Are You Saved Right Now?

What sustains our salvation while we’re still growing, still struggling, still falling short?

Jun 30, 2025

“Are you saved at this very moment?”

This is not just a theological question—it’s a deeply personal one. For many Christians, the answer changes depending on how they’ve performed lately.

Did I sin today?

Did I confess fast enough?

Did I forget something from yesterday?

Behind those questions is often a deeper fear:

Am I in or out of salvation right now?

Some argue that even one unconfessed sin—no matter how brief or unintentional—puts us back into a lost condition. According to this view, if you sin and die before consciously repenting, you’re lost.

But this view doesn't match up with the gospel. In fact, it contradicts the very nature of grace and the gospel itself.

Let’s walk through why.

Growth Is Not the Enemy—It’s the Expectation

In 2 Peter 1:5-8, Peter calls us to grow in seven specific virtues: goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. These aren’t checkboxes to complete in a day. Peter says they should be “increasing.” In other words: growth is ongoing. Now, what if we haven’t brought all these into full maturity? If not, are we still saved right now?

If salvation requires perfection, then no one growing is ever secure. And yet, Peter calls Christians to grow—because that’s what the Christian life is. So we have to ask—what sustains our salvation while we’re still growing, still struggling, still falling short?

The answer is: grace.

What 1 John 1 Actually Teaches

Let’s take a look at 1 John 1:7-9—a passage often quoted but rarely read in context.

Some claim that 1 John 1 has “nothing to do with naming each sin.” I agree with that. But ironically, the view that a Christian is lost if they die with an unconfessed sin hinges on one of two things:

Either you do have to name each sin to be forgiven (which many deny),
Or you’re saved while still in sin (which completely undermines the original claim).

Here’s what the text actually says:

“If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
— 1 John 1:7, CSB

That’s present tense—ongoing, continuous cleansing. This isn’t a one-time wipe; it’s an ongoing washing for those whose life direction is pointed toward Christ.

If forgiveness required a perfectly timed confession to be effective, then this verse would be meaningless.

And verse 8 makes it even clearer:

“If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
— 1 John 1:8, CSB

This includes me, you, and every “elect” person Peter or John ever addressed. We all still sin. And the blood of Jesus still cleanses—not just after a confession, but as we walk with Him in the light.

You Say “Obedience.” I Say “Grace-Driven Faithfulness.”

Some critics argue, “You’re afraid of obedience.” I’m not.

I preach it. I strive for it. I fail in it. But I don’t trust it to save me.

I’m not saved by the consistency of my obedience—
I’m saved by the consistency of Christ’s mercy.

Obedience matters, absolutely. But:

Obedience is not the grounds of our salvation—it is the fruit of a life touched by grace.

Paul makes that plain:

“You were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
— Colossians 2:12, CSB

Not faith in your memory.

Not faith in your confession track record.

Faith in the working of God.

That’s the difference between legalism and gospel hope. That’s the difference between fear-based obedience and Spirit-led faithfulness.