What Does It Mean To Be Saved?

“The ULTIMATE RESCUE!”
Pastor Dick Brookes

Interim Senior Pastor: The Coila Church

As tornadoes tore through Oklahoma this week, there were reports of people who were being “saved” from the wreckage. I have a friend who was a helicopter pilot for the Coast Guard and for years he was involved in “saving” people who were on sinking ships in the storms of the Atlantic Ocean.

“Saving” people is regularly the topic of news programs and articles in magazine. It usually involves someone being rescued from a potentially deadly situation. Some condition that traps you and perhaps enslaves you – such as the present horror of human trafficking.

“Salvation” is a central concept throughout the Bible. Israel was “saved” from its captivity in Egypt, Jonah was “saved” from being in the belly of the whale, the disciples were “saved” from the terror of a storm on the sea of Galilee, but the most common use of the term “saved” in the New Testament has to do with a different kind of rescue. It is a rescue that every human being needs; but which many either reject or are not interested in.

Years ago I had a visit at my home by a pollster from the Gallup organization. It was the first time I had ever had personal contact with a “pollster” and it was a very interesting experience. At the end of our conversation she asked me, “What do you believe is the greatest problem facing the United States today?” My immediate response was – “the economy.” She thanked me and went her way. But after she left I realized I had given her the wrong answer. The greatest problem in the U.S. or the world for that matter is sin! Sin traps people and enslaves them to lives that they hate. Every form of addiction, and every horrible character trait can be traced to this problem. Sin traps people and enslaves them. And whether that involves an addictive problem like drugs or alcohol or enslavement to selfishness and a mean spirit; it is something that ultimately destroys us from within.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers SALVATION – a RESCUE from the problem of sin. This is a free offer from God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ and it involves being saved on three levels:

First – we are JUSTIFIED by faith. That means we are saved from the PENALTY of sin. We are no longer headed for hell.

Second – we are SANCTIFIED by faith. That means that we are being saved from the POWER of sin in our lives. We are learning to access God’s power working through us to overcome our sin.

Third – we are finally GLORIFIED by faith. That means that when we die, we will be delivered from the very PRESENCE of sin. In God’s heavenly Kingdom, sin will no longer exist.

God’s salvation is the ULTIMATE RESCUE! Have your been rescued by God? Have you begun this wonderful journey of being rescued from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and eventually the very presence of sin? It can begin today. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you WILL BE SAVED!!”

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Why a Savior?
 
Pastor Jim French

St. Luke's Church

jim.french.137@gmail.com

Jesus told us that he came into the world, not to condemn it, but that through him the world might be saved

(John 3:17). To all who would receive him he offers a restored relationship with God (John 1:12). Since Jesus claimed to be the world's savior we must then conclude that we need saving. One does not need a savior unless one needs saving from something.

The bottom line is that we are all in trouble. The Bible says that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, (Rom 3:23). We have violated God's commands and stand separated from him with no way to restore our relationship; and that's why we need Jesus to save us from eternal death. Only Jesus can save us from ourselves.

I like to equate Jesus assignment on earth as a rescue mission. The human race was trapped in sin with no way to restore our relationship with God. Jesus mission was to restore that relationship with God through his death on the cross.

A few years ago an email floated around cyberspace that went something like this: There was a man who had climbed to the roof of his house to escape the rising waters of a terrible flood. The man prayed desperately that God would come and save him. A short while later the local police came by in a small boat and offered him rescue. The man declined saying, “No, God is going to save me.” Sometime later the police again came by in a larger boat and offered to take the man to safety. He once again declined saying, “No, I'm waiting for God to come and save me.” As the water threatened to wash the man to his death a police helicopter arrived dropping a rope-ladder to save him, but he refused to climb aboard insisting once again that God would save him. The water eventually swept the man to his death and he found himself immediately in the Lord's presence. The man looked at Jesus and said, “Lord, I'm confused. I prayed for rescue; why didn't you rescue me?” The Lord replied, “I sent you 2 boats and a helicopter, what more did you need?”

The point of the story is that each of us is the man caught in the flood. We need saving; someone to save us. We need a savior. But we also must make the choice to be saved. No one can force us to accept Jesus' offer of salvation. Each of us, on our own volition must make the choice to get in the boat. Each of us must choose to be saved by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. And he is the only way to be saved.

To be saved means that we are in right-standing with God; that our sins have been forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ and we can stand before God blameless because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.