What does it mean to be saved?

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There are as many ideas about what true spiritual health is as there are people in this world.  You might ask, “What makes any one person right about such a weighty subject?”  After all, isn’t it kind of arrogant to think that you can tell anyone else what they need to do or be to be spiritual?  I guess that’s the thought we all need to entertain.  (Stay with me for a minute or two.)  If anyone had the right or the authority to tell us how to be spiritual, who would that person be?  Wait for it… God.   

I totally agree that no human has the right, the authority, the wisdom, or the intelligence in and of themselves to tell you or me how to be spiritually healthy.  The only person who does is an all-powerful and loving God.  You might be thinking, “Yeah, anyone can say there is a God.  Anyone can say that God is loving.  How do you know?”   

Truthfully, you have to be open to the idea of God before seriously considering anything else about God.  So, if you are willing to consider the possibility that God exists and that He has revealed Himself to humanity by reaching out to us, let me share some of His message from the Bible.

We all know the importance of water for physical health.  We cannot live without it.  In a conversation with a woman who was a social outcast, Jesus referred to Himself as the “living water” that gives life to all who receive Him into their lives.  So, Jesus is the spiritual water that each of us need for spiritual health. 

You may ask, “How does that work?” Well, it starts with honesty…  

Please don’t get angry or insulted but what if I were to tell you that you are a sinful person?  (I know.  This could come across as very judgmental but keep in mind: this is not exclusive to you.) I am included in that as well. The ancient Hebrew king Solomon (you know, that guy known for having amazing wisdom) states in Ecclesiastes 7:20, “There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.” This is reinforced by the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This is God’s perspective. We do not measure up to God’s level… perfection. I know of no rational human being who thinks he/she is perfect. This is the starting point for all of us. We must admit we have a problem. 

The first step in being spiritually healthy is to recognize that we are NOT healthy.  We are flawed.  We are weak. We are not as virtuous as we would like to believe we are.  Just as in our physical health, we cannot get healthy spiritually until we admit we are not well. We all must start with the truth of where we are. Someone struggling with obesity cannot make any progress toward improvement if he/she keeps saying, “I’m fine just like I am” or “There’s nothing wrong with my diet”. We all have to admit our weaknesses. In the case of spiritual things, we all must see and acknowledge that we are sinners… people who choose to go against God’s standard by both our natural tendency and by choice. Babies naturally act selfishly. They don’t have to be taught to say “no” or to cry for attention. They come up with that all on their own. That’s sin by natural tendency. Then, we all choose to do the wrong thing at times. Have you ever been faced with the opportunity to “get away” with something that you knew you shouldn’t? You thought about it, knowing it was wrong. But, you did it anyway. Of course, we all have at some point. That is sin by choice. We all must face the reality of our own condition — we are all sinners. This is not an indictment – just an admission of reality. 

But, that’s not all.  The Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Although our sin earns us death (and that’s speaking of eternal death in Hell), Jesus wants to give us eternal life instead.  Back in Romans 5:8, Paul says “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” 

How does an invisible, all powerful God demonstrate His love in this messed up world? Here’s where the most often quoted verse in the Bible comes in. The Apostle John says in John 3:16, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”   

God knew you couldn’t pay for your sin by dying.  If you did, you’d never be finished paying for it.  So Jesus, who did nothing wrong, died in your place.  But, since He’s God, He rose from the dead.  And now all you have to do is believe in what He did for you.  

 According to Paul’s words in Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”  Did you get the simplicity of that?  All you have to do is pray, accepting the reality of who Jesus is (God Himself), and believe in the power of Jesus’s resurrection to save you. 

If your answer is, “Yes, I would like to do that,” then, just pray the following prayer out loud to God.  (The words of the prayer could be different.  The words are not as critical as the meaning.)  The important elements to understand and acknowledge to God are that you know you are a sinner, you are remorseful for your sin, you know Jesus died for your sin, and you know Jesus rose from the dead to defeat death and purchase forgiveness for your sin.  If you sincerely pray that prayer, Jesus will listen and forgive all of your sin.  

Prayer:  Dear Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner and I’m sorry for my sin.  I know you had to die for my sin and I believe that you rose again to save me from Hell.  I ask that you save me today so I can live with you forever.  Amen.”   

If you prayed to ask Jesus to save you, the Word of God says that you are now spiritually alive, a child of God, and will live eternally with Jesus!  Again, the Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:13, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Notice that there is no “might” be saved or “could” be saved.  The phrase is “will be saved”.  That sounds pretty definite, doesn’t it?  That’s because it is.  Jesus has just saved you forever!  There’s no getting out of it.  Jesus promised to save you and He WILL NOT GO BACK on His promise!

Would you do me a favor?  If you came to an understanding of Who Jesus is after reading this and decided to talk to God for the first time to ask for His salvation, would you use the "Contact Us" link on the home page or just shoot me an email to don@donrussell.org?  I would love to celebrate with you.  Perhaps, you might even have some questions about what happens next.  I would love to help you in your spiritual journey!