The Whole Armor of God - SALVATION

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" (Ephesians 6:17)

Our salvation is a sure defense against our spiritual enemies (the world, the flesh, and the Devil). The old hymn goes: "He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free..." I believe in that kind of salvation. A Biblical salvation is one that produces change. Yet today there is such a denial that salvation could change anyone or anything about anyone. There are those who actually reduce Salvation to a mere intellectual change, or just a change of belief. Here are some Bible verses that seem to make it clear, that salvation changes everything about a repentant sinner, and to believe otherwise is really bad doctrine.

1. When we get saved, we are no longer classified in the Bible as 'sinners' but rather as 'saints.' (see 1 Cor. 6:11 "and such were some of you...'; Paul wrote to 'saints' in his epistles, these were living born again believers, unlike Roman Catholic Beatified (sp?) saints). Not that we are perfectly sinless but that we certainly do not practice sin, at the very least we have an attitude which is against sin (1 John 5:18). Salvation produces sanctification.

2. Salvation changes us from being a slave to sin into a slave to Jesus Christ and righteousness (see Romans 6:16-18). We have a new master, a gracious one, who bought us with His precious blood. He will never mistreat us, He sets us free to serve Him. What a wonderful Savior! Salvation produces service.

3. We became 'new' creatures in Christ, (that means at the point of Salvation) - Old things are passed away and all things are become new (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). This is a simple and straight forward verse that clearly teaches that Salvation produces change. It used to be that we were dead in sin, but now we are alive unto God (Ephesians 2:1). Once dead, now alive, that is a change. It used to be that we did not have the Holy Spirit, but now He dwells in us (John 14:16-17), that speaks of a change also.

We do not need to surrender to sin (or to spiritual defeat), in fact, our salvation makes it possible to persevere in this world of sin. No true genuine Christian will ever live a life resigned to sin and not experience God's chastening hand (Heb. 12:5-6) or a loss of rewards in one day in Heaven (1 Corinthians 3:15). One day we who are saved will be like Christ (1 John 3:2) and just like Christ abhors sin, we too will abhor sin.