Salvation is received only once
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever (1 Peter 1:23).
In Christendom, I have come across people who will always show up at the altar when an invitation is thrown to people who want to receive Jesus as their personal savior. For these people, they always want to go through the ritual of being born again and again because they might have committed some sins after the last altar call they honoured. These people may be struggling with certain habits in their lives and because of lack of knowledge, they may think that they are not ‘really’ born again. Indeed, salvation is received only once. There is no need to receive Jesus Christ as savior for more than once.
The Bible says that, ….sin shall not have dominion over you… (Romans 6:14). That means that, the power of sin over the child of God is broken by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Doing something wrong after being born again does not reverse your new nature in Christ. We can liken it to a child who is falling down several times during the process of learning how to walk. Falling down several times does not make the child any less human. The child already has the nature of human and that nature is developed with time. With time, the probability of the child falling down during the learning process reduces. As a child of God, you may be ‘falling down’ sometimes but this is part of the spiritual development process.
To be sin-conscious always is a strategy of the devil to keep people in bondage. You are more likely to become what you are conscious of than what you not conscious of. You are more likely to commit more sins when you are always focused on sin and how to avoid sin. What is necessary is to be conscious of the word of God and obeying it. Our righteousness is of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Once born again, we are imputed with the righteousness of God. We do not become more righteous when we do not sin. That does not mean that we should however continue in sin because a born again person needs to grow in the knowledge and practice of God’s word. God’s word alone is the antidote for sin. The word empowers us to grow and overcome sin. Continue to be Word conscious and you will live the glorious life in Christ and not fulfil the desires of the flesh. Remember that, salvation is received only once.
