Q:
I know you Christians talk a lot about being saved, but what do you think you're being saved from? The Christians I know seem to have just as many problems and failures as the rest of us.
A:
May you saw the bumper sticker popular a few years back that said something like this: “Christians aren’t perfect—just forgiven. Although the message was brief, it included two very important truths: God has fully forgiven us because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, but we still aren’t perfect, and we still have problems.
What does it mean, then, when Christians say they are saved? It means first of all that we are saved from something, and that “something” is sin. You see, sin is like a deadly disease that cripples us morally and spiritually, and keeps us from living the way we should. Burdened by sin, we also have no hope of eternal life with God in heaven.
But when we come to Christ and trust Him as our Saviour and Lord, God forgives us and cleanses us of all our sins, and we’re no longer under sin’s sentence of death. In other words, we have been saved from sin’s penalty. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
We’re not only saved from something, however; we’re also saved to something: a new life with Christ, both now and in eternity. God now comes to live within us by His Spirit, helping us in our struggles and giving us hope for the future. Don’t be bound by sin’s chains any longer, but turn to Christ and ask Him to forgive you and change you, beginning today.