“What does it mean to be Saved?”
Acts 16:30-31 (NIV)
30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
This was the question asked by the Philippian jailor when he realized that Paul and Silas had not escaped from their prison cell after a earthquake broke them loose from their bonds. The jailor was ready to take his own life, thinking the prisoners had fled. Law demanded that a jailor who lost prisoners should be put to death. Paul called out to the jailor telling him they were still there. The jailor fell at Paul’s feet and asked the question, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul’s response is given in Acts 16:31.
Acts 16:31 (NIV)
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
So, what does it mean to be saved? I can remember when Terri and I first met, and we started talking about our faith. I told her she needed to get saved. She said, “saved from what”? Saved is one of those terms that means so many things.
So, explaining to her that we all have sinned and the wages of sin is death. We all needed to be rescued of the consequences of our sins. She knew about Jesus and that He died on the cross to pay our consequences of sin. When we put our faith and trust in what Jesus did on the cross, we are “saved” from the consequence of our sin. “Saved” is being delivered from the consequences of sin. Sin separates us from God and incurs His wrath, but anyone who’s made peace with Him shouldn’t fear death.
One of the difficult things when we witness to somebody about Jesus is assuming they are familiar with the same terms you have become familiar with when talking about Jesus’ salvation. Terms like faith, trust, saved, believe. One thing I need to work on is trying to break these terms down into something that is easy to understand.
This is the question we all need to get the answer to and follow through with it. In the scripture John records in Chapter 14 that Jesus was talking with His disciples, and He told them He is the way.
John 14:6 (NIV)
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Just like Paul told the jailor, Jesus is the only way for salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
So, have you made that decision?
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