Salvation in Jesus Christ means that when a person trusts Christ, he or she is a new creation. The old is gone, and the new has come (see 2 Cor. 5:17). Through his grace, Christ gives us freedom from sin; freedom from our past; freedom from hurtful people; freedom from ourselves; freedom from the control of others; freedom from poor choices; freedom from pride and selfishness; freedom from falsehood and even freedom from religious legalism. The person who is Truth (John 14:6) sets us free when we trust in him. When we place our hope and trust in Christ as Savior, we take on the essence of Christian baptism. And we hope to live out our baptism. Discipleship is a life that embraces the freedom that our baptism has as its underpinning. It says that we are no longer slaves to sin and unrighteousness, but that we are free indeed (John 8:36).  Grace and Peace, Pastor Bob