What it means to be saved Imagine a swimmer who has gone out into deep water and is drowning. She cries to the lifeguard to save her. The lifeguard rushes to where she is, picks her up in her helpless condition and takes her to shore. The lifeguard has saved her from drowning. Or, imagine a man who is trapped in a burning building and is quickly being overcome by smoke. He sees a firefighter coming toward him and cries out for help. The firefighter picks him up in his helpless condition and takes him out of the building. The firefighter has saved him from perishing in the fire. In the same way, God has provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who is able to rescue every sinner who trusts in Him. No matter what you’ve done, He can save you! God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) Why we need to be saved Because of our rebellion against God, you and I are in danger of eternal separation from Him. This separation will mean being banished from the presence of God, who is the source of all good (James 1:17). It will also mean eternal punishment as we suffer the consequences of our sin. The Bible says: All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27) Whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15) What the Savior has done The Lord Jesus Christ became the Savior of sinners (that includes you and me) by coming down from Heaven and dying on the cross for our sins. God raised Him from the dead, and He is now a living Savior at God’s right hand in Heaven (Hebrews 1:3). God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Christ died for our sins … was buried, and … rose again the third day. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18) How you can be saved The only way for us to be saved from our sins (and their punishment), is to turn to God in repentance and place our faith in Jesus Christ. To repent is to realize and acknowledge that we are in serious trouble, just like a drowning swimmer. To place our faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior is to believe that He fully paid the price of our forgiveness and cleansing by bearing our sins in His own body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). The Lord Jesus will save you the moment you trust your full weight of sin to Him. No good works of ours, or anything else we can do, can possibly put one of our countless sins away. The only thing that we can do (the only thing God will accept) is to place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting Him to save us. By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)
