Salvation is life.
God loves life. You can tell by looking around the world, especially here in Florida. Everything grows. We have every kind of plant and animal, including some ridiculous ones. Five hundred years ago Ponce De Leon looked around and named the place for the flora and fauna he saw. God loves life.
God loves abundant life. God doesn’t want you to just get by. God doesn’t want you to just hang on. God doesn’t want you to wake up in the morning and say, “This would be a great day to be mediocre.” That is why Jesus said that the alternatives are either perishing or gaining eternal life. That is why Jesus said that the alternatives are either condemnation or salvation. There are no halfway options. Jesus wasn’t killed on the cross so you could just be killing time. God loves abundant life.
Salvation lasts your whole life long. It is an event and it is also a process. As an event, it can happen in a moment or take a long time. As a process, it lasts as long as you do. The process is this: first comes salvation, when you are rescued from death to life. Next comes justification, where you are counted as righteous, not by your own works, but by the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to you. Then comes sanctification, the journey of becoming holy. Last comes glorification, when you are seated with Christ in the heaven places, his glory your glory. Salvation lasts your whole life long. It is a process.
In our sermon this Sunday we are going to start a sermon series, “What is Salvation,” with a message, “Salvation is Life.”