Greg Laurie - New Believers Guide to Effective Christian Living

Welcome to the family! You are a new believer, and you have joined the family of God! Were glad youre here. Now maybe youre wondering what exactly has happened to you. Well, Im glad you asked!

You have been saved! That means you were headed toward death, but now youre safe and sound.

We can probably all remember someone coming up to us sometime in our life with a wild look in his eyes and exclaiming, Are you saved?

We may have laughed it off, thinking it was such a sensationalistic term to use. After all, before coming to Jesus you werent in a burning house or lost at sea. You were just living life one day at a time. Sure, it wasnt as good as you wanted it to be, but you werent in a desperate situation.

Or at least you didnt think you were.

But in reality, the term saved is a very apt description of what happens to people who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Your real situation was actually worse than being in a burning house or a stormy sea. Before coming to Christ, you were separated from God and on your way to a certain judgment in a very real place called hell! But God reached out to you and, quite literally, saved you. The Bible uses that word to describe what happened:

• Jesus came to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
• I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16, NIV ).
• There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them (Acts 4:12).
• Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21, NIV ).

Have you ever heard someones dramatic story of coming to know Christ and, in telling it, his old life almost sounds more appealing then the new one? He will describe in vivid detail all the adventures and exploits of sin and then, as sort of a P.S. say (yawn), But now that Im saved I read the Bible, go to church, and pray.

If this is the case, you are dealing with a person who does not really realize the significance of salvation, someone who does not understand what he or she has been saved from.

Do you really know how significant salvation is?

Do you realize what God has done for you?

Do you know how powerful and sufficient Jesus Christ and his salvation really are?

Okay, so what does it actually mean to be saved?

To be saved means you were in a serious, life-threatening situation. You were facing judgment and eternity in hell. But salvation, bought for you by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross in your place, has saved you from judgment and from hell. Romans 5:9-10 says,

Since we have been made right in Gods sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from Gods judgment. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life. [emphasis mine]

Not only has Christ saved you from a future judgment, he is offering you abundant life. You dont need to live day by day as you were before you were saved, for now every day is filled with adventure for God.

Everything you need in life is found in a relationship with God! Paul wrote to the Colossians, For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, and you are complete through your union with Christ (Colossians 2:9-10). The word complete could be translated to satisfy, to cram, finish, to fill up. In other words, through salvation, God is giving you more than you could ever fully utilize.

Often new believers (and sometimes older ones too) initially doubt that salvation has really come to them. The devil whispers, Do you really think God would save someone like you? You psyched yourself into this. Its not real. You can trusssssssst me!

This is nothing new.

Satan has been using this routine since the Garden of Eden, when he essentially said to Eve, God did not say what you think he said.

Once you have trusted Jesus, you must realize that your salvation is not based on how you feel, but rather on what God has said.

Here are a few verses assuring you of your salvation.

• All who believe in the Son of God know that this is true (1 John 5:10).
• For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are Gods children (Romans 8:16).
• I assure you, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life (John 5:24).
• I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

Notice that the last verse does not say that you may feel that you have eternal life or that you may hope (if God is in a really good mood) that you have eternal life. It says, That you may know you have eternal life.

You have been given the certainty of a new life, but that may mean some changes from how you used to live. But God also gives you a new power to live a new life. Romans 8:11-12 says, The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you. So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.