“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 NAS95)
God chose, before time began, that those who are in Christ Jesus will experience His salvation. Because God called us to Himself through the gospel, you and I can be saved, and we can share in the glory of Jesus. What a blessed thought! But notice in this passage that our salvation comes through two very important concepts. You might say our salvation rests upon two pillars.
The first pillar upon which salvation is built is sanctification by the Spirit. If we do not have the Spirit dwelling within us, we have no hope of salvation, for if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9). And if the Spirit dwells within us, His presence should produce tangible effects within our lives. The Spirit will lead us into sanctification. Sanctification is holiness of life. Are you growing in holiness? Are you putting away the sinful things in your life and putting on the things of God?
Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in your life? We must be diligent to walk by the Spirit in holiness. Without sanctification, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
The second pillar is faith in the truth. It was faith in the truth of the gospel message that brought us into a saved condition, and it is continuing faith in the truth that will lead us all the way home. To have faith in the truth is to trust in it. If we trust in the word of God, we will strive to live by it. If we have faith in the truth we won’t merely hear the word, but also act upon it. The word of truth is of no profit to us if we do not take what we hear and unite it with faith (Hebrews 4:2).
If you are in Christ, if you are pursuing sanctification by the power of the Spirit, and if you are continuing to have faith in the truth, you will be saved. You will gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is for this that He has called us through the gospel of Jesus!
—Scott Colvin
Posted by Russell Holden 
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