We use the word saved to express keeping safe or rescuing someone from harm or danger. Those who rescue someone from danger are called heroes. In the Christian world, we use the term to identify those who have been saved from eternal damnation in Hell. In the New Testament, the term is used 57 times in reference to those who have sought forgiveness of sins from God and surrendered their lives to the Lordship of Jesus.
When a person is saved from their sins, they have acknowledged they are a sinner in need of a Savior. In Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We are all guilty before God since the sin of Adam and Eve. Because of the holiness of God, no sin can enter Heaven. However, because of His love for us, God made a way for us to be redeemed, bought back, so that we could spend eternity with Him. John 3:16 expresses this desire. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus died in our place to make the payment for our sins. While it is available to everyone, it is not automatically applied to your life.
You must repent and accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord. At that moment, His righteousness is applied to you. God sees the righteousness of His Son, not the sin of our lives. It is only by His grace, God’s unmerited favor, that any of us can gain eternal life. It is not by our works. We work for God out of our love and deep appreciation. We do not work for our salvation. This is clear in many passages, but especially in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Now, you may be saying to yourself, “I know all of this, so what has this devotion got to do with me?” I write this because so many pray the prayer and change a few things in their lives, but they do not surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. When Jesus saved you, he also removed the power of sin over you. Romans 6:14 “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” You are not under its control any longer. You have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you if you will use it. Romans 6:18 teaches us that after we are free from the power, we are to be slaves to righteousness. We transition from being a slave to sin to being a servant of the King of Kings. Our allegiance is now to God, and pleasing Him becomes our priority.
This is something we desire when we understand the awesomeness of what He has done for us. We are powerless over sin without the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. I think some feel that they can handle themselves and not sin. They think that since they do not commit adultery, steal from their neighbors, or murder someone, they are a pretty good person and they don’t need God to forgive them. They are living under the deception that is fostered by the devil. We have all lied, and all it takes to be doomed to hell is one sin! God grants us the power to be free from the power that sin once held over us. After we have been freed, we need to produce fruit and begin the process of sanctification. This is the process of becoming like Jesus until the day we die.
Romans 6:22 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”
This salvation also frees us from the power of death. No, I do not mean our physical bodies will live forever. Unless Jesus comes back before we die, we will die a physical death. However, the grave will not hold us. Our Spirit will live forever, and we will gain Heaven as soon as our physical body takes its last breath.
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death”. This verse explains that through the Holy Spirit, a spiritual power within believers, the grip of sin and its consequence, death, is broken.
With salvation, we gain a friend in God. We become joint heirs with Jesus. We have a new family of brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a guilt-free conscience because we have been forgiven. While we will still have consequences from our past, we know that Heaven will be free of our consequences.
Salvation affords us joy in our hearts that the things of this life cannot touch. We can take great comfort in all that salvation brings to us and say a great bit Hallelujah to the future. Our hero of our salvation is Jesus, and I am so thankful for Him.
So, what are you saved from? You are saved from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and the eternal death in Hell. You gain true joy, peace, a new family, and become an heir with Jesus. You are listened to and accepted by God Almighty. We trade the worst possible life for the best! Look at the big picture of eternity, and you will agree that no matter what you go through here, it cannot compare to what you will gain with God.
