Christ HAS Raised Us With Him!

Christ HAS Raised Us With Him!

      The Scripture uses the past tense when it talks about salvation. Paul recognized the promise, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that cannot be revoked. Those who believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord are saved; today! Ephesians 2:6-7

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Today we are seated in heavenly realms because of the promised grace of God. It is through grace you have been saved. You cannot work your way into heaven; neither can you work your way out of heaven. Once you have been saved you are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

      In the same way, success for your life is promised by God. It is his desire that you bring him glory; your success brings him glory.  

      It is important at this juncture, to state that this promise is only for those who accept Christ. Simply stating you are a Christian does not mean you are saved. Perhaps you are thinking, “Isn’t that contradictory? I thought all I have to do is confess Jesus as Lord and I am saved.”

      Confessing is only half of the equation. If one is to be saved they must confess and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). James 2:19 says that even the demons believe in Jesus, but they are not going to heaven.

      True belief requires an action. If you truly believe that you have the million dollars promised to you by the government, you will spend the money. You won’t hesitate. If you truly believe that Jesus is Lord, you will live a life that is glorifying to Christ. You will gladly go to church, give your money, give your time; you will want to work for the Kingdom to promote Christ to others.

      There are many who “profess” to be Christians, but their actions do not confirm that they have a relationship with God. In fact, quite the contrary, they loathe church and the Christian community they profess to be a part of. Christians are far from perfect, but true Christianity is a process to become like Christ.

      Romans 6:5 says, “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.” In other words, you can “bank” on the promise of eternal life if you have been united with Christ through your confession of him.