What it means to be "saved"Posted by Debbie on Sunday, September 12, 2010 02:22 pmGrowing up Roman Catholic, we never used the term, "saved". I would read my Bible and not really understand what Jesus said to Nicodemus about being "born again". I knew who Jesus was. I knew He was the Son of God and that He was crucified, died , buried and rose again. However, being Catholic, I was taught that what Jesus did on the cross was not enough, that you had to go to mass, say rosaries, do penance, pray to saints and that even then, when you died, you had to go to purgatory before you would be allowed into heaven. the Catholic Church beleives that faith along with works will get you to heaven. Maybe. I read and read and never found anything in the Bible to support purgatory or works to get saved. What I DID learn is that you are truly saved when you come to the realization that there is NOTHING you yourself can do to be saved. That all our good works are as filthy rags to God. No one is good enough. No one is righteous enough. Then, by acknowledging this fact, and relying on Christ's death burial and ressurection as payment for all your sins, and giving your life over to Jesus Christ, then and only then are you "saved". Jesus said before dying, "It is finished", or more precisely translated, "Paid in full." Once you realize you are dead in sin and there is ONLY ONE NAME UNDER HEAVEN BY WHICH MEN CAN BE SAVED (Jesus), and that He paid the price for you on the cross, then you surrender to God's will and place your trust and faith in Jesus. Know that what He did is all you need. After you are saved, seek to have the mind of Christ, do His will, turn from sin. We will all be JUDGED by what we have done, but what we have done has nothing to do with whether you spend eternity in heaven or hell. What you do here on Earth decides HOW you will spend eternity. If saved, you will either get rewards or lose crowns. If not saved, your punishment in hell will be determined by your actions here on Earth. It was hard for me, as steeped in Catholicism as I was, to accept that salvation is so simple. I kept thinking that there MUST be more to it, that surely I had to DO something. It was also hard for me to admit that although I truly loved Christ and believed in Him, that was not enough. I had not trusted HIM for my salvation. Once I truly did, it was as if my eyes had finally been opened and I could see! I was Born Again, a new creation in Christ! Now, in these end times, many previously solid "evangelical" churches have been going back to Catholic rituals, or becoming "seeker sensitive", or adopting the "social gospel". Many people are becoming false converts because they are only told to "as Jesus into your heart" and nothing is said of repentance and true faith in salvation through grace alone. It grieves me deeply to see so many led astray. All I can say to you is to check EVERYTHING you hear against scripture. If it doesn't line up, it's a false teaching. I pray everyone who reads this will find true salvation through Jesus Messiah!
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