This is the single most exciting time in your life!

First, all of your sins are forgiven. God promises that he will forgive our confessed sin in I John 1:9. Jesus Christ is our advocate before God, telling the Father that though we have sinned we have sought forgiveness, and because of his sacrifice our sins are forgiven for his sake. God the Father sees us through the righteousness of Christ, and we are declared righteous, though we are yet sinners Romans 3:22, Romans 10:4, I Corinthians 1:30, Philippians 3:9.

II Corinthians 5:17 says that you are a completely new person. You're not just some improved version of your old self. Some translations render "creature" as "creation", which is an acceptable translation of the word. You have been re-created into something that you have never been before, and what you used to be has passed away into non-existence. You are not the same person. Galatians 5:19-21 describe how we are without Christ. Galatians 5:22-25 describe who we are now and how we should behave as followers of Christ. Without Christ we walked in darkness, stumbling our way through life. As followers of Christ we walk in the light of his word and will Ephesians 5:8-9.

You may say, "But I don't really feel different. Am I really saved?"

If you truly believe that Jesus is the Christ, the risen, living Son of God, and you've turned your sins and your life over to him and your faith is in him for your eternal salvation, then yes, you are truly saved (Romans 10:13, John 3:16). The differences in your life may not be noticeable within seconds or minutes, or it may. There are some who are so blessed by God that they completely lose their desire for alcohol, drugs, or pornography. They may see that they manage their anger now rather than lashing out.

You should find that your outlook on life has changed and that you think about things differently that you did. You will feel a tugging on your consciousness when you're faced with temptation. That is the Spirit of God letting you know what it is that you are facing. The Spirit of God dwells inside of you, (I Corinthians 6:19, Romans 8:9) and we should allow him to lead us in God's ways (Romans 8:13-14). We are encouraged to refrain from sin and not grieve the Holy Spirit that lives within us, Ephesians 4:17-32. Those things are what we used to be, but are not befitting someone who walks with Christ.

"But what if I do sin?"

That is a valid question, and one that gets a lot of attention by different religions. Many of them try to complicate forgiveness and attach conditions to it. But God made forgiveness simple in I John 1:9. Confess your sins to God, and he will forgive you.

"Is it really that easy?"

Yes, it is really that easy. We don't have to make any sacrifices, repeat a prayer over and over again, go to any earthly man to seek God's forgiveness, approach any dead saint to intercede for us, give any amount of money, do any amount of work or service. In fact, if you seek forgiveness through any of these means you will not find the forgiveness you're looking for (Romans 3:20 & Galatians 3:1 among many other references).

It's good to know that our Father loves us and is willing to forgive our shortcoming, because we're going to have them. Those things that so easily carried us away into sin will still be there to tempt us more, Hebrews 12:1. Satan and his helpers know what appeals to our flesh, and they will use those things to the best of their ability.

When a child of God sins he feels somewhat distant from God, knowing that he's done something that God does not approve of. Satan will try to convince you that you can hide from God, but Adam and Eve couldn't (Genesis 3:8-10), or he may appeal to your human pride, which makes it so hard for us to admit when we've done something wrong and apologize for it. But God knows, Proverbs 5:21, and he's willing, able, righteous and eager to forgive us. All we have to do is go to him.

Now what? Now you go on to live for Christ. Not so that he will love you or save you, but because he already has. For now you'll want to share what tremendous grace and mercy God has shown to you. Maybe you weren't a drug addicted alcoholic, stealing and thieving to get your next fix, cheating and lying your way through life, guilty of all manner of crimes. You see your life as dull compared to that. But you were both saved from the same fate, separation from God and eternal torment, redeemed from hell by the blood of Christ, bought with a price (I Corinthians 6:20).  Knowing what you were saved from, don't you want to help others be saved from it as well? 

Next time we'll talk about what living for God means.