What does it mean to be "Saved"?

Question

How do you become "saved", exactly? What does it mean for you in the afterlife vs. someone who isn't "saved". Do you believe that once you are saved, you are always saved?

Please be as descriptive as you can, I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around this.

So, can I be saved, then go kill people, and still get to heaven? If "works" don't matter, then is this the logical conclusion?

Answer 1

What is being saved ie "salvation"?

Man is separated from God because of sin. Fellowship was broken and the wages of sin is death. Man could not buy his way to righteousness through good works, deeds or rituals. The payment was death. But God provided a loophole, that a substitution could be made. This is where the sacrificial lamb became necessary. Your sins were passed onto the lamb, and the lamb took your payment for sin.
This was a foreshadow for He who was to come. For as Abraham said, "God will provide Himself the Lamb." This was seen when John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and proclaimed "Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world."
If we ask Jesus to be Lord and Savior, we are, in essence, passing our sins onto Him as our personal lamb. Our payment was paid in full on the cross. Which is why Jesus said "Tetelestai" or "paid in full" (commonly translated as "it is finished").
So, with sin paid in full, we now have access to the throne wherein we can cry Abba, Father to the Almighty God. It is through Christ that our sins have been removed and thrown into the deepest ocean and as far as the East is from the West.

1 Cor. 15:1-4
I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

How does one become saved?

Accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior for the remission of sin.

Acts 16:30-31
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved...”

Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.asp
http://calvarychapel.org/?show=TheGospel

No works. No payment. Christ did it all on the cross. Just believe, and receive.

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.

2 Timothy 1:9
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

Once saved always saved? From God's perspective, yes. From man's perspective, you have a free will to walk away.

For those who believe, eternal fellowship with God in His light and love. For those who refuse to believe, eternal separation from God in darkness, regret and agony.

"can I be saved, then go kill people, and still get to heaven?"

No. Your works are an evidence of what is in your heart. If you kill people, it means you are still in bondage to your flesh and you were never "born again". (ref. Romans 6) Note: This is in regard to murder, not a soldier in the battlefield.

Feel free to write me... Schneb
http://answers.yahoo.com/my/message_do?kid=AA10002921

Answer 2

Because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23), and the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), in order for us to live (eternal life) we must be "saved" -- saved from the death penalty.

But who has a life to spare that they can give us to pay the penalty with? Jesus Christ has eternal life, because he never sinned; therefore, he doesn't have to pay the penalty {infinity minus 1 lifetime still equals infinity}.

Contrary to popular "Christian" beliefs, salvation isn't given upon repentance and/or conversion to following God's Way of life; for the Scriptures say, "He who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). In this sense, that once resurrected to eternal life, "once saved, always saved" is true, but in the popular sense, where once converted means unswervingly destined for salvation, it is not true.

To be saved means that you have eternal life and cannot die, ever again, at all (Revelation 2:11). Those who are not saved shall die a death from which they can never come back from; their body as well as their spirit will be destroyed (Matthew 10:28).

-~<=>~- -~<=>~- -~<=>~- -~<=>~- -~<=>~-

Relevant Scriptures:
Romans 3:23 -- for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 -- For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 24:13 -- But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Revelation 2:11 -- He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." '

Matthew 10:28 -- And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Answer 3

Yes I do because once you are saved, all your sins (past, present, and future) will be washed away.

You get saved by asking God to forgive you and accepting Christ as your Savior.

Someone who is saved would go to Heaven; someone who isn't would go to Hell.

Answer 4

We can never be good enough on our own to earn our way to heaven. For this reason, Christ came and died to pay the penalty for our sins so we don't have to. If we but accept His sacrifice on our behalf, we are "saved from the wrath to come". When we accept Christ, He sends the Comforter (Holy Spirit) to live in our heart and guide us in righteousness. Since God is all knowing, He would not send the Spirit to dwell with someone who was going to lose their salvation. Since He knows everything; past, present, and future, He is able to forgive your sins from the past, the present, and the future. Because of this, once you're a child of God, nothing can pluck you out of His hand.

Answer 5

When God created the world, it was perfect. Everything was good. Then he made Adam and Eve, and gave them their own free will, so they would have a choice whether to follow and obey God or not. But Adam and Eve, the very first people God made, were tempted by Satan to disobey God, and they sinned. This separated them (and everyone that came after them, including us) from being able to have a close relationship with God. He is perfect, and holy, and must judge sin. As sinners, we couldn't make it there on our own. So, God made a way that we could be united with Him in heaven. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Jesus was born so that He could teach us the way and die for our sins so that we would not have to. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave (Romans 4:25), proving Himself victorious over death. He bridged the gap between God and man so that we may have a personal relationship with Him if we would only believe.

"And this is the way to have eternal life - to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth" (John 17:3). Most people believe in God, even Satan does. But to receive salvation, we must turn to God, form a personal relationship, turn away from our sins, and follow Him. We must trust in Jesus with everything we have and everything we do. "We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this way, no matter who we are or what we have done" (Romans 3:22). The Bible teaches that there is no other way to salvation than through Christ. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

Answer 6

Mainly Fundamentalists ask "Have you been saved?"--a question which conceives of salvation as a past event. While Scripture does sometimes speak of salvation as a past event (Rom. 8:24, Eph. 2:5, 8, 2 Tim. 1:9, Titus 3:5), or as a present process (Phil. 2:12, 1 Pet. 1:9), it most often speaks of it as a future event:

" [A]nd you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt. 10:22).

"For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it" (Mark 8:3-5).

"But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will" (Acts 15:11).

"Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Rom. 5:9-10).

"Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed" (Rom. 13:11).

"If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Cor. 3:15).

"[Y]ou are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:5).



No, there is no such thing as once saved always saved - very unbiblical.

Answer 7

To be "saved" you need to be part of the Christian faith (I think they're the only ones to use that term)- You need to do the things their doctrine says you must do to become "saved" and at the point where you've completed the tasks and changed your lifestyle in the way they want you to - you will become "saved". Please forgive the long run on sentence there :-p

PS - the other answer to the question is to be rescued from some dangerous situation.

Answer 8

Saved from what? Some of the so-called "saved" need to be "saved" from themselves. This is a wild-world!! It's totally out of control... "rescue from condemnation and spiritual death and bring into spiritual life" I seen condemned "saved" people... it is only a word!!! It has no real meaning, unless you need a meaning!

Answer 9

The Bible variously describes the human condition as 'lost' or in 'slavery'. We all (Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23) have a predisposition to separate ourselves from relationship to God, our creator, and to attempt to run things ourselves. (It's almost a genetic thing, deriving from the choice of Adam and Eve to disobey.) These acts of separation and the thoughts and attitudes that cause them are called 'sin'. Whether small or large in our view, they get us into trouble here and now and cut us off from any hope of living in the immediate presence of God after this life (Proverbs 16:25; Romans 6:23a).

Every choice has a result, and in a universe that has a moral component as well as a physical one, most every choice has a moral result, bringing us either closer to or farther from God. Those sinful choices that separate us from Him ultimately result in eternal separation (hell). God does not want us to make those choices, He sent prophets and preachers and caused the writing of the Bible to urge us not to make them. But it was necessary for Him to give us the power to choose because love is a choice and we could not really choose to be in loving relationship with Him if we had no other alterntive.

Because we are predisposed to sin, we do not have the power in ourselves to overcome sin and restore the relationship. All the good things we may try to do are insufficient when compared to God's perfect nature (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, if we are to be reunited with God, HE has to act. HE must provide a means to remove the burden of guilt and responsibility for our sins. He must provide a sinless savior who will take that penalty on himself and compensate for the moral deficit we have created. Since we cannot earn it, it must be a gift (Romans 623b).

That savior was Jesus Christ. A desire to turn away from sinful choices (repentance and the (continuing) choice to have faith in Him gives us access to salvation -- faith in God's ability and willingness to provide a savior has always been the means of salvation (Romans 4).

According to Revelation, everyone will be resurrected, either at the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom (the saved) or at its close (the damned). The latter will be forever condemned to the 'lake of fire' along with Satan and his angels. Whether this will be an actual lake of fire or if this is just descriptive of the torment of living forever with the guilt of past sins and no hope of redemption, I can't say and I don't know that it makes a difference. The saved will go on into eternity with God and, aside from worship, I can't begin to imagine what we'll do there.

As to 'once saved, always saved', this is an ongoing discussion. I'm (currrently) a Methodist and the official doctrine is that, since you always have a choice, you can lose your salvation by turning your back on God. Scripture seems to indicate that this is possible (Hebrews 6:4-6). I am of the opinion, however, that, since my salvation rests in the work of Christ and the love and power of God, He will keep me from making that choice.

As to your second post, no, I think that to deliberately and consistently engage in known sinful behavior after professing conversion would indicate that you never made the real choice of faith in the first place. Certainly it would show that you were not living and acting in faith. That being said, believers are still in conflict between the godly and sinful natures and often lapse to a greater or lesser extent. Repentance still works if the overall desire is to draw close to God. No honest Christian claims to have achieved perfection, only forgiveness.

Answer 10

Basically it means you learn to truly in all ways respect others with complete and perfect love, by agreeing to follow and obey the rules as set forward by the Christ, Jesus.

Pretty much takes up ALL your time and energy and effort and is worth it.

Answer 11

Being saved means you no longer have to pay the price for your sins (death).

Through the death of Jesus Christ you have been saved from this fate.