Saved by Christ the Saviour
—What does this mean?
Christians commonly talk about "salvation", their "Saviour", and the need to be "saved". But these Bible terms are meaningless to many people. Even some Christians are vague about what doctrine lies behind these terms.
1 What Salvation Means
At the height of the storm on Lake Galilee the disciples cried out, "Lord save us! We are perishing!" (Matthew 8:23-27). You know what they meant. To be "saved" means to be rescued and spared, to escape death and ruin, to be preserved from perishing.
The "sheep that was lost" would certainly have perished if it had not been found by the shepherd. To find it was to save its life (Luke 15:3-7). It's appropriate to speak of being “lost” as the opposite of being “saved.”
To say a soul is lost is to say it is going to perish. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Having sent his Son to die on the cross, God is able to "save" all who were perishing. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save" them (1Timothy 1:15).
2 What Are We Saved From?
Now let's ask, "What are we saved from?" A child rescued after it has fallen into a swimming pool, or someone pulled back who was about to walk in front of a bus, has experienced salvation.
But what is it that we are saved from in the salvation Paul had in mind? The answer is, we are saved from the wrath of God in the day of judgment (Romans 2:5-11). Everyone (including you) has the need of that salvation (Romans 3:23)
This meaning (as we said before) is generally not well understood. Some folk wrongly imagine that on judgment day God will put their good deeds in one side of his scales of justice, and their evil deeds on the other side of his scales, and their righteousness will balance their wickedness.
But when people are "weighed in the balances" they will be "found wanting" because God will put all their deeds, good and bad together, in one side of his scales. In the other side of his scales he will put his perfect and holy law.
People will fall short of this perfect standard, even if they are guilty of offending God’s law in but one point. They will not stand justified before God but will be worthy of his wrath (Romans 2:5, Romans 7:12, Romans 3:19-20).
But God’s wrath has its complement, namely God’s love for the world. So God has made it possible for the "lost" to be "saved" from his wrath.
3 The Saviour’s Solution
So the problem of wrath has a solution! We can be justified (made right) and thus be saved from God’s wrath (Romans 3:23, Romans 7:22-25).
We cannot accomplish this by ourselves, but through Jesus Christ, by virtue of his death (in which he shed his blood), his resurrection, ascension, and his intercession for us (Romans 5:6-11, Romans 8:31-34). That is the only possible means by which anyone can be saved.
Romans 8:31-34
¶“31So what should we say about these things? If God is on our side, who can stand against us? 32For our sakes, God did not even spare his own Son. He surrendered him for us all. So surely he will give us freely all the things that we need. 33 Who is going to condemn any of God’s chosen people? God has put them in the right. 34Who is going to condemn them? Isn't Christ Jesus the very one who died for them? Yes, and even better, the one who was raised. He is now at the right hand of God, and there he too intercedes for us” (Romans 8:31-34).
salvation
Synonyms: Deliverance, rescue, preservation in peril
Scripture: Mark 16:15-16, Romans 1:16, Philippians 2:12, Titus 2:11, Hebrews 2:3.
Related ideas: Wrath, lost, way, escape.
Lesson Synopsis: Christians talk about salvation, the Saviour, and being saved. However, the meaning and doctrine behind these terms is not aways well understood.
Greek References: σωτηρια (soteeria) 4991, cf 4990-4992,4982