09/13/2022
What it really means to be saved
First, let’s talk about what it does not mean to be saved. Traditional churches often put too much emphasis on external things that might accompany salvation rather than the internal evidence to true saving grace. There are a multitude of reasons for this, but some of the most common are that they have become more concerned about increasing their membership, or getting more tithers, instead of paying closer attention to genuine spiritual regeneration, and born-again believers. As long as one makes a decision for Christ, or raises their hand to receive Jesus in their heart, or saying the sinner’s prayer, it is good enough to add them to their membership. This has filled the churches with nothing more than good people doing good things, what I call do gooder’s, and has resulted in a pseudo Christianity that has loss the true power of its effect on a dying world. This hour in which we life is calling for radical spirit filled believers like those in the early church of the New Testament for real transformation. In this overview we are going to see what really accompanies biblical salvation, so that we can truly know what it means to be saved.
Biblical Salvation:
So, what does it mean to be saved as the bible tells us? First, we must know what the bible means when it talks about being saved. What does the word “save” mean in the bible?
The Greek word that is used in the bible for “save” is σῴζω. At the very root of this word it means to rescue, or heal. The majority of the time it is used in the New Testament (bible) to imply that one is saved or rescued and healed from the power of sin and guilt. When one is truly saved they are literally rescued from their natural fallen state of the sin nature. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin come into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Sin is just a symptom of man’s death state; he will not only die a physical death, man will enter into a place of death in the after-life (this is not a state of annihlation, it is literally and eternal state of everlasting death.) We have a death problem, and sin is just the manifestation of that fallen nature. Jesus came to rescue us from eternal death, to give us eternal life with Him forever.
John 11:25 Ephesians 6:12 Hebrews 2:1-18 1peter 2:24 1Corinthians 15:55 1Thessalonians 4:14
Bo***ge to Sin:
Our natural state, the state in which we were born in, is a spiritual death, and this is our fallen nature that produces sin. People do not realize that they are in bo***ge to death, and it is this power of darkness that blinds man to his own demise; this is why people do not think they need to be saved from anything. According to the bible, sin, (ἁμαρτία) is spoken of as an organized power acting through the body, however its force is much deeper, because the seat of sin is in our will, (θέλημα). We were born with a soul in bo***ge to the power of sin and death. We cannot see the sin within, and this is what makes it so dangerous. If we continue in this state of bo***ge the bible tells us that our soul will not be kept by God, or saved by God for eternal life, rather it will go into eternal separation from God after our body dies (hell.) God provided a way for us because we cannot save ourselves from our state of sin and death, we do not even know we need it. But even if we did, we cannot save ourselves, because our will is gripped by the bo***ge of sin. Only the Holy Spirit can save our soul from this horrific power of darkness.
Romans 6:11-22; 7:24-25 Ephesians 2:3 John 3:18; 8:31:36 2Peter 2:19 Acts 8:23,
The Power of the Gospel:
So, if we cannot save ourselves because of the bo***ge of the will, how must we be saved? This is where things get interesting; because the gospel is the power of salvation for the soul. The gospel of God is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God has given us a Savior (σωτήρ) through His son Jesus. Jesus is the Savior of the world, and only He alone can save us. Jesus said, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Buddha cannot save you, Muhammad cannot save you, religion cannot save you, a denomination cannot save you, and no amount of works can save you. Only Jesus is the Savior of the world, and it is by His grace through faith alone that one can be saved. We can receive eternal life through Christ and be redeemed from everlasting death and hell, as He said in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Matthew 1:21 John 3:16 Luke 2:11 Acts 4:12
What Jesus Prescribed:
Scripture tells us in Mark 1:15, and this is Jesus speaking, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” First, what is repentance? This word in the Greek is μετανοέω which implies a radical moral and spiritual change of the one’s whole being. Now, Jesus is not telling us to repent in our own power, repentance can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is very crucial to gospel message, and it’s been my experience that only those who truly understand it are those who have truly received it. Repentance can only come through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is not preached enough today, repentance comes through and by the Gospel (message) of Christ, it alone has the power to bring people to repentance. This is why we are commanded “to go ye therefore,” it’s the power of the cross that changes lives and saves souls. He also said, “believe in the gospel.” This word πιστεύω means two primary things: First to be convinced of, that is, Jesus was God in the flesh, and that His death and burial and resurrection is the power to save. And it also implies trusting, that is trusting in His finish work on the cross for our salvation. Repentance and faith can only come through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:9 Acts 2:38;3:19 2Corinthians 12:21 Revelation 2:5;3:3
Regeneration:
So how do we know that our salvation through the gospel is truly a moving of the Holy Spirit in us to repent and faith? Well, there is much more given to us upon divine repentance and faith. Something else that accompanies our salvation simultaneously when we receive the gift of faith by the Spirit, and that is, we are being regenerated. This is what Jesus was talking about when he told a religious ruler who came to him in secret, a man by the name of Nicodemus who was concerned about the true way to heaven. Jesus told him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” What Jesus was saying is that one must be born (γεννηθῇ) again (ἄνωθεν) of the Spirit of God. That is, our soul that was in bo***ge to death and sin are completely restored, or renewed. When one is truly regenerated they become a new creation in Christ. This is always evident in one’s salvation experience, however some are more radically changed then others. But the bottom line is that every true child of God will under go internal change. This is one way we know for certain.
John 3:1-21 Ephesians 2:4,5 1 Peter 1:3 Titus 3:5
A New Creation:
When one is born again through regeneration, they become a new creation in Christ Jesus. This is really the central purpose for salvation in Christ. Regeneration transforms us into the very image of Christ, in fact the apostle Paul said in Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.” Here we see the eternal sovereignty of God knowing all those who are His before they were ever born. He has chosen us to be conformed to the image (εἰκόνος) of His Son. This is why God sent His Son into the world to die for the fallen nature of man’s bo***ge to sin, that they might believe and be born again, becoming a new creation in Christ. God requires that all of his children be transformed from the nature of sin and death, to righteousness and life through Christ Jesus. No one will see the kingdom of God without first becoming a new creation.
Romans 8:29; 12:2 2Corinthians 3:18 Philippians 2:5-7
Enlightenment:
When one is born again and regenerated through the Holy Spirit the eyes of their heart or understanding will be enlightened. The Apostle Paul said to the church in Ephesus “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:18). The word for enlightened φωτίζω literally means to be spiritually illuminated. This is one of the surest signs of one’s salvation, that they have been enlightened, because the one who has been enlightened will see sin for what it is, and hate it. They were once walking the darkness of their own mind, but now they have been awakened and the light of Christ shines within. Also, that one who has been enlightened will have a deeper insight to the word of God. The Holy Spirit always confirms the word of truth in one’s heart.
John 8:12;12:46 Acts 26:18 2Corinthians 4:6 Psalm 43:3 Ephesians 1:18
Bear Good Fruit:
Jesus said “A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you, you shall also love one another,” (John 13:34). Jesus would not have commanded his church to love one another if He did not give them the power to love. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Love. When we have been given the gift to faith, the Holy Spirit seals us, and produces His fruit through us. The fruit of the Spirit will be one of the primary signs that we truly belong to Him. God is a God of love, in fact the bible tells us that “God is Love.” Another characteristic that accompanies true salvation is that we bear the fruit of righteousness. Many do not see righteousness as fruit of the Spirit but it is as the apostle Paul pointed out to the Philippian church, and how they should live their lives, that is being “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:11). If we have biblical repentance and faith, the Fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our lives, and by this we know we are His.
Matthew 15:13 John 15:1-8 Galatians 5:22-23 1John 4:16 1Corinthians Romans 5:1
Conclusion:
Biblical salvation is initiated by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of Christ. There will be a time in our lives that we have truly changed, and we know that something happened to us inwardly, and its power transformed us. It was not something that we strive to accomplish so much, but a change from the inside out. A calling upon our lives to turn to the living God in repentance and faith, a washing of the Holy Spirit through regeneration that purified our conscience before God. A spiritual enlightenment that revealed who God is, and shinned His light on His holy word. Let the love of God fill you with all power and peace to praise and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!
