“. . . behold, now is the day of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 6:2, CSB

The phrase quoted above will likely be familiar to those who have been in church for a while. Normally it is quoted in support of asking members of an audience to come to faith in Jesus Christ. It is an excellent plea for that purpose.

What strikes me this morning while reflecting on this verse is that Paul is writing the letter we know as 2 Corinthians to believers. He is not pleading with them to come to faith; the whole letter is geared toward helping his readers come to terms with the implications of what it means to be in the faith.

We know that there is a progressive element to salvation: it is a process that was begun at a point in time. When we come to faith in Jesus, we begin that process.

What I heard in this phrase this morning is: Now is the day to repent of failure and begin again. Now is the day to be transformed (Romans 12:2). Now is the day to continue the process of being redeemed from the effects of sin.

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!”

Lamentations 3:22–23, CSB

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