Most people have heard of the Bible, and may have even read it. But do you know what it really says about being saved and living saved?

Most of us have heard of the Bible, and even read part of it. We might have a favorite passage, but perhaps we have not yet understood the whole story. How would you respond if we were asked a simple question: “What is the Bible about?” I would answer “The Bible is about Man’s fall from grace, and God’s plan to restore Man to grace.” The first part is quite clear, and I don’t believe that many, if any, people would argue that Man is, by nature, sinful. Indeed, the Bible says that “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10), and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). We all have sinned as a result of the sinful nature inherited due to Adam & Eve’s sin in the beginning. Our morality dictates that crime deserves punishment, and sin is indeed crime against God. We are all guilty, and while we remain in our sin, we all deserve punishment.

For a time, the response to this Sin was the Mosaic covenant of law and sacrificial atonement, that is, regular animal sacrifices made continually to atone, or make up, for Man’s sin. As man was continually sinning, man needed to continually offer sacrifice to continually atone for these sins. An imperfect man could only offer an imperfect sacrifice that was imperfectly sufficient. God could have left us under this covenant of law, except he had promised us deliverance. One of the most beautiful of these prophecies is given to us by Isaiah in the 53^rd Chapter:

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

And so, we are given, in the fullness of time as prescribed by the Father, the gift of his Son, Jesus. Jesus came in to the world like any other child, but he wasn’t any other child. He was the Son of God, Emmanuel, God With Us. 100% God, 100% Man, God, the Son, came to dwell with us. For 30 years, he lived quietly like any other man, except completely free from sin. When the time came for him to begin his earthly ministry, he brought to us a message of repentance, of love, and of hope. We were told to repent for our sins, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and his disciples baptized. We were told to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls, to love our neighbor, and to love our enemies. We were told of a hope that whosoever would believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, sent by the Father to save his people, would have eternal life and be saved from their sin: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus went throughout the countryside for 3 years, preaching this message and teaching all who will listen, and in parables, telling people the true purpose of his coming. He privately prepared his disciples for this purpose: that he must die and be raised from the dead for the sins of all mankind. He would be a perfect sacrifice, sufficient to cover all the sins of whosoever believes in him, and he would conquer death once and for all, allowing us all to have eternal life with the Father in Heaven.

So these things came to pass: He was betrayed by one of his Apostles and handed over to the authorities, who brought false charges against him. He was beaten, mocked, stripped bare, and finally, crucified. As he was set to die on the cross, he announced: “It is finished.” (John 19:30) Then, he died. The perfect sacrifice had been made, and the foundation of our salvation was laid.

He was taken down from the cross, and his body was prepared for burial. He was buried in a tomb, like any other. For three days he laid in the tomb. On the third day, when one of his apostles came to anoint the body as was the custom, she found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. As she stood there weeping over the missing body, Jesus appeared before her, risen from the dead. He later met with two disciples on the road to a town called Emmaus, and to his Apostles. He told them that they were to go into the entire world, making disciples of all men, and baptizing all believers. First, however, they were to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise, for he would send them another Comforter. With that, he ascended into Heaven.

Forty days later on the day of Pentecost, that promise arrived: the Holy Spirit, to dwell in all those who believe. This was promised throughout the Old Testament, and confirmed by Jesus. The Holy Spirit is a gift given to all those who put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and changes your life. The Apostles taught exactly what was needed to receive this spirit: to put your trust in Jesus Christ, and have faith that he was the Son of God, sent by the Father to die for our sins, and that he was raised from the dead. The Apostle Paul teaches us: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) He also says: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 10:9-11)

There are three questions we must ask: The first is, what does it mean to have faith? Is faith merely knowing about these things? Chances are you’ve heard most of this before. You were aware of these events, and it’s possible that if I asked you if you knew that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, you would say yes. It’s entirely possible for someone to “know” about what Jesus did without actually believing in him. A lot of people know about Jesus. Faith, however, is deeper than just knowing. True faith takes place in your heart. It happens when you make a conscious decision to entrust your life to Jesus Christ. It is acknowledging that you are a sinner, and that without the Cross, you would be lost for eternity. It happens when you tell God: “From here on, you’re in control.” Faith comes by hearing the message of the Cross and accepting that it is for you. When you have faith and believe in Jesus, you are saved. If you merely “know” about Jesus but haven’t yet put your trust in Him to save you, you don’t have faith, and you are not saved.

The second question is: How do I know I’m saved? The easiest answer is that the Word of God tells you! As Paul said, if you believe in your heart, you will be saved. As Jesus said, whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life! These promises are enough to confirm this to us. However, the personal experience of the Holy Spirit working in your life is even stronger evidence. We are a new person in Christ. We are given the power to overcome our sinful natures, and we become a new person. We will notice a change in ourselves. We will feel the Spirit’s guidance in our lives, and we will feel compelled to live for Christ. We will bear spiritual fruit. The Apostle Paul teaches us that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

True faith will also be born out in our actions. It’s true that we cannot be saved by our actions. By ourselves, nothing we do can possibly outweigh the sin in our life. The Apostle Paul teaches us that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) However, if Faith is a fire, good works are the light it gives off. Where there is fire, there is light. The Apostle James writes “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:14-17) He goes on to say “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 2:26) A fire without light is no fire at all, and a faith that is not acted out daily is no faith at all. It is merely “knowing”, and not truly believing.

The third question we must ask is: What should we do after we are saved? The first thing you should do is be baptized! In baptism, we identify with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and we proclaim our faith in Christ. Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize, and Peter repeated this when he commanded the new believers on the day of Pentecost to be baptized; in fact, the first thing the 3,000 that believed on the day of Pentecost did was to be baptized. The Apostle Peter wrote that baptism is the “pledge of a clear conscience toward God.” (1 Peter 3:21)

You should also find a church where the Gospel is preached and the teachings of the Bible are shared. There are many different styles of churches, and they all have different styles of worship. They might even have different interpretations of certain teachings. However, a true Christian church will not stray from the essential doctrines of Christianity: that there is one God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A true church will teach about Jesus Christ, the Son, who suffered, died, and was buried. A true church will proclaim a salvation that is by grace through faith alone, and will baptize all believers. And finally, it will do all these things in accordance with scriptures, not by the authority or dictation of man but by the Bible which is the inspired Word of God. Your church family will be a source of strength in times of weakness, a source of learning as you grow in your Christian walk and a source of fellowship with others who share the joy of salvation.

Finally, you should strive to daily grow in your relationship with Christ. Study the scriptures daily to see what they say about how a Christian should live. Read to find guidance and comfort in the struggles of daily life. Search the scriptures to be sure that what you are taught comes from God and not from Man. The Apostle Peter taught “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9)

The Bible is clear about these things. There is much more to Christianity, which you will learn as you grow in your Christian life. First things, however, are first: We need to be saved, and the Bible tells us how.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

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