The salvation process begins with a sincere proclamation: Jesus is the sinless Son of God, sent into this world to be the sin sacrifice for all who choose to believe. When a lost sinner comes to the reality of his need for a Savior and asks Jesus to save him, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer. Thus begins an intensely intimate and personal relationship with God that supersedes all others. When a person encounters Jesus—truly encounters Him—he doesn’t want to keep it to himself. He’s free, the chains of sin no longer bind him! This joy should overflow into service for the One who gave up His life for him. The Christian life is a continuous relationship that grows the believer more and more into Christlikeness. And from that day forward, he is a child of God, an adopted heir with Christ to receive the glory of Heaven one day. Of course, this applies to sincerity of heart. The words aren’t a magic spell that secures heaven; our works don’t save us, but they show that we’ve been changed. If we know Him, we’ll show Him. Jesus will shine through us.