Why Do I Need To Be Saved?

The question of salvation is a very important issue to those who understand what it means to be lost. Appeals are made to find salvation in Jesus Christ and many respond to the gospel call. However, there are many, many more who do not heed the call of finding peace and safety in the Lord. While we focus on what a person must do to be saved, we often forget to explain to this same person the need of salvation. Until a person recognizes the need for salvation, the quest for salvation will be mute. In other words, salvation is an answer to being lost but most people do not realize they are lost.

If a man is drowning, he knows certain things. He knows he is in trouble, he knows the water will kill him, he cannot save himself and time is important. The reason he is drowning is that he is not made to breathe under water and that for whatever reason that brought him to this moment; he is in peril of death! All of these things combine to confirm a need for salvation. He does not need to be told he needs saving, he knows it!

Consider the power of sin. The Bible tells us that sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) From the Old Testament we learn that "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4) Isaiah writes in Isaiah 59:2, "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear." Man is in "trouble" because sin separates him from God. Sin will destroy man. (Romans 6:23; James 1:15) The reason man needs God is because he can do nothing to save himself in regard to his deliverance. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8) When man sinned in Genesis 3, God delivered man; not man delivering man.

The drowning man knows that he is in trouble and the water will kill him but his only deliverance can come from someone else. As in the spiritual sea of sin, man is in trouble and if he allows sin to continue in his life, he will be destroyed. The only hope of rescue came from God's love in sending Jesus Christ to the cross and the power of the resurrection. Without this sacrifice, man was separated from God. "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." (Ephesians 2:15-18)

Time is important because death comes upon all men (Hebrews 9:27) and then the judgment. The reason we need to be saved is because we have realized we are lost. We want to be saved now! When we come to this understanding, we can then see the reason for salvation. God did not make us to dwell in the sea of sin. We are to be creatures of the day (Ephesians 5:8-14) and we are to live to serve God. (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14) The only hope man has of saving himself is found in Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) To respond to the gospel call, the need for salvation must clearly be seen.

How is man saved from the grave of sin? As he comes to the realization of the truth of Jesus Christ, he believes with all his heart the good news of salvation. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15,16) ) Through this knowledge comes the heart remorseful of sin and seeks change (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38). With a willingness to commit to bearing the cross of Christ (Luke 14:25-33) and the confession of Christ on their lips (Romans 10:9,10) the lost man obeys the command of God in having their sins washed away in the waters of baptism. (Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3,4; 1 Peter 3:21) Arising from these waters, he is a new child, born again, seeking the eternal resurrection. Living faithfully and dedicated to the cause of Christ, he seeks to find others to save. (1 Timothy 4:16) Do you know you are lost? If you have not obeyed the will of God, you have no hope. (Matthew 7:21-23) Come to Christ and obey him - you are drowning without Him.

By Kent Heaton

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