What does “saved” mean? What do I do, to BE saved?
Before we can even get to those questions, we first have to come to a Biblical
(not popular or commonly taught) understanding of who, and what, God truly is. Salvation is not a feeling, a one-shot deal,
or a game. Coming to Christ, is a serious life change, and if YOU are serious, you will take the time to read this most important
message.
WHO IS GOD?
We would strongly encourage you to look up these titles of God, in your own
Bible, so that you might begin to understand exactly who God is.
Elohim (el-oh-heem')... God - Genesis 1:1-4
Jehovah (jeh-ho-vaw')... Lord - Isaiah 12
El-Shaddai (ale shad-dah'-hee)... God Almighty - Genesis 17:1-5
Adonai (ad-o-noy')... Lord - Genesis 15:1-6
Jehovah-Jireh (yir-eh')... The Lord will Provide - Genesis 22:1-14
Jehovah-Rophe (raw-faw')... The Lord that Heals - Exodus 15:22-26
Jehovah-Nissi (nis-see')... The Lord our Banner - Exodus 17:8-16
Jehovah-M'Kaddesh (m kaw-dash')... The Lord who Sanctifies - Leviticus 20:1-8
Jehovah-Tsidkenu (tsed-ken-oo)... The Lord our Righteousness - Jeremiah 23:1-6
Jehovah-Rohi (raw-hee)... The Lord my Shepherd - Psalm 23
Jehovah-Shalom (shaw-lome')... The Lord is Peace - Judges 6:1-24
Jehovah-Shammah (shawm-a)... The Lord is There - Ezekiel 48:30-35
El-Elyon (ale el-yone')... the Most High - Daniel 4:17-34
Jehovah-Sabaoth (sab-ah-owth')... The Lord of Hosts - Psalm 89:1-8
Jehovah-Nakah (naw-kaw)... The Lord who Smites - Ezekiel 7:1-9
Alpha and Omega... The First and the Last - Revelation 1:1-11
Qadowsh-Iysh (kaw-doshe' eesh)... Holy One - Isaiah 12
Qanna (kan-naw')... Jealous - Exodus 34:1-14
El Olam (ale o-lawm')... Everlasting God - Genesis 21:22-33
Sur/Petra (tsoor/ pet'-ra)... Rock - Psalm 61
El-Roi (ale ro-ee)... the Strong One who Sees - Genesis 16:1-13
Semah (tseh'-makh)... the Branch - Isaiah 11:1-9
Paraclete (par-a-klete)... Comforter - John 14:15-27
Thura (thoo'-ra)... the Door - John 10:1-10
Yasha (yaw-shaw')... Savior - Isaiah 45:15-22
Asah (aw-saw')... Maker - Isaiah 45:5-12
Pistos (pis-tos')... Faithful - Revelation 19:11-21
Amnos/Arnion (am-nos'/ar-nee'-on)... the Lamb - John 1:29-36
Orthrinos-Aster (or-thrin-os' as-tare')... Morning Star - Revelation 22:12-16
Pele-Yaats (peh'-leh yaw-ats')... Wonderful Counselor - Isaiah 11:1-5
WHAT IS GOD?
What moral or principled charateristics come to mind, when a person thinks
of God? Holiness, peace, joy, love? Those are all true, and they are the easiest ones. What about just (Isaiah 45:21), righteous
(Psalms 7:9), goodness (Matthew 19:17), angry (Psalms 7:11), jealous (Exodus 34:14) and perfect (Matthew 5:48) ?
When God gave Moses the 10 commandments, He said to Moses, “I am the
LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2), and then
began to list, what He expected of them. Being a holy God, delivering His people from slavery and oppression, God gave them
rules to live by. These are the 10 Commandments God gave:
(1) I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any
thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me,
and keep my commandments.
(3) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD
will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
(4) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour,
and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy
son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For
in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD
blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
(5) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the
land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
(6) Thou shalt not kill.
(7) Thou shalt not commit adultery.
(8) Thou shalt not steal.
(9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
(10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
These are the 10 commandments God gave to Moses. This is the behavior He
expected of the people that serve Him.
The Bible tells us that the law (this is God’s law) of the LORD is
perfect, converting the soul (Psalm 19:7). In simple terms, this means that when we hold ourselves up to the law of God…
our thoughts, our words, our actions, we can see that we fall quite short of the expected behavior He demands from us.
When we look through the ten commandments, the law of God, we can easily
see that we have broken at least one of them, probably more, and probably on a regular basis. The Bible says that if you’ve
broken only 1 of the laws, you’re just as guilty as if you’d broken them all. (James 2:10). This is a serious
offense. With serious consequences.
Going back to the Biblical understanding that God is holy, good, righteous
and just, we have to honestly ask ourselves, if we died tonight, and found ourselves standing before this good, and perfect
God, would we be granted access to Heaven? An evangelist said it this way: “The very thing (goodness) about God that
sinners believe will save them from eternal condemnation, is the very thing that will CONDEMN them. It is BECAUSE God is good
and holy and righteous, that He MUST punish sin where it is found”.
This leaves us in a very dangerous position. We’ve created a god in
our own minds, that is a comfortable god, a lenient god that allows us to do whatever we choose to do, and then will welcome
us into his presence on the day of judgement, because he is forgiving and loving. This is NOT the God of the Holy Bible. This
is a made up god, that we’ve custom tailored to suit our sinful lifestyle – violating the very first commandment.
So what GOOD is this law of God, if there is NO WAY we can keep it? The law
is VERY good, it cannot save us, but it DOES show us that we need to BE saved. It shows us there is a disease, that we have
it, that it’s terminal, and we need a cure.
The Bible teaches us that the law is a schoolmaster, or a teacher, that BRINGS
us, to Jesus. (Galatians 3:24) Only by Jesus, can we find hope. This is what the Bible says about what He did for us, and
why:
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1Cor. 6: 9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11
And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and
by the Spirit of our God.
Acts 4: 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that
by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand
here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved.
THIS, is Biblical salvation
If you’ve read this, and you understand that you are a sinner, in need
of a Savior, a prayer from your heart, to God’s ears, is what is required of you. We would encourage you to seriously
consider your sinful state, before a Holy God, and what might happen to you, if you were to die tomorrow, and stand before
Him. As stated at the beginning of this article, salvation is not a game, or a feeling… it is life, or death.
Below is a sample prayer, that you might like to read. When you pray to the
Lord, don’t concern yourself with flowery language, He already knows what you’re thinking and feeling, He simply
wants to hear it from you.
Dear God, I am a sinner and need forgiveness
I believe that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and died for my sin
God, give me a new will, to turn from my sins, and serve you
I now receive Christ Jesus and what He did on the cross, for me
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
This is JUST the beginning of a wonderful new life, that He has for you.
Just like with any other relationship, the one you have with Jesus requires
your time, your devotion, your willingness to learn, and your sincerity. The one BIG difference is, the relationship you now
have with Jesus, is THE most important one, you will ever have.
A few things to help you begin this new life with Him:
1.) Read your bible every day, to get to know Him. If you dont have one,
get one, right away. The Holy Scriptures have been called by some: "God's love letter to humanity" you need to know what that
letter says! There are numerous versions of the bible available, and the truth is, they are **NOT** all the same. We strongly
encourage you to get an Authorized King James version. Start by reading the gospel of John, in the New Testament. You might
like to read the book of Romans, next. Then, go to the very beginning and start with Genesis, and read a little each day.
Pray before you read, that God would prepare your heart to receive, and understand His word.
2.) Pray every day, and talk to God. Many new believers have no idea how
to pray, and this is normal. It's very simple, you tell Him what's on your heart. He already knows anyway, but He wants you
to come to Him and tell Him, to rely on Him for guidance, wisdom, strength & comfort. Always thank Him for what He's done
for you, give Him all praise and honor, He's worth it!!
3.) Find a bible-believing, bible-teaching church, where Jesus is preached,
and the bible is the final authority. All churches are NOT the same. If you dont know any Christians to go to church with,
look in your phone book and start calling some churches, and ask them some questions.
Simple questions to ask would be:
* do you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin?
* do you believe that He died and rose again on the third day?
* do you believe the bible is the inspired, infallible holy word of God?
Believe it or not, many, many churches do not believe these things, and do
not teach them. Even ones that call themselves "Christian" churches. While you've got them on the phone, ask them if they
can send you, or if you can come pick up a copy of their "statement of faith", this will help you learn what the church actually
believes and preaches.
