Saved?

People in church talk about the importance of being saved, but what does that mean?

The words “be saved” imply that there’s something we need to be saved from. For instance, if you are drowning in the ocean, you need to be saved from drowning by someone pulling you out of the water.

Or perhaps you are being held captive in the middle of an enemy war camp. Someone would need to rescue you.

In Christianity, we talk about being saved from our sin. We talk about drowning in our sin. We also talk about being rescued from our enemy because we are captive to sin and to this world.

Let’s go back a ways…like to the beginning.

The Beginning

We understand that every created thing has a creator. The very phone, tablet, or computer you are watching this on shows that someone intricately designed it. The fact that you exist, and that the earth exists, means that there is a design and a purpose. We call that Creator God.

We believe God made Himself known to the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, in a perfect garden. They could eat from everything in that garden except the fruit from one tree. Everything was perfect until one day, when they were deceived by Satan and ate that fruit. They were then banished from the garden, and ever since, we have experienced pain, loss, and death.

But for reasons higher than our brains can understand, God put together a rescue plan. It started in the garden and has gone throughout history. So, what did God do?

Well, in the garden, Adam and Eve sinned. As soon as they ate that fruit, they knew they were naked. Sin opened their eyes to shame. But God, in His goodness, made a covering for Adam and Eve. Through the killing of an animal—I would guess it was a lamb—that lamb covered their nakedness and shame.

Sin is defined as missing the mark or not meeting the standard.  The standard to be in the presence of God is absolute perfection.  God is holy and sin cannot be in His presence.

Throughout HIS story in the Bible, we see sacrifices being used as a covering for sin.

The Passover

We see this during the Passover, in the time of Moses. A lamb was slain, and death passed over the Israelites during the 10th plague against Egypt.

I am cutting out a lot of information here, but fast-forward about 1,750 years.

God sent His Son to this earth to be born of a virgin, to live a sinless life, to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and raise the dead. Then, like a lamb, He willingly laid His life down and was brutally killed on a cross.

Before He died, He said the words, “It is finished.” What is finished?

The payment for Adam and Eve’s sin was death. But not just death on earth—eternal death, separated from God forever. The torment of hell. But God, being perfectly loving and just, knew there had to be a punishment paid. His Son willingly laid down His life for us to pay the penalty for our sin.

He took on our sin, and we took on the righteousness of Christ. God’s payment for our sin was made on that cross.

But wait, there is more.

The Resurrection

On the 3rd day, He rose again in bodily form and appeared to His followers. No one has ever found, and no one ever will find, the bones of Jesus. His followers went on to proclaim the message that Jesus was alive—to the point that they were willing to die for it.

What must our response be to the “cancer” of sin?

We must believe in Christ, believing that His sacrifice paves the way for our salvation. No amount of work is enough to save us. We must repent—turn completely away from our sin—and be baptized. Baptism is our expression to the world of what God has done in our lives.

We respond to God’s saving work in our lives. It is important that we don’t try to do enough to be saved.

This is a short explanation, and there is no way I could ever cover these things perfectly in this short amount of time. I invite you to study the Scriptures for yourself.

I invite you to be a part of our body. Here at Mt. Tabor, we focus on discipling you and sharing what we believe God has revealed.

May you have a blessed day. ~Pastor Ben