Brian Onstead

A term that gets tossed around often among Christians is the word “saved.” Christians will give gratitude for God “saving” them, speak of the time and events surrounding when they were “saved,” and ask others if they have been saved. It’s probably a safe bet that almost all of us have heard about Jesus being Lord and “Savior.” So, what does it mean to be saved? It obviously implies some sort of danger. What is that danger?

In our therapeutic age, it seems like oftentimes the greatest danger we face is low self-esteem or failure in any area of life. A common message is that God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our life, or we need to believe in ourselves and we will succeed. But if this was the case, then the apostles certainly missed out, for they suffered greatly. Just read the apostle Paul’s letters in the Bible. There is good evidence suggesting that the apostle Peter was crucified upside down. We are not saved from a miserable life here on earth (even though God does help and knowing him does bring joy). Rather, we are saved from God himself. How can I say that? It is because he is the judge who created hell and sends immortal souls there for all eternity. In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says to a large group of people, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Jesus, who is God and to whom God the Father has entrusted all judgment, sends people to hell — the eternal fire where the devil goes. Why would he do this? It is because he is perfectly just and that is what our sin deserves. As scripture says in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death.” So, we need to be saved from the wrath of this judge. In a very real sense, we need to be saved from God himself. 

How are we saved from the wrath of God? Well, it is by God himself. God in the person of his son took upon himself our humanity. He became like us in every way except for sin. He did this so that he would live a whole life of obedience in perfect conformity to the law. This was so that we could claim that perfect obedience as our own and present it to God for our perfect standing. Then he went to the cross to face that awful wrath of God in our place. On the cross, Jesus was not merely dying a physically tortuous death. Rather, he was bearing the penalty for our sins, which is the wrath of Almighty God — facing eternal hell in his soul. He did this as our substitute so that we, who trust in him, would never face it. So, we are saved by God.

And we are also saved to God. That is, we are saved not merely to escape a terrible fate, but rather in order to be reconciled to God. 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” Peter says that the reason Christ died in our place is so that he would bring us to God. Heaven is not merely about escaping hardship, it is about being with God. If God were not in heaven, then heaven would not be heaven. So, we are saved from God, by God and to God. This should make us exclaim with the apostle Paul in Romans 11:36: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

(Brian Onstead is the pastor at Trinity Bible Church.)