This morning's message will come
out of Acts chapter 16, verse 30 and 31. The title of the message
is, What is it to be saved? What is it to be saved? Let me
read a few verses to you out of Acts 16. Now this starts with
the Philippian jailer. He has put Paul and Silas into
jail. And he's put their feet fast
in the stocks, it says. And at midnight, verse 25, at
midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and
the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great
earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and
immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were
loose. And the keeper of the prison, waking out of his sleep
and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would
have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
But Paul cried with a loud voice saying, do thyself no harm, for
we are all here. Then he called for a light and
sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul Silas
and brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? they said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. Most preaching
today is about a place called heaven and a place called hell.
The whole emphasis is put upon going to heaven and missing hell,
when in fact the Bible emphasizes being saved as being saved from
sin and made one with God. Most who claim to be Christians
really don't want to be saved from sin, which is what they
are. They just want to be end up in
the right place when they die. But let's look here this morning
on this subject of what is it to be saved. First of all, we
do have to understand something of what it is to be lost. To
be lost is to be dead in trespasses and sins, spiritually dead in
trespasses and sins. We have not the life of God and
we desire not the life of God. Our life is one of nothing but
sin from beginning to end. Everything we do is sin. To be lost is to be far off from
God. be lost is to be at enmity with
God the scripture says the natural mind is enmity with God to be
lost is to be in darkness to be lost is to be ignorant of
who God is who Jesus Christ is who is what we really are that's
what it is to be lost is to be under the power To be lost is
to be under the power of Satan and under the power of sin. That's
what it is to be lost. But what is it to be saved? First
of all, to be saved is the work of God. It's not a cooperative
effort between me and the Lord Jesus Christ. the LORD JESUS
CHRIST SAVING ME FROM MY SINS, SAVING ME FROM MY SPIRITUAL DEATH.
WHAT IS IT TO BE SAVED? TO BE SAVED IS TO BE FORGIVEN
OF ALL MY SINS. LISTEN TO THE WORD OF GOD. HE
SAYS IN ACTS 26 18 THAT HE TO OPEN THEIR EYES and to turn them
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. It is written
in Ephesians 1.7, In whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. it
says the same thing in Colossians 1 14 in whom we have redemption
through his blood even the forgiveness of sins all sins and then to
be saved is to have peace with God listen to these scriptures
in Colossians 1 Verse two, it says, to the saints and faithful
brethren in Christ, which are at Colossae, grace be unto you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And
then it says in verse 20, and having made peace through the
blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself,
by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in
heaven, but the Lord Jesus Christ through his blood, through his
righteousness, through his obedience, has made peace with God for those
whom he saved. And then it says, in Colossians
3 15, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. We have
peace with God. That's what it is to be saved,
is to have forgiveness of sins, is to have peace with God, And
then thirdly, is to be free from the curse of the law. Listen
to Galatians 3.13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written,
cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. There is a law curse
on everyone outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. law says do and
live don't do and die the scripture says the soul that sinneth shall
surely die and everyone born into this world has sinned but
christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law that's what
it is to be saved is to be saved from the curse of the law because
the lord jesus christ took that curse on himself he suffered
he suffered on calvary's tree the curse of the law and he removed
that curse off of everyone whom he saves and then to be saved
is to be free from all judgment our judgment when i say our judgment
i'm talking about all who believe god who believe the gospel our
judgment passed on the lord jesus christ there is no judgment waiting
the believer he's free he or she is free from all judgment
and then to be saved is to have eternal life listen to john first
john that is first john chapter 2 verse 25 and this is the promise
that he has promised us even eternal life And then it says
in 1 John 5, 11, and this is the record that God has given
to us eternal life. And this life, this eternal life
is in his son, Jesus Christ. To be saved is to be forgiven
of sin. All sin is to have peace with
God, is to be free from the curse of the law, is to be free from
all judgment, and is to have eternal life, which is the life
of God. He's not talking about how long it is. He's talking
about the quality of it. It's the life of God. And then
to be saved is to have the Holy Spirit, is to be sealed with
the Holy Spirit of God. Listen to Ephesians 1, verse
13. In whom you also trusted, after
that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy
Spirit or with that Holy Spirit of promise. all whom God saves
are sealed with the Holy Spirit the Spirit of God dwells in every
believer everyone whom God saves the moment he saves them they
are brought to faith in Christ they are given life they are
born again and they are sealed with the Holy Spirit and he is
the earnest it says in the next verse in verse 14 which is the
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the person's
possession and to the praise of His glory. He will remain
with them until they are in glory. He doesn't just come and go. He remains in them. Greater is
He that's in you than He that's in the world. be saved is to
be forgiven of all sin is to have peace with god is to be
free from the curse of the law is to be free from all judgment
is to have eternal life is to be sealed with the holy spirit
and is to be accepted in the beloved that's what it says in
ephesians chapter one that he hath made us accepted in the
beloved That's what it is to be saved. Salvation has to do
with a relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ. It's not about heaven and hell. It's not about a place. Even
though those who die in Christ, they are taken to heaven. Like
he said to the thief on the cross, today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. But the emphasis is not paradise. The emphasis is not a place called
heaven. And it's not trying to miss a place called hell. It's
being saved from what I am, that I might be made one with God,
that I can have fellowship, that this sinner can have fellowship
with God who is holy and just. And God can be God and have fellowship
with me. Am I saved? Here's the next question. Am I saved? Do you believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ? that is presented to us in the
Word of God. You know, Paul said in one place,
they will come preaching another Jesus. And I'm telling you, this
Jesus that wants to save everybody if they will let him, this Jesus
who has no hands but your hands and no feet but your feet, that
Jesus doesn't even exist. The Jesus Christ represented
in the Word of God is God manifested in the flesh. who came into this
world, worked out a righteousness for his people, which are nothing
but sinners. Christ died for sinners. Christ
died for the ungodly and he's going to save everyone for whom
he died. If you are really truly a sinner, Christ died for you
because Christ died for sinners. A sinner is someone who makes
no excuse for who they are and what they've done. Like David said in Psalm 51,
against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in
thy sight. You don't blame anybody else.
It takes God to bring a person to that place. It really takes
the power of God to bring a person to confess who they are and what
they've done and make no excuse for it. They are just sinful. And Christ died for sinners.
And in Christ, they are forgiven of all their sins. They have
peace with God. They're free from the curse of
the law. They're free from all judgment. They've been given
eternal life. They are sealed with the Holy
Spirit. They are accepted in the beloved. That's what it is
to be saved. If you truly believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, you know this is so. You know this is true. You
know that Jesus Christ is all your hope, all your righteousness,
all your salvation. What is to be saved is to be
redeemed by the blood of Christ. Am I saved? I believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. I believe on the sovereign Christ
that's presented in the word of God. Until next time, I pray
that the Lord will bless his word to your and my understanding.