Because of the excesses of Christian theology we sometimes say that once we are saved we never can be lost. We mean by this that once we make a correct profession concerning Jesus Christ we will go to Heaven when we die no matter how we live in the meantime.

But the Apostle Paul never held out residence in Heaven as the goal of salvation. Paul always pointed toward the Kingdom of God. And Paul told us over and over in his epistles that if we live in the flesh we will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Did you ever hear this preached straight and true, just as Paul wrote it? Probably not. That ought to tell you that our Christian preaching is biased in favor of the "grace" mystique.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; Idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions And envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21—NIV)

Our faulty doctrine of salvation is based in part on our misunderstanding of Paul's teaching of grace, in part on our adoption of residence in Heaven as being the goal of redemption rather than a transformed life.

But let us think for a moment about what salvation is.

Salvation is our change from the image and ways of Satan to the image and ways of God. Satan is the sponsor of the present world spirit. God through Christ removes the love for the world spirit from us, if we ask Him to. Then we absolutely must cooperate with the Holy Spirit when the process of deliverance from the world is taking place in our life. We have to obey the Lord!

God through Christ is ready to give us victory over the lusts and passions of our flesh and soul. The immorality and covetousness that drive us are the image and way of Satan. They have no place in the Kingdom of God. Salvation removes these chains from us.

God through Christ has the power to burn our self-will out of us. He does this by permitting Satan to confine us in various kinds of prisons. We are compelled to go for years in situations that do not please us. Our most fervent desires are denied us. We have to die to our self-will and self-seeking. Satan's original sin was to promote himself apart from the blessing of God. We must be saved from self-will and self-seeking.

Since the above is true, how then can we claim we are saved even though we still are disobeying God? This is to say we have been delivered even though we still are bound. What do we mean by saying we are "saved" when we still are knowingly practicing sin? Saved from what?

We ought to say we are carrying our cross behind Jesus and He is giving us victory each day over the sins that trouble us.

To be continued.