Being Saved, But Not Quite There

1 Corinthians 1:18  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Acts 2:47  all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
2 Corinthians 2:15  Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.
2 Corinthians 2:16  To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?


       Now for a message that is sure to get someone's theological panties in a twist. I have been asked, as many of you no doubt have, "Are you saved?" To which I sometimes answer "Not yet." This usually brings about a stunned look or further questions about my salvation. I then tell them that I have been "born again" (as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:3), but I am being saved.
       Imagine that you were on a journey and that you came to a lake. You survey the lake and decide that to go around the lake would take much too long. You decide, instead, that straight across the lake is much quicker. You judge that the distance across the lake is not so far as to be beyond the limits of your ability to swim, therefore, you step in and take off. As you continue to swim, you realize that you may have bitten off more than you can chew. Eventually, you come to the realization that you will not be able to make it all the way across, but you have come much too far to go back. You have overestimated you abilities. As you struggle to keep your head above water, you hear a noise, and turning you see me coming along side in a motorboat. After the obligatory howdys and hellos, I ask "Do you need some assistance? When you get to shore, you have to enter the port on a vessel. The harbor master insists on this and allows no swimmers to enter."At this point, you have an important choice to make. You can either accept my help or continue on your own. To reject assistance is to choose drowning, of course, but there is always a choice and some would rather die trying than admit their mistake and accept help from another.
       So the choice is made to enter the boat. Is the swimmer saved? I would say that salvation is attained upon reaching the shoreline. Let's continue along the journey. The swimmer (you) decide that you are rested and decide that you can make it on your own. I advise that you should remain in the boat. I explain that I am the biggest, toughest sailor around and that no one would be able to force you out of the boat, with me as its captain. No one can "take you out of my hand" I explain. But you have decided that you don't really need my help. "After all," you argue, "I was doing quite well on my own. And besides, your boat has quite too many rules for me. You want to control me and place boundaries on my life. To ride in your boat, you say that I have to follow your guidelines. Rules, rules, rules!" Splash! You dive back in and, with renewed vigor, you swim toward shore. As you swim away, I shout to you "I am here when you need me. Just call me and I will pull you into the boat." "You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am, I'll come runnin"...sorry, had a musical moment there.
       ADD moment...I used to run. I learned that if I ran a long distance and then stopped to rest, my muscles would tighten up and it would be harder to start running again.
       So you are swimming again. Of course you become tired again (after all, its my story. You didn't think I was going to let you be superman and ruin my allegory, did you?) and realize that you are not going to make it. Again with the choices...like Déjà vu, all over again. Choose life (in the boat) or death. Getting the picture? The Apostle Paul stated that we are in a race that must be finished. He spoke of completing not of being complete. He said that we are being saved. We do not loose our free will when we accept Christ. Some people have asked me "Why would anyone choose to stop following Christ?" as an argument that we can't. Who would choose to have their marriage dissolve when they have found the person that they love and choose to spend the rest of their life with? But it happens. People often neglect their relationship and grow apart, eventually being so far apart that they are no longer in a relationship. We do this same thing with Christ. At first, we are excited and tell everyone about this wonderful new relationship. Then we neglect the relationship and allow others to vie for our attention. We spend so much time with these other relationships that they become more important to us. He (Christ) stands there and pleads for you to return, but you have lost interest. Maybe, later on, you will come to realize what you have lost and desire to renew the relationship, but in reality, if you no longer hear him calling out to you, you will never (can never) respond.
       Once the boat has reached the harbor, without you, you are left in the open ocean with no way to approach the harbor. You eventually parish.