Being Saved

(John 3:7) Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (KJV)
(Acts 16:31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (KJV)

Being saved - Having the assurance and knowing that you are a child of God.
NOTICE TWO EXPRESSIONS USED IN THE SCRIPTURES TO DEFINE A CHRISTIAN TODAY.
"Born again."
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."
There is nothing wrong with these terms if they are defined right and if they are used with other things the Bible has to say about coming into the experience of salvation. When we want to know about salvation we should be interested in all that the Bible has to say about being saved. We can't just take one expression or phrase and say that is all there is to it. Salvation is the most important thing there is in our lives. Being saved - being ready to meet the Lord. When this life is over our eternity will depend on whether we are saved or not. While in this life our being satisfied or assured will depend on whether we are saved or not. Satisfaction in our home life, on the Job and surely in our worship of God will depend on whether we are saved or not. It is more than just saying, "I was born again," or "I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ."
We have all heard the chorus:
If your saved and you know it say, Amen - Amen.
If your saved and you know it say, Amen - Amen.
It your saved and you know it then your life will surely show it - If your saved and you know it say, Amen.

Salvation does something for you. It changes your life until it makes you different. You know it. And those around you know it. Your life shows it.
We have a brand of religion that talks about being born again and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ that doesn't live up to the experience.
The dangers we face in our modern day religion is forgiveness without repentance, Christianity without Christ, and salvation without the Blood.

Conviction only comes as the Spirit of God deals with us and shows us our need. We can only come to God as we are convicted of our sin and convinced of our need of God.
We dare not substitute faith for obedience. It takes faith to come to Jesus Christ - Faith in His sacrifice. Faith that He has the power to forgive sin. Faith to believe on Him. But we have faith by being obedient to Him. Being saved isn't just a simple believeism.

NOTICE SEVEN WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE THAT DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE SAVED.
What you do and what God does. How it affects you. And if it doesn't affect you and make you different then you just aren't "born again." You haven't believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Bible teaches. Salvation effects your whole life.

I. LET’S LOOK AT THE TERM “BORN AGAIN.”
This term means born from above. To regenerate, to bring forth, to be delivered of.
When you are born again you are regenerated. You start life anew. Some people talk about their spiritual birthday.
It means to start to learn the things of God. First we are fed milk and as we grow spiritually God gives us meat to eat to make us strong.
But there has to be a birth into the kingdom of God.
This is the only way in. It isn't by a natural inheritance. We don't just come by it, we must be born into it.
The natural birth is coming into existence while the spiritual birth is being adopted into the family of God.
Nicodemus had already been born in the flesh but Jesus said he needed to be born again of both the water and the Spirit. The Spirit of baptism and of the cleansing of the Word of God.

II. BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED.
Certainly we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We must believe that He is God and that He is the Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
To believe means that we have faith in and entrust our spiritual well-being to Christ.
The song writer put it this way:
"Jesus paid it all - all to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow."
To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ means more than to believe in the history of Jesus Christ as a person. It means to rely on Him, to trust Him, to follow after Him. And believe His truth.
This believe is a simple way to get saved when you are under conviction of sin and get desperate like this keeper of the prison was.
It is not just a formal confession of an historical fact but the kind of faith that will surrender all to God and believe with the heart the truth that is known. Believe here also contains obedience.

III. REPENT AND BE CONVERTED. (Acts 3:19)
Peter had just preached that powerful sermon where 3,000 had been saved. His instruction to them was, (Acts 3:19) Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (KJV)
Two things are here - Repent and be converted. First repent. The Bible has a lot to say about repentance. This was Peter’s message in (Acts 2:38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
It has always been the message to the way of salvation.
It means to ask forgiveness and to think differently. To reconsider, to feel regret or remorse about the matter. When we truly repent we quit the thing that caused the condemnation.
(1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (KJV)
Confession and repentance are Synonyms.

"Are you weary, are you heavy hearted?
Are you grieving overjoys departed?
Have you sins that to men's eyes are hidden?
Do you fear the gathering clouds of sorrow?
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
For Christ's coming kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
He is a friend that's well known - you've no other friend or brother - tell it to Jesus alone."

Repentance and confession is the way to believing and being born again.
We don't just pick this salvation up and carry it where we want it, but it is Blood bought and comes as we repent and believe. Jesus comes in to abide. He helps and guides us through the hard places. Our part is to repent and follow on.
Booth of the Salvation Army said, "Forgiveness without repentance, there is none."
Jesus said we were to confess His name before men. We do this after we repent and our sins are forgiven and we are living for Him.
"Repent and be converted." To be converted means to turn about and go the other way. As you once went the way of the world you are converted and now go the way of righteousness.
Salvation is a complete turning around of our lives. It turns our love in the opposite direction.
It turns our devotion in the opposite direction. It makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus.

IV. BEING BORN AGAIN AND BELIEVING ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST RECONCILES US TO GOD.
(2 Corinthians 5:18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (KJV) )
(Hebrews 2:17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (KJV)
Reconciliation means a restoration to divine things through atonement.
Sin separated us from God and by the atonement we are brought into favor with God.
Through the Blood we are kept in favor with God as we have victory through this Blood. It keeps us from sin. The words of Paul are. "Be ye reconciled to God." It is an awful thing to be at odds with God.
Jesus said, (Matthew 12:30) He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. (KJV)
(Matthew 10:33) But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (KJV)
If we want Jesus Christ to be for us we must be reconciled to Him through the atonement - the Blood. We must have the blood applied and see that we live so that sin doesn't separate us from God again.
Our part is to be reconciled to God; God's part is to provide the means whereby we can be reconciled - the Atonement.

V. JUSTIFIED OR JUSTIFICATION.
(Romans 3:23-24) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (KJV)
(Romans 4:25) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (KJV)
Justification means to render just or innocent. It means just as if we had never sinned.
It means that Jesus has paid the penalty and the price and made me just even when I had been guilty.

"He paid a debt He did not owe,
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sin away."

We were all guilty - (Romans 3:23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (KJV) But through his sacrifice we are justified.
James says that our works prove our justification. (James 2:21)
We are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us.
The song writer wrote:
"Hallelujah for the Blood, for the sin cleansing fountain!
For the Lamb has been slain, and the ransom price paid.
Fully canceled was the debt on Calvary's mountain
All the sins of this world upon Jesus were laid."

VI. REDEEMED.
(1 Peter 1:18-19) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (KJV)"
Redeemed how I love to proclaim it.
Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb.
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am."

Redeemed means to be ransomed or bought back.
We were captive of the enemy of our soul but we are bought back. Jesus paid the price - all to Him I owe.
We were redeemed or bought back with the precious Blood of Jesus. Not by tradition or the keeping of the Old Testament laws of sacrifice but by the supreme price being paid by Jesus Christ.

VII. WALKING WITH THE LORD.
(Ephesians 4:1) l therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, (KJV)
(1 John 2:5-6) But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. (KJV)
To be saved one must keep His commandments; not merely start keeping them but continue keeping them. If the condition is to keep them, then upon this basis only will God bless and save men.
(James 1:22-25) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of Iiberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (KJV)
We are saved through the Blood - Born again of the Spirit and because we are born again we live in obedience to His word and will.
Walk like followers of Jesus Christ.
Are you saved?
And does it work today?

Very good, message Rohn. It's similar to one my pastor preached not too long ago about people that only think they're saved-but haven't really come to Christ. People talk about the abc's of salvation, but I think they need to go a step farther, to a d at the least:

Admit you're a sinner
Believe that Jesus is the only one who can save you
Confess your sins to Him and ask for forgiveness
Depart from iniquity.

If you read the stories of Jesus when He healed people, He'd often tell them 1 of 2 things, "Your sins are forgiven", and/or "Go and sin no more." So, that should show that repentance is necessary.

I've heard of people using 1 John 1:9 as an excuse to sin, and also a verse (can't remember exactly which one) in Romans 5 that talks about where sin abounded grace abounded more. But they didn't read far enough. If you go down to Romans 6, it says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer in it?"

Too often, people look at Christianity as a get out of hell free card. They don't realize that it's so much more. It's a commitment.

Dizzy,
Thanks for the great comments. To many times people take the Scriptures out of context to suit their own desires. But we must read the verses before and after to get what is actually the true meaning of God's Word.

Yes, being a Christian is a commitment, to do God's will every day all day.

Thank you for this.

Rohn wrote:Dizzy,
Thanks for the great comments. To many times people take the Scriptures out of context to suit their own desires. But we must read the verses before and after to get what is actually the true meaning of God's Word.

Yes, being a Christian is a commitment, to do God's will every day all day.

yes dizzy makes a great point here.

a commitment or a committed relationship with God / Jesus, either way you look at it, when Christ is in your heart the desire to live in sin should be displaced. That does not mean that temptation is removed, but rather the desire to please God becomes a strong consideration when we are tempted.