What is “Being Saved”?
Introduction
This article accompanies our video: What does it really mean to be saved. Watch it for for a more dynamic treatment of the subject.
Ask any Christian what it means to be “saved”, and likely you will get some version of “it means you are going to Heaven”. This isn’t exactly correct, at least not according to the Bible, but rather a misconception layered upon another Christian misconception that everyone’s goal should be to “Get to Heaven.” Heaven is just a way station towards our intended destination. I have a video “What is Heaven” that covers that to some degree if you want more information on that topic.
In fact, “getting saved”, has only a little bit to do with Heaven. In this topic, I cover the biblical truth of:
What it really means to “get saved”
How to get saved
How to stay saved
As always, I will let God’s word speak through.
What is really “Getting Saved”?
Confusing Language
The first thing I want you to understand is that “saved” is really sloppy use of language. There are in fact 3 separate and distinct events that are referred to as being “saved”. But, using the same word for each one, Christians have confused themselves to the point that they no longer really even know what the word is intended to mean. I will re-establish for you understanding of these separate events, but first I want to lay down some foundational knowledge to ensure that it makes sense to you.
Kingdoms
Know that there are two kingdoms at play when we talk about these things: Kingdom of Light and Kingdom of Darkness with Jesus over the first and Satan over the later. Here are bible verses to support this:
Satan has a kingdom:
If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? - Matthew 12:26 (direct quote from Jesus)
Satan’s kingdom is the darkness in this world:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. - Ephesians 6:12
God is light:
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. - 1 John 1:5
Jesus has a kingdom:
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” – John 18:36
Jesus’ Kingdom is of light:
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” – John 8:12
Step 1 – Enter the Kingdom of Light
Now that we understand that there are two kingdoms, I can now point out to you that the first concept of “being saved” is to being taken out of the Kingdom of Darkness and moved over to the Kingdom of Light. Everyone is in either one. If you are not in the Kingdom of Light, then you are in the other one. There is no third alternative. Supporting bible verses:
We start out in the Kingdom of Darkness &
We are transferred to the Kingdom of Light:
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:13-14
So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ – Acts 26:15-18
We can only be in one Kingdom:
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? - 2 Corinthians 6:14
As you can see, you must “migrate” from one kingdom to the other. Note that this occurs here on Earth, not in Heaven and that you are not immediately taken up to Heaven when it happens. Therefore, using simple logic, we can deduce that for a time being (until we “die”), we are in the Kingdom of Heaven while we are still on Earth. This timeframe, in modern Christianese, is often referred to as “being saved”.
So, using logic again, the first instance of “being saved” is when you are taken out of the Kingdom of Darkness and put into the Kingdom of Light. We are saved from the Devil by Jesus … literally. But how, you might ask?
How to be saved
In order to move from one Kingdom to another, you must emigrate! Logically it starts with a choice to do so and then execution. Like all governments, the Kingdom of Light has requirements you must fulfill in order to be accepted. Here they are:
Swear an Oath of Allegiance &
Believe the King is alive:
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9 (Note that Lord = King)
Like many governments, you are required to submit to their authority over you via a verbal oath. When you declare Jesus your King, you are bending the knee to him as your sovereign Lord. Likewise, using simple logic, how could you “believe in him” or submit to his authority if you don’t think he is still alive? Also pay close attention to the phrase “in your heart”. He will know if you are just giving lip service or being a hypocrite, or if it is real. It only counts if it is real.
When you are accepted, the King then puts a seal on you, like what a notary public would do for a legal document, that demonstrates your citizenship wherever you go kind of like a passport. Here are a couple of verses for that:
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, - Ephesians 1:13
And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Pay attention. When you submit to Jesus as King and enter His kingdom, God puts in you the Holy Spirit, and He acts as a guarantee. To what? Salvation, or “being saved”. This process is known as being baptized in the Spirit or being Born Again.
But wait! We are already “saved” when God plucked us out of the Kingdom of Darkness, aren’t we? What do we need the Holy Spirit for? This leads us to the second concept of “being saved”.
Step 2 – Being Saved into Heaven
For background, understand that what we call “death” is when the spirit separates from the body and goes back to God, the body goes into the ground and the Soul goes before Jesus for judgement. His people go to Paradise, or Heaven, and the rest go to the Abyss, or Hell.
So what does the Holy Spirit have to do with all this? Remember, He is your guarantee to salvation. This means that if you have him in you when you go before judgement, you are guaranteed to enter Heaven, also known as the Kingdom of God. That is what it means.
This is the second instance of “being saved” – to be saved from Hell and go to Heaven when you “die”. This is what most people think of when you say “being saved”. Here is a verse for it:
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3
While we are at it, let’s look at the third instance of being saved.
Step 3 – Being Saved into New Jerusalem
Heaven is not our final destination. It is just a place for us to stay until the end comes, at which time we will then be transported to our eternal home. This is the last time we go through a filtering process, and it is called the final judgement.
In this last process, everyone will be permanently separated out, those in the Kingdom of Light into the New Jerusalem to live in eternity with God and others to the Lake of Fire along with Satan and all those in his Kingdom of Darkness.
This is the third time you are “saved”. In this instance, you are saved from condemnation and the Lake of Fire and given eternal life in the presence of the Lord. Here is some scripture to back this up:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: …41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: … 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” – Matthew 25:31-46
Summary
So there you have it, “being saved” is a three step process which can be summarized as follows:
Enter into the Kingdom while on Earth
Go to Heaven when you “die”
Have everlasting life in New Jerusalem after final judgement
Now be honest … Did you know all that? I didn’t. Churches just don’t teach this stuff much, but I think it is important to know and understand. It gives me confidence that God has a plan, that he shares it with us, and I like knowing what is required of me. So many live in fear and in doubt, but there is no need. God put it all down in black and white.
Just one last word of warning. I want you to know that if you enter the Kingdom while on Earth, it is possible to be kicked out, or lose “being saved”. I didn’t want to put this in that section so as not to distract from that topic. I have a video on this very topic where I treat it pretty extensively, so feel free to watch it. But do not be overly concerned. It is hard to lose it, you have to really earn your expulsion, but it is possible. Just letting you know.
I want to leave you with one last quote, a call to arms if you will:
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. – Romans 13:12