Lynne Little Ministries - Higher Realm
This podcast features a wide-ranging concentration of subjects from Christian apologetics, to mankind's relationship with God and His with us, and exploring our roles within the contemporary church as well as society at large. We facilitate open dialogue with straightforward examinations of foundational Christian beliefs. Special focus will include recovering from, and moving forward through, any type of profound loss from the Christian perspective.
Lynne Little Ministries - Higher Realm
Little by Little - Part Two - What Does It Mean to Be Saved? A Guide for New Believers
What does it truly mean to be "saved"? For many seekers and new believers, this common Christian term can be confusing or even off-putting without proper context. In this illuminating episode of Higher Realm, Lynne Little breaks down this foundational concept with clarity and compassion.
Diving into the etymology of salvation, Lynne reveals how this word carries rich meaning beyond simple religious jargon. From its Latin root "salvare" (meaning safe, sound, or rescued) to the Greek "sozo" (indicating healing, wholeness, and deliverance), salvation encompasses a comprehensive transformation that addresses both our present needs and eternal destiny.
Through Jesus's own words in John 10, we explore the beautiful metaphor of Christ as both the gate and the good shepherd. Lynne unpacks how salvation works from two perspectives: what we're saved to (a life of sustenance, safety, and fellowship with God) and what we're saved from (judgment and separation from God's presence). With thoughtful analysis of scripture and insights from C.S. Lewis, she addresses difficult questions about heaven, hell, and God's justice while emphasizing that our eternal destiny ultimately rests on our own choice.
Whether you're new to faith, curious about Christianity, or a longtime believer wanting to mentor others, this episode provides essential understanding of salvation's true meaning. If you've never experienced personal salvation, Lynne concludes with a simple prayer to help you begin your relationship with Christ. Connect with us at lynnelittleministries@gmail.com to share your journey or ask questions about finding hope, peace, and restoration.
You are listening to Higher Realm with Lynne Little. Our program highlights biblical strategies for moving through life's difficulties and finding your path to healing. We tackle issues particular to those who have experienced painful loss in any form. Lynne is the founder and president of Lynn Little Ministries and the author of Missing Lisa: A Parent Grieves and Finding God in Death and Life: A Passage Through Grief. Now here's Lynne.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome. Today's podcast is the second lesson in our series entitled Little by Little. I created this series specifically for new believers to help them establish a firm foundation in basic Christian beliefs or doctrine, and also for those who are curious about Christianity. But I believe the series applies to mature Christians as well. Those of us who have known the Lord for many years have a responsibility to disciple those who are new in the faith, and so perhaps the series can be a useful reference for those audiences as well.
Speaker 2:Last week we discussed the terms original sin and sin nature. Today we'll examine the term saved. As I mentioned in my testimony recorded in the first podcast, as a seeker of truth I thought the term saved was disconcerting because I really didn't understand what it meant and, more importantly, how it applied to my life. I had no idea what the human race was being saved from or saved to. So let's begin by first establishing a working definition of the term.
Speaker 2:The term saved or saving is a transitive verb with several definitions, but three of them are the most relevant to our discussion. The first means to deliver from sin. The second to rescue or deliver from danger or harm. And the third to preserve or guard from injury, destruction or loss. A longer form of the word found in Scripture, the word salvation, has similar applications as the word saved. Both are derived from the Latin root word salvas. Salvare, which means safe, sound or rescued. The Greek word for salvation, sozo, found in reference after reference in the New Testament, even more emphatically indicates the comprehensive nature of the salvation found in Christ. In many contexts, the direct meaning of the term denotes healing and being made whole. Additionally, it means to be delivered out of danger, rescued, recovered, protected and brought to safety. Quite an inclusive range of blessings.
Speaker 2:In this study, it might be helpful to analyze the subject from two different viewpoints, both equally relevant and important. The first is the idea of being saved to something, something and the converse is to be saved from something. In Christ we're saved to a better life and saved from a terrible fate. In the King James Version, the word salvation first appears in Genesis. The many mentions of the word salvation in the Old Testament typically carry the connotations of some type of rescue, but the meaning of the term broadens considerably in the New Testament, as stated in the first mention where the words were spoken to Mary by the angel Gabriel in Matthew 1:21,. "He said she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." This broadened concept of salvation in the New Testament is reflected in the words of Jesus. He, of course, is our benchmark and the most authoritative place to start. His words count significantly in our search for truth. In John 10, verse 9, we find this reference to the word saved. Jesus said this I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. Now, the context that includes that verse actually begins in John 10, verse 1. We'll back up and read it in a minute, but first I want to say this In any discussion of issues presented in the four Gospels Matthew, mark, luke and John, we need to consider the audience.
Speaker 2:Who was Jesus primarily addressing? These were people who had no background in what we now know. Many of us are familiar with concepts attributed to Jesus due to experiences with church, Sunday school, bible school, television programs or literature that have articulated these ideas. As a matter of fact, many familiar sayings in our vernacular are derived from Scripture, expressions such as "the blind leading the blind or the salt of the earth come to mind. Jesus' listeners seemed to us rather clueless until we consider what they did not know, for at this period of time there was little frame of reference from most of what Jesus was teaching. His words sounded revolutionary and therefore he frequently spoke in parables.
Speaker 2:The 10th chapter of John that we're addressing was preceded by an incident outlined in John chapter 9, where Jesus had healed a man born blind from birth. In doing this, he ran afoul of the Pharisees, the religious order of the day. They took issue with Jesus healing on their Sabbath, In the passages we're about to read, Jesus contrasted His mission with with the blind guides of the Pharisees. He explains that he is sent to lead them into a different way of living that sharply contrasted with the religious thought processes and rituals of the day. So in verse 1 of chapter 10, Jesus is speaking to the crowd, particularly to the Pharisees, and he tells them this. "Very truly.
Speaker 2:I tell you, Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate but climbs in by some other way is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the Shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of them and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger. In fact they will run away from him because they do not recognize the stranger's voice."
Speaker 2:Jesus spoke this parable, but the people did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
Speaker 2:So first Jesus is likening himself to the gate, then he self-identifies this way, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he's a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me Truly. Truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. So let's take a moment to unpack this.
Speaker 2:The sheepfold is obviously the enclosure that holds the sheep. Jesus refers to himself first as the gate and the door, the only entrance through which the sheep can pass. He also refers to himself as the shepherd, whose responsibility it is to take care of the sheep and lead them to pasture. So who are the thieves and the robbers? The context strongly suggests that Jesus is referring to the false teachers of the day, but also to any false teachers or leaders who would attempt to lead the sheep astray.
Speaker 2:In climbing into the sheepfold over the fence, as it were, they seek to demonstrate that there are other ways to salvation rather than through Jesus. In this act, they rob others. He is the only person who had the right to enter the sheepfold by the door, and also the only person through whom the sheep can enter the sheepfold.
Speaker 2:The Lord uses many analogies and different terminologies to define himself, and each one is a window to his ways. We know that we're the sheep and we know that he's the shepherd and also the door. But here's a question, " are the sheep going? They're headed through the door to the sheepfold. To what end they're headed through the door to the sheepfold? To what end? Here they find what they're saved to, a generalized description of what humans are saved to. With Christ as the door, sheep are entering the place of relative safety, free from predators or danger or starvation. They also find pasture, which in scripture denotes the things that sustain the spiritual and physical life. So in essence, they are saved into a life of sustenance. And that's what we can expect when we enter the sheepfold of Christianity. We find a place of relative safety and sustenance and, as an added bonus, the unmatched fellowship of the shepherd.
Speaker 2:Jesus used another definition of the word saved. This mention, found in Mark 16: 16, has a far more serious connotation than the idyllic sheep analogy. It describes what we're saved from. To reiterate, J esus is the door to the enclosure where we find subsistence and safety in this life. However, he's also the door to something else. Mark 16: 16 reads, "e that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes not shall be damned. This reference addresses the hereafter, an eternity spent elsewhere. To be saved. From that end is salvation defined? Now, to be damned sounds like an extremely harsh term, doesn't it? But bear with me a minute.
Speaker 2:In past episodes we've alluded to the fact that mankind dislikes the idea of God judging bad character and behavior and assigning consequences. Our first reaction to the idea of judgment is to feel a chill or question whether that's fair or rebel against it. And yet, if someone wrongs us, we always reference a standard of fairness. We want justice, then, don't we? This standard of fairness is our go-to. It seems to reside deep within every human psyche and it's that standard to which we're comparing the behavior of others. We may not necessarily turn that searchlight on ourselves, but we're quick to judge someone else's behavior, especially if they've wronged us. Now, not everybody has this deep-seated understanding of right and wrong, because some people have so effectively silenced the voice of their own conscience and their own sense of fairness that they no longer adhere to any standards. But, generally speaking, we instinctively know that in order to maintain justice, there needs to be laws and also consequences for breaking those laws, without which we would live in a constant state of anarchy. Fair enough? So back to my point. There will come a time when the aggregate deeds, both good and bad, of mankind will be judged, rewards will be bestowed and punishments will be administered.
Speaker 2:The book of Malachi, 4:5, refers to this judgment day as "that great and terrible day of the Lord. Thus our dire need for the second definition of the word saved. To be saved from judgment because we have received God's free gift of salvation through Christ is the ultimate save, which leads us to the biblical mentions of a literal heaven and a literal hell, making clear that they both exist. When Jesus offers the choice to believe and be saved, or disbelieve and be damned, he's in earnest. Hell is a difficult concept for a lot of people, because they think it's diametrically opposed to the idea of a loving God. But did you know that hell was not created for mankind to begin with? It was never meant for us. Jesus said in Matthew 25, 41, that hell was created for the devil and his angels. That hell was created for the devil and his angels Sounds like a crowd we would do well to avoid. To think, however, that God capriciously sends us or anyone to hell is to be misled.
Speaker 2:Peter 3:9 reads, "the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. In essence, the decision as to where we end up is ours and ours alone. God has self-limited to the extent that he offers us free will choices. He won't force anybody to do anything. Otherwise he would make everyone come to Christ and be saved and would all go home to heaven tomorrow. No, he has consistently proven that he will not interfere with man's free will. When Jesus talks about coming to receive salvation through him, his blanket offer is to whosoever will, stating specifically he who comes to me, I will not cast away. No one is excluded. We alone keep ourselves out. We concentrate on the fire and torture of hell, as scripture vividly describes it.
Speaker 2:Aside from the obvious scriptural references to hell as a place of burning and torment, let's consider an additional angle. It was CS Lewis who painted this speculative picture of hell. I cannot quote his exact words, but the general idea is this. What if hell consisted of unlimited access to all the pleasures of earth? A person who ended up there would be guaranteed every desire they ever had. They could drink as much as they wanted, take as many drugs as they wished, have as much sex as they possibly could, amass all kinds of money to spend on themselves and their nonsense and live pretty much the way they lived on earth.
Speaker 2:A scenario of a misspent life, yet compounded exponentially. And all of this would conceivably take place with one condition only that they would never see the face of God. This would, of course, mean that they would never experience love or goodness or kindness or compassion forever. The thought of that leaves us rather cold, doesn't it? No, we have to take the entirety of God's word as gospel. Hell is real, heaven is real, and our mission is to compel others to go in the right direction.
Speaker 2:So we've reached the obvious conclusion that the term saved encompasses far more than just enjoying the privilege of a relationship with a shepherd here on earth. It also involves being saved from a terrible destiny and being saved into a glorious destiny. An important mention of the word saved is found in Romans 10: 9 and 10. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your hearts God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Speaker 2:If any of my listeners have never experienced salvation and who may not know how to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus, you've come to the right place. First, we recognize that we're all sinners. Second, we believe that God sent Jesus to bear the burden for our sins. And third, we pray to receive the free gift of salvation through Christ. Would you take a moment and pray with me right now, repeating after me" Heavenly Father, I know that I'm a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died on the cross for my sins and rose to life on the third day. Jesus, come into my heart, forgive my sins and take control of my life. I receive you as my Savior and Lord, amen. If you prayed that prayer, contact us lynnlittleministries at gmailcom. See you next week.
Lynne:Thank you so much for listening. Lynne Little Ministries is a 501c3 whose mission is to assist those who have suffered loss and to help them discover hope, peace and restoration. For books, resources or to make a tax-deductible donation go to lynnelittleorg.