How many times have you heard a Brother or Sister in Christ proclaim, “I am saved… sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost.” I was raised in a church where this was of extreme importance. I would like to explore this.

If you look the up word ‘saved’ in the dictionary the meaning is as follows:

1.

a. To rescue from harm, danger, or loss.

b. To set free from the consequences of sin; redeem.

2. To keep in a safe condition; safeguard.

3. To prevent the waste or loss of; conserve.

4. To set aside for future use; store.

Save one's eyesight.

6. To make unnecessary; obviate: Your taking the trunk to the attic has saved me an extra trip.

          Let us take a look and apply it to our lives.  1/a… to rescue from harm, danger or loss.

          This certainly seems to apply.  If we are believers we truly understand that by hanging on the Cross Jesus paid the price for our shortcoming, thereby wiping them away.  However let us not be too smug.  He wiped the slate clean but what happens when Mom cleans and shines the living room floor and we come along and spill a soft drink all over it.  It was clean but now it is a mess again.  Our souls are like that.

1/b… To set free from the consequences of sin; redeem.  This one brings us right back to the cross and our need for redemption.  Try as we may we are not perfect.  We will make mistakes.  This is probably why our Savior came two thousand years ago instead of today.  That cross has been carrying a heavy load ever since, burdened with the shortcomings of every generation since.

2… To keep in a safe condition; safeguard.  3… To prevent the waste or loss of; conserve.  4… To set aside for future use; store.  These are all simply expansions of the cross.  Jesus came and lived to show us perfection.  He died to show us true and unfailing love and his resurrection gives us hope and strength to follow the ways of the father.   Prayer is one way to prevent the waste or loss of salvation.  It also gives us inner strength to keep ourselves as pure as possible so we can be of future use to our maker.  That cross is truly our safe guard against loss of our eternal soul.

Now let us look at Salvation in the dictionary:

Salvation 

1.

a. Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil.

b. A source, means, or cause of such preservation or deliverance.

2. Christianity

a. Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.

b. The agent or means that brings about such deliverance.

1 a… Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil.  This is a work on the part of God and his son.  This is nothing we of our own accord could even hope to achieve.  Therefore I do not boast about my salvation.  I praise God.

1 b… A source, means, or cause of such preservation or deliverance.  WOW!  This brings us right back to Jesus Christ and the cross, doesn’t it?  This is our deliverance.  We need only to accept it.

1a… Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.  Now here is where we have to start accepting some responsibility.  What if we took the bird out of captivity (sin) and set him free but he unwittingly flew right back to the same perch in that cage because he has simply felt at home there.  He was set free but he chose to return.  We can do that.  We must be vigilant that we not allow ourselves to dwell in sin when freedom is a gift.

2.     Christianity… What more can I say.  Jesus Christ came to plant a seed.  Some of the seed falls on fertile ground and something wonderful grows from it.  We do need to respond to his gift and return his love.  One way is to love one another.

2 a… Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption.  If we are truly delivered from this power it then becomes our responsibility to keep ourselves true to the Lord and live our lives following our convictions.  If we fail to do this we have fallen.

2 b… The agent or means that Brings about such deliverance.  That Agent would be Jesus Christ.  The Son of God and the messenger sent from God to give us eternal life.

     There are many who scoff at God but this is only because they have not seen.  There are those who claim that faith in God is only a way to deal with our fear of death.  To them I simply say this; “If there be no God and if death is nothing more than sleep, what do I truly have to fear?”

          One final thought, here.  I have heard people say, “Once save… always saved.”  Not so.  I was raised where they taught that people backslide.  They were saved but they allowed themselves to become lost again.  I never cared for that much but I am beginning to understand that it does make sense.  You save your money for a rainy day but you really want that plasma TV or your health fails you.  The money was saved but now it is spent.  Let us not spend our souls on Earthly riches but let us save it for the Kingdom of God which is to come.