Reading: Lesson 5 - Exploring Further (Video Slides)

1. What does it mean to be saved?

In general, we refer to salvation as something that takes place only once in a person’s life. One cannot be saved today and lost tomorrow and then be saved over and over again. Salvation is not the same as forgiveness. A person can be forgiven over and over again (and all believers are forgiven repeatedly), but truly saved only once. Salvation involves the sincere confession of our sins and a sincere profession of faith in Jesus Christ as the one who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. When we sincerely confess and profess these things, we become children of God, our sins are forgiven, and we are given the gift of eternal life. We may still sin at times after we are saved and we may also lose our sense of the blessedness and joy of our salvation, but sin by itself does not take away our position as saved children of our heavenly Father. By sincerely confessing our sins and humbly asking for forgiveness, we can again be restored to a right relationship to God. We obviously should never take our sins lightly or act as if they don’t matter very much. However, we should not let our sins and weaknesses destroy our confidence that we truly belong to Christ in spite of those weaknesses. Recall the words of David in Psalm 51 after he was guilty of the sins of adultery and murder: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness . . . Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me . . . Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:7-12)

2. What must a person do to be saved?

We must sincerely confess our sins, demonstrate true repentance for what we have done or failed to do, and put our complete trust in Jesus and his sacrifice to atone for all our sins. It is very important, however, to realize that salvation is a gift and is not something we earn or merit. By confessing our sins and putting our trust in Jesus, we acknowledge that there is nothing we can do by ourselves to atone for our sins or make ourselves right with God. We do not simply promise that we will change our conduct and start walking on a new path and then assume that God will be satisfied with our good intentions or sincere promises. Rather, when we humbly confess our sins and place our trust in Jesus, we throw ourselves on his mercy with the acknowledgement that there is absolutely nothing we can do to win the favor of God or earn the gift of salvation.

Salvation is therefore always and completely a work of God’s GRACE rather than the result of human effort. It may be significant when a person sincerely says, “I’ll do better from now on,” but that is much different from recognizing our own inability to get right with God through our own efforts. The apostle Paul carefully obeyed all God’s Old Testament laws when he was younger, describing himself in Philippians 3:6 as someone who was “faultless” in regard to legal righteousness. However, in regard to salvation Paul wrote, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5) A bit later he added: 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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

3. Can a person be saved without knowing it? Can a person think he is saved without really being saved?

The answer to both questions is YES. A person who is saved definitely should know that he is saved, without doubt or hesitation. However, there are people who are genuinely sorry for their sins and who sincerely trust in Jesus for salvation who still sometimes doubt that they are truly saved. This is particularly true when people focus on their own weaknesses and failures rather than focusing on the perfect life and atoning sacrifice of Jesus. They may feel that they simply are not good enough to be a child of God and they deeply regret that they still wrestle with significant sins in their lives. All believers should regret any sin in their lives, but they should not focus so much on their sins that they forget the many promises in the Bible that God will truly forgive all those who sincerely repent of their sins and trust him to forgive them all. As Isaiah 1:18 teaches: Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. And 1 John 1:9 teaches: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It is also possible for people to believe they are saved when they are not. Regrettably, there are many people like that. These people often take sin very lightly and therefore believe that they have nothing to worry about. They often overestimate their own holiness and underestimate their own sinfulness. They do not put their trust in Jesus alone, since they feel they don’t need a Savior. They often have a sense of self-righteousness and believe that they are much better than most other people. And even if they do recognize that they are not as good as they should be, many feel that God is a very kind and gracious being who really doesn’t take sin very seriously. In his sight (they argue), no one is so bad that he should suffer any significant punishment for whatever sins he might happen to have done.

These people are in a far worse situation than those who truly believe in Jesus but aren’t living the kind of holy life they would like to live. Those who are not absolutely sure of their salvation often tend to underestimate the mercy and kindness and grace of God, while those who don’t feel a need for a Savior tend to overestimate their own goodness while underestimating God’s holiness and righteousness. At one time the apostle Paul had much confidence in his own righteousness. However, when he came to know Jesus and put his faith in him, he realized that in God’s sight he had not been righteous at all (Philippians 3:4-9).

4.  What is meant by “substitutionary atonement”?

This phrase refers to the teaching that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. That is, Jesus was our substitute when he died on the cross. We could never pay the penalty for our sins, so we needed a perfect Savior who was willing to die in our place so that our sins might be forgiven and God could look on us with favor instead of wrath. Romans 3:25 states this truth in these words: God put forward [Jesus] as a propitiation by his blood.

1 John 4:10 focuses on the love of God in substitutionary atonement: This is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. “Propitiation” means a sacrifice that God lovingly provides, a sacrifice that endures God’s wrath against sin and brings the sinner into God’s favor and acceptance. Romans 5:10 states: While we were [God’s] enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. We deserved to die because of our sin, but we could never pay the penalty for our sins and still live. Jesus therefore became our substitute, our sacrifice of propitiation. Since he had no sins to pay for, he and he alone could pay the penalty we deserve and still live!

After Jesus died and was buried, he arose again on the third day and returned to his Father in heaven. When the devil, the great accuser, wants to call attention to our sins, Jesus is there in the presence of the Father to declare that all our sins have already been paid for. As Romans 6:23 teaches, The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We can therefore live all the days of our life on earth in gratitude, joy, and obedience for what Jesus has done for us as our perfect substitute.

The phrase substitutionary atonement is not found in most Bible translations. However, the idea of substitutionary atonement is found in every translation. It is at the very heart of the gospel. Included among the relevant Scripture passages are the following:

5. If someone does not believe in Jesus, is there some other way he can be saved?

NO. Jesus is the only way to salvation. There is no other. Jesus himself said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus also said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). On another occasion Jesus said: “I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers . . I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved . . . I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. . . . I know my own and my own know me . . . and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:7-15).

Throughout history there has never been any one else like Jesus. Only Jesus was perfect and totally free from sin (1 John 3:5; Hebrews 4:15). Only Jesus had the love and holiness and ability to give his life to pay for the sins of others. And no one else had the power to rise again from the dead. Jesus said: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” (John 10:17-18)

Very young children, of course, do not fully understand who Jesus was or what he did. But they still love and trust him and believe that he died for them. Even many older people have little knowledge or understanding of Jesus, but they do believe in him and trust him to be their Savior. Jesus himself said that we must become like little children (in humility, faith and trust) in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. (See Matthew 11:25, 18:3, 19:14.) It is Jesus who saves us—not our own efforts or knowledge. Anyone who is saved (at any time or any place) will be saved only because of what Jesus did when he lived a perfect life and died for the sins of those who put their trust in him. Jesus and Jesus alone is the perfect Savior—whether our knowledge of him is small or great.

6. What does it mean to be spiritually dead? Are all people spiritually dead unless they are born again?

A spiritually dead person is someone who is not saved. He has not been born again. Christ does not live in him. He has only the old “sin nature” with which everyone is born. Many people who are spiritually dead are self-centered, immoral, proud, foolish, and disobedient. However, spiritually dead people are not necessarily “bad” people in the sense that they are always violating the law or hurting others or robbing people or treating them disrespectfully. Some of them may actually be kind, friendly, helpful and pleasant to live with. However, they do not serve others out of love for God, they do not trust in Jesus, they do not seek to live according to the teachings of God’s Word, they do not put Christ first in their lives, they do not acknowledge or confess their sins before God, and they do not seek to live to the praise and honor of God. By human standards some of them may be considered “good” and worthy of praise. However, they do not have the love or the life of Christ in their hearts and they do not seek to live to the glory of God. They are spiritually lost.

Ephesians 2:1-3 puts it this way: You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air [Satan], the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Likewise, Colossians 2:13 reads: You, who were dead in your trespasses . . . God made alive together with him. Revelation 3:1 says: You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. According to the Bible, therefore, every person who is not born again is spiritually dead.

7. What does it mean to be born again? Can we somehow earn the privilege of being born again? Can a person be born again more than once?

To be born again means to receive new spiritual life from the Holy Spirit. It cannot be earned or merited by anything we do. It is a gift of God. And, just as we can be born physically only once, we can be spiritually “born again” only once.

Being born again involves the miraculous, spiritual, and somewhat “mysterious” work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. When a person is born again, it is as if the “seed” of new spiritual life is planted in the center of his life. He has a conviction of sin which drives him to genuine repentance, sincere faith in the atoning work of Jesus, a new purpose for living, a heartfelt desire to do what God wants him to do, a deep love for Jesus, and a genuine love for others. Being born again also brings a heart of joy, thanksgiving, and a new spirit of praise and gratitude in a person’s life. The following passages all refer to this new birth.

People who are born again are made new spiritually and have a sincere desire to serve God in every area of their lives. However, they are not yet perfect in this life. They still sin and fall short of being all they want to be or hope to be. As long as they are on this earth, they will still have to wrestle with failure and temptation. However, even if they do fail at times, they do not lose their status as children of God who are truly in Christ and destined for an eternity of joy and peace and love in his presence.

There are five important theological terms which describe various aspects of our salvation: regeneration, conversion, justification, sanctification, and glorification.

According to the Bible, our SALVATION includes regeneration, conversion, justification, sanctification and ultimately glorification.

8.  What is meant by eternal life? Does this refer simply to the length of life or does it refer to something more than that?

The phrase “eternal life” does not always refer to exactly the same thing. “Eternal life” sometimes refers to a life that never ends. In that sense, “eternal life” is the same as “everlasting life.” However, “eternal life” may also refer to a new quality of life, a life in Christ that is far superior to life without Christ. This life, too, does not end, but the emphasis is more on the kind of life that a believer experiences rather than on the fact that it has no end. In some Bible translations the phrases “eternal life” and “everlasting life” seem to be used interchangeably. Consider the following passages.

9. Can a person be saved without being baptized? Can a person be baptized without being saved? Why is baptism important? 

The answer to the first two questions is YES. Some people are truly saved but for one reason or another choose not to be baptized (at least, not for a while). Perhaps they put off baptism because they are afraid of the reactions of family or friends or government authorities if they are baptized. Some may consider that baptism is not really important or required since they emphasize the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Still others may live in a place or situation where there is no one to baptize them.

Many others are baptized out of tradition or the expectations of family or friends but do not have a true saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Many children are also baptized but never come to the point where they commit their lives to Jesus.

Why is baptism important? First, because Jesus commanded believers to be baptized (Matthew 28:19). In the early church there appeared to be no questions about the importance of Christian baptism. Second, baptism is a sign and a seal that a person belongs to Jesus Christ, that his sins are washed away, and that he belongs to Christ in every area of his life. It is a great blessing for a person to live in this life knowing that he has received the God-appointed sign that his sins are truly washed away and that he belongs for time and eternity to his Savior Jesus Christ.

[Note: There are many churches that practice the baptism of infants as well as the baptism of professing believers (of various ages). Those who practice infant baptism do so for different reasons. Some wrongly believe that children are saved through baptism itself. Others baptize infants only if they are children of believing parents. They emphasize that children of believers in the Old Testament received the sign of circumcision according to the explicit command of God. This sign indicated that the children of believers belonged to God and thus received a sign which indicated the removal of sin and impurity. In their understanding, children of believers today should receive baptism as the New Testament sign of this spiritual blessing. It is also interesting to note that three of the relatively few stories of baptism in the New Testament involved the baptism of entire families: Acts 16:15, Acts 16:31-33, 1 Corinthians 1:16.

See also the many examples of baptism in the early church: Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12,13,16, 38; Acts 9:18; Acts 10:48; Acts 16:15, 33; Acts 18:8; Acts 19:5; Acts 22:16. Also note in 1 Corinthians 1:13-17 where the apostle Paul indicated that he baptized very few believers, since he did not want people to focus on himself rather than on Jesus Christ. Paul was certainly not opposed to baptism itself, but he wanted new believers to recognize that Jesus is the Savior who died for them and that apostles and evangelists and preachers were just servants who proclaimed the message of salvation.

10. Is it possible to be absolutely sure of our salvation? If not, why not? If so, how do we gain this assurance?

Yes! It is possible to be sure of our salvation. Some may question this, since they know of people who at one time seemed to be saved but later left the faith and went back to another religion or to no religion at all. Others recognize that they themselves may not always be very confident of their salvation since their faith is weak at times and their lives do not always demonstrate that Christ lives within them. However, our assurance of salvation does not rest on anything that we have done or can do, but it rests completely on what CHRIST has done for us and our sincere belief in what the Bible teaches about him. If we truly believe the promises of God and humbly and sincerely confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then we may be sure that we are truly God’s children. It’s also important, however, that our lives do reflect what we claim to believe! Not only should we seek to stay away from all known sin, but we should also firmly choose to pursue only that which is pleasing to our Lord.

These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:16)

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. . . . We know that we are from God . . . and we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 5:19-20)

11. Is it possible to feel sure of our salvation even though we are not truly saved?

Yes! There probably are many people like that. They may put their trust in the fact that they were once baptized, are members of a local church, attend the church regularly, and read the Bible and pray fairly often. However, all these activities can hide the fact that they have never truly been born again, they do not truly love the Lord with their whole heart, and they are not putting their trust for salvation in Christ alone. It is therefore important for us to examine our own hearts and lives to make sure that our confidence is never based on our own activities but rather on the finished work of Jesus on the cross and his special work in our own hearts and lives.

If our faith is weak at times and we are not living as we should, we should earnestly pray to the Lord for spiritual renewal, greater love for him, and a sincere desire to serve him in all that we do. We should also again read and study those passages in the Bible which teach us about all that Jesus has done for us so that we build our lives on the solid foundation of the truth of God as found in his holy Word.

YOUR OWN SALVATION

After reading the questions and answers in this Lesson, you may still have some questions about your own personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You may not be sure that your sins have been forgiven. Or you may wonder whether or not you truly are a child of God. Or, perhaps you simply do not know what you should do in order to receive from God the gift of eternal life.

If you sincerely want to commit your life to Christ but are not sure what you should do, I encourage you to humbly and sincerely confess your sins to God, believe with all your heart that Jesus paid the penalty for your sins, and then, in faith, claim God’s promise to grant forgiveness and eternal life to all who truly believe.

In order to help you do this, I invite you to pray sincerely the following prayer or a similar prayer of your own.

Read again the promises that God gives to all who confess their sins and put their trust in Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life.

These are the promises of God. Believe and live forever!