What Does It Mean to Be “Saved”?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, July 18, 2024
All
Scripture, NKJV
People might tell you that you need to be saved. But do you
feel like you’re only getting half the story? Are you like me? I get tired of
sitting down in the middle of something like a story, show, etc. and wondering
what’s going on. I think most people feel like this when they hear about Jesus for the first time.
In my past, I would hear things like:
“Good news! Good news! Here’s how
to get saved: Believe in Jesus!!”
I was thinking, “Saved from what? Jesus who?”
Obviously, there was something missing in the approach that these well-meaning
Christians used with me, and it is important, then, to learn to be better
witnesses.
Perfect Creation . . . Then the Bad News
First of all, it’s tough to understand the good news of
being saved if you don’t understand the bad news. So, let’s go back to the
beginning. In the beginning, God created
everything:
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[1]
When God created everything He said it was “very
good.” This meant that everything was perfect. The whole creation was perfect. In
fact, God says that all His works are perfect, and we would expect
that from a perfect God. Man lived in the perfectly created earth (i.e., a
paradise) with a perfect relationship with God.
Genesis 1:31
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the
evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of
truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.
Being that the original creation was perfect, there was no
death before this (Genesis 1:29–30).[2]
God gave man and woman the freedom of contrary choice.[3]
The first two people God created were Adam and Eve, who were allowed to freely
eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil. They were to live forever with God. Again, there was no death.
However, Eve was tempted by a serpent (being influenced by Satan, who had
rebelled against God in the heavenly realm), and then both Adam and Eve also
rebelled against God by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil;
thus, they sinned (sin is rebellion against God[4]).
Genesis 2:16–17
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you
may freely eat; “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 3:1–6
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God
had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of
every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the
serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; “but of the fruit of
the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat
it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Then the serpent said to the
woman, “You will not surely die. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it
your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She
also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
The result of Adam’s sin (rebellion against a Holy Creator)
was God’s judgment through many curses. God cursed the ground, which mankind
had dominion over (Genesis 1:28), to bring forth thorns and thistles. He
sentenced man and woman to die, fulfilling what was spoken in Genesis
2:17. He also cursed the animals and, especially, the serpent.
From this act of rebellion, we (i.e., humans, descendants of
Adam) inherit “original sin.” This, in a layman’s sense, means that we are
sentenced to die and are prone to sin because we were in Adam when he sinned.[5]
In essence, these curses are like God removing some of His sustaining power, so
the creation is no longer upheld in a perfect state, but in bondage to sin and
death (Romans 8:21)—hence, we now suffer things like cancer, sickness,
suffering, and finally, death.
Genesis 3:14–19
So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are
cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your
belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I
will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
To the woman He said: “I will
greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth
children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
Then to Adam He said, “Because
you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I
commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for
your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns
and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the
field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of
it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through
sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
In spite of our sin, God loved us so much that He had
already planned a way for us to return to a perfect relationship with Him. To
provide forgiveness and salvation, God gave the first prophecy of many
regarding the way back to a restored relationship with Him. Genesis
3:15 says that the seed will be that of a woman.[6]
This refers to the future event—the virgin birth of Jesus—being the “seed
of a woman” and not of a man.
Death and Sacrifice Point Toward a Savior
In the New Testament, Paul confirms what is written in
Genesis 2:17 when he says that the wages of sin is death.
One sin is enough to cause death!
Romans 6:23a
For the wages of sin is death
Since the wages of sin is death, God, in
Genesis 3, shows that a life must be taken to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. Therefore,
to make a temporary atonement (cover the sins for a time), God killed
these animals on behalf of Adam and Eve clothing them with the skins.
Genesis 3:21
Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
The punishment demanded from an infinitely holy God,
who cannot look upon sin, is an infinite punishment. Animals are not
infinite, and so, they cannot ultimately take away the sin, but merely
cover it. Mankind needed a perfect, infinitely holy
sacrifice. Jesus Christ, who is the infinite and holy Son
of God, stepped into history to take that punishment on Himself. We
ultimately need a perfect sacrifice, and the perfectly obedient life of Christ
was God’s plan for the ultimate atonement.
But after Adam and Eve sinned, people began making
animal sacrifices to cover their sins—an animal life for sin. A few
examples follow.
Abel
Genesis 4:4
Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD
respected Abel and his offering.
Noah
Genesis 8:20
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of
every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
Abraham
Genesis 22:13
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught
in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up
for a burnt offering instead of his son.
Israelites
Leviticus 1:3
‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without
blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle
of meeting before the LORD.
The Law of Moses (i.e., Genesis–Deuteronomy) revealed sin as
rebellion against God. The moral laws are summarized in the Ten Commandments (Exodus
20; Deuteronomy 5). Even with the Law, people continued rebelling and
turning away from God (Romans 3:20). But God sent the ultimate and final
sacrifice—far greater than any animal sacrifice—that would be sufficient to
cover sin against a perfect God (Hebrews 10:1–14).
Jesus Christ, the Savior, Steps into History
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God sent His Son (i.e., the second person of the Triune God[7]),
Jesus, to humble Himself and enter into a sin-cursed world to live a servant’s
life on earth just like one of us (Philippians 2:8). He entered the
world just as was prophesied—through the virgin Mary.
Jesus was without sin (1 John 3:5) and did everything
perfectly according to the Law. Then, He would allow mankind to sacrifice Him
on the cross. Jesus would be the final sacrifice because he obeyed God
completely and was without defect—only He could satisfy the infinite punishment
we deserve. His method of sacrifice (crucifixion) was even outlined many years
before in Psalm 22. He was the perfect sacrifice (far exceeding the
most perfect, unblemished animal) because He was the perfect man and also
perfect God (Colossians 2:9).
Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to
destroy but to fulfill.
When God stepped into His creation, He
offered what is called “grace.” Grace means that we were to be rightly punished
for our wrongdoings, and then the one who sentenced us to that punishment took
the punishment upon Himself because of love for us. We rightly deserved death
by God’s judgment. But God took that punishment upon Himself by
dying in our place as Jesus Christ. He exercised that grace because
of His love for us.
Jesus didn’t come to the world to sentence it to death—the world was already condemned by sin. He came to save us from that sin. This indicates that God really is a God of love.
John 3:17
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved.
Ephesians 2:1-7
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among
whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
just as the others.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His
great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made
us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up
together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
A second death is still the punishment that God will give to
those who do not turn to Him. The second death is called hell and is separation
from God—being completely separated from all that is good.[8] Even
Satan himself has no power there. Jesus came to be the final
sacrifice to allow us to be saved from this penalty due
to sin against a holy God.
When Jesus rose and conquered death, people no
longer needed to present an animal sacrifice to cover up their sins. For those
who trust in Christ will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Bible warns that the only
unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. All other sins
can be forgiven up to the moment of death.
Matthew 12:32
“Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in
this age or in the age to come.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is rejecting the Holy
Spirit to the point of death. The only way to reject the Holy Spirit is not
receiving Jesus as your Savior during your lifetime. This corresponds
to Jesus saying that He was the only way back to God the
Father.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me.
The Free Gift of Salvation: Belief in Christ
Jesus, being the perfect sacrifice, offers the free gift of
salvation. God loves you so much that He sacrificed His own
unblemished Son to suffer the wrath against sin and die on the Cross.
He commands you to repent (change your mind and turn from sinful ways) and
trust in Him:
2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted;
but the sorrow of the world produces death.[9]
The Bible is clear in several passages how to
receive salvation. It doesn’t mean you are perfect after you are saved, but it
does mean that you are perfectly forgiven and saved from the penalty
of sin by God’s grace.
Ephesians 2:8–9
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted;
but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Romans 10:9–10
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart
one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
Mark 16:16
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe
will be condemned.
Acts 16:30–31
And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they
said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your
household.”
These verses point out the importance of belief
in Jesus Christ. It is a simple and free gift. It doesn’t matter how
many steps you’ve taken away from God; it is only one step back. If you
are not a Christian,
then consider more deeply the claims of Jesus, and please take a few
minutes to pray to God in the name of Jesus to forgive your
sins and to receive Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life. Then
please take some time to sit down with a Bible-believing pastor in a
local church to
help direct you as you begin your new life with Christ. Read
your Bible every day and seek to understand and obey what you read.
Originally published: https://answersingenesis.org/gospel/salvation/what-does-it-mean-to-be-saved/
Reprinted with permission.
[1] See
also John 1:1–3.
[2] Ken
Ham, “Two
Histories of Death,” Creation 24(1):18–20, December, 2001.
[3] Whether
this is still the case has been up for debate for centuries and is not for
discussion in this short article.
[4] Bodie
Hodge, “Who Sinned
First?” March 14, 2008.
[5] See Romans
5:12–14 and 1 Corinthians 15:22.
[6] See
also Isaiah 7:14.
[7] Mark
Bird, “The
Trinity,” July 30, 2008; Bodie Hodge, “God
Is Triune,” February 20, 2008.
[8] See Matthew
10:28; 23:33; 25:41–46.
[9] See
also Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3–5; Acts 17:30.
