For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--

not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

A common question that I am asked is this: “I have been active in the church all of my life but I don’t understand what people mean when they talk about “being saved,” what does it mean to “be saved” and is that different from what I believe and do?” This is an excellent question and one that we should be asking ourselves if we don’t have an answer for it. “Being saved” is a thoroughly Biblical idea that is a turning point in one’s life where we go from unbelief to faith and belief in Jesus Christ. The language of to “be saved” or “being saved” is found in all four of the Gospels as well as in the books of Acts, Romans, and other New Testament letters. The Scriptures teach that we are born with sin and that we need the grace of God to work in our lives and take away our sin so that we can be close to God and receive salvation or in other words “be saved.” Many people including myself can trace our faith in Jesus Christ back to a particular point in our life where we made a conscious decision to exclusively follow Jesus. One of the reasons that I remember that particular moment is because I grew up in a church community that highly valued having a defining moment of faith. If I was not taught that a moment of belief was important I may not have had such a clear experience of salvation and I might not remember the moment to this day.

Other churches and groups of Christians do not push the idea of a moment of salvation and see faith in Christ as more of a process and something that develops over time. This is a philosophy that has been taught and lived out by many members of our congregation over the years. It is a solid framework for faith in Christ and can lead to “being saved” by Jesus Christ just as well as the moment of salvation emphasis can but each believer must be able to say: “I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior, that he has forgiven me of my sin and has given me the gift of eternal life, and I do not believe in or follow any other God.” If you are able to say those words and mean it in your heart you are one of God’s chosen ones, your name is written in the book of life and the devil cannot snatch you away from the love of Jesus.

It is a wonderful blessing to be able to say: “I can’t remember a time when I did not believe in Jesus.” If that is your faith story then praise God for how faithful he has been to you. It is also a great blessing to be able to say: “I first accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior on this date at this place with this person.” Or it is also a great blessing to be able to say: Somewhere in the course of this year I came into a full understanding that Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior.” So whether you have a clear “moment of salvation” to report on or not is not nearly so important as your testimony to faith in Jesus Christ today. If you have faith in Jesus Christ you are saved. Not because of something that you did but because Jesus loves you and extended his grace to you.

True faith lasts to the end and it cannot be shaken. This does not mean that we are not going to have doubts. All Christians have doubts from time to time but Jesus always brings us back around to faith in him. Salvation can never be reduced to a checkbox in life where if you do this or say this you are now ok. The initial moment of salvation must be followed up with acts of worship and service or the initial act was not a moment of salvation at all. If you are wondering about your own salvation contact me and I would be delighted to talk to you more about it.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,

but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Mark 16:16