From the Desk of the Associate Pastor

A few weeks ago in a sermon, I spoke of two evangelists coming to my door. Many folks shared similar experiences with me, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from you all. Some folks said they had been asked in that situation (and others like it), “When were you saved?” This prompted me to reflect on the question and how, as Lutherans, we can approach this genuine, important, and difficult question.

We were saved when Christ overcame death and the grave for all of humanity, and that salvation was sealed in the waters of our Baptism—whether we were infants, adults, or somewhere in between. Baptism is a visible sign of the otherwise invisible: God’s grace and love for us. We do not come to Baptism or salvation by ourselves. Instead, we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us in the faith, taught us, and brought us to the Sacrament. We do not come to faith on our own. That might be the single biggest lie our culture tells us—that we do life or discipleship alone.

I was baptized as an infant, stumbled my way through Sunday School and adolescence, and in 2010, at the age of 15, I participated in the Affirmation of Baptism (the Rite of Confirmation). Moved by the witness of those around me, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and my own beliefs, I desired to affirm what had been said at my Baptism. I still have my doubts, weaknesses, skepticism, and many other struggles. We all do. Yet all of this is to say that the walk of faith and being saved is not a one-time thing. God made the decision about salvation in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. However, we know that even after we are baptized, confirmed, or come to faith, we still struggle. We still wrestle with the powers of evil which defy God. We are being renewed and in the process of being saved every day. We know that God exists outside of time and space as we know it, and certainly salvation itself is bigger than a single moment in our lives when we think we decide we know God. In fact, God has always known us and claimed us from the moment we were made and redeemed all of humanity in the power of the cross.

When were we saved? The truest answer to that question is perhaps not to say when, but how and by whom. We were saved by God through Jesus Christ and every day are given the gift of faith through the Holy Spirit as we remember the cleansing waters of our Baptism, which daily work in us to move us from sin and toward God. Rest assured, my siblings in Christ, your faith is enough because it was given to you by the Triune God.