The apostle Paul, in Romans 7:1-6 and Ephesians 5:22-33, compares the relationship in a marriage to the relationship of Christ to those who follow him. The Old Testament prophets also compared a marriage relationship to Israel’s relationship with God (e.g. Hosea).
What is a marriage? Webster’s defines it as: “The social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.” Is a marriage just the ceremony? Is a couple married who exchange marriage vows but who continue to live their lives the same as before they were married? They might be married in a legal sense but are they truly married? Would that marriage last long?
So why do we Christians think that salvation is only making a commitment to Christ? Why do we think that we can continue to live our lives the same way we lived them before we make a commitment to Christ and still consider ourselves saved? Yet that is what our doctrine of salvation teaches—we only have to believe to be saved and no change is required.
Just as a marriage is more than saying a few words at a ceremony, so too is salvation more than just professing a belief in Jesus and his death for our sin.
