Becoming a Christian is like that too. Accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord is actually pretty simple, but there's no denying it's an act of faith.
If you're a Christian, you might be wondering exactly what it is that's happened to you. Maybe you've found this blog because someone you know has become a Christian and you are wondering what on earth is going on with them. Perhaps you're standing on the edge, about to take that leap of faith, and you're wondering what will happen to you if you leap.
We find out what we're like:
- We're 'dead in transgressions'. We fall short of the mark, and to be out of step with our creator makes us as good as dead.
- We're also dominated. None of us can claim to be completely free of influence, and Paul warns us that we're all followers - we need to be aware of who or what we're following.
- We're destined for destruction. God's wrath is right and fair, and entirely predictable. It's a uncompromising refusal to accept sin and evil.
This is us, but God...
The good news, or gospel, is that while that might be what we were like, we've been transformed. v5-6 - God made us alive in Christ. Paul writes that we have been saved. Theologically, we were saved before the beginning of time, because God has chosen us. Logically, we were saved when Jesus breathed his last and said "it is finished". Experientially we were saved when we received the Holy Spirit.
Whether you want to think about salvation theologically, logically or experientially, there's no doubt in Ephesians 2 it's absolutely a work of God - not of us. He's saved us because he loves us (v4-5) and is merciful in not giving us what we deserve.
Still teetering on the brink?
Becoming a Christian, being saved, is all from God and not something we can earn or deserve.
So in the words of Van Halen, might as well jump.
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