Believe - 3 (Salvation)
September 28, 2014
There are times when I am meeting with someone, especially someone who hasn’t really been active in a church and now they’re really starting to contemplate where they will be spending their eternity. It’s not unusual for some people to be really bold and ask – what will happen when I die? Those can be some really serious conversations. Today, I am not going to talk about what happens when you die, but I want to talk about how you gain heaven. So . . . WHAT IS SALVATION?
What does it mean, when some Christians ask the question, “are you saved?” I generally try not to use that term, because people who aren’t Christians, and even many Christians, don’t really know what that means. Saved from what? But the word SAVED is a really important Christian word. So, if someone were to ask you “Are you saved?” How would you answer? Or would it better if they asked, “Do you have salvation?” But we might still be stumped. What does it really mean? And Pastor, try to give an answer which is not too complicated.
I want to look at a few scriptures that may surprise us at how the word is used, then we will wrap up with a better understanding of what salvation means and the phrase to be saved.
Luke gives us a couple of great examples.
There’s a story in Luke 7 where Jesus goes to eat at a Pharisee’s house. While sitting at the table a “woman of the city,” a sinner, comes and anoints Jesus’ feet with her tears and ointment from an alabaster jar.
The Pharisee thinks this proves Jesus is not a prophet because he would have known the woman was a sinner and He would never have allowed a sinner to touch Him. Jesus knew what the Pharisee was thinking and told him a story about 2 people who owed money to a moneylender. One owed ten times more than the other and both were forgiven of their debt. Jesus asked which one would love the moneylender more. The Pharisee correctly answered, “The one who had the greater debt canceled.
Jesus then explained to the Pharisee – he had not washed Jesus’ feet, greeted Him with a kiss, nor did he anoint Jesus with oil. These were all things a good host would do for an honored guest. But the woman did all three.
His point is that the one who is forgiven little — loves little while the one who is forgiven much — loves much. Then Jesus tells the woman her sins are forgiven and He tells her in Luke 7:50, “Your faith has SAVED you; go in peace.”
What Jesus is literally saying — is her faith in Jesus has made her well. Her faith has restored her back to health. She is whole once again. Hold that thought!
In Luke 8, we read about a woman who was bleeding for 12 years. When she reached through the crowd and touched the garment of Jesus, He felt power go out of Him. She was immediately healed. When Jesus asked who touched Him, no one would admit it.
Then the woman came and told everyone why she touched Jesus and how she had beeSLIDEn immediately healed. In 8:48, Jesus then said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
You don’t see the word saved in there, do you? Yet, the word for being made well is the identical Greek word in the Luke 7 passage. Compare the 2 lines ~
Luke 7:50, “Your faith has SAVED you; go in peace.”
Luke 8:48, “Your faith has made you WELL; go in peace.”
They have identical meanings.
They both have the same understanding for us. At the root of the word salvation is the image of restoration. We are restored back to wholeness of health and spirit. Now, because you find salvation in Jesus, does not automatically mean you will be healed. But it does mean you should now be a different person! That is crucial in salvation!
Now stay with me. We’re getting a little more technical today. But if we look up the word salvation in the Bible, in the New Testament we find the word - 45 times. And it’s pretty straight forward, salvation means just what it says, salvation, to be delivered. We read that in Acts 4:12, as Peter spoke before the Jewish council, he told them about Jesus and he said this, which gives us both salvation and saved ~
12 And there is SALVATION in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be SAVED.”
So, Peter was telling us our deliverance / salvation, comes from only one person, through Jesus, and we are saved / restored through Jesus. Now the interesting thing about the word salvation . . . the root word for salvation in Greek is . . . SAVIOR! Isn’t that cool!! Amazing what you learn in church.
This then, starts to put it all together. Jesus, who is our Savior is the One in whom we find salvation, deliverance, so that we can be restored, rescued, healed and made well, which all means that we have been saved.
So, when we ask if someone is saved? Meaning are they a Christian, we are really saying, “have they been restored? Have they been made well? Are they a new creation because they have been delivered by Jesus?
You see our salvation is in Christ.
How do I get this salvation? Paul tells us in the great passage from Ephesians 2:8-9SLIDE ~ 8 For by grace you have been SAVED through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Paul is telling us that we receive a gift from God. There’s nothing you can do to earn this gift and this gift comes because we believe, we have faith in Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior. It is God’s grace, God giving us something we totally do not deserve, yet, God offers us this gift . . . if we believe in Jesus. So, there’s nothing you can do to earn salvation, you can’t give money, work, do good works, or be so kind or anything else to be saved!
Again, we see the word saved, and that is the exact same word we saw in Luke 7 and 8. But, if we’re talking to someone about being saved, and asking “are you saved?” My first question would be ‘saved from what? Because I’m a pretty good person.’
You see, we are saved from the wrath of God, from the just penalty we deserve for what we’ve done in our lives . . . and the key is the sin we’ve committed in our lives has moved us away from God. We become an enemy to God. Not that we’ve plotted out war against God, but if we’re not for God, then we are, in essence working against God.
So, we are saved from our destruction, from hell. It’s what Jesus said in John 3:17, 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be SAVED through Him.
The goal has never been the destruction of people. God wants every person to come to faith in Him, and at the same time, God has given us the freedom to come to Him or to reject Him.
This is why Jesus died on the cross for us. The righteous and holy One had to pay the penalty for you and I. That’s the big word I used last week “Propitiation.” Jesus paid the price as the atoning sacrifice for you and I.
In the end, it’s called forensic justification. Yup, we’re using theological terms again. This means God makes what we would call — a legal declaration -- in which He declares a person just and righteous because of the work of Christ on the cross. We are not righteous, but God views us that way because of what Christ did for us on the cross.
So, when we accept Jesus as Savior, God declares us righteous.
Yup, this can all be confusing and rather technical, and I could go into much more detail about this, but the goal is not to confuse you, it’s to help you see the root of our salvation, where it comes from and how we receive it. Too often we take it for granted that it’s from Jesus and that’s all I need to know. But I believe the more we know and understand about our faith, the better we can also help others come to know Jesus and to know when someone is off on their belief system.
But what do I need to do? What do I need to put my faith in? We get that answer too. Over and over again in the New Testament we are told salvation is found in Jesus ~
1 Thessalonians 5:9 ~ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 Timothy 2:10 ~ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
2 Timothy 3:15 ~ and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Acts 2:21 ~ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Acts 4:12 ~ 12 And there is SALVATION in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be SAVED.
John 14:6 ~ Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Those are just some of the examples I can give that tell us salvation comes only through Jesus, the Christ. I believe this is pretty clear.
So, how do you become a Christian? What do you need to do? Paul said it well in Romans 10:9-10 ~ 9 if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
It’s having a sincerity, a true belief in your heart, stating it with your mouth who you believe Jesus to be . . . accurately of course. And you will find salvation. You will be saved, redeemed, made well. Your spirit will be cleansed. God will now declare you to be justified, made righteous in His sight. It will be a day to celebrate.
You see, salvation is about more than just getting your ticket for heaven punched when you die. Salvation and eternal life begins on the day you embrace a relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior. It’s about becoming a new person on the inside that the world can see on the outside. It’s helping the world to see a new you and the world marvels at how you have changed and they celebrate that new person, and you go into the world and seek to be part of the change.
So, we ask God to forgive us for our sins. We repent, we seek to no longer commit the sinful acts we have committed in the past. We turn our lives, our heart, our spirit over to God, so God can continue to cleanse us and make us whole!
