What does "saved" mean?

Question

I was raised Lutheran, and we don't "get saved," or "ask Jesus into our hearts." We get confirmed into the church, and we believe Jesus is always there.

So why did some small-town religious fanatic have the audacity to tell me I'm going to hell unless I ask Jesus into my heart? Like he's outside in the rain or something.

Can anyone elaborate this idea for me?

Answer 1

Anonymous Lutheran is right!

Salvation is ours indeed through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We must have faith in Christ and his works of salvation.

If you remember your Catechism "I can not by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ. my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith;
even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith;
in which Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all believers,
and will at the Last Day raise up me and all the dead, and give unto me and all believers in Christ eternal life.
This is most certainly true." (Luther's small Catechism; Third Article of the Apostles Creed; SANCTIFICATION)

If we must "accept" and "invite" Jesus into our hearts, that is giving partial credit for our salvation to ourselves. This in turn cheapens our Lord's sacrifice on the cross, taking some of the credit due Him for ourselves.

Your friend in Christ,

Mark

Answer 2

I was raised Lutheran also.
Went to vacation bible school
Confirmed after three years of
Confirmation classes
Went to church all the time
Went to church camp

Did not get saved until I was 25 years old. Two baptists knocked on my door and asked if I was "born again" I got really offended and said I am Lutheran. Went back to work and made fun of them. I'm thinking the power of the Holy spirit must have been with them because days later when my ex husband was out partying and I was feeling alone and at the end of my rope, I turned on the TV and there was Billy Graham talking about guess what? Being Born Again. I gave my heart and life to Jesus that night because I wanted Peace so badly. All I wanted was peace. Sure I was doing whatever I wanted, a real smart alec wit queen that preteneded to have no trouble but I had no peace. After that my life was never the same. Jesus came into my heart (life) spirit and I was truly born again. The bible came alive to me and I mean ALIVE. Signs and wonders and all kinds of wonderful things have happened to me since then and I do have a relationship with God now on my own, without the church's interferance or permission. I went to my Lutheran Pastor and told him what happened, I asked him about Mark 16. He said he thought I should maybe go to church where they believed in speaking in tongues and miracles and he would be fine with it as long as they believed Jesus is saviour and Lord. So I did. God bless that man (my former pastor) for not holding me down.

Answer 3

Listen to "Anonymous Lutheran" & "Mark R". They know what they are talking about!

One of my favorite tag lines from my favorite talk radio show, Issues Etc. (http://www.kfuoam.org/ie_main.htm) goes something like this: "The Gospel of Christ is not about you, it's about God for you!"

Cling to the Lutheran (i.e. authentic Christian) theology you were so graciously given! You were saved from sin, death & the power of the devil at the Cross of Christ 2000 years ago, by the Holy Spirit through your Holy Baptism. End of story.

Look at the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20). Do you see "Thou shalt ask Jesus into your heart for the salvation of your soul,"?

From Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation (CPH): "76. Can anyone, then, be saved by the Law? No; the Law condemns everyone. (Galations 3:10-11)." So not only is this "ask Jesus into your heart" business not even God's Law, it is man's law falsely accusing you!

Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation also asks & answers, "84. Where alone does God offer the forgiveness of sins? God offers the forgiveness of sins only in the Gospel, the good news that we are freed from the guilt, the punishment, and the power of sin, and are saved eternally because of Christ's keeping the Law and His suffering & death for us, (John 3:16; Romans 1:16; Romans 10:4; Galations 3:13; Colossians 1:13-14)." So neither is this false doctrine the Gospel for the pure Gospel requires nothing from you.

"85. What is the difference between the Law & the Gospel? A. The Law teaches what we are to do and not to do; the Gospel teaches what God has done, and still does, for our salvation. B. The Law shows us our sin and the wrath of God; the Gospel show us our Savior and the grace of God. C. The Law must be proclaimed to all people, but especially to impenitent sinners; the Gospel must be proclaimed to sinners who are troubled in their minds because of their sins."

Mark R. covered the truth of the Third Article of the Apostles' Creed. The Explanation does an excellent job of expounding on the role of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of humans as well, of course cited with Bible references. In fact, it testifies to the source of your ability to see the false doctrine you have in this situation. Reviewing what the Explanation says about Holy Baptism & Holy Communion will also bolster your faith.

God's Richest Blessings.

Answer 4

I was raised in a Lutheran you can not be saved by birth. Salvation or a prayer for salvation is never mention in the Lutheran church. You have to leave the Lutheran church to be saved like I did. I was saved and baptized in a baptized church. Get out of the Lutheran church before it to late.

Answer 5

What you encountered was the false doctrine of salvation by assent. It teaches that salvation begins when you agree to receive salvation. It denies the efficacy of the sacraments and makes salvation a mental exercise.

The basic idea behind this doctrine is that salvation is a personal thing between you and God. People invented this doctrine because it gave them an excuse to reinvent Christianity to suit their own wishes. If salvation is a personal thing, then the Church doesn't really matter, and you can just invent your own church. This doctrine is one of the main reasons there are so many different Protestant denominations.

But the real problem with this doctrine is that it is works-based salvation. It says that the work of accepting God's forgiveness is part of what saves you. There is *no* precedent for this in historic Christian doctrine; the Church has always taught just what the Bible says: that there is nothing good in us, and we are at God's mercy.

Even the Catholic Church, with its doctrine of faith infused with works, does not claim that works play any role in that initial event of salvation. Lutherans and Catholics alike teach that salvation is exclusively an act of the Holy Spirit, worked in us by grace contained in the sacrament of Baptism, so that no person can claim that his own power saved him.

So what you have heard is a poisoned, corrupted gospel that makes man an agent in his own salvation. You were good to be troubled by it--keep away!

Answer 6

Adam messed up his Spirit and passed that messed up Spirit to EveryBody Else.
It is Passed by the Male.
That is why Jesus couldn't have an Earthly Father.

You gotta' get that Spirit Recreated to be able to go to Heaven.
You Gotta' Get Born-Again (Spirit Recreated).

Jesus is the Only One Who can Recreate your Spirit for you.
Jesus has to have your Permission to do this, cause Jesus won't Force AnyOne to Accept Salvation.
When you get Saved (Spirit Born-Again) you are Translated into The Kingdom of GOD's Dear Son (Jesus), The Kingdom of GOD.

You are Then, A Child of GOD, part of the Body of Christ, which is "The Church".

It is all in the Bible.
Hope this Helps.

Answer 7

Contrary to popular belief this usage is not lazy or indecent nor is it as recent as many of you seem to think. At least as far back as the time of the American Revolution pls or plz was used in place of please in correspondence , again after the introduction of the telegraph, and most recently with the advent of text messaging, and all for the same reason, cost. During the early days of our country both paper and ink were expensive, so there were accepted methods of abbreviation to cram as much information into a letter as possible pls (or plz) was one example of this. When sending telegrams you were charged by the word (as in typing every 5 characters not actual words) so once again pls was used (among many other shortcuts u for you and so on) to make the sending of a message as cost effective as possible. As for text messaging, when first introduced, you may recall, we were charged per message we sent, so cutting letters out of messages meant a single text could be sent instead of two. It became a habit that carried over onto the internet, even though the need for the abbreviation no long exists,,,,to be fair though I am fairly sure you type OK or okay instead of Orl Korrekt which is the widely accepted original phrase the abbreviation came from, so can you really cast stones?

Answer 8

Saved - means not being judged according to the Law when you die. It is believing that Jesus paid the penalty for my sins and has offered me a pardon.

The "saved" part is also about receving that forgiveness and repenting and surrendering my will to God. He gave His life and then I give Him mine. That is the born again experience in a nutshell.

I have been a church goer much longer than I have been a Christian. I was active, too.

I would just ask when you surrendered your life to him - I have many family members who are Lutherans and love Jesus very much.

Answer 9

A christian cannot be by birth but by belief... not by confirmation but by confession.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you and your family will be saved said Paul to the jail keeper
Behold I stand at the door and knock.. if any man hears my voice and opens the door, i will come in and sup with him´and he with me...
believing that (fact) Jesus lived, died , rose gain and will come back... many do that... but to be born again(john 3.3) is not believing the fact but believing the person Jesus.. you can believe only when you have relationship with him that's why revelation3:3 come into picture.
1. believe Jesus lived, died, so on
2. open your hearts door to him
3. he'll come in
4. begin a personal relationship
then you are saved as according to john 3:16

Answer 10

It is believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, regretting your past sins and asking forgiveness for them, and repenting (turning around) and trying to live the rest of your life as Jesus would want you to- in love for your fellow man.

Acts 16:31 "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved".

Saved from a miserable life of living in sin, and saved from hell.