Why do we need to be saved?
The term “saved” generally means to be saved from the penalty of our
sins. The Bible says that every person has sinned and is guilty of sin.
We are sinners. The punishment for sin is death and hell. However, John
3:16 says that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life.” But what exactly does this mean?
Since God created this world and Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of
Eden, mankind has been under the curse of sin. Our very natures are
sinful and we can do nothing to change this. For this reason, Jesus
Christ came into the world as a man and lived the sinless and faultless
life that we couldn’t live. He then died on the cross, giving up His
life for us, and 3 days later, He rose from the dead.
God is perfectly holy. We deserve God’s wrath because we have all
done wrong things and sinned against Him in rebellion. When Jesus died
on the cross, He was taking the wrath of God that we deserved onto
Himself so that we wouldn’t have to face His anger for our sins. In that
sense, He died in our place.
But the only way to receive forgiveness for all of our wrongs—past,
present, and future—and avoid God’s wrath is through placing our trust
in Jesus Christ and repenting of our sins.
We must count the cost
Following Jesus is no easy task. It is not about health, wealth, or
earthy prosperity. Likewise, Following Jesus can mean having to
sacrifice our possessions, our relationships, even our lives sometimes.
Christ said that His followers would be hated because of Him, but He
also said that no sacrifice we ever make for Him will be for nothing.
Following Jesus is hard and different people will pay different
prices—but it is so worth it. Jesus is worth it all.
We must believe
Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved.”
To be a Christian, we must believe that there is a holy God who has
created the possibility for sin and who has an expectation that people
do what is good and right. We have all failed to meet this expectation.
We must believe that we are sinners, and that we need Jesus in order to
be saved. Until we make the personal decision to follow Him, we are
under the anger of God. That is, we are under His wrath. God is angry
about sin and He is a righteous judge. To fix the problem of man’s
separation from Him, God had to send His only Son, Jesus, into the
world. We must believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, meaning that Jesus,
while He was fully man, was also fully God. Jesus was one with
God—thus, He was God Himself. Because no man can pay a ransom for
another man, God Himself had to come and die in our place. Furthermore,
the Lord Jesus never sinned. He lived the perfect life that we could
never live. And so, He was the only One who could stand in our place and
pay that penalty. Lastly, we must believe that Jesus rose from the
dead. If He had not, we would still be in sin, but on the 3rd day after
His death, Christ rose from the grave. So, the sinless Son of God died
in our place and then He rose again, just as He had said He would. (Matthew 28:6) We
must admit to God that we are sinners, believe all of these things, and
receive the free gift of God’s forgiveness (salvation) through the
atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through His sacrifice, all of our sins—past, present, and future—are able to be forgiven (Piper, 2010).
We must repent
Repent means to “change one’s mind”. In coming to Christ, we repent
of our past sins and turn away from them. We no longer love our sin, but
we hate sin because it offends a holy God. For this reason, we are
truly sorry for what we have done and we turn our lives around. We start
trying to do God’s will instead of our own will. In doing so, we submit
to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We start living for God instead of
living for ourselves.
Now, does this mean that Christians never sin? No. Christians fall
into sin sometimes, but we continually repent of these sins to God. We
confess and we ask His forgiveness. The Holy Spirit continually convicts
us of sin. We don’t rush wholeheartedly into evil. A Christian is
someone who’s life has changed direction. They love what is good, and
not what is evil. They try to do what’s right. They aren’t perfect, but
they are progressively becoming more like Jesus through the power of the
Holy Spirit within them. They are always growing in holiness.
Have you come to repent and trust in Christ? If so, you will want to
start your Christian walk, and there are a few ways that you can
begin…
Time to Grow
People begin life in God’s family just as they began it in their
parents’ family — as babies. Baby Christians need to be nurtured,
protected, taught and loved. Here are a few suggestions that will help
you get the care and guidance you need as you begin to grow in your
faith:
Tell a friend. Do you know someone who might get excited about the
decision you’ve made — a pastor, maybe, or Christian friend? Tell him or
her. Share the joy of your new commitment with someone else!
Read the Bible. Baby Christians need rich nourishment, and no source
is better than God’s Word. The Bible is God’s message to mankind, so
it’s vital for young believers to know what it says. You can get started
by looking up and reading the verses listed in this article. After
that, we’d suggest that you make a habit of reading a chapter a day,
beginning with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — they’ll help
you get better acquainted with Jesus). Next you could take a look at
Paul’s letter to the Philippians and the letters of James and I John. To
understand more about how Jesus’ death means life for you, read Paul’s
letter to the Romans. If you have questions, a pastor or Christian
friend will be able to help you in your Bible study. If you don’t have a
Bible, please contact us and we’ll be happy to send you one.
Talk to God regularly. Make prayer a daily habit. This means talking
to God about anything, at any time of the day or night. It can also mean
spending a special “quiet” time with Him where you meditate on His
Word, tell Him of your love and devotion, and talk to Him about others
and their needs.
Get involved in a church. When you open the door to Christ and come
home to God, you acquire a new set of spiritual brothers and sisters.
God has many other children on the earth, and it’s important that they
meet together regularly as a family. That’s what church is all about.
The church is the best place for infant Christians to find the support
they need to grow strong. Churches are where God’s people gather to
worship, learn from the Bible, encourage each other and welcome new
believers into God’s family. Find a church near you that does these
things, and get involved. Your church should believe that the Bible is
the accurate Word of God, that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, that He is
fully God and man, and that only through faith in Jesus Christ can a
person have eternal life.
Paraphrased statements by John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
Excerpt by Focus on the Family. © 2012 Focus on the Family. Website: focusonthefamily.com
