#Values: Values are definitions of what we hope will identify us. These articles are primarily intended for those who wish to join us in this project—whether through prayer, donation, or collaboration.
Salvation is not only the forgiveness of sins, but a union with Christ in a covenant relationship. Jesus Christ reveals the loving character of God, who seeks us out and calls us to be reconciled to Him.
Beta Values #3: Union with Christ
It is urgent to understand that salvation is not a mere isolated event, but a process of participation in the story of Christ. As the apostle Paul says: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). This is the true meaning of eternal life: as we respond to God’s love and grace, we return to Him through faith in His being, His love, and His promises. God sees us through His perfect Son, in whom we find both our identity and our destiny. As Martin Luther affirmed: “It is impossible to be a Christian without having Christ. If one has Christ, one has all the benefits of Christ.”
Scripture teaches us that the Holy Spirit—God Himself present among us—unites us to Christ. Therefore, new birth occurs precisely in this union with Christ, for in Him we enter into a new relationship with God. We are children because we are united to the Son. We are restored to our original purpose because we are united to the one who is the perfect image of God—by whom, through whom, and according to whom we were created. In Jesus, we see God’s desire for us to be as united to Him as Jesus is to the Father. Jesus Himself expressed this when He prayed for us:
“I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us” (John 17:21).
This union with Christ can be summarized in a simple yet profound truth: “You are in Christ, and Christ is in you.”
Therefore, salvation should not be conceived as a one-time event in the past, like a simple prayer of conversion, but as a continuous process that spans the entire Christian life. Just as marriage is not limited to the ceremony but involves living together and growing in relationship, our union with Christ does not end with a first step of faith—it consists of abiding in Him in order to bear fruit, as taught in John 15.
Salvation, then, is more than the forgiveness of sins—though that is its starting point. Its goal is holiness: to be restored to the image of God, that is, for Christ to be formed in us. In the words of John Wesley, salvation is “the entire work of God, from the first dawning of grace in the soul to its consummation in glory.”
We can therefore understand salvation as a process with three dimensions:
-
The beginning: We enter into relationship with God when we respond to His love and the call of His Spirit by believing in Him and repenting. This is the first step: recognizing our need for God and opening our hearts to His grace.
-
Communion with Christ: We don’t just cross the door of faith—we remain in Him, living in His love and being transformed into His likeness, as the next point explains.
-
Formation in Christ: We learn to live according to His will, and with the help of His grace, we are shaped by His Spirit to reflect His character in the world. Grace is not only love that covers our sins, but active love that calls us to live according to Him—loving God and living as Christ lived (1 John 4).
John Wesley illustrated this process with the image of a house: first we come to the door and cross it through repentance, then we enter and are united to Christ, and finally we learn to live according to the values and ways of that house.
Salvation, then, encompasses past, present, and future: we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be fully saved in glory.
Ultimately, salvation is the moment we stop running from God and cling to Him with the assurance that He will never let us go. It is the decision to trust in Him completely, so that we can say with full confidence: “Lord, never let me go.”
Salvation is something God does in us—it is not something we do. Faith is something God gives us. He has produced the conviction that God saves us—even us. By His grace, He seeks to draw every individual to Himself, yet He gives each one the responsibility to accept or reject that salvation.
— Book of Discipline, Free Methodist Church, 2023
Salvation is a living relationship with God in Jesus Christ, giving the believer a legal standing of righteousness and thus affirming the assurance of all who continue in communion with Him.
— Book of Discipline, Free Methodist Church, 2023
We are no longer separated; our relationship with Him is restored—we are at peace with God “Forgiven and filled, we approach life with the confidence that we are accepted by God, even as He continues to transform our character and behavior to become more and more like Christ.”
— Book of Discipline, Free Methodist Church, 2023
In Jesus Christ—in His life, death, and resurrection—God acted decisively on our behalf. God opened a way toward us, confronting our rejection and bloody betrayal, doing for us what we could never do for ourselves. Our justification came when God restored the divine-human relationship we had broken.
— William H. Willimon in This We Believe
The heart of the gospel is that we find salvation in Christ. But Jesus Christ is more than someone who came to proclaim the character of the saving God. Rather, Jesus Christ is salvation. In His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, salvation has come.
— Jared Lett in Essential Beliefs
The Sacrifice of God is a gift—an act of worship by which we are purified and prepared to serve God.
— William H. Willimon in This We Believe
Through justification, we are saved from the guilt of sin and restored to God’s favor.
Sanctification frees us from the power and root of sin, thereby restoring the image of God.
— John Wesley in Sermon 85, II.1
