This is a profound theological question that gets to the heart of the Christian gospel and experience. In short, the Bible teaches that salvation has past, present, and future aspects to it. When someone puts their faith in Jesus, they are justified before God and granted eternal life (Titus 3:7). Their salvation is secured and they are saved. However, salvation is not just a one-time event but an ongoing journey. Believers experience salvation in the present as God sanctifies them and delivers them from sin’s power. And in the future, Christians will experience the fullness of salvation when Jesus returns and their bodies are redeemed. So while Christians have assurance of salvation in one sense, they are also continually being saved as God works in their lives.
We have been saved
The New Testament loudly proclaims that Christians have been decisively saved through faith in Christ. When someone repents and believes the gospel they pass from death to life and are born again as a new creation in Christ (John 5:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17). The moment one places their faith in Jesus they are justified and reconciled to God (Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Believers have been rescued from sin, Satan, and God’s coming wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10, Romans 5:9). As Paul declares in Ephesians 2:8, “By grace you have been saved through faith.” Salvation is spoken of in the past tense because those who trust in Christ have been saved and their eternal destiny secured.
This salvation is based on Christ’s finished work on the cross, not the Christian’s own effort. Jesus bore the penalty for our sins by dying in our place, providing forgiveness and cleansing through his blood (Colossians 1:14, 1 John 1:7). He also perfectly obeyed God’s law to earn righteousness on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:19). When someone repents and believes, the merits of Christ’s atoning sacrifice are credited to them. As a result, the Bible describes believers as righteous, blameless, adopted children of God (Romans 3:22, Ephesians 1:4-5). While still sinners, Christians are clothed with Christ’s perfect righteousness (Galatians 3:27). This is why salvation cannot be lost or reversed. It does not depend on our unstable faith but Christ’s finished work and God’s promises (John 10:28-29, Romans 8:38-39).
In summary, all those who are in Christ Jesus have been saved. They have been reconciled to God, cleansed of their sins, and made righteous through faith in Christ and his substitutionary death. As Paul proclaims, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Believers can have full assurance of this salvation which is securely anchored in Jesus (Hebrews 6:19).
We are being saved
At the same time, the New Testament speaks of salvation in the present continuous sense. While Christians have been definitively saved, we are also in the process of being saved as God sanctifies us and delivers us from sin’s power. When someone is converted, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell them (Romans 8:9). This begins the process of sanctification whereby believers are continually being transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Through the Spirit, God works in Christians enabling them to grow in godliness and obedience. Salvation is not a one-time event but an ongoing work God does in the believer’s life.
This present aspect of salvation involves mortifying remaining sin and being made holy. Paul writes, “For the grace of God has appeared… training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). While justified believers are righteous in God’s sight, we are also called to actively pursue righteousness in our lives. As we walk by the Spirit, we will produce the fruit of righteousness (Galatians 5:16, 22-23). This is not automatic, but something believers must work out in reverent fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13). Through the Word, prayer, fellowship, and other spiritual disciplines believers grow into Christlikeness. This lifelong process of sanctification means Christians are being saved as God rescues us from sin’s power and changes us to be more like Jesus.
In addition to inner renewal, salvation in the present includes God’s daily protection and deliverance from external evil forces. As Paul declares, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Though trials and spiritual warfare mark this age, God preserves his people delivering them from the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13). The Holy Spirit guides believers into truth, guards their faith, and intercedes for them before God (John 16:13, Romans 8:26). Through providential relationships and circumstances, God leads his children causing all things to work for their good (Romans 8:28). This ever-present help and deliverance means believers experience God’s salvation throughout their lives.
In summary, Christians are being saved as God enables us to grow in Christlikeness through his indwelling Spirit. The process of sanctification and God’s faithful power delivering us mean salvation is not just past but continuous. Believers can joyfully pursue holiness knowing it is God working in them by grace (Philippians 2:12-13, Hebrews 13:20-21).
We will be saved
The Bible also speaks of a future aspect to salvation. While Christians have been saved from sin’s penalty and are being saved from its power, we await the full experience of salvation when Christ returns. Sin and death still mark this present evil age. But when Jesus comes again, he will consummate our salvation and deliver us from the presence of sin entirely.
At the resurrection, believers will receive glorified bodies free from sickness, decay, and death (1 Corinthians 15:51-55). God’s people will be revealed in their righteousness, raised imperishable and immortal (1 John 3:2, 1 Corinthians 15:42). All remaining sinful desires and unbelief will be eradicated when the old body is destroyed and the new body created (1 Corinthians 15:54). Christians will be completely changed into the likeness of Christ, body and soul (1 Corinthians 15:49, Romans 8:29). This physical redemption means believers look forward to the full experience of salvation.
When Jesus returns he will also renew the whole creation which currently groans under the curse of Genesis 3 (Romans 8:20-22). God’s plan of salvation encompasses not just individual souls but the material world as well. There will be new heavens and a new earth where God dwells with his people (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1-3). Everything will be made perfect and the effects of sin entirely removed. Death, disease, tears, and pain will be no more (Revelation 21:4). Believers long for this final state when God’s salvation work will be consummated and complete.
So while Christians have assurance of salvation now, we have not yet experienced all its promised blessings. Paul writes, “We were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope” (Romans 8:24). Through patient endurance and hope, believers await the final salvation ready to be revealed at Christ’s coming. The fullness of salvation is not just a past event but the ultimate destiny of all in Christ. The best is yet to come.
In summary, the Bible speaks of a future aspects to salvation that Christians await. While saved from sin’s penalty and power already, we look forward to the day when sin’s presence will be removed forever. At the resurrection, we will receive glorified immortal bodies and dwell in a new creation. This hope anchors believers encouraging perseverance until Jesus returns and brings the full experience of salvation.
Putting it all together
When we understand the different aspects of salvation in the Bible, it makes sense why Christians are described as both saved and being saved at the same time. From the moment someone trusts in Jesus they are justified before God, granted eternal life, and delivered from wrath. Every spiritual blessing becomes theirs as a gift in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Yet believers still struggle with indwelling sin and live in a fallen world. Becoming like Christ requires God’s ongoing sanctifying work in our lives. Through the Spirit, trials, community and other means, God continually rescues us from sin’s power and changes us into Christ’s image. This salvation journey culminates when Jesus returns and we receive glorified bodies and dwell in a new creation. So while fully secure, our experience of salvation will not be complete until the resurrection. When we grasp this overview, we avoid the extremes of underestimating or overestimating the change brought about by the gospel in believers’ lives right now.
In conclusion, the Bible teaches that Christians have been saved through faith in Christ but are also in process of being saved as God works within us. And we await the future consummation of our salvation when Christ returns. God secures us in grace, transforms us in grace, and will one day glorify us by his grace. This comprehensive understanding brings great encouragement. Believers can have full assurance of salvation in Christ while still striving after holiness in dependence on the Spirit. With hope we press on towards that Day when our salvation will be complete in resurrected glory.