When a person places faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ as their only means of salvation, they are saved (John 3:14-19, 36; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:28; Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16; John 5:24; Acts 16:30-31; Titus 3:5).

At the moment of salvation, a person receives the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9; Titus 3:5-6; Acts 10:44-45).

Also, at the moment of salvation, a person receives eternal or everlasting life. Being eternal and everlasting, salvation can never be taken away or lost. Christ told us that “no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” The Scripture explains that the saved are “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” There are several other things that Scripture uses to explain that our salvation is secure in Christ (John 10:27-29; John 5:24; Romans 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30; Philippians 1:6).

Something else happens at the moment of salvation. The new believer is changed. There is a process of sanctification that unfolds over time, but there is also an immediate change. Every Christian starts as a babe in Christ and, hopefully, matures in Christ over time, but even so, people are a new creation the moment after salvation compared to the moment before.

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Christians are not broken and cracked vessels that God has repaired to look new. Each one of us is “a new creature.” God throws away the broken vessel and makes a new one. Christians are a new creation, not an old one that has been fixed.

Now herein lies a problem; not with God, not with the Bible, but with people. Many people claim to be Christian, yet there has been no change. A change that the Bible says will come, yet there is no evidence, even over time, for our “new believer.” The Bible is never wrong and is no respecter of persons; therefore, anyone who claims Christianity without a change in who they are must question if they were ever saved to begin with.

Jesus said that we would be known by our “fruits” (Matthew 7:16, 20). Paul then tells us in Galatians 5:22-23 that the fruits of the Spirit are “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

Since these are the fruits of the Spirit, which indwells every Christian from the moment of salvation on, it is reasonable to conclude that these are the fruits that Christ was talking about. The seed of these fruits, the Holy Spirit, is in us at the moment of salvation; then, as we mature in Christ, the fruit becomes more manifested in our lives. Just as saplings spring from the ground, these fruits begin to show in our lives. Eventually, the trees bring forth fruit. We can see the differences in the fruits of the trees. Just as we can tell the difference between an apple and a pear, we can see the different fruits come forth in our lives. We can see love, then joy, then peace, and so on. Our Lord and Saviour told us we would be known by our fruits.

Just as there is no peach tree where a peach seed has not been planted, can there be love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, or temperance where there is no seed of the Holy Spirit? Can someone be saved if there has never been any change?

Saving faith will demonstrate itself through actions. James 2:17-19, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

Saving faith will change the way a person lives and give them the “blessed hope” of the rapture, the day Jesus calls us all home to heaven. Saving faith will also put a zealous heart within us, willing to do God’s will in our lives. Titus 2:11-14, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Two paragraphs ago, I quoted James 2:19. The verse mentions that “the devils also believe, and tremble.” The devils don’t have salvation, yet the Bible says they believe. They believe, but their faith is not a saving faith. What do the devils believe? They believe Jesus is the Son of God; they believe He died on the cross for the sins of the world; they believe He rose from the dead, and they believe that He is coming back someday. Many people share the same faith as the devils. They believe the facts, but they do not trust that Jesus’ death is the means of salvation.

When it comes to salvation, people may say they are saved, they may say that Christ is the Saviour, but down in their heart, they are trusting in their good works, or some religious ritual like baptism or communion, or they believe that they have not done anything bad enough to be sent to hell. In other words, they are trusting in something other than Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. They are not trusting in His blood.

For decades, many have said, “I am saved!” Yet there is no fruit. Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”

A Christian does not do good works for entrance into heaven. We do good works because we already know we’re going to heaven because of the blood of our God, who loves us so much.

Do you have saving faith, or the faith of devils?

Preacher Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: preacherspoint@gmail.com; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.