What does it mean to be saved?

Posted on the Monergism Facebook page last week and reposted here with their permission:

What do Christians mean when they say that people need to be "saved"?

Do we mean that people need simply to modify their behavior and obey God's law? It would be great if it were that simple, but that is not what we mean (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16).

Instead, we mean that human beings are prisoners, captives, and slaves to their idols, to their own lusts, to the world's system, and to the devil (Romans 6:16-18; John 8:34; 1 John 2:15-16). We cannot extract ourselves from these things because, like those who have Stockholm syndrome, we have fallen in love with our captors--loving those things which harm us most (John 3:19). Though we vaguely recognize that something is wrong in the world and within human nature, we tend to shrug it off, suppress or ignore it, and willingly fall under the illusion that we live in freedom (Romans 1:18-19; Romans 1:28). We cling to the falsehood of human progress, imagining that human ingenuity will somehow deliver us from ourselves and our problems (Jeremiah 17:5-6).

Pridefully, we hold to the idea that we are something and can do something to make things right. But we cannot escape our captivity on our own. No wisdom, plan, power, understanding, or technology can release us (1 Corinthians 1:20-21; Romans 7:18). The problem runs far too deep in us for that (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 7:23-24). Like the Hebrews in Egypt, we are slaves who need rescue. The tyranny of our idols and lusts is too powerful for nature to conquer. We need redemption from outside ourselves (Isaiah 43:11; Titus 3:5-6).

So, salvation is not about behavior modification (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are too entangled in the web of our own making to escape (Proverbs 5:22). We first need supernatural intervention by One like us who can break the bonds and lead us out of slavery (Hebrews 2:14-15; John 8:36). Then, and only then, after being freed from our captors, are we free to do right, to love mercy, to do justly, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8; Galatians 5:1).

But those who ally themselves with the tyranny of sin, like the Egyptians, will experience the fullness of God's wrath, which is ultimately what we need to be saved from (Romans 1:18; Colossians 3:5-6; John 3:36).

Final Thought:

In biblical terms, salvation is holistic: it rescues us from sin's power, our deserved judgment, and our rebellion against God. Romans 2:6-16 tells us that God's holy justice is exact and impartial, dealing with each person according to their works. This is a heavy reminder that none of us can stand before God on the basis of our own merit (Romans 3:23). Without grace, we would face judgment, not acceptance (Romans 6:23). Salvation, therefore, is God's gracious intervention that transfers us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13), a rescue beyond human effort or wisdom. Through Christ, God provides what we cannot: a righteousness that meets His perfect standard and redeems us from the bondage of sin into true freedom (John 8:36).