What Does It Mean to Be Saved?

What does it mean to be saved? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. We would love to hear from you and our phone lines are open for the next 25 minutes. You can call us at 833-THE-CORE.

833-843-2673. By the way, we also have a YouTube channel. You can watch Adriel live in the studio right now drinking his coffee and you can send him a message that way if you've got a question for him or feel free to email us anytime at questionsatcorechristianity.com. You done with your coffee? Just want to make sure. No, I'm just getting started actually. This guy's a coffee connoisseur and we'll talk about the CORE coffee cup. Later, but let's go to Dwayne calling in from Missouri.

Dwayne, what's your question for Adriel? Well, good afternoon. I'm under an internal fight. I moved from New York and I was raised in the Baptist belief. I also came and looked for a church home and the church home I found said that you can only be saved by being baptized in the name of Jesus, which I did. My prior baptism was Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And I'm wondering, are you denied entry into heaven if you're baptized under Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Oh, Dwayne, sounds like you started attending a church of Christ. Is that accurate, the church that you found that said you need to be baptized in the name of Jesus? No, the actual church was, what is it called when you have no denomination?

Okay, well look, here's what I'll say. First, no, you are not denied access into heaven if you're baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In fact, baptisms should be administered in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in groups, whether they're non-denominational or part of a denomination that say, unless you're baptized in this way, in the name of Jesus, and if you don't do that, then you can't get into heaven.

I have serious issues with that. I think that that's a misunderstanding of baptism, what it is, as well as a misunderstanding of the way in which it's supposed to be administered. Of course, Jesus, when he instituted baptism, there with the apostles, giving them the great commission in the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 28, he said, go and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Now people will appeal to the Book of Acts and they'll say, well, in the Book of Acts, we have these baptisms that are done in Jesus's name. The issue there is Luke in the Book of Acts is highlighting the distinction between John's baptism, the baptism of John the Baptist, and the baptism of Jesus, which I would say is baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit as Jesus instituted.

And so no, I don't think that that's the case at all. In fact, when you were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, that was the right way to go about it. That was a proper baptism.

You didn't need to do this other thing. The other issue here is this idea that just the sort of physical washing with water, that that's what gains you entrance into heaven. Baptism is a sign and seal of a greater reality.

The washing away of all of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so this sign is meant to direct our attention and our faith upwards to God himself, to Jesus, who washes away all of our sins. And so the issue is, are you trusting in Christ? That's the main thing. Not to minimize baptism, because I think there are people who do that. They say, well, I'm trusting in Jesus. That's the main thing. So I don't need to be baptized.

No, not at all. We're commanded to be baptized by Jesus. It's this promise that God gives to his people. It's a part of how we're joined to the visible community of faith. And so we shouldn't ever minimize baptism in any sense. And I know that you're not doing that, but I just want to encourage you in saying, look, you were baptized the right way the first time. And if you're a part of a church that's saying, you need to be baptized in the name of Jesus, and if you're not, then heaven is going to be closed to you. I would say that's a pretty fundamental error in terms of our understanding of salvation and how it works, and also our understanding of those ordinances that Jesus gave to us. And so I might even go as far as to say that maybe you should look for a different church, unless there's some confusion there that I'm unsure about with what this church is trying to say.

But it sounds like there are some serious concerns there. Duane, God bless you. You know, when you're in a situation like that, Adriel, do you think it's important to maybe go to the pastor or go to an elder and ask the question, help me understand exactly how you understand how you teach salvation and see what their response is? Yeah, I'm glad you said that, Bill, because I don't want to just tell people, like, hey, leave your church. No, I think that there are instances where, like, if the error is so fundamental, say the church is teaching that Jesus is not God, they're denying the doctrine of the Trinity.

Well, I would say, yeah, turn and run. It's not one of the things where you go to the pastor or whatever they are and say, hey, can we have a conversation about this? Help me to understand what you're teaching. I would say, get out of that church first, go to a solid Bible teaching church, and if you want to have a conversation with that group in order to evangelize and talk about who God really is according to scripture, we'll do that. But many people leave churches for, I think, bad reasons.

It's just, you know, kind of a stylistic thing or it doesn't fit me personally, even though the doctrine is great and the, you know, the worship is being done according to what God has said. I think we just want to be careful that we don't fall into that sort of consumeristic mindset that's everywhere around us when we think about church. We have to ask ourselves, what is the church? And commit ourselves to church, commit ourselves to churches that are fulfilling that calling of faithfully preaching the gospel and worshiping Jesus as he's commanded with those ordinances. Sometimes we call them sacraments, baptism, and the Lord's supper where there's church discipline and care for the believers there. I mean, those are the main things.

You might not connect with the style of music per se as much as you'd like. There might not be all of the programs that you'd like for there to be, but the question is, is Christ crucified being preached, brothers and sisters? Man, if you're in a church where Jesus Christ is being preached faithfully and the word of God is being expounded, don't take that for granted. God bless.

Really well said. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'd love to hear from you if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Our phone lines are open at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Andre calling in from Texas. Andre, what's your question for Adriel? Hey, Pastor, how's it going? I'm here with my brother. Hey, what's going on? Oh, what's up, guys? Hey, man, we're riding. We love you, man.

I just wanted to give you or ask you a question. I'm referring to, there's multiple passages in the Bible that refer to Jesus or the coming of Jesus, you know, as the morning star. Now, it also refers to Satan as the morning star when he fell from heaven. So I'm always trying to sharpen up apologetics.

And I know that, you know, I don't ever want I want to be ready in season out of season. I never want to witness to somebody Mormon and then tell me that it's been like terrifying for me because I don't have an answer and I just wanted your take on it. Man, excellent question.

Yeah. So in the book of Revelation, for example, in Revelation chapter 22 verse 16, this is what we what we read. And this might be one of the texts that you're referring to, of course, that there are there are others. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.

Beautiful language. What is that that language of morning star in reference to? And then in the Old Testament, in Isaiah chapter 14, this this prophecy or this oracle about the haughty king of Babylon and his fall oftentimes applied to Satan, and I think rightly so because Jesus seems to allude to this text in in Luke chapter 10 with regard to Satan. But it says in Isaiah 14 verse 12, how you are fallen from heaven, O day star, son of dawn, how you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nation's low. This is actually that that word day starts where we get the word Lucifer from. It comes from the the Latin Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Bible. In antiquity, the day star referred to Venus or the brightest of the morning stars, really heralding the day that was to come, right?

This this picture of this bright morning star heralding the sunrise that was coming. Well, this language is applied to Satan prior to his fall, this angel that rebelled against God, in one sense to highlight the the the glory that was left behind, the the reality of what he had done in sinning against God. But the fact that this language is applied to Jesus, the Messiah as well, or that Jesus himself applies it to himself himself in Revelation chapter 22, shouldn't be any cause for concern because it's just it's just this picture that they're painting.

It's not saying that he's equal with Satan or the same as Satan. This is the true morning star, Jesus, not Satan. Jesus is the true morning star whose brightness heralds the dawn of a new creation, and that's what we get to participate in. That's what you you are in Jesus Christ, a new creation, and that day is already beginning to dawn. The the powers of the age to come are already breaking in on us through the proclamation of the gospel, and so and so again there's no no need for concern there. I think it's just rightly understanding that imagery that's used, what's communicated by the language of day star, it's not so much a name as much as it's this idea of being this bright one heralding something that is to come, and of course the evil one in his fall forfeited all of that, and so Andre and Andre's brother, God bless you guys. Guys, thanks for listening to Core Christianity, and we really appreciate your commitment to sound apologetics. I think that's so cool. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez.

We'd love to hear from you. Maybe you've got a question about a Bible passage that's always kind of confused you. Maybe there's a doctrinal issue at your church or another church that's maybe a concern to you. Feel free to give us a call at 833-843-2673.

That's 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to Linda calling in from Iowa. Linda, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, I have a problem with the church I'm attending. My mom says I'm overreacting, but they have started not referring to God as He, so if there's a sentence where God loves you so much that God gave His only Son, they don't say that He gave His only Son, and they end prayers with Mother and Father of us all, and now they've put in a female minister, and I'm having some serious issues here, and should I be looking for another church or should I just calm down my thinking?

Linda, thanks for reaching out, and I'm sorry to hear that that's going on in your church. Of course, God as He is in Himself, God is a Spirit, and so sometimes people will sort of make that argument, well, we don't want to talk about God and use this sort of language of gender. God is a Spirit. He's not like us.

Now, that's true. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth, and yet we take God's revelation, what He gives to us, and we let Him reveal Himself to us. We don't get to set the terms. God is the one who gets to set the terms, and God reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You have that language, that masculine language throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament as well, and I would say, yeah, this is a great cause for concern because here's what you see happening in a lot of places today in the church is you see the sort of gender conversations that are going around in broader culture and some of the ideas with that that, frankly, are very contrary to the Word of God. Those ideas creeping into the church and into the theology of the church and undermining, I think, the faithful and clear teaching of Scripture, and so when you have a church that's beginning to say, yeah, why don't we just change the language here?

We know the concerns that people have with gender and non-binary this and that and so on and so forth. Let's not refer to God as our Father, but of course, this is precisely how Jesus told us to address God when He taught us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, and so I would say that, yeah, this is the sign of something very wrong, and I would personally, if you're asking me, I would personally be looking for another church, yes. You want to go somewhere where the Word of God is believed and held with conviction and where the ideas of the culture aren't shaping the theology of the church as much as the Word of God is helping us to engage with, in a loving manner, the world around us with the questions that they have, and the way we do that is not by just sort of capitulating to what everybody else thinks, especially when it's contrary to the Word of God.

The way that we do that is by growing in our understanding of what the Scriptures say, and may God help you to do that, and may God help you to find a church that's going to encourage you with that as well, Linda. That is so well said, Adriel. You know, if God had an email, what would His pronouns be?

I mean, I think we know, don't we? Yeah, well, I mean, like I said, we want to allow God to reveal Himself to us, and not just allow Him, but that's what He does. We're the recipients of His revelation, called to receive it with humility, with faith, and with love, not to twist it after our own image or after what the culture wants, and so we have to prioritize and hold fast to the authority of Holy Scripture.

Amen. This is Core of Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We have a lot of great Bible studies here at the Core, and we want to tell you about a new one. It's actually on the book of Daniel, and it's one that Adriel wrote himself. Yeah, well, I mean, this is a real neat opportunity because, as I mentioned earlier this week, I was preaching through Daniel some years ago. I love preaching through the Old Testament.

Of course, Daniel has really those amazing stories that we all know at the beginning of the book of Daniel, Daniel in the lion's den, the stuff that you're raised with as a kid, but then you also have some really interesting prophecies later in the book of Daniel that relate to world history and God's sovereignty over the history of human affairs, and I think if there's anything that we really need to grasp onto today as Christians, it's that reality, the comfort that we can receive from recognizing that God is enthroned in heaven even though the nations rage at times, and so get a hold of this resource over at corechristianity.com. You can download a PDF, or you can get a physical copy and use it in a Bible study at your church or on your own. You know, this Bible study and everything we do here at Core Christianity is made possible thanks to the generous support of people just like you.

We don't play commercials here at the Core. We don't get money from a church or denomination or radio station. We count on you to make gifts, make donations to keep us on the air, and in this case, if you give a gift of $25 or more, we will send you a copy of this great new Bible study on Daniel to thank you for contributing to the ministry. By the way, if you need help getting any of our offers, just give us a call at 833-843-2673, 833 THE CORE, and you can find the Bible study on Daniel by going to corechristianity.com forward slash daniel. Well, we do receive voicemails here at Core Christianity.

You can call us 24 hours a day and leave your voicemail. Here's one that came in from one of our listeners named Scott. I've been doing a lot of thinking about everything, and growing up I'm kind of taught that as long as you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you're guaranteed to go to heaven. But in listening to different things, you have to turn from your sins, you have to turn from your evil ways in order to be saved.

So that's what I was wondering. I've been struggling with everything and trying to figure everything out. What does it mean to be saved? Really, at the heart of your question, brother.

Let me say a couple of things. Sometimes we use that word saved in an overly simplistic way. In the New Testament, sometimes the New Testament uses that word to refer to something that's happened to us. We are saved definitively, and usually that's hand in hand with the doctrine of justification. Justification is a definitive act of God, this legal act whereby he declares you righteous solely on the basis of the righteousness of Christ that's given to you by faith. Your sins are forgiven.

This is something that has happened definitively. This is why Paul, after talking about the doctrine of justification, can say in Romans chapter 5, therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so there's a sense in which all of us as Christians can refer to ourselves as the saved.

We're the justified. And yet God is still at work in us every day by the grace of the Holy Spirit, sanctifying us. And so we're being saved in that sense, more and more growing into the likeness of Jesus Christ. That too is a work of God in us. Justification is an act of God, a definitive act. Sanctification is this progressive work of God, the Holy Spirit in our lives, molding us more and more into the image of Jesus. And we're looking forward to a future salvation, which will happen at the consummation, the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Sometimes we talk about this idea of glorification. And so one thing that I just want to not push back on, but you mentioned, you know, you were told, hey, you know, you get saved, but we need to really repent before we're saved. That can confuse a lot of people because there are a lot of people who think, man, I really have to clean up my act before God will accept me.

And I got to do these things. I got to be righteous, be holy, and then maybe God will save me. And it's through my righteousness, through doing these good things, that I gain entrance into heaven. But the fact of the matter is our good works before God can't merit anything in terms of justification, in terms of, right, being the basis for our getting into heaven as some meritorious work that we do, as though God owed us salvation.

He doesn't. And all of our works still, even as believers, are tainted with sin, with unbelief. Even our best works, truly good works before God, are not perfect. And so our confidence has to rest in something, in someone outside of us, Jesus and his promise in the gospel. And so the good works that we do, that you do, you don't do them so that God might save you to be saved. No, you do them as one who has already been justified, as one who is already saved by faith in Jesus Christ.

You're a child of God, adopted into his family, filled with the Holy Spirit, called to follow the Lord. Paul said in Romans chapter 4, verse 5, And to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. That is the good news of the gospel, brothers and sisters.

Listen to my words right now. If you think Christianity is all about a set of rules for you to obey, so that maybe God will let you into heaven, maybe your good works will outweigh your bad works, and that's the essence of the Christian message, that's what, you know, religion is all about, let me just say to you that you've got it totally wrong. Christianity in the gospel is the revelation of how God has reached down to us in his son Jesus so that we who had sinned against God, who had broken his law, might experience his free forgiveness and justification and welcomed into the family of God through adoption in Jesus Christ, set free from sin and death and enabled to follow God, to love him, not because we're trying to earn his love, but because he first loved us. That is the good news of the gospel, brothers and sisters, and that's what we really need to recover. I mean, in our preaching, in our teaching, in our evangelism, being able to share good news as good news. It's not good news when you go to people and you say to them, hey, here's what God calls you to do, hopefully you can make it.

Here's a list of things to do. No, that's not the gospel. The good news of the gospel is here's how we who had fallen short of that list can be saved through the mercy of God.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We'll be recording a second episode of the Core as soon as this live episode ends. You won't hear it on the radio, but you can still call us for the next 35 minutes or so, and here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE. That's 833-843-2673. Feel free to call us again for the next 35 minutes or so.

Let's go to John in Missouri. John, what's your question for Adriel? Yeah, I'd like to ask the answer there. When Christ is reigning for a thousand years, where's God the Father in relationship to the Son when He's reigning? I know God the Father is, you know, controls everything, but where as far as the relationship to the Son when Christ is reigning? Yeah, great question. So, I mean, there are two things there. When are those thousand years happening?

There are some people who think their future. There are some people that think that they're happening right now, that the language is symbolic, but what I would just say, I mean, where is Jesus right now? He's quote-unquote seated at the right hand of the Father, and He is reigning from heaven.

That's what the Bible says very clearly, and so heaven is where the Holy Trinity lives, if you will, if you will, surrounded by the angels and those who have gone before us with faith in Christ worshiping, and one day we're going to join them as well through faith in Jesus. God bless. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-The-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.