The Unconverted “Believer” (6): The Narrow and Broad Ways

Acts 9 and the Conversion of Saul

Pastor Jason will come and read for us Acts chapter 9. Here we're having a transition from the gospel going to Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and now the preparation going out into the Gentile world.

And of course it begins with really the conversion of Saul becoming Paul of Tarsus. Acts chapter 9.

Acts chapter 9. But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus so that if he found any belonging to the way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him and falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you, Lord?

And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise and enter the city and you will be told what you are to do. The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

Saul rose from the ground and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by hand and brought him to Damascus. And for three days he was without sight and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias.

And the Lord said to him, Ananias. And he said, here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, rise and go to the street called Straight. And at the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. For behold, he is praying.

And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priest to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.

For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized. And taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogue, saying, He is the Son of God. And all who heard him were amazed and said, Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon his name?

And has he not come here for this purpose to bring them down before the chief priests? But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. But his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came also to the saints who lived at Lydia.

There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Rise and make your bed. And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him.

And they turned to the Lord. Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died. And when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, Please come to us without delay. So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room.

And all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise.

And she opened her eyes. And when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

Let's pray.

Our Father, we thank you for the light of the gospel. We thank you for its truth. We thank you for the impact that it has on our lives, that it removes the darkness. And Lord, our salvation is such a wonderful thing.

We thank you for the work of Christ. We thank you for his sacrifice. We thank you for his ascension. We thank you that he is now reigning. And we pray, Lord, that we would make the Lord Jesus Christ preeminent in our lives, in everything that we do.

Help us to grow in this area. Convict us, Lord, of the areas where Jesus is not preeminent. And we pray, Lord, that as we continue our study of the word, that you would guide us, that you would lead us.

We pray that we would see things clearly and that we would be changed. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Narrow Gate and the Broad Way

Well, we'll read the passage that we began to address last Lord's Day. And this is Matthew 7, 13 and 14. Jesus taught, enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction.

And there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are few who find it. Toward the end of our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, the Lord set forth two destinies of mankind, eternal life and damnation.

And Jesus used the metaphor of two roadways on which all people travel that would bring them to their final destination. The road most traveled is the broad way, which is perceived by all to be the easy and the best way.

They prefer it. But Jesus says the end of this road is destruction. And what he intended by that was damnation. The Lord described the other word, which is least traveled, as more difficult than the broad way.

But it leads travelers on to life. And what the Lord intended by that word life is, of course, eternal life. Two destinies. Eternal life, eternal damnation. And then, of course, a gate stands at the head of each road.

The broad roadway has a wide gate to allow for many to enter. And the difficult roadway has but a small or straight. Notice the spelling. A little unusual. That's King James language. A small gate at its entrance.

A gate that is not easily discovered, even for the few who find it. The Lord urges hearers to enter this narrow gate. It's not easy to enter. It's a small gate. For the Lord himself must open this gate to them who would enter.

And the Lord does not open this gate just to anybody. Jesus is quite selective whom he enlists to be his followers. But for those who truly desire to go through this straight gate. And who are importunate in asking, seeking, knocking at this gate.

Jesus promised that he would open this gate to admit their entrance. No one who turned away who truly wants to enter this gate. And last week we gave attention to the meaning of this narrow gate itself.

And this week we'll give attention to the difficult roadway to which the gate opens. But first we need to review a few matters about entering the gate. Entrance to this gate is a metaphor for the conversion of the sinner becoming a true Christian.

It set forth the biblical teaching that only the one who abandons all thought of personal merit. Or personal qualification will enter. Only the sinner who calls upon Jesus to be his savior and Lord. Is permitted entrance onto this way that leads to life.

The Lord only opens this gate to those who repent of all their sin. That is they turn from living for sin and are willing to submit to Jesus Christ as both savior and Lord. And we would say this is far different.

A far different understanding of conversion than what is popularly proclaimed in evangelical churches. That by simply believing on Jesus Christ as savior one is saved. And the confusion here I think centers on the idea that we're justified by grace through faith alone.

Apart from works which is a biblical truth. But it is assumed wrongly all we have to do therefore is believe. And we're going to be pointing out there's a whole lot more that we have to do than believe.

We need to deny ourselves take up our cross. We need to obey him and follow him. Persevere. There's all kinds of things that true faith will show itself in doing. Arthur Pink described conversion. The entering of this narrow gate.

And I took this from this book that I pointed out to you earlier. What is denoted by entering this narrow gate? Chiefly three things. First, acceptance of those teachings of truth and duty of happiness which are unfolded by Christ.

The honest and actual receiving into the heart of his holy searching and flesh withering instructions. Those teachings may be summed up in his emphasis upon the righteous claims and demands of God upon us.

And his instance upon our depraved state and wicked enmity against him. No one can become a Christian while he entertains any doubt about the divine inspiration and authority of the scriptures. Or while he refuses to bow to the verdict which God has pronounced upon him.

We must know ourselves to be utterly lost before there can be any desire for salvation. Second, the exercise of true repentance. The gospel is not less holy than the law. And therefore requires that our hearts bewail our former transgressions of the law.

And be firm and sincere in its resolution against all future sin. You and your sins must separate. These are Charles Spurgeon's words. You and your sins must separate or you and your God will never come together.

No one sin make you keep. They must all be given up. They must be brought out like the Canaanite kings from the cave and hang before the sun. You must forsake them, abhor them, and ask the Lord to overcome them.

It is by abandoning our idols and the pleasures of sin that we pass through the straight gate. And third, the complete surrender ourselves to God in Christ. To believe savingly in Christ is to receive him as prophet to instruct us.

As priest to atone for us. And as king to rule over us. It is by a complete surrender of ourselves unto God that we pass through the straight gate. Now, it's important that we not misunderstand what's being stated here.

We must not assume that when one becomes a true Christian that he immediately becomes a mature Christian. Or that he no longer struggles with sin. In some ways, the true struggle against sin begins with conversion.

Before conversion, one may have felt guilty and regretful for his sin, but he could not say that he really fought against it. But after he was converted, when he truly began to fight against the current of sin that governed his thinking and living, the battle became real and intense.

And this Christian's fight against his sin continues throughout life. And although he wins many battles against sin while losing others, he never stops striving after holiness, although he never achieves complete deliverance in this life.

But as a Christian, he looks forward to the day when he'll have his true desires fulfilled. Paul expressed his own struggle as a Christian with sin, and yet he expressed an optimism in Christ when he exclaimed, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And that was Paul the Christian expressing that. Now let's consider a few more words regarding the Lord preparing a soul to come unto him. That is, prior to coming to the gate, as it were.

Last week we spoke somewhat of God's preparation of the sinner before the Lord opens and grants entrance through the narrow gate. That this work of preparation may take place over a brief period of time, very brief, or maybe over a prolonged period of time.

But lest anyone misunderstand what we mean by preparation, this work of preparation, let's state clearly this point. Preparation to enter this gate is not our preparation to qualify ourselves for entrance.

Rather, it is God's work of grace in preparing us for entrance. It's very important to understand. His work of preparation is that of stripping us of any other hope apart from Jesus Christ. Before the Lord will permit our entrance, our becoming true Christians, he must squeeze out of us our wrong thinking about ourselves and about him.

He must wring out of us any sense of personal worthiness or ability in ourselves to obtain his acceptance of us. We are only prepared to enter the door of conversion when our hands are empty and our desire is acute.

He accepts us only due to his mercy alone, granted to us through his grace alone in Jesus Christ alone. Thomas Hooker, who was a Puritan here in New England. He traveled here from England, came to New England.

He was the founder of Hartford, Connecticut, by the way. He wrote much on the Lord's preparation of the sinner prior to his conversion. And in 1632, he published first The Soul's Preparation for Christ, in which his chapter titles depict this work of God's grace prior to conversion.

And I've listed them here. First, God is capable of breaking the hearts of the most stubborn sinners on earth. We just read Acts chapter nine. Second, a true site of sin is needed. Third, some means by which we can see sin convincingly.

He gives some advice here. Four, the necessity of exposing the evil or particular sins to men's consciences. Five, serious meditation on your sins is a special means to bring the soul to a true site of and sorrow of sin.

Chapter six, more helps in meditating on your sins. Seven, of soul piercing sorrow. Eight, the heart prepared for Christ. Nine, how God supports the hearts of those broken for sin with hopes of mercy.

It can become quite despairing. And ten, the heart truly broken for sin will make free an open confession of sin. And the last, eleven, sound contrition of heart brings a thorough hatred of sin. This is the person that goes through the gate.

This is the person who experiences conversion. This is the person who asks and seeks and knocks. And the Lord promises, I will open this door to you onto this new life that leads to eternal life. And so in the Lord's work of grace of our preparation for conversion, he does for us say what John the Baptist did for the people of Israel.

John prepared the people for the coming king and of their entrance into the kingdom of God. John called upon the people to repent of their sins, or they had no hope that they would enter the kingdom of God.

If they failed or refused to repent, then certain their certain destiny would be God's condemnation and judgment. And John made that clear. He proclaimed to the people individual responsibility and accountability, that each one would be judged according to his works.

And so he said to the people, even now the axe, that's God's axe, is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that is every individual which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

And similarly, the Lord Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, convinces people of their sinfulness, of their guilt and condemnation before God due to their sin, and of their inability to live under the righteousness that God requires of all people everywhere.

The Holy Spirit, of course, is a direct agent in this preparatory work, whom the enthroned Lord Jesus sends to bring people unto himself. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.

It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper, the Holy Spirit, will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. And when he has come, he'll convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

That's the work of preparation, of course, bringing people to conversion. And of course, he continues to do that throughout our lives as well. And so the result of God's preparation is the sinner longing for forgiveness of his sins and of the desire to be delivered from his sinning, not just forgiveness, and to be accepted as a follower of Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.

If there is no repentance from sin before God, there's no forgiveness of sin by God. Therefore, in this work of God's preparation of sinners to ask, seek, and knock at this narrow gate to gain entrance into the way that leads to life, he must bring us, God must bring us to be desirous and willing to forsake all of our sin and to begin a life of humble, trusting, following, and obeying him through life unto our promised inheritance, eternal life.

And if we are telling people that they can come to Christ in any other way than this narrow gate of forsaking sin and trusting and yielding to him as Lord in all areas of life, we're promising a way of salvation that is not taught in the word of God.

But sadly, this is the cause of so much nominal Christianity, unconverted believers in churches. They claim to believe on Jesus Christ as their Savior, but they are not journeying on the narrow and difficult way that leads to life.

They're attempting to gain eternal life other than through the narrow following, walking, living on that narrow and difficult way that Christ has prescribed. And we would say their hope and their efforts are futile, which is scary because there's so many that think they're Christians in this way.

And so the work of preparation for coming to Christ is not you preparing yourself in order to become acceptable to him. You'll never arrive at that if you're trying that. It is his work of grace in preparing you so that you see and believe your only hope is that he accepts you.

Preparation is not being cleansed of your sin. You cannot do that. God's preparation of you is to show you that there's no other way to be cleansed from sin apart from coming to Jesus Christ alone. His work of preparation is to show you just how defiled and filthy you are and that you have no ability to change your condition.

He prepares you by showing and convincing you that Christ alone is the fountain that can cleanse you from sin. As the prophet Zechariah once declared, in that day, that is in the day of salvation, in the day of the coming of Jesus Christ, a fountain shall be open for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

Christ is that fountain. Of course, it was opened up on the cross. And so the Lord convinces sinners who are without any other hope that there is mercy and grace in Jesus Christ alone. He enables us to see the streams of blood and water flowing forth from his side when he hung on his cross alone is providing a full atoning sacrifice whereby we may be forgiven and cleansed from our sin.

And it's so with that knowledge and that hope that you find that small grief and you ask and you seek and you knock. And then the Lord opens that narrow gate of your conversion and grants you entrance into this new way of living that will end in the gift of eternal life.

The work of preparation, God's preparation, bringing people to himself. Well, now let's turn our attention from the gates of entrance into these ways to the roadways themselves, the broad way and then the difficult way.

And so the way that leads to life. There's a difficult way of life that ends in eternal life. And there is a broad roadway of life that ends in one's damnation. It's a way of living. Enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate, broad is the way that leads to destruction.

And there are many who go in by it because narrow is a gate and difficult is the way that leads to life. And there are few who find it. And so the Lord Jesus declared the difficult way, which is the life of a true disciple of Jesus Christ, leads to life.

That is the end or destination of this roadway. The conclusion of it is life. And of course, Jesus was referring to eternal life. Now, according to the word of God, what is eternal life? And when is eternal life received or experienced?

And the answer to that question is that the scriptures set forth eternal life in two different ways. Eternal life in some places is set forth as a present possession. Every true Christian has life in other places of scripture.

Eternal life is set forth as a future inheritance. In the age to come, upon the day of the resurrection, the final judgment of mankind, both of these presentations of eternal life are, of course, true.

But it's important to understand both concepts and to keep them both in view and keep them both in balance. And so let's consider eternal life as both a present possession and a future prospect. The Lord Jesus taught the completion of one's journey on this difficult road would result in attaining life.

In other words, eternal life. Here, the Lord Jesus sets forth eternal life as a future blessing to be received after completing the life of faith. The statement itself betrays a very deficient understanding of eternal life that is held by most evangelicals.

Most evangelicals, that is Bible believers, they would say, think of God's gift of eternal life only as a present possession rather than the promise of a future blessing at the end of a life of faith.

They're out of balance. Their understanding is not wrong. It's right in one sense, but it's not the complete understanding of God's gift of eternal life that set forth in the Bible. When we were working through the Gospel of John, we repeatedly stressed its emphasis that eternal life is set forth to be the present possession.

Or rather, the present state of the true believer in Jesus Christ. Eternal life is spiritual life. That which we enter through the new birth. God regenerating us by the Holy Spirit. And so the true believer presently has everlasting life.

Let's consider some verses that speak of eternal life as a present possession or reality. Here are a couple expressions in John's Gospel, and we could multiply these. Jesus taught, he who believes in the Son has current possession, has everlasting life.

And he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has present possession, has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life.

But John expressed eternal life as a present possession, not only in his gospel, but also in his shorter epistles. And so he wrote, and this is the testimony. God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son.

And these things I've written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God, a present possession.

But it's important for us to understand when John writes of eternal life as a present possession, he's speaking about the quality of life that we presently possess. Life is what we enjoy as Christians, as we live in faith, while God's presence and his power are manifested to us by the Holy Spirit.

It's a quality of life. It's a vertical relationship. We have life that has been brought to us by God. However, the Bible presents eternal life also as a future prospect, something that we are yet going to receive.

In fact, apart from John's gospel and the epistles, most of the New Testament writers set forth eternal life to be received and experienced in the future. Eternal life is an inheritance that all true Christians will one day receive when they pass from this life into the presence of their Savior, more specifically upon their future bodily resurrection from the dead and their glorification as the children of God.

And so let's consider the following passages from the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, as well as from Paul and Peter's epistles. The Lord Jesus himself spoke of eternal life as a future inheritance.

Everyone who's left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. Eternal life is a future inheritance.

The Apostle Paul wrote of eternal life as the believers inheritance. When the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that having been justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

And by definition, what you hope for, you haven't got yet. You know it's coming your way. That's why it gives you hope. But eternal life is set as a future prospect. Doesn't put it in doubt. It's a certainty.

All who are justified are glorified. The Lord Jesus spoke of the righteous on the day of judgment, entering eternal life. These will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Something new for them. And he also referred to eternal life to be received by his disciples in the age to come. Jesus answered, said, Assuredly, I say to you, there's no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the Gospels, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands with persecutions.

And in the age to come, eternal life. The apostle Paul almost exclusively wrote of eternal life, not as a present possession, but as a future blessing of God's grace conferred upon true believers who have completed successfully and triumphantly their life of faith.

And so Paul wrote the following. But in accordance with the hardness and your impenitent heart, you're treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds.

But then he says, notice eternal life to those God, Jesus Christ, going to give to render to eternal life to those who, by patient, continuous and doing good, see for glory, honor and immortality. That's the life of the Christian.

But on the day of judgment, he gives eternal life as a gift of his grace. Romans 5. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. So that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Notice eternal life. We're moving toward that goal. When that will be conferred upon us. And then in Romans 6. But now, having been set free from sin, talking about Christians, having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness and the end.

Again, the outcome, everlasting life, a future prospect. In Galatians 6 .8, for he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life.

And that's why Paul wrote in that passage that we should always be diligent then in loving and serving others. For, you know, in due time, you shall reap if you faint not. Reaping is eternal life. It's a future prospect.

Paul also wrote of eternal life as the realization of the believer's hope, that for which the believer long anticipated with joy. To Titus, Paul wrote, Paul, a bondservant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, the acknowledgement of the truth, which is according, which accords or in accordance with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

And then he wrote similarly, actually in the same epistle, he wrote, but when the kindness and love of God, our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration, renewed of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior, that having been justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

And so we see in these many passages that eternal life is set forth, not as a quality of life presently enjoyed by Christians, as in John's writings, but eternal life is a future blessing assured to all true believers of Jesus Christ.

And this is how our Lord set it forth in Matthew 7, 13 and 14. Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go by who go in it, because narrow is a gate and difficult is the way that leads to life.

And there are few who find it. Eternal life is the outcome of a life of faith on the narrow and difficult way, for it leads to life, even eternal life. But because many Bible believers focus on the present possession of eternal life only, and that was given to us by God at the moment we first believed, they do not understand and they're not being told the biblical truth that the Bible frequently sets forth eternal life to be granted to them who live a life of faith in Christ, enduring on to the end.

Sadly, there are many of these nominal Christians who thereby think they have the gift of eternal life, but if their lives are not characterized by a vital living faith that believes upon and follows Christ throughout life, they will die in their sins and they'll be condemned before the judge of all the earth.

The Lord has prescribed the way of life that will result in everlasting life, and those who refuse or fail to follow this roadway of faith and obedience will not inherit life, but rather will be consigned to everlasting damnation.

It matters how you live. But interestingly, not only does the Bible, biblical meaning of eternal life have both a present and future aspect, but this is also true of the word and concept of salvation itself.

There is a sense in which Christians have been saved, past tense, but the scriptures also speak of Christians becoming saved in the future when they stand before their judge at the final general judgment of mankind.

So let's consider salvation as a present reality as well as a future pledge. First, salvation is a present reality, thankfully. And the Bible teaches that those who have repented of their sins, have believed on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, have been saved.

Salvation is a present reality. The wicked and despised tax collector Zacchaeus, upon his faith in Christ, experienced salvation. Jesus said to him, today salvation has come to this house because he also is a son of Abraham.

Clearly, Zacchaeus became saved at that time, on that occasion that he put his faith in Christ. On the day of Pentecost, 3 ,000 people repented of their sin and believed on Christ. They're described as having repented of their sins, believed on Jesus as Lord, confessed their repentance and faith in public baptism.

And then in Acts 2, 46, we read, so continually, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God, having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. They were then being saved, past tense. The Apostle Paul wrote of Christians having been saved using the past tense to refer to the time of their conversion.

Paul wrote, for we were saved in this hope, Romans 8. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 1, we who are being saved. Talking about our present life as Christians. Again, it's a present possession. He voiced that also in 2 Corinthians 2.

To the Christians in the church at Ephesus, he wrote that they had been saved, which is in the past tense. But God, who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together in Christ.

By grace, you have been saved, past tense. This is also stated in verse 8 of Ephesians 2. For by grace, you have been saved through faith. Same truth was declared to Timothy. He spoke of God who has saved us, past tense.

To Titus, he wrote, according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration, past tense. True believers in Christ may say with biblical authority they have been saved. But in the same way that many look to the meaning of eternal life only as a present possession, many Christians view salvation in terms only of their present possession.

But the word of God declares in numerous places salvation is a future pledge that will not be received until the future time when we're saved from the wrath of God on the final day of judgment. So when you hear people talking about salvation, they only speak in terms, I was saved, I have been saved.

And the biblical question we should ask, okay, you say you are, and I hope you are. Will you be saved on the day of judgment? That's the question that we need to ask ourselves. Not that you can be saved and then lose your salvation, we're certainly not teaching that.

But the Bible presents future salvation that we're moving toward. And so let's consider salvation as a future pledge. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Lord Jesus spoke of salvation as a future pledge granted to his disciples who continue in faith, overcoming all challenges and obstacles.