You probably wouldn’t think much of it if I asked you: “When were you saved?” You might not bat an eye if I inquired: “Are you saved?” But it might sound strange to you if I asked: “Will you be saved.” It’s not a phrase we use very often.

I was recently reading R.C. Sproul’s Saved From What? and I came across a fascinating explanation about the different ways the Bible refers to salvation. Dr. Sproul explains on pages 21 and 22:

“The Greek language has more verb tenses than we have in English. ‘To save’ is found in the New Testament in every possible sense and in every possible tense of the Greek verb. The Bible speaks of our having been saved from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Here the ultimate past tense is used in regard to salvation. So in one narrow sense, at least, from all eternity in the hidden wisdom of God, we were saved.

“But the Bible also uses the imperfect tense and says there is a sense in which we were being saved, that salvation from the hands of God for His people is something that He has been working at through all the pages of history.

“The Bible also speaks of salvation in the present tense. There is a sense in which we are saved. The moment we put our trust in Christ and in Christ alone–at that moment God pronounces us justified in His sight. We are safe in the arms of Jesus. We are now in a state of salvation.

“The Bible also says that we are being saved. Salvation is not simply a once-for-all thing. Salvation begins when I have belief; as I grow in grace and in sanctification, that process of sanctification is also described as a process of salvation.

“Finally, the Bible speaks of the future when we shall be saved. We are saved. We are being saved. We shall be saved as we look forward to our glorification together with Christ and the final consummation of our salvation.”

When you think of your own salvation, what verb tense usually comes to mind? We will do well to contemplate the many verb tenses used to describe our salvation.

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