When were you "Saved"?

The Lord has been gracious to me in sending me to a church that teaches solid theology. Lately, I've been discovering, with the help of the Holy Spirit of course, that I was taught wrong growing up. 

I have always been told that I needed to remember the day and the moment and the words I said when I got saved. I also needed to go down the aisle at the invitation. That showed that I was truly saved.  I was told it was crucial so that I won't doubt my salvation. Hmm. Well, that's not necessarily the case and not really biblical either. Well, God doesn't call us to walk down an aisle to be necessary for salvation. He does tell us that we need to confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that. But that doesn't mean that we have to remember the day or the hour or the words we said. 

Coming to this church and hearing testimony after testimony when people are baptized or during a members meeting for a new member or just in conversation with peeps, they most of them do not remember a day or time or words...or even the aisle...of their salvation. They just remembered that a light came on one day and realized that they were a sinner in need of forgiveness and knew that that forgiveness would come through Jesus Christ's atoning blood on the cross in their place. I always got kind of uncomfortable when people asked me how old I was when I was saved. I know I needed to be saved at the age of 6. I also knew that Jesus was the way of salvation. But didn't understand why I need to be saved till years later. Since coming to my church, I think the Lord has been gracious to reveal to me the real reason for salvation. Which is the fact, that I am a sinner in rebellion against God. Gosh, I have struggled with doubts of my salvation all during my teen years. But people kept pointing me back to the fact that I said a prayer once. That wasn't good enough for me because I still struggled with it. Well, I think you know a Christian is truly converted when you see it in their lives. You can literally see the Joy they have. It no longer becomes a head thing, but has reached the heart and they live it out. "Faith without works is dead." 

This also makes the concept of the "P" in TULIP become more clear. (If you don't know what TULIP stands for...it's a Calvanists things...Google it.) "P" stands for Perseverance of the saints. The perseverance is their faithfulness with the Lord and how they persevere even until the end of their life. They don't back away from it. The Bible also reminds us that we will know them by their works (fruits of the spirit). We will see evidence of Grace in their lives. This grace is the kind that is not accomplished on human will or understanding, but rather on God's. 

Also, what are we saved from? I was also taught completely wrong in that too. I was taught that we are saved from our sins...well, no not really. We are saved from God's wrath BECAUSE of our sin. 

Hm. Praise God for the teaching of good theology!

♥