What Must I do to Be “Saved?”
Before I knew the LORD people would ask me if I was “Saved?” In my mind the word “saved,” conjured up a goalkeeper in football{soccer} team whose job it was to “save” the ball from going into the net, or a hockey keeper doing likewise. I had no idea what they were talking about. “Are you saved?’ What does that mean? Saved from what? Well the Bible tells us we need to be ‘saved.’ The word “saved” {sozo} {from a word meaning “safe”} , was used to describe someone who was delivered, rescued from a serious illness, danger, perishing, one suffering from disease, to make well, restore to health, preservation, safe. The NAS translation uses it 108 times. It speaks of “Deliverance.”
“Jesus gave himself for our sins, that He might deliver {save} us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.” – Galatians 1:4
Jesus gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil world—not just the evil world to come.
Many people think that what Jesus produced through His death, burial, and resurrection only affects the spiritual, eternal realm. Because of this, they come up with song lyrics referring to when all of us get to heaven, what a day it will be. Of course it will be glorious in heaven, but Jesus also came to deliver us from this present evil world. We’re not just saved from hell, our sins, and future punishment—Jesus also came to deliver, protect, and provide for us in this physical world right now.
An All-Encompassing Word
The Greek word sozo was used over a hundred times in the New Testament. It’s an all-encompassing word for salvation, often rendered “save” or “saved.” However, a closer look at how this important word was translated makes it very clear that our salvation includes much more than just forgiveness of sins. Sozo was translated “save” thirty-eight times in reference to the forgiveness of sins. Some examples include:
“She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save [sozo] his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
“For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save [sozo] them that believe.”
1 Corinthians 1:21
“Wherefore he is able also to save [sozo] them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
Forgiven, Healed, and Delivered
Sozo was translated another fifty-three times as “saved” (past tense) in reference to forgiveness of sins. However, there were also times where this exact same Greek word was translated as “healed.”
“[Jairus] besought [ Jesus] greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed [sozo]; and she shall live.” Mark 5:23
This word “healed” is referring to physical healing. As the story unfolds, Jairus’ daughter actually died, and Jesus raised her from the dead. (Mark 5:35–43.) So in this instance sozo— “healed”—refers to physical healing, even physical resurrection from the dead.
This same word that’s used for both forgiveness of sins and physical healing also applies to deliverance from demons.
“They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed [sozo].” Luke 8:36
This poor man was enslaved, controlled by demons and the best the world could do was chain him up, isolate him. He suffered terribly, “But God…” sent Jesus and he came to set the captives free and HE Came for this man and to this and and delivered him out from under the authority and dominion of demons and set him free and clothed him in a right mind!
PHYSICAL ;
This same word—sozo—was also translated “made whole” in reference to physical healing. Consider the woman suffering with an issue of blood:
“But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole [sozo]. And the woman was made whole [sozo] from that hour.” Matthew 9:22
In faith, she touched the hem of His garment and received healing. She was sozo—made whole. This is the same Greek word that is synonymous with forgiveness of sin. Here it is used for being healed physically.
This same instance, recorded in the book of Mark, reveals that right before she reached out to Jesus, she said:
“If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole [sozo].” Mark 5:28
Sozo was translated “make whole” or “be whole” eleven times in scripture. It’s obvious from God’s Word that salvation isn’t limited only to the forgiveness of sins.
“And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole [sozo].” Mark 6:56
“The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed [sozo].” Acts 14:9
This man was delivered from his infirmity and was healed, made whole, physically delivered, rescued, saved,made whole as revealed in vv. 8–10.
Jesus knew the thoughts of the scribes and Pharisees, so He asked them a question:
“Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save [sozo] life, or to destroy it?” Luke 6:9
They chose not to answer, they were more interested in law keeping as an end to itself than the welfare of a suffering individual. Jesus was interested in the suffering one, so He chose to heal the man with the withered right hand! (vv. 8–11). Jesus delivered the man, rescued, made whole, saved him from this physical ailment, suffering!
Christ’s Saving Power
Here in this prayer we see the sick person is healed and raised up and all this through the power of Jesus to deliver, rescue, save! and forgiven!
“The prayer of faith shall save [sozo] the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” James 5:15
Not just talking about forgiveness of sins. He meant the healing of the body, “to make whole.”
When Jesus heard the news that Jairus’ daughter had died, He answered him, saying:
“Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole [sozo].” Luke 8:50
Deliverance from what “danger?” Deliverance from the danger of sin’s penalty!
penalty of sin, the power of sin, and one day when we are with the Lord Jesus, the Presence of sin. Also to be delivered from the authority of satan{Read 2 Tim 2:24-26}; and to be “delivered from the wrath of God, who punishes sin; “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”-{Rom 5:9}
‘Saved is a synonym for rescued or delivered. It implies there’s some kind of threatening condition, a dangerous, desperate, or deadly condition from which we need to be rescued. The question is, from what?”-{John Mac Arthur.}
To be “Saved” implies there must be something or some One who can “SAVE,” has the power and ability. Step forward the LORD Jesus
“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” -{Matt 1:21}. People need to be delivered, rescued saved from their sins. Jesus is authorized, qualified and able! He saves from “sins.” Why do we need Him? Because only He can deliver from …sins! We all have sinned, missed the mark of perfection in loving, honoring and living for God, and the soul that sins must die. Sin pays wages, for the wages of sin is death! Jesus said it that to ‘die in your sin,’ is a terrible things. We either will die in our sin, owning it and held responsible for it, or we will die “In Christ,” having transferred our sin unto Him through repentance towards God, turning from self rule and submitting to Him and faith in Jesus Christ to save, deliver us from the penalty, dominion of sin and to as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God. -{Read John 1:12}
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.”-{1 Timothy 2:15}. One of the reasons Jesus came and is true and to be embraced, believed, is that HE came into the world to…SAVE SINNERS. This is wonderful news as we all need rescuing, delivered and we are incapable of doing so individually, collectively, financially, academically, religiously for they are all tainted by the best of people who are steeped in sin. We need someone outside of us who is sinless, loving meets God’s standards and has the power to set us free spiritually as He did the demoniac who was under the power of demons and societies answer was chain him up. But Jesus looked him up and set him FREE- “and you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free!
Sinners need to be delivered , rescued, but from what?
He saves from sickness
He saves from demons
He saves from death to life; -Jarius daughter
He saves from sin-
He Saves from the Wrath of God;
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”- {Rom 5:9}
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”-{John 3:36]
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”-{Actts 4:12}
What does sin do?
- Sin Deceives– Heb 3:13 “The deceitfulness of sin” – “The woman was deceived” Eve
- Sin Separates – Ish 59:2 “ But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins,have hidden His face from you, So that He does not hear,,”
- Sin Destroys -families- Gen 4:7 – Cain and Abel” sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you , but to master you/.” – Cain kiled Abel….
- Sin Distorts –
Sin is Inherent-
Rom 5:19 – “Through the one mans disobedience the many were made sinners”
Ps 51:15 “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.”
Sin is Universal-
1 Kings 8:46 – “There is no man who does not sin”-
Eccl 7:20 – “Indeed , there is not a righteous man on earth who continualy does good and who never sins.”
Rom 3:23- “For ALL what sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
1 Jn 1:8 – “If we say we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves, and the trruth is not in us.”`
Sin is compared to
– A dog eating his own vomit- 2 Peter 2:22
– A sow after been washed returns to wallowing in the mire.”-2 Peter 2:22
– A cloth used for a womans menstrual disposal- Ish 646
– Sickness…SORES….
Sin is a Master-
Jn 8:34 – “ Jesus answered them and said Truly, Truly, I say to you , everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”
Sin Enslaves –
Jn 8:34 “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin”
Rom 6:6 – “ slaves to sin.”
Rom 6:16 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slavesfor obedience, you ARE slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”
ENSLAVED TO WHOM?
A SLAVE TO satan
2 Tim 2:26 -”…and escape form the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
Eph 2: 2 “..of the spirit that is NOW working IN the sons of disobedience”
Sin is a Killer
Physical Death – The seperation of the soul and bodyRom 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death”-
Spiritual death – The seperation of the soul and God- Eph 2:5
Eternal Death – Rev 14:11 The soul forever seperated from God at the Completion of the physical death!
Sin is Evil
Gen 39:9 – Jospeh -“ How then could I commit this great evil, and sin against Goid.”
Sin Causes Pain
Sin is against God ultimately –
Ps 51:4 – “Against Thee and Thee only, I have sinned and done what is evi in Thy sightl”
Sin is PUNISHED
Eli’s sons and Eli
Jezebel….Rev 2:21-23
Though He appear to delay it does not mean the guilty will go unpunished
Rev 21:8- “But for the cowardly, and unbeliveing and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part wil be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death”
Rom 2:16 – THOUGHT LIFE/ SECRETS Exposed and JUDGED
“…on that day when, according to my Gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”
Rom 3:19 – “That verry mouth may be closed, and al the world may become accountable to God.”
Matt 12:36 – WORDS JUDGED
“And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgement. For by your words you shall be justified and by your words you shall be condemned”
Sins of COMMISSION
Sins of OMMISSION
Disobedience to the Son of God-The lord Jesus is Judged1
John 3:36- “He who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Man is at enmity with God…
We need to understand Sin.
Most peoples Concept of sin -is how it affects other people. There reasoning goes like this… “If it’s not hurting anyone else .. what harm is it…”
But The issue is Sin is first and foremost Aginst God!
Lets look at some words that are used in Gods Word to show us different Expressions of sin.
Look at some of the words used to show us DIFFERENT Expressions of sin.
Look under “the Cross2” for definitions…
1.Hamartia – To miss the mark. To aim at a target and not to hit it.
It implies a standard I need to reach and do not. I may aim at it , strive to it but I miss it is sin
James “to fail in one part is to fail in the whole.”
- Confusion “To confuse God’s order is sin.”
God is a God of Order..It is to swap things around.
As God He has a right to rule His creatures and they have a right to follow His Instruction.
3. Transgression– Ex 23:21 -“A Premeditated crossing of the line of Gods law. A Rebellious act of Rejecting Gods authority” “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him?”- Pharaoh
- Heb 2:- Not out of ignorance but out of Neglect – Choosing to reject the knowledge given
- Rom 1: They supressed the truth
- Perversion – “To take and twist what God says and do not do what He says.
Sin is not just what we do or don’t do. Sin is who we are- sinners! God commands we repent- completely turn from living for self and serving both self and sin and turn to God and submit to His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, to rule over us and save us from our sin against God, and give us a new spiritual heart to love and serve Him and love others for His sake. -{Read 2 Cor 4:5}.
We must repent and believe! Mark 1:15 gives us a summary of the message Jesus brought at the beginning of His MINISTRY “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
What is the Gospel message?
Paul wrote ” Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,..”-{1 Cor 15:1-4}.
After His Resurrection, The Lord Jesus said, “…And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”- {Luke 24:46-47}
On the day of Pentecost after Peter preached, The people asked, –“Brothers, what shall we do?”
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
The suicidal jailer asked, ” What must i do to be saved?” as recorded in Acts 6:30-31, “Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household…”
The Gospel is God’s great, delivering news to us by which we may be “saved,” delivered, rescued from spiritual danger to freedom to be right with God and be given a newness of life and “Sealed ” by the indwelling Holy Spirit. “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” -{Ephesians 1:13-14}. “Sealed” spoke of authority, ownership. We are the LORD’S and the Holy Spirit is given to us to enable us to live as a follower of the LORD JESUS and also as a “pledge”{Promise} The word “aarabon” for pledge/ promise was used of an engagement ring, a “down-payment,” for a future event. It was also used as a legal word of the first installment of something, a payment with the GUARANTEE the rest would be paid! We belong to God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is proof of being His and the “down-payment” of future bliss of being with God!