Saved By God, From God, For God

by Rev. John Samson

Christians are notorious for using a vocabulary that is not always understood by those around them. There's no doubt that we have our own lingo and jargon.

One such word is the word "saved." Often, Christians ask unsuspecting neighbors, colleagues and friends the question, "are you saved?" and usually receive only puzzled expressions in response. These folk are desperately trying to understand the question, but have no reference point whatsoever from which to make an assessment of how to answer. The Christian, on the other hand, seeing this as a wonderful opportunity to evangelize, usually pounces on this hesitation, though just how much is communicated in such times is open to debate. Though the Christian is usually sincere in desiring to share his faith, he needs to provide some foundation for the person to understand what he is seeking to communicate.

Yet in saying this, the word "saved" is very much a biblical word. The scripture says, "whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

But what exactly is this referring to? What is it that those who call on the name of the Lord are saved from?