Many people have asked me this same question — “Father, am I saved already, or am I still being saved?” It’s a beautiful question because it touches the heart of what it means to live in God’s grace. Salvation is not only something that happens once; it’s also something that continues to grow within us. The Bible helps us see that salvation is both a moment of new birth and a lifelong journey of transformation.
When we first accept Christ — when we believe in Him, repent, and are baptized — something real and eternal happens. In that moment, God forgives our sins and welcomes us into His family. Saint Paul says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That’s the moment — the crossing from death to life, the beginning of grace. It is a gift, not something we earn, but something we receive through faith.
Yet Scripture also reminds us that salvation is a path we walk. Paul tells the Philippians, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). He doesn’t mean we earn it; he means we live it out day by day, allowing God’s grace to shape our hearts. Just as a seed must grow into a tree, the grace we receive in baptism must grow into holiness through prayer, love, and perseverance.
So salvation begins in a moment — the moment Christ claims us as His own — but it continues as we keep saying “yes” to Him. Each act of faith, each time we forgive, each time we trust God in suffering, salvation deepens in us. We are being saved, shaped, and sanctified until the day we meet Him face to face.
In the end, salvation is both God’s completed gift and our ongoing cooperation with His love. The moment opens the door; the journey is walking through it with Him.
May we never tire of walking this road of grace — remembering that the One who began a good work in us will bring it to completion in Christ Jesus.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
