Jew David H. Stern, puts it this way:

“8 For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God’s gift. 9 You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore no one should boast. 10 For we are of God’s making, created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do.”

God is focused on the following attitudes of our hearts: humility, contrition, and repentance. And He will evaluate our actions based on these heart attitudes. 

'But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”' ~1 Sam 16:7 (NKJV) 

This is because God knows that: 

“...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” ~ Rom 3:23 (NKJV)

We will never be complete on our own in this life. We are now only complete in Messiah Jesus. So, when Father God looks at us, all He sees is Christ in us, and whether or not our hearts are humble, contrite, and repentant before Him, thirsting for transformation. So, God is never displeased or disappointed in us. He does not see us as failures and He will never turn His back on us. He will never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5,) and He will never forget us (Isa 49:15) because He sees our hearts, and our desire and efforts for transformation.

The Five Steps to Transformation

Our Part:

Step 1 – Believing and Trusting in Messiah. We are doing what pleases God, when we believe (trust) in Messiah as the One sent by God to deliver us from sin. 

'Then they asked him, “What must we do to perform God’s works?”Jesus answered them, “This is God’s work: to believe in the one whom he has sent.”' ~John 6:28-29 (ISV)

Step 2 – To come before God with a humble, remorseful, and repentant heart (Psa 34:18, 51:17, Isa 57:15, Ezk 14:6, 18:30.), whenever we have fallen short of God's standards; and to ask Him for—and be open to—transformation. Then give God time to bring about this transformation in us by His Holy Spirit. It will happen sooner or later; either all at once, or gradually. In His time and in His way, not in ours. We must remember that we are precious in His sight—our humble, contrite, and repentant heart is priceless to Him. We are His special treasure. In Christ, we are loved and holy unto Him. And since we all have our shortcomings, we must also be patient with others who are also looking forward to transformation, praying for them and allowing God to be the judge, because we can only see the external behavior--the flaws and failures. But only God truly knows every person's heart. 

God's Part:

Step 3 – God has woven Christ's spirit into our spirit. Now, we are God's brand new creation, created (transformed by God) into one-being with Christ, who equips and empowers us through the Holy Spirit, to live the life of righteousness God had already planned for us. By God uniting Messiah and us spiritually into one body/being, He gave us access to the full state of obedience of Christ (by grace, not earned ourselves,) and to the full power of the transformation God started in us, that we may continue growing, from glory to glory, into ever greater levels of understanding and obedience, in the righteousness of Christ: “For we are God’s masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life.” ~ Eph 2:10 (ISV)

Step 4 – God is continually working in us, to make us willing and able to obey Him (Php 2:13)

Step 5 – We who believe can be confident of this: That God will keep us all growing in the transformation process, until the day Jesus Christ returns, when we all will be finally made complete.

“...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” ~ Php 1:6 (NKJV)

By God's grace, we are only responsible for steps 1 and 2. And God Himself is responsible for steps 3, 4, and 5, We are spiritual beings being transformed by God Himself into the image of Christ, therefore He will complete the good work He started in each of us who are in Christ.

This is Why we can encourage ourselves with this powerful verse from scripture, Philippians 4:13:

“...we can do all things through Christ who strengthens/empowers us.”

The Living Bible puts it this way:

“...for I can do everything God asks me to, with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.”

This is such a beautiful encouragement to us. We are not helpless or hopeless. We are not gloomed into discouragement or doomed to failure. We are being transformed by Him, and have been strengthened and empowered in Christ!

Prayer for God to Make Us Complete

“20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make us complete in every good work to do His will, working in us what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” ~ Hebrews 13:20-21.

 

Isa 26:12 “Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us.”

 

The Two Gospels

What is the Gospel of the Kingdom? And what is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Aren't They the Same Thing? Is There a Difference?

These refer to two distinct but complementary messages that go hand in hand. As most of us know, the word "Gospel" simply means "good news," or "good tidings." The Bible gives us both, the Good News about the Kingdom and the Good News about Jesus Christ.
Quick Notes: (1) "The Gospel of the Kingdom" is short for "The Gospel of the Kingdom of God," also called "The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven". (2) The Gospel of Jesus Christ is also called "The Gospel of the Grace of God." (Acts 20:4).

Since Jesus' resurrection, the Two Gospels have become One. Following, are their distinct differences and how they complement each other to function as One, to equip and empower us, Christ's Body of believers, to become effective ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Gospel of the Kingdom

This gospel refers to the good news that the Kingdom of God (or of Heaven) was now going to establish itself also on earth, among mankind (Matt 3:1-2, Mark 1:14-15). It would no longer be only in heaven as during the ages before Jesus. The Kingdom is mostly about a way of life; it's about a holy culture. This means that we could now live Kingdom lifestyle and culture here on earth--The lifestyle of experiencing the Holy Spirit, of knowing or having truth, wisdom and grace from above; of having power over our own sin, and authority over sickness and darkness. Today, here on earth, we can live at a spiritually higher level than the Torah (the Law of Moses) required. We are no longer trapped in sin, because Jesus came into this world, taught us about how Heaven works, and He died to set us free from a sinful heart. 

He also taught us how God evaluates things. In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus explains to us the difference between what the Torah teaches and what standard the heart of God is really aiming for in us. "You have heard" is about the laws written in Torah by the hand of Moses. "But I say" is about the even higher standard God really desires from us: The messages of repentance, turning away from sin, and baptism were important because the Kingdom of God was getting ready to burst forth (be established) in the earth and people had to start making themselves ready for it. 

Both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom. Jesus also taught us about God's heart, loving-kindness and forgiveness. He also showed us how to live a life of obedience that's pleasing to God. This means that the Kingdom of Heaven would now be  established in the earth through us who believe and obey. So, the Kingdom of God (or of Heaven) is no longer up there far away. It is now here on earth, so near that we can see it in each other, experience its effects in our lives, and see its response to our prayers. And, all of us who believe and are faithful, are its messengers here on earth and have been granted authority in Christ.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

This gospel is about the good news that God clothed Himself in a human body and came to this earth as the man Jesus Christ; that we are saved from the curse and the punishments of sin thanks to the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross (because he lived a sinless, holy life obedient to the Heavenly Father, so that we could have eternal life by putting our faith in him, and in the work he accomplished on the cross.) He paid the price for us to be forgiven, for our redemption, and for our freedom from sin and from the powers of darkness. We, those of us who have accepted Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, are no longer victims or prisoners of sin and we are no longer without power or authority against sin. We can now fight our sin nature and eventually overcome. We can now fight our own flesh and break the control of sin over us. We can now endure through this battle because victory is sure. We can now live a life of victory and obedience to God, of love for all, of inner peace and joy, of forgiveness towards our enemies in the midst of trial and adversity, and of gratitude in every situation. Thanks to Christ's sacrifice, we have been set free from the power of sin, darkness, and eternal death. We can now truly be free to become who God intended us to be. This is the good news of Messiah Jesus that the apostles preached. 

The Strategy of Heaven

In the days of John the Baptist and Jesus the Messiah, God's strategy was to first let His people learn what the differences were between being in an earthly religion vs being in the true Kingdom of Heaven. So, first came the message about the Kingdom of Heaven. Through both John the baptist and Jesus Christ, God rebuked the Pharisees (the religious leaders of Judea.) And Jesus himself taught the people the differences between the laws of the Torah of Moses and the way God/Heaven actually evaluated sin. This helped the people understand what it would be like to live in God's Kingdom here on earth as opposed to living in an earthly religious system governed by sinful mortals. And many chose to be baptized by John and to become Jesus' disciples. 

The people also expected Jesus to free Israel from Roman rule and wanted him to become the king of Israel, because they believed he was the foretold messiah. It is only after he died on the cross, his resurrection, and the Holy Spirit manifestation during Pentecost, that they were able to grasp God's plan of salvation through Messiah's sacrificial death on the cross. 

From then on, the disciples began to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ (which, of course, also includes the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven).

In Short...

The Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that in Christ we have forgiveness of sin, victory over sin, new life, everlasting life, and citizenship in the Kingdom of God/Heaven through the Holy Spirit living in us. In Messiah we now have access to every spiritual blessing in Heaven. 

The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven teaches us that the Kingdom of God is now operating in our midst here on earth through the lives of those who've put their trust in Jesus Christ. It is no longer far removed from us, only way up there in Heaven. Today, Heaven is also established here on earth, where we can easily enter in, by faith, through (1) repentance, (2) conversion, and (3) baptism; and where we can live our lives in God's Kingdom trusting in Jesus Christ and becoming more and more like him, every day.

God's Name of Promise 'I AM'

As I was reading Exodus 3:14, it struck me how strange it was for God to present Himself as "EHYEH ASHER EHYEH" in the Hebrew text. This is a future tense structure, not a present tense.

Those words were calling to me. It was as if the Holy Spirit was highlighting them, for me to look into and ask God about this!

"Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh" is often translated in Christian Bibles either as “I am that I am” or as “I am who I am” and in Jewish Bibles as "I am that I am" (JPS). But the Hebrew text actually reads, “I will be what/that I will be.”

The verb Ehyeh appears 55 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. Only in Exodus 3:14 is it translated as "I AM".  Everywhere else in the Bible, it is translated as either "I will be" or "will I be?" In Hebrew, the present tense looks different.

"I AM" really matches my understanding of God; so, why did God have the future-tense recorded in His Word???

Now, I really wanted to find out what God wanted to speak to my spirit about this name.

Joy:

 “My Lord, my God, what do you want to tell me today about Your name Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh?"

God: 

“The children of Jacob did not know who I was or what I was capable of because I had been silent during their time of slavery in Egypt.  'I will be what I will be' or 'I will be that which I will be,' is a title-name. It is more of a title than a name. By this title-name, I am sending the children of Israel this message: 'Even though you did not know Me in your lifetime, and you still do not know Me now, you will yet come to experience Me through ALL that I WILL BE as I deliver you and lead you into a new land and life, and as I take care of your needs along the way. You will see that I will be all that is needed to set you free from slavery and bring you into a land of freedom and plenty: I will be your mighty deliverer, I will be your champion, I will be your protection, I will be your provider, I will be your shade cloud by day, I will be your camp fire by night, I will be your guide, I will be your defender, I will be your teacher, I will be your healer, I will be your covenant partner, I will be your victory in battle, I will be your King, I will be your blessing, I will be your praise, I will be your God.'

"The reason for 'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh' (future tense) is because I am presenting Myself to humans that live a dimension of time. 'I AM' always, because in heaven there is no dimension of time; there is no past, present, or future--everything is Now.  By My title-name I am letting mankind know that I will gradually prove Myself to ALL who put their trust in Me as we face together the challenges in their lives and in their future. My benefits are only for those who enter into a covenant relationship with Me. Every person falls into this category. So the focus of this title-name is looking into the future, from your perspective of time. By this title, 'Ehyeh', I am giving My solid assurance that I will be right there with anyone who invites Me into their lives. And in this manner, I will yet make Myself known to them as all that I fully AM: YHVH Yireh (Yahweh Who Provides), YHVH Shammah (Yahweh Who is There with you), YHVH Rophe (Yahweh Who Heals), and so on. 'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh' covers ALL that I AM and will continue to be throughout your lifetime; it is My core identity.

"Joy, this title-name is important for people in every generation because it is My name of promise and it reveals my will, plan, and my covenant to always be present in your lives and to always make all things work together for the good of those who love Me and have become My people. There is no need for any of you who are Mine to worry about the present or the future because I AM with you--all you need is Me. Study My word daily, ask for what you need, and then just trust Me and walk in My ways.

"Most people on earth are living a life of bondage and I want to deliver them because I have already paid the price for their freedom. But they do not know Me and have not yet experienced Me. 

"To all who are still in bondage in your world, who are slaves to sin and who desire to be free, you must freely and boldly proclaim all that I will be to them, because I will be what I will be to deliver them, establish them in a new life in the Kingdom of Light in Christ Jesus, and bring them into their calling and destiny, just like I did back then for the children of Israel. 

"This is My heart for every human being. And you who know Me, do well to remember that I AM ever present with you and that I AM your Everything as you go through life's storms. Even when things seem to be going wrong, I AM there. Do not worry, do not complain, and do not despair. Live My word and walk by faith. I do miracles, I can even bring new life into a dead situation. Always wait upon Me, be patient, hopeful, and expectant; and I will make a way where there is no way.”

Joy: 

“Thank you, Father. I will. That is beautiful. And thank you for caring so much for mankind.”