The butterfly is a natural example of salvation. When the worm emerges from the cocoon and becomes a butterfly it can no longer go back to the worm state again.
When we have been changed into a new creation by Christ in response to our desire to belong to Him, He then sends His Son to live in us and begins the process of cleansing.
When we are ponGod'sdering our life before salvation the Holy Spirit confronts us with our "sinful nature", then when we accept that we are sinful we hate it and want to be delivered from it.
John 3:16-18
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
1 Corinthians 15
The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection
"15 Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to [a]the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain."
Romans 6:23
"23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Christ will never ignore the prayer of a sinner to be cleansed of their sin. Once He has taken our desire for sin away from us we continue in that cleansing process with the individual sins as Christ reveals them to us through conviction in the heart and through His Word as we read the Bible to find His heart.
When a sinner is changed by Christ He becomes a saint. His sins are no longer counted against us.
There are those who think we no longer have free will if we cannot walk away. The problem with this thinking is that when Christ changed us we can never undo what He did. He merely gave us what we wanted and promises to keep us that way.
Ephesians 1:13-14
"13 In [a]Him, [b]you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also [c]believed, you were sealed in [d]Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, 14 who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory."
However, there are many people who pretend to be Christian but have never wanted to be changed by Christ and who never wanted to be free of their sin. They attend churches, and use "God-talk" but care nothing about being changed by Christ. They are mentioned in Matthew 7:21-23.
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [a]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"
In this passage God describes those who attempted to do their Christianity in their own flesh, working their own way to heaven without being changed by Him. They remain in their sinful state, love the things of the world and are even hostile when confronted with the Words of God from the Bible. They want God's protection and blessings but they don't want Him.
Remember that God will not change a person into a new creation who only wants to join a Christian club while trying real hard in their own flesh to be a good person. Anyone who thinks they can become a good person in their own effort will not be leaning on Christ, they will always lean on their own ability, of which they do not really have and very likely fall away at some point, self effort gets tiring and overwhelming to the one who relents of their decision to be a Christan.
When we have trusted in Christ we no longer take any credit for the change we have become. He is the only One Who can change us. When our heart is changed by Him we no longer think or act the way we did before. The things of the world we used to love we now hate and the things of God we used to hate we now love.
Anyone who is still relying on their own good works to earn them heaven are on their way to hell. It is when we confess our sinfulness and inability to be good enough while trusting in Christ that we will be seeking Him for all things.
1 Corinthians 6:11 "10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
The salvation message is so simple and yet so hard for those who choose their own will. Those who cannot submit to others don't realize all the blessings that are missed through their self-righteous and self-exalting stance.
The blessings of submitting to Christ are beyond wonderful, perhaps there is no word to describe them. We gain Christ Who lives in us continually guiding and helping us, healing our sin-sick hearts to become like His lovely heart.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."
