What Just Happened? After You're Saved - Part 1

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Congratulations! You've just made the single most important decision of your life! You've just decided to become a Christian...

Your choice to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior has changed absolutely everything about your life. Everything about you now, everything about your future, and everything about your eternity is completely different than it was just a second ago. This one moment in time has changed so much, that it's easy to miss some of these changes if no one tells you.

So grab your Bible and take some time to walk with me through what's just happened.

(I encourage you to look the Bible references up in your own Bible. This will help you learn to navigate this precious book - and once you see these references in your own Bible, you can highlight them if you'd like.)

Eight Things That Changed Because You've Made Jesus Your Lord

#1 - You've been delivered from Hell.

Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Without Jesus, every person on earth is going to Hell. That's simply how it is.
It's not that God wants them to go to Hell. On the contrary, God didn't make Hell for humans - He made it for Satan and his fallen angels (or demons, see Matthew 25:41). No, God has done everything He could do to save people from Hell! And the second you turned to you, He has saved you from there!

Look at Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The death that's mentioned in this verse isn't talking about physical dying...anymore than the life is physical life. No both of these have to do with eternity...Eternal Death in Hell and Eternal Life in Heaven. 

Glory to God! You've been saved from eternal death and have been given eternal life!

In fact, you may have already heard a verse that says this same thing - John 3:16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him (the Son - Jesus) will not perish but have everlasting life."

You don't have to be afraid of leaving this life anymore. Once you check out of this life, you'll go instantly to be with Jesus in Heaven! This wasn't true before salvation - your sin wouldn't allow it. But now, Jesus has wiped out everything that was separating you from Him!

#2 - Your past sins have been completely washed away

This is why you came to Jesus in the first place - wasn't it? You knew you were a dirty, rotten sinner. David said it this way in Psalm 51, "I have to acknowledge my sin, it's always right in front of me..." This is why you came to Jesus for help. You felt guilty about what you've done...and rightfully so.

Well I've got good news for you - He has helped you! The reason you felt so light and free when you turned to Him is because you are light and free! 

Every single sin, every single bad decision, every time you hurt someone, every time you knew right but chose wrong....all of it has been washed away! You now stand before God as someone with no trace of sin...completely righteous!

2 Corinthians 5:21 says that God "mad Him who had no sin (Jesus) to become sin for us so that we may become the righteousness of God in Him." Jesus took all that filthiness and sin to the cross. In return, He gave you His own righteousness! As far as God is concerned, you are just as righteous as Jesus Himself.

He carried your sin, so that you can carry His sinlessness (1 Peter 2:24). And now God says that He won't even remember those things that you did wrong (Hebrews 10:17).

And what's more...this forgiveness doesn't just extend to what you did before your salvation. 1 John 1:9 says very clearly that if you sin from this point forward, you only need to confess it to Him and He will once again wash it all away!

You, my friend, are permanently righteous! Hallelujah! (That means, "Praise the Lord!")

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