The first thing we need to do when approaching this topic is to clearly determine the meaning and usage of the words 'saved' and 'salvation'. I’m often amazed at the notions people have about the definition of these words as used in the Bible.

Saved can mean to “set back or reserve” for later use. It can also be used to mean "rescued." 

 Salvation means to be "delivered from" (deliverance) or "rescued”.

When used in the scriptures these words are used in the context of "rescued from" or "delivered from". Examples of this kind of usage would be:

The most important aspect of the examples above is that John's being "saved" was an act performed by someone else - not himself. In every case above there is one person who is the "giver of salvation" while the other person was the "receiver of salvation." If you want to understand the the Biblical concept of the words “saved” and “salvation” then it’s MOST IMPORTANT to understand that John's salvation in the instances above was NOT related in any way to anything HE DID. In the various calamities he faced he needed someone else to do for him what he could not do for himself. Note the following in reference to the above examples:

There was nothing John could do -- no actions, no words, no feelings, no thoughts, no ceremonies or rituals, no sincerity, or any other thing -- that would allow him to save himself from any of the scenarios above. This is the Biblical usage of the terms "saved" and "salvation." Your "salvation" is completely unrelated to any "religious rules keeping" you do (i.e.: a religious lifestyle, membership in a particular religious organization or church, certain religious ceremonies, etc.) It was the atoning work of Christ Jesus on the cross and his resurrection that provides the only rescue (salvation) from that which everyone (no exceptions) deserve because of their sins - namely - the eternal Lake of Fire.

We are to receive what Christ provided. Until you are willing to come to the point where you can acknowledge that you need God to do for you what you can't do for yourself you'll never be able to receive the salvation He offers.

It's sad that so many in the non-religious world, and sadder yet that so many in the religious world, don't understand the Biblical meaning of the terms "saved" and "salvation." So many are going around thinking that salvation from the well deserved penalty for our sins isn't something Christ alone provided for on the cross. They've swallowed Satan's lie that salvation is the result of something they are, or are not, doing. Most people believe in the false notion of salvation by their own "religious rules keeping" (i.e.: a religious lifestyle, membership in a particular religious organization or church, certain religious ceremonies and rituals, etc.) In the Bible this is referred to as the false belief of "salvation by works." Note the following:

Notice how the verse above defines the phrase "fallen from grace." According to the Bible you "fall from grace" at the moment you choose to believe in your heart that salvation is not "grace through faith plus nothing else" but that it is instead "grace through faith plus religious rules keeping" (i.e.: a religious lifestyle;  membership in a particular religious organization or church; certain religious ceremonies; being a ‘spiritual’ persom, etc.) Christ's work on the cross on your behalf is what did the saving. He is the giver of salvation, you are to be the receiver of this gift He offers. To believe otherwise is to Fall From Grace! Note the following:

I’ve also met large numbers of people who have been deceived into thinking that just because they’ve had what they thought was a ‘spiritual experience’, or done something that they thought constituted ‘signs and wonders’, that they were now ‘spiritual persons’ and that this meant they were saved. However, none of this ‘spiritual stuff’ means anything in terms of salvation. Note the following:

At the last judgment day many will stand before God having believed the lie that God has a scale which will be used to weigh how much "non-religious rule keeping" we did as compared to the "religious rule keeping” that we did. They will be confused when they discover no such scale exists. It won't be until then that they'll find out that none of the religious rules keeping they did (good works), or any of the bad they had stopped doing (reformation) has “covered up”, “undid”, “made up for”, or “canceled out” any of the sins that they've done in their life. It won't be until that terrible judgment day that they'll understand just how worthless all their religious rules keeping was for salvation from the Lake of Fire. God has already made it abundantly clear as to what part the things we do or don't do play in our salvation from the penalty for our sins ...

The term translated "filthy rags" above was a technical term in the original Hebrew language. This term referred to the rags left hanging on tree limbs near a leper colony so that the lepers would have something to wipe the puss out of their sores with. The result was a rather smelly and disgusting set of rags. Once the rags were used they were disposed of by burning the tree they were hanging on. It's interesting, is it not, that God chose this imagery to explain how much value He will place on our "good works" (i.e.: a religious lifestyle, membership in a particular religious organization or church, certain religious ceremonies, etc.) come judgment day. It's clear that, Biblically speaking, your "good works" will play no part whatsoever in helping you on judgment day. There will be no scales there. The only thing you'll see on that day is:

At the last judgment day there will be no scales, no weighing of your good against your bad. God will examine the entire contents of the books of your life against His law in order to answer just one question. You see the entire purpose of this judgment is to answer just one question concerning you. That's right, this final day of judgment is all about answering just one single question. That one question is, "did you ever violate just one commandment during you life?" Just one sin, that's all it will take to condemn you for eternity. Note the following:

There will be confusion and panic among those who end up standing before a Holy God on that day when they realize that none of the religious stuff they did has “erased”, “made up for”, “paid for”, or “covered up” any of the sins they committed. There will be a look of terror on their faces as they realize that God is not weighing their works against each other to find a balance, but that He is instead comparing their works against His commandments. A demeanor of hopelessness will be evident among them as they begin to understand that next to God’s standard of absolute sinless perfection even their good works are counted as “filthy rags.” Only now, when it’s too late, will they finally realize that there was nothing they could ever have done of themselves during their life on earth to make their sins go away or lessen the penalty they are about to receive because of them. Note the following:

The scenario above will yield only one result for anyone born of Adam and Eve's race that ends up in the final judgment day - the Eternal Lake of Fire. No one standing before God on that day will escape the fiery lake, the second death. The only hope of salvation from that fate is to not be a partaker of that last judgment. But just how can that be done?! The answer is in the Bible. The answer is based on something you and I don't deserve - the grace of God flowing from love of God.

Just what is this that God has done that can save us from that final day of wrath and just how does it work? Note the following:

According to the scriptures, God delivered both 'justice' and 'justification' to mankind all at the same time at the cross where Jesus suffered and died. Because He is "just" God must punish sin (and He will - via the Eternal Lake Of Fire.) This is the reason why there will be a last judgment day. However, God is also our "justifier" in that He has provided for an escape (salvation) from the final judgment by taking upon Himself the very judgment He must pour out upon us - thus - at the cross He was 'Just' while at the same time being the 'justifier'. In this way God could not be accused of being unrighteous by overlooking sin and not judging it. The plan He created to save sinners from their deserving punishment; by being both judge and savior He maintained his integrity - His righteousness - while at the same time providing a way to save us from the penalty for our sins. Note the following:

The verses above reveal what was happening between God the Father and God the son (Jesus) as He was suffering and dying on the cross for you and me. It was on that day, approximately two thousand years ago, that God the Father was being just in that he was judging the innocent Christ Jesus as though He was judging me, and He was, at the same time, being my justifier because the guiltless Son of God was freely receiving judgment for my sins as though He were me. Why did God do this? The Bible explains it this way:

Salvation is wholly of God alone through the work that Jesus Christ did on the cross for you. He is the giver of salvation, you are to be the receiver. The message of what God has done to save us is called the "gospel" and it's this gospel that God uses to save people (I'm trusting that at this point you're understanding the Bible definition of "saved" - it's something done for you by someone else, not by you) Note the following:

At this point you've been given the first half of the saving message of the gospel. Earlier I said; "Until you are willing to come to the point where you can acknowledge that you need God to do for you what you can't do for yourself you'll never be able to receive the salvation He offers." The salvation to be found only in the gospel message will be beyond your reach until you're willing to accept and to act upon this principle.

The logic is simple. The only way for me to escape the Eternal Lake of Fire is to not be part of the final judgement day; the only way for me to not be a part of the final judgment day is if somebody else has already gone there - in my place - as though He were me - so that I won't have to go myself.

If you've been paying attention then you've already started to piece together what I've been leading up to. The result of what happened between God the father and God the Son (Christ) at the cross is that I don't have to go to the lake of Fire because I won't be judged at the final judgement. I won't have to go to the final judgement because somebody else has already gone there in my place, as though He were me. As far as God the Father, to whom time has no meaning, is concerned I've already been judged. Because of the cross it's just as if Jesus has already been to my "entire" final judgement day and already suffered for all my yesterday sins, all my today sins, and all my tomorrow sins. It's Christ that did the saving and I'm the one He Saved. This is why the last words Jesus said when He died upon the cross was...

The phrase "it is finished" in the original language is a bookkeeping term meaning "paid in full." Jesus didn't say "here's the down payment" or "this is a partial payment." He said "paid in full." God the Father - to whom time has no meaning - literally carried out my "entire" future last judgement day upon Christ as though Jesus was me. This is why Jesus said at the conclusion of that judgment; "It [the act of paying for all of their sins] is finished." Note the following:

The above verses reveal that the animal sacrifices offered by the Jewish Priest at the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem symbolically paid for sins committed up to the day of that sacrifice, but not for any future sins committed after that sacrifice. Therefore they had to continually offer symbolic sacrifices every year. However, Christ only had to die once for all of my (past-present-future) sins, otherwise He would have to come back and be continually crucified over and over again to pay for my tomorrow sins. The two verses above make this very clear.

So what was happening between God the Father and God the Son at the cross? Again, it was "just as if" Christ was experiencing my "entire" final judgement day. Every sin that will ever be written (past-present-future) in the books of my life was judged and the penalty applied at the cross where my savior suffered and died for me. Therefore, I won't have go through the last judgement day because He has already gone there in my place. This is how He saved me from that which I deserve - the Lake of Fire. He did it, not me, and it's a done deal. He proved His love for you and me with His own blood. Then, after being in a tomb for three days, He rose from the dead proving not only His Deity but also that He was innocent of the sins that He'd suffered the penalty for; because justice cannot hold those accountable who are guiltless of any crime.

Up till now you've heard the good news, but as with all things that sound to good to be true there is a catch. The catch here is also easy to understand. It's simply this; None of what God has done is 'automatically applied' to anyone. None of what Christ has done on the cross is 'automatically placed into your account' or has any force or effect with regard to you. God requires a 'one time act' on your part before what Christ did will be 'applied' to you. Note the following:

What is repentance? Repentance embodies the idea of "turning from one thing" while, at the same time "turning to another." Note the following:

Now that you understand Biblical repentance we can examine the final thing you'll need to understand -- the relationship between repentance and faith in the salvation of God. Note the following:

The salvation provided for you through the propitiation [a guiltless one who takes the guilt of others upon himself] of Christ Jesus will be permanently and irrevocably placed into your account by your one-time act of... "repentance toward God, and faith toward [what] the Lord Jesus Christ [accomplished on the cross.]"

If all you offer to God is repentance you'll not receive salvation. If all you offer to God is faith you'll not receive salvation. To receive God's salvation requires that you -- privately in prayer, sincerely from your heart to the heart of God -- repent (turn from following sin to following God) and place faith (all your confidence and trust) in what Christ did on the cross as your only hope of escape (salvation) from the judgment that you deserve. Note the following:

The word 'confess' in the above scripture is a legal term in the original language meaning "to agree with one's accuser." You may have seen it acted out in a stage play or a movie. A police detective arrests the suspect, seats him in a chair in a dark room and - after putting a bright light in his face - says...

   "We know all about you bugsy, you robbed that bank, now fess up!" 

Of course you know that the word 'fess' is short for 'confess'. In this scenario the crook is being asked to 'agree with his accuser' - the detective. He is being asked to agree with the accusation of being a bank robber - that's the meaning of 'confess' in this legal setting. This is the same usage of the term 'confess' in the scripture above. God accuses you of being a sinner who needs His savior; now 'fess up' to God. Bow your head in private prayer, repent before God, and agree with Him who accuses you of being a sinner who needs His savior. Yield to God today and take Christ as personal savior.

Earlier I said, 'Until you are willing to come to the point where you can acknowledge that you need God to do for you what you can't do for yourself you'll never be able to receive the salvation He offers.' You've now read enough to understand what that means.

If today you have repented and trusted Christ Jesus as savior please let us know that we may rejoice with you.

________________________________________________________________________

There are some who will take issue with our advocating the bible message of Christ’s once-for all, once-forever, salvation; secured for us by Christ and resulting in an eternal salvation that cannot be lost; for those who repent and put their faith in Christ’s having taken all their sins upon himself.

Some will accuse us off advocating a license (a permission) to sin among saved people. They reason that if you tell people they can’t loose salvation once they have it then they’ll have no reason not to sin because now they can get away with it without punishment. We can easily answer this accusation using the same words that our savior said to the Pharisee’s of his day...

 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God”
(Matthew 22:29.)

Click HERE To read our defense of the
Eternal Security of the believer in Christ