Saved
Have you ever wondered what “saved” means? Have you ever heard the expression that “so-and-so” got saved last Sunday at church? Have you ever heard a preacher say “you better get saved, or you’re going to Hell…?” I’m going to hopefully give you a simple and straightforward explanation of “saved” and the reason you should be interested in it.
It all started back in the biblical book called “Genesis” (first book in the Bible). God had made Adam (first human) to have dominion over the earth. (Please don't fall hook line and sinker for man's "theory" of evolution. It's still just a theory. Creation takes less faith to believe than evolution). God also desired a relationship with Adam (how cool, huh?). Things went very well for quite a while, but, in an act of rebellion to God’s Word, Adam fell out of fellowship with God. God had warned Adam, and fully explained the repercussions of disobedience, but Adam did what Adam wanted to do (sound like anyone you know?). God said the moment Adam disobeyed, he would surely die. God was referring to dying spiritually, which Adam did. A biblical definition of death is "separation" and, as it relates to spiritual death, is “separation from God." Adam experienced the separation from God immediately, even though he lived physically for several hundred years after the fact.
Living our life in disobedience to God's Word has the same repercussions for us today, too! Between being physically born in the "bloodline" of Adam ( which means we are born spiritually dead), and our natural tendency to be rebellious towards God ( which means living spiritually dead), we are both born and live in this separation from God. A person may be physically alive, that is, a person may have a pulse and a body temperature, but unfortunately that person (which includes everyone who has ever lived) is spiritually dead because of these biblical truths. No matter how good, bad, proper, improper, wealthy, poor, educated, or whatever a person is physically, he or she is born and lives dead-as-a-door-knob spiritually. This spiritual death is still the separation from God, the giver of all life. In this condition, a person is known as “lost” in Christian circles, and every human is born this way.
Spiritual death, or being “lost”, has been a real issue for the human race since the infamous “Adam incident", or as it is more commonly referred to, the "Fall." Today, many people try to make their dead spirit "alive" by searching for something that fills their emptiness ("deadness"). Often, this “something” turns out to be alcohol, drugs, relationships, crime, physical pleasures, education, wealth, privacy, stubbornness, materialism, fame, recognition, athletic ability, arts, science, technology, church, cults, food, etc. In a very real sense, what people are trying to do (and don’t realize it) is to re-establish the connection with God that they were designed to have (trying to get from a condition of “lost” (dead) to a condition of “found”…or “saved” (alive again))…from the misery of a life separated from God.
Since Christians (and most everyone else) believe in the concept of "eternity", and that life will continue on for that eternity, the eternal question is, "Will I remain separated from God for all eternity (lost forever) or will I be back in a relationship with God for all eternity (saved forever)?" Well, saved from what? Saved from being separated from God for all eternity, which is a biblical definition of Hell. Being separated from God for all eternity will be hell enough,... not to mention the biblical description of Hell, and against popular opinion in some circles, Hell won’t be a place where one can party with one's friends! Do not be deceived!
Since we can’t generate a living spirit on our own (that has to come from someone who has the power to give life, which can only be God) we need help. God understands this and has made a beautiful way back to Him. This way is through His Son Jesus. Why Jesus? It would take God himself to straighten this mess out so we might have the opportunity to make a decision...separation forever or relationship forever! Regarding the opportunity to get back in a relationship with God, well, the crucifixion exclaimed it, and the resurrection of Jesus proved it. By realizing that "dead living" (sin and lostness) isn't getting the job done (and look around, it really isn't getting the job done, now is it?) and accepting God’s Word that Jesus is who He says He is, and did what He said He did, a person through faith in God’s redemptive work on the Cross can have the broken relationship restored (can become "saved"). God makes this person spiritually alive again by replacing the dead spirit, with which a person is born, with the Holy Spirit. By rejecting God’s offer, one remains separated from Him (lost).
A person has only the time allotted to him on this earth to make the decision. After physical death (separation of a person’s spirit with the body) it’ll be too late. If the person’s spirit is alive in Christ prior to physical death (he’s saved), the person is in relationship with God and Heaven is his home. If a person’s spirit is dead (he’s lost) prior to or at physical death, the person is separated from God for all eternity, and that’s a real, living hell...forever.
Bottom line...to be saved means a person has been brought back into a relationship with God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Everything else, no matter what it is called or how it is packaged or how good it seems on the surface, is separation from God, or “lost”.
There’s so much cool stuff to know about being saved and other great biblical truths. The local church is a good place to start your journey. I would enjoy helping you as you seek the answers. Why not visit us at Crossroads, where we can discover these things together?
Bro. Bill
Then again, there’s also the classical explanation below…..
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood, obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerated person's life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.
