What does it mean to be saved?

[Ken-1122]

I suspect there might be various interpretations depending on denominations and if so, I was hoping I could get various perspectives of what it means to be saved

 

[com7fy8]

Hi, Ken . . . I am Bill . . . here we go

First, Jesus saved us, by dying on the cross for our sins and reconciling us with God so we can be adopted as His children.

Now a person becomes saved by trusting in all Jesus did, no the cross, trusting Jesus to rescue us from our life of sin. And God turns a person "from the power of Satan to God" (in Acts 26:18) So, there is a major power change, from how this world's evil spirit messes people and dominates people with lust and anger and unforgiveness . . . to how God's almighty power has us in His own peace to rule us each personally.

So, we are changed . . . rescued by changing us in our character > we become how God's love cures our character . . . more and more as we grow in how Jesus is and loves. And this makes us safe . . . saved. God's love has almighty power to keep us safe from fear and bitterness and raging anger and arguing and complaining and other anti-love things which waste people and ruin our relating.

So we become family with God. Salvation, then, is not really individual. But we become joined to Jesus and His brethren as family blessing and helping one another in this.

 

[eleos1954]

Hi, Ken . . . I am Bill . . . here we go

First, Jesus saved us, by dying on the cross for our sins and reconciling us with God so we can be adopted as His children.

Now a person becomes saved by trusting in all Jesus did, no the cross, trusting Jesus to rescue us from our life of sin. And God turns a person "from the power of Satan to God" (in Acts 26:18) So, there is a major power change, from how this world's evil spirit messes people and dominates people with lust and anger and unforgiveness . . . to how God's almighty power has us in His own peace to rule us each personally.

So, we are changed . . . rescued by changing us in our character > we become how God's love cures our character . . . more and more as we grow in how Jesus is and loves. And this makes us safe . . . saved. God's love has almighty power to keep us safe from fear and bitterness and raging anger and arguing and complaining and other anti-love things which waste people and ruin our relating.

So we become family with God. Salvation, then, is not really individual. But we become joined to Jesus and His brethren as family blessing and helping one another in this.

I agree with this (how we are saved) .... but in direct answer to the question

What does it mean to be saved?

Saved from what? It means we will receive eternal life with God. That is ... we will not suffer the 2nd death. We are saved from the 2nd death through the blood of Jesus.

 

[com7fy8]

Saved from what?

saved from our sins

saved from God's wrath

saved from suffering in fear and other anti-love chaos in us

saved from my self's character which makes me able to live in sin and stay weak enough to give in to selfish pleasure seeking and therefore also be weak enough to suffer in spiritual and emotional and mental chaos

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I suspect there might be various interpretations depending on denominations and if so, I was hoping I could get various perspectives of what it means to be saved

Essentially it means a person has decided to follow Jesus as best they can, as God knows they can.

 

[Ken-1122]

Hi, Ken . . . I am Bill . . . here we go

First, Jesus saved us, by dying on the cross for our sins and reconciling us with God so we can be adopted as His children.

Now a person becomes saved by trusting in all Jesus did, no the cross, trusting Jesus to rescue us from our life of sin. And God turns a person "from the power of Satan to God" (in Acts 26:18) So, there is a major power change, from how this world's evil spirit messes people and dominates people with lust and anger and unforgiveness . . . to how God's almighty power has us in His own peace to rule us each personally.

So, we are changed . . . rescued by changing us in our character > we become how God's love cures our character . . . more and more as we grow in how Jesus is and loves. And this makes us safe . . . saved. God's love has almighty power to keep us safe from fear and bitterness and raging anger and arguing and complaining and other anti-love things which waste people and ruin our relating.

So we become family with God. Salvation, then, is not really individual. But we become joined to Jesus and His brethren as family blessing and helping one another in this.

So if a person is raised in a Christian family were from birth he is taught to trust in all that Jesus did from the time he is capable of understanding, he has never been under the power of Satan and always try to be as good of a person as he can be, would it be fair to say this person was never unsaved thus always saved?

 

[Soyeong]

I suspect there might be various interpretations depending on denominations and if so, I was hoping I could get various perspectives of what it means to be saved

In Psalms 119:29, David wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and in Titus 2:11-14, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, which is what God's law was given to instruct how to do, so God graciously teaching us to do good works in obedience to His law is itself part of the content of His free gift of salvation, and participating in that training does nothing to earn it, but rather that is what it looks like to receive it. Our salvation is from sin and sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4), so being trained by grace to live in obedience to God’s law through faith is what Jesus saving us from living in transgression of God’s law looks like. Furthermore, in Titus 2:14, it says that Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so if we have faith in what he accomplished on the cross and understand what it means for how we should live our lives, then we will become zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law (Acts 21:20) and will not return to the lawlessness that he gave himself to redeem us from.

 

[com7fy8]

So if a person is raised in a Christian family were from birth he is taught to trust in all that Jesus did from the time he is capable of understanding, he has never been under the power of Satan and always try to be as good of a person as he can be,

try to be

If we are trusting Jesus, we are not trying. We are depending.

In any case > I would talk with a person and pray and see how he or she is doing. You can say in theory a person was brought up Christian and not in Satan's power, but it is wise to check.

would it be fair to say this person was never unsaved thus always saved?

Two people can make the exact same claims and be the exact opposite. And you can tell if someone is growing in Jesus and God's word and the person is helping you to get more real with God and in how Jesus has us loving.

But I would not go only by anyone's say-so.

 

[Ken-1122]

Essentially it means a person has decided to follow Jesus as best they can, as God knows they can.

So if a person has always tried to follow Jesus, has this person been saved his entire life?

 

[Ken-1122]

In Psalms 119:29, David wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and in Titus 2:11-14, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, which is what God's law was given to instruct how to do, so God graciously teaching us to do good works in obedience to His law is itself part of the content of His free gift of salvation, and participating in that training does nothing to earn it, but rather that is what it looks like to receive it.

When God teaches to do good works in obedience to his law, how does God teach people? Through visions? Dreams? Does he send representatives to teach? How does God teach? At what point during these teachings does one become saved? If you are already being the best you can be, does anything about you change when you become saved?

 

[Ken-1122]

If we are trusting Jesus, we are not trying. We are depending.

In any case > I would talk with a person and pray and see how he or she is doing. You can say in theory a person was brought up Christian and not in Satan's power, but it is wise to check.

Two people can make the exact same claims and be the exact opposite. And you can tell if someone is growing in Jesus and God's word and the person is helping you to get more real with God and in how Jesus has us loving.

But I would not go only by anyone's say-so.

I wasn’t really talking about a person claiming to be this or that, I was talking about a person who wants to be good because they were raised that way, thus their behavior is on moral par with a person who is saved. Does this person change when they become saved?

 

[Soyeong]

When God teaches to do good works in obedience to his law, how does God teach people? Through visions? Dreams? Does he send representatives to teach? How does God teach?

God teaches us through hearing His voice. For example, in Genesis 26:5, Abraham heard God's voice, kept His charge, His statutes, and His laws. Likewise, in Deuteronomy 5:31-33, God told Moses everything to write down without departing from it, so we have recorded access to God's word, which can also teach us. In Acts 10:9-16, God taught Peter through his vision, so that can also be done. God has also sent prophets to teach. God can also teach us about who He is through acting on our behalf, as he did throughout the book of Exodus. Furthermore, God gives us life experiences that teach us and gives us opportunities to make the right decisions. God's law was given to teach us about who He is, how to walk in His ways, how to act in accordance with His nature, and how to grow in a relationship with Him (Deuteronomy 10:12-22), so when we continue to make the right choices to obey God's law, God is teaching us those things and we are revealing and participating in the nature of who God has made us to be (2 Peter 1:3-12). So ultimately God is teaching us about who He is and who we are in Him.

At what point during these teachings does one become saved?

The Bible speaks about our salvation in the past, present, and future tenses, so we have been saved from the penalty of our sins (Ephesians 2:8), we are being saved from continuing to live in sin (Philippians 2:12), and we will be saved from God's wrath on the day of the Lord (Romans 5:9-10). Likewise, Titus 2:11-14, describe both past and present aspects of our salvation, where Christ has given himself to redeem us from all lawlessness, while the ongoing training that we are receiving to obey God's law is in the present tense.

If you are already being the best you can be, does anything about you change when you become saved?

In Philippians 1:6, he who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it on the day of Christ Jesus, so we are works in progress that will not be the best that we can be until that day.

 

[Ken-1122]

The Bible speaks about our salvation in the past, present, and future tenses, so we have been saved from the penalty of our sins (Ephesians 2:8), we are being saved from continuing to live in sin (Philippians 2:12), and we will be saved from God's wrath on the day of the Lord (Romans 5:9-10). Likewise, Titus 2:11-14, describe both past and present aspects of our salvation, where Christ has given himself to redeem us from all lawlessness, while the ongoing training that we are receiving to obey God's law is in the present tense.


In Philippians 1:6, he who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it on the day of Christ Jesus, so we are works in progress that will not be the best that we can be until that day.

So if I understand you correctly, saved is not something that happens at a particular moment, it is as long as you believe in Jesus, follow the bible, and live the best moral life you can live, you are saved? Even if you’ve been doing it your entire life?

 

[Soyeong]

So if I understand you correctly, saved is not something that happens at a particular moment, it is as long as you believe in Jesus, follow the bible, and live the best moral life you can live, you are saved? Even if you’ve been doing it your entire life?

It happens at a particular moment when someone accepts Jesus, but it is also something that happens over the course of the rest of our life and will happen in the future, so our salvation is all encompassing. See this article for more information:

EWTN Global Catholic Television Network: Catholic News, TV, Radio | EWTN

 

[2PhiloVoid]

So if a person has always tried to follow Jesus, has this person been saved his entire life?

Well, possibly. The trick here, though, is to unload exactly what "tried" MEANS in the context of the specific individual being considered.

 

[Ken-1122]

It happens at a particular moment when someone accepts Jesus, but it is also something that happens over the course of the rest of our life and will happen in the future, so our salvation is all encompassing. See this article for more information:

EWTN Global Catholic Television Network: Catholic News, TV, Radio | EWTN

But if you've accepted Jesus your entire life due to the way you were raised, there wouldn't be a particular moment will there?

 

[Ken-1122]

Well, possibly. The trick here, though, is to unload exactly what "tried" MEANS in the context of the specific individual being considered.

To try simply means to do the best you can. Unless you are perfect, you are always trying. When you become saved, you don't become perfect do you? You still make mistakes from time to time?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

To try simply means to do the best you can. Unless you are perfect, you are always trying. When you become saved, you don't become perfect do you? You still make mistakes from time to time?

Of course a person who follows Jesus will make "mistakes." But there are different kinds and intensities of "mistakes" according to what we find in the New Testament (and even in the Old for that matter).

 

[Ken-1122]

Of course a person who follows Jesus will make "mistakes." But there are different kinds and intensities of "mistakes" according to what we find in the New Testament (and even in the Old for that matter).

What type of mistakes do you speak of that saved people never make?

 

[com7fy8]

their behavior is on moral par with a person who is saved. Does this person change when they become saved?

yes

The person can be culturally moral, but becoming saved brings character change which is produced by God.

"'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'" (Matthew 11:29)

Jesus changes us so we have rest in our souls . . . because of how we are strong against fear and stress and anger and bitterness and unforgiveness and being dominated by pleasure drives and demands. But people can be humanly moral, but not deeply sound in Christ's rest which is supernatural and not only a product of changing my thinking and circumstances.

For a while, I was religious and did whatever I understood I was supposed to do. But I was a wreck in worry. And I didn't have a clue how to relate with people and feel for people. But I was moral and "nice". But deeply I could be building rage for months before it all exploded out at once. I did not have the peace almighty of God to keep me.

Once a person is saved, he or she can start to live and develop in God's peace.