Are You Saved?
[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”Romans 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.[/pullquote]
Why do we need to be saved?
In the garden of eden, God gave Adam and Eve everything they needed to live a perfect life in paradise. He warned them also of a threat to their perfect existence, a tree in the midst of the garden who's fruit they should not eat or else they would die. God, the Father of all creation, the Heavenly Father of Adam and Eve, did not want His beloved children to die. So He gave them clear instructions and expected them to be obedient, for their own good. Just as any good father would do and expect of his children, to keep them safe and teach them. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit. This act caused suffering and death to enter the world and it affected every part of God's creation thereafter.
[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”Romans 6:23″]For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.[/pullquote]
When God created Adam, He created him with three parts: a physical body, a spirit, and a soul. When Adam and Eve disobeyed the instructions of their Father, God, they received the punishment for their sins––death. Eventually, our bodies die, just as Adam's and Eve's, and every human being before us. But the punishment of sin does not end there. It is our souls that hang in the balance between eternal life and eternal death. Our soul is our life essence. It is the life that leaves our bodies when we die. Our bodies are immaculate vessels in which our souls and spirits reside. When our bodies die, our souls will either live on eternally with our Lord Jesus Christ and ultimately with God (if we are saved), or our souls will be eternally separated from our Savior and our Heavenly Father––eternal death.
And what of our spirit? Our spirit is that part of us that connects with God. After all, God is a spirit Himself. Those who reject God are spiritually dead, those who believe are spiritually alive. And those who accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God who helps us understand the truth more clearly.
[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”2 Corinthians 13:14″]And the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.[/pullquote]
What does it mean to be saved?
Being saved means you believe that God's only son, Jesus Christ, was crucified on the cross to atone for our sins. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die in our places as the ultimate sacrifice. God did not want all of His creation to perish, so He sacrificed His own Son in our place. Jesus was able to take the place of every human because he was perfect. Had he been a sinner, he would not have been able to pay the debt. He is the only human in the history of the world to live a completely perfect, obedient, and sinless life. He did not deserve to die; it was his selfless sacrifice which makes our salvation possible.
God sacrificed His Son, and Jesus sacrificed himself by being obedient to God and allowing himself to be killed. He resisted all temptation to escape his fate. He offered himself up in a selfless act of love to save the souls of all God's creation. Jesus died for the very people who killed him––sinners––in the hope that they would realize their wrongdoings and repent for their sins, and to make it possible for those who repent and believe in him to once again have everlasting life.
[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”John 3:16″]For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.[/pullquote]
Jesus took on the full punishment of the sins of man, and was raised up from the dead to live eternally with the Father in heaven. Any person who believes, though faith, in the truth of our Savior Jesus Christ, will be saved through the grace of God, and will again have the opportunity to live eternally, to be saved from the punishment of sin, which is eternal death.
Jesus Christ died for us.
[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”Ephesians 2:8″]For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.[/pullquote]
How do I become Saved?
To become saved you must do two things. First, you must believe in your heart that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected and ascended to heaven to live eternally with God the Father of all things. The death of Jesus represents the death that all humanity was meant to endure as punishment for sin. Jesus paid that price for us. The resurrection of Jesus represents the free gift of eternal life, that we receive in the place of death from which we are saved. When we become saved, we symbolically die to the ways of the flesh (sin), and are born again into the spirit of God (perfection).
[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”Romans 10:10″]For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.[/pullquote]
Second, you must confess your belief with your mouth––pray to God in the name of His son, Jesus Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son Jesus to take my place for the punishment of sin. I believe that he died for my sins so that I may live. I believe that he was raised from the dead and lives again. If it were not for this selfless act, I would forever be separated from you. Please forgive me for my sins and shortcomings and send your Holy Spirit to dwell within me and guide my ways. I ask Lord, for wisdom and strength of faith in You and in Jesus as I continue my life here on earth. May my thoughts and actions glorify you in all ways. Thank you for your grace and this gift of salvation.
In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
[pullquote align=”normal” cite=”Romans 3:17″]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.[/pullquote]
When you become saved, you receive God's gift of the Holy Spirit to help you resist temptation to sin and to help you understand what are the right things to do. An important thing to know and remember is that simply saying the words is not enough. You have to truly want to transform your life from the ways of the world, to the ways of God, and believe that, with Him, and through Jesus, it is possible. It is your choice.
Here are some additional things you can (and should) do to continue to grow closer to God the Father, through the Son Jesus Christ.