Avatar feed
Responses: 28
PO1 H Gene Lawrence
39
39
0
Edited >1 y ago
I have had the privilege and pleasure of saving a life on more than one occasion but I often wonder if the seeds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that I have tried to plant have had a saving effect on someone’s eternal life. When I began my research I ran into an article that left me in amazement at how differently the Bible uses the word Save, or its derivatives. I would like to share it with you in hopes that it will let y’all walk away with a different perspective as happened to me. Be blessed my RP Family.
Taken from redeeminggod.com
Saved: The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible
By Jeremy Myers
Are you saved?The most misunderstood word in the Bible is also one of the biblical words we use the most. What word is that?

The word “saved.”

And not just the word saved, but the other words in the same word family, such as save, salvation, and savior.

How often have we heard pastors and teachers tell us of our need to “get saved”? How often do evangelists ask people if they have “been saved”? How often do people argue about whether or not we can lose our salvation, and how to know for sure if we are really saved or not?

This is common terminology, right? It is heard in countless sermons, read in countless books, and used in countless evangelism methods.

The problem is that the word doesn’t usually mean what we think it means.

Getting Saved is Not About Going to Heaven

Most often, when Christians use the word “saved” we think about the following concepts:

getting forgiveness of sins
escaping hell
going to heaven when we die
receiving eternal life
Furthermore, we think that people “get saved” by doing some (or all) of the following:

ask Jesus into our hearts
confess our sin
repent of our sin
get baptized
believe in Jesus
trust Jesus
believe that Jesus is God,
believe that Jesus died on the cross, and rose again from the dead
believe that we are sinners and that Jesus died for our sin on the cross
etc, etc, etc.
But did you know that the word “saved” (and the other related words like save and salvation) are rarely used to express any of the concepts above? The closest we get is Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9-10, 1 Corinthians 15:2, and Ephesians 2:5-9, and I am not convinced that even in these passages, the word “saved” means getting forgiveness of sins so we can escape hell, get eternal life, and go to heaven when we die. Taking a detailed look at each of these texts is beyond the scope of this blog post, so let me just summarize what the word saved means in the Bible.

saved salvation
What does the word “Saved” mean?

It means “deliverance.” To be saved means to be delivered.

And when we understand it this way, it opens up a whole new range of possibilities. We can be “delivered” from almost anything, right? I pray that as I write this blog post, I am delivered (saved) from theological and biblical errors, and my greatest nemesis of all – typographical errors!

But I can also be delivered from sickness, from a meteor falling out of the sky and landing on my house, from getting in a car accident while I drive to work, from enemies invading our country, from our economy sliding into collapse, from earthquakes, floods, storms, and on and on it goes.

In a more spiritual sense, I can be saved from slipping into sin so that I destroy my life and my witness. I can be saved from ruining my marriage and my family by treating them with the love and respect they deserve.

How is “Saved” used in the Bible?

The vast majority of the times the word “saved” is used in Scripture, it is not used in reference to receiving eternal life or going to heaven when we die, but is used in one of these other ways mentioned above. If you doubt this, just pull out a concordance and start checking it yourself. When the Bible uses the word “saved” it is talking about the Israelites getting saved from their enemies, from sickness, from slavery, and from death. The disciples are saved from drowning in a storm. Christians can be saved from a life of empty living.

Even Jesus wasn’t saved.

Jesus Saves SoccerThis sort of thinking really helps when we read certain difficult passages. Paul writes that women will be saved through childbearing (1 Tim 2:15). Does he mean that only women who have children can get forgiveness of sins and go to heaven when they die? Of course not! A brief look into the context of 1 Timothy 2 reveals that one source of a woman’s personal self-worth is in how she trains and raises her children. Paul is teaching that one way women can be “saved” from feeling insignificant is by raising children. It is not the only way, but is one way.

So the next time you are reading the Bible and come across the word “saved,” stop and think about it. Substitute in the word “deliver” or “deliverance” and then look into the context to see what sort of deliverance is in view. Ask yourself, “Delivered from what?” and let the context answer this question for you. Doing this little exercise will really help clarify what the Bible actually teaches about how to receive eternal life and the role of good works in our life as Christians.

You will see that while good works play absolutely no part in getting, keeping, or proving our eternal life, good works nevertheless can “save” us. Ah, but “save” us from what? I will let you embark on the rest of this study on your own. Have fun!

PS, The Jesus Saves Soccer question was referring to a meme of Jesus reaching out to stop a soccer ball from going into the soccer goal. That meme did not show in my copy and paste.



SFC Bernard Walko SPC Robert Pulliam TSgt Carl Johnson TSgt George Rodriguez SGT Thomas Seward PO1 Richard Nyberg SFC Alvin Miller PO3 Aaron Hassay SSgt Richard Kensinger
LTC Orlando Illi MSgt James "Buck" Buchanan CPO Nate S. SGT Mike Williams PO2 Geoffrey LeNoir CPO Robert (Mac) McGovern
SrA Marianne Santangelo LTC David Brown SFC (Join to see) Maj Wayne Crist
(39)
Comment
(0)
PO3 Rod Arnold
PO3 Rod Arnold
>1 y
Its my personal opinion that Jeremy Myers is making to much on the word saved, and I'm afraid he will do nothing more than confuse baby Christians.
I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and when I did I was Born Again, He saved me from my sins, He saved my soul from the grips of Hell. I was Saved or Rescued. That word has been used by Christians for many years, we know what it implies and I see no point for him to question the meaning! Like I said it's just my opinion.
(1)
Reply
(0)
PO3 Rod Arnold
PO3 Rod Arnold
>1 y
PO1 Jimm Mooney Your correct Jimm, most often the case we'll never know the outcome of what happens after we have shared Jesus with someone. Hopefully a seed was planted and we pray it will grow. It's in God's hands!
(2)
Reply
(0)
PO3 Rod Arnold
PO3 Rod Arnold
>1 y
MSgt William Anderson Amen!
(1)
Reply
(0)
PO3 Rod Arnold
(2)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
Lt Col Charlie Brown
32
32
0
B30401f6
Good morning COL Mikel J. Burroughs . I can't wait to hear how the VFV rides went in all the locations. I am proud to be associated with such a great cause.
Saving lives. Isn't that what it is all about? It's the reason I volunteer with the Red Cross. It's the reason first responders do what they do, over and over again. If you can save a life, I know you would; we've had several discussions on here about our disappointment that many of us are unable to donate blood to save lives in that way. To everyone who works to make lives better and less likely to be lost, I salute you this morning.
LTC Stephen F. SPC Douglas Bolton Sgt John H. TSgt Joe C. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Maj Marty Hogan MSgt David Hoffman SGT (Join to see) LTC David Brown CPL Dave Hoover CMSgt (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan CPT Jack Durish CW5 Jack Cardwell SCPO Morris Ramsey SP5 Mark Kuzinski LTC (Join to see) SPC Mark HuddlestonLt Col John (Jack) Christensen
(32)
Comment
(0)
SGT Whatever Needs Doing.
SGT (Join to see)
>1 y
Lt Col Charlie Brown - What I've just been reading it could be years or decades, been 30 years for me. I'd like to know if I have the folded prions though. I've got a PCP appt. in a couple weeks. I'm going to ask.
(8)
Reply
(0)
Lt Col Charlie Brown
Lt Col Charlie Brown
>1 y
SGT (Join to see) - that is awesome
(7)
Reply
(0)
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
COL Mikel J. Burroughs
>1 y
Lt Col Charlie Brown - We're super proud that your part of the organization Charle - that is for sure. Your husbands donations brought in an extra $192.00 here in Denver, CO and I have another event coming up in August and September that should get more for the remaining items. We had 87 riders/passengers altogether in Denver, CO, so that is a definite increase over last year. Thanks for the awesome quotes and thoughts above Charlie. You and Tom have a great evening and tell him thank you again for me.
(4)
Reply
(0)
LTC Stephen F.
LTC Stephen F.
>1 y
I pray that you and I have eyes to see the warning signs and ears to hear the cries of the desperate around us, my friend and sister-in-Christ Lt Col Charlie Brown .
LORD I pray that YOU bless those in emergency services and those who act as life savers at pools, lakes and ocean beaches with eyes to see, endurance and training to physically protect and save lives.
Open the eyes of YOUR own adopted children dear God and give each of us courage, endurance and wisdom to deal with any crisis on the horizon.
I pray LORD that YOU protect the suicidal and calm the homicidal from their rage.
Restore love where love has fled from. Resurrect relationships with new hope in YOU. Build restoration of trust, compassion and empathy in broken relationships and shore up the marriages of YOUR own adopted children.
By the power and authority of the Name above all names, Jesus the Christ.
(2)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
Maj Marty Hogan
28
28
0
LTC Stephen F.
LTC Stephen F.
>1 y
I pray that you and I have eyes to see the warning signs and ears to hear the cries of the desperate around us, my friend and brother-in-Christ Maj Marty Hogan.
LORD I pray that YOU bless those in emergency services and those who act as life savers at pools, lakes and ocean beaches with eyes to see, endurance and training to physically protect and save lives.
Open the eyes of YOUR own adopted children dear God and give each of us courage, endurance and wisdom to deal with any crisis on the horizon.
I pray LORD that YOU protect the suicidal and calm the homicidal from their rage.
Restore love where love has fled from. Resurrect relationships with new hope in YOU. Build restoration of trust, compassion and empathy in broken relationships and shore up the marriages of YOUR own adopted children.
By the power and authority of the Name above all names, Jesus the Christ.
(3)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small

Join nearly 2 million former and current members of the US military, just like you.

close