What does it mean to get and be saved?
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Have you wondered what people mean when they say they've been saved, and also wondered why they are so excited about being saved? "Being saved" means that you have accepted the free gift of salvation offered by Jesus Christ to all persons. Being excited about being saved is the result of knowing for sure that you have eternal life in Heaven, and realizing that God loves you and has plans for your life!
If this sounds good to you, please read on:
1. Every person on the face of the earth is a sinner. Yes, even you. Don't get mad at me, I'm a sinner too. You don't have to be really bad, like a murderer or something, to be a sinner. You see, no one is perfect--except for God, who is holy and cannot even stand to look at sin. "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong."--Habakkuk 1:13. He cannot tolerate murder, but He also cannot tolerate unkind thoughts, selfishness, cursing, and many other things that lots of people do. Sin came into the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. This broke their fellowship and relationship with God. Each person born since then has also had a broken relationship with God, because He is holy and we are not. "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."--1 John 1:8.
2. The great news is, God loves each person in the world so much that He devised a way to remove our sins from us so that we can have a relationship with Him. This method of sin removal is through God's Son, Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."--John 3:16. Jesus is unique in that He is totally God and totally human at the same time. He is the only person that was without sin. But a little over 2000 years ago, He freely gave up His life by dying on a cross for our sins . You and I deserve death because we are sinners, but Jesus took the punishment we deserve by dying on the cross. He died for sinners that were living back then, but also for every person born since then. "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."--Romans 5:8. The most incredible thing happened after Jesus died--three days later, He came back to life! This resurrection proves that He has conquered death and sin. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die."--John 11:25.
3. Jesus died for your sins, and that is His free gift to you. But for you to be saved, you have to accept or receive the gift. The way to do this is to pray like this: "Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I want to receive the gift You offer--that You will erase my sins so that I can be acceptable to God. I may not even totally understand this yet, but I know in my heart that I have done or thought bad things, and I don't want to be apart from God. I want to have eternal life with You and I want You to live in me and help me to learn about You and Your plans for my life. I now turn away from my sins and will try, with Your help, to keep from sinning again. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me." If you prayed this and meant it, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are now saved.
4. Now that you are saved, ask God each day to help you be obedient to Him. Read His Holy Word, the Bible. Try to spend time in prayer to God each day. Tell Him your troubles and ask Him for help. If you don't go to church, start going. Find a good church that believes that the Bible is God's Word. (Not all churches believe this. Avoid these churches. A good way to find out if a church believes the Bible is to ask the pastor if he believes that the Bible is God's infallible Word. If he says anything other than "Yes", find another church.) God wants you to have a close relationship with Him and these are some of the best ways to accomplish that.
5. Tell other people about Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation. This is important, because there are consequences for being an unsaved sinner. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."--Romans 6:23. Every person will die someday--I will, and you will, too. Our bodies will wear out, or get sick, or perhaps get into an accident. This kind of death is physical death, and until Jesus returns to Earth (see Acts 1:11), every person will experience physical death. However, even though your body will die someday, your spirit does not die. Your spirit will live forever--either in the presence of God and Jesus in Heaven (and then the New Heaven and New Earth--see Revelation 21), or away from the presence of God and Jesus forever, in hell, a place of unending torment and darkness. Hell is what awaits people who reject Jesus--so ask God to give you a heart of love towards the people who are not saved, and ask Him to give you opportunities to tell others about Jesus.
If you have just asked Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and to save you, or have rededicated your life to the Lord, click here and let us know so that we can send you some helpful resources.
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