Saved!
“and everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” Acts 2:21
…how to know for sure that you are going to Heaven
for teens
by
Heidi Kreider
Smashwords Edition
copyright Heidi Kreider 2012
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for Haley…
my prayer for you is that
you would always know that Jesus loves you!
Saved? What does that mean?
Saved?
Do you know what the word saved even means? YES or NO
We use the word saved to describe someone who was pulled out of a burning building. The fire fighter risked their own life to save that person.
In the Bible, the word saved means that same thing; and yet, it means so much more.
Saved is a word that is used often in Christian churches and groups. I’d like to take you on a short Bible study to show you what the word saved means to me. I hope you can discover this meaning for yourself as well.
In order to discover what the Bible says about salvation (the act of being saved), we need to go directly to the Bible. Many people read books about what the Bible says without ever opening the Bible. The best place to go for information is the source. We’ll spend the next few days looking in your Bible for the answers to our questions.
First, find the book of Luke in your Bible. You may have to find the Table of Contents in the front of your Bible to locate the page number for the beginning of the book of Luke. After you find Luke, look for chapter 19, and then look for verses 9 and 10.
Read Luke 19:9-10. One of the great things about studying something is that we can ask questions and then seek to answer our own questions through what we have learned.
Here are a few questions that you could answer from reading these verses.
Who is speaking?
What did he call himself?
What did he come to do?
Can you think of any other questions and answers from these verses?
I want to take you through the Bible to find the answers to some of your questions. We’ll spend some time digging around in your Bible to find the answers. However, if I miss the answer to some of your questions, please don’t stop asking. Seek out people who may know the answer you are looking for. Go to church and ask a pastor for your answer. More than anything else pray and ask God to show you the answer that you seek.
Saved? From what?
In order to understand why Jesus came to save that which was lost, we need to go back to the very beginning of time. Genesis (the very first book in your Bible) chapters 1-3 tell us the story of creation. This is when time, as we know it, began. God created the earth and all of its inhabitants, people, animals, birds, and fish.
Take a few minutes to read Genesis chapters 1-3. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created man and woman in His own image.
What was the name of the first man?
What was the name of the first woman?
God had a perfect relationship with Adam and Eve. They lived in a perfect place, the Garden of Eden, which had been created just for them. Because God created man, He made the rules. He gave them this perfect garden to live in and to enjoy. They had only one rule to follow.
Read Genesis 2:15-17.
What was the one rule that God gave Adam and Eve?
When we read on in the story, we see in chapter 3, a serpent came to Eve and began talking to her. This serpent was Satan disguised as a snake. He told Eve that God didn’t want her to eat of that particular tree, because, if she did, she would be like God. Even though Eve only had one rule to follow, she still disobeyed that one rule. She ate the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve gave the fruit to Adam and he ate it as well.
This was the very first sin in the world. Sin is simply an act that disobeys God. God is perfect. He is holy. Because He is perfect and He is holy, He can not be in a relationship with sin. If He did, He would no longer be perfect and perfectly holy. So, because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God had to send them out of the garden forever.
Now look at Genesis 3:21.
What did God make for Adam and Eve before He sent them out of the Garden forever?
The very first sacrifice for sin was made in the Garden of Eden. A sacrifice is a payment for sin. God had to kill an animal to make clothing for Adam and Eve. That animal became the sacrifice or payment for Adam and Eve’s sin. God demands payment for sin each and every time.
Find Romans 5:12 in your Bible (again, it’s okay to use the Table of Contents in your Bible to find the page that this verse is on) and read this verse.
Who has sinned?
Sin first entered the world through the sin of Adam and Eve. Their original sin introduced all of mankind to sin. You and I are no exception. We sin just as Adam and Eve sinned.
Turn a few pages in your Bible to Romans 3:23 and read it.
What is the “wages” or cost of sin?
Whoa. That word is final, isn’t it? The death that the Bible speaks about is not only when we stop breathing. It also means that for eternity we will be separated from God.
What do we need to be saved from?
We need to be saved from the payment for our own sins. We are lost because we can not be in a relationship with God until a payment of death has been made for our sins.
Saved? Who can save me?
So far, what we have learned isn’t very much fun, huh? It’s hard to realize that we are sinful. We know that God loves everyone, but how does His love fit into the idea that just because Adam and Eve have sinned, we are all sinners? How does God’s love fit into the idea that the payment for sin is death?
One of the most popular Bible verses of all times gives us the answer to our questions.
Look up John 3:16 and read it.
What did God give?
Why?
This is God’s great promise to you and to me! He made a way for us to be in a relationship with Him.
At Easter, we celebrate the story of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection three days later. I have no doubt that you have heard the story before, but I want to give you a brief summary. You can read the entire story for yourself in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in your Bible.
Jesus is God’s Son. He came to earth to be born of a virgin, Mary. He grew up and learned the carpenter trade from his earthly father, Joseph. Jesus lived a sinless life. He never disobeyed God or His parents. At the age of thirty, Jesus was baptized. After that, He spent forty days in the desert being tempted by Satan, himself. Again, Jesus did not sin. After His temptation, He began a three year ministry where He taught, preached, and did miracles. During this time, Jesus claimed many times that He was the Son of God. The leaders of the church and the government were very angry with the claims of Jesus. When the religioius leaders finally had enough, they took him to a mock trial. Then they had Jesus crucified on a cross. Jesus knew that this would happen to Him. In fact, He foretold His death and resurrection even before it ever happened. For three hours, while Jesus suffered and slowly died on the cross, the entire sky was dark. God allowed all of the sins that had ever been done, as well as, all of the sin that would ever happen in the future to be place on Jesus while He hung on that cross. Because of all that sin, God could not even look at Jesus during that time.
Since the price of sin is death, Jesus died for all sin. However, because He is God, death could not hold Him! Three days later, Jesus arose! He came alive again! For forty more days, he walked and talked among people on earth. He showed them the holes in His hands and His feet from where He was nailed to the cross. Many people saw Him, and then believed that He truly was the Son of God.
Find and read Hebrews 9:26-28 in your Bible.
What did Jesus Christ come to take away when He became the sacrifice?
Look up and read Romans 5:8.
God loves us so much! Even though we are all born sinners, God made a way to have a relationship with you and with me. Only God can save us and He did it by sending His only Son to die a senseless death on a cross to be the final sacrifice for all sin. He loves us! Once we learn what Jesus has done for us, we can never again doubt His love for us.
Saved? What do I need to do?
God’s love is amazing! He created man in His image to be able to have a relationship with all of mankind. When Adam and Even introduced sin into the world, God made a way to cover the sin of all of mankind. He still wants a relationship with us.
God gave us a way to be saved from our sin and saved from death. He gave us a way to be saved from
spending all of eternity away from Him.
What do we need to do to be saved?
A man asked that very same question in the book of Acts.
Look up and read Acts 16:29-31.
When the jailer asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, what was their response?
It’s that simple. However, look up James 2:19 and read what it says.
Did you notice that even the demons believe? YES or NO
We need to not only believe, but to confess our sins to Christ.
Now find and read Romans 10:9-10.
What do we need to confess with our mouths?
What do we need to believe in our hearts?
The demons do believe but the demons do not confess that Jesus is Lord of their lives. They know that He is God. However, they are not human with a soul to surrender to Him.
Let’s look back at Romans 6:23 again.
What is God's gift to us?
There is nothing that we could do to earn our salvation. It is free!
Do you remember what John 3:16 says? YES or NO
God gave us this gift because He loves us and wants a relationship with us.
Do you understand that He loves you and wants a relationship with you? YES or NO
God loves you. Even if you were the only person on earth, Christ would still die for you.
Find and read 2 Thessalonians 2:13 in your Bible.
Who did God chose from the beginning to be saved?
He loves you, my friend! He wants a relationship with you. John 3:16 promises that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. Eternal life is the opposite of eternal death! Eternal life means after we die on this earth, we can live with God forever in Heaven!
What do you need to do to know that when you die you will be in Heaven with Jesus?
Saved!
The decision to know that you will spend eternity with God in Heaven is yours. I can not make this decision for you. For each person must stand before God one day and give an account for her own life.
Are you ready to make this decision? YES or NO
If you are ready to confess that Jesus is Lord and to believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, all you need to do is tell Him. Pray. Praying is simply talking to God. You don’t need fancy words. You don’t need to be in a special place. God is everywhere. He sees and hears everything. He is waiting for you to call upon His name.
If you’d like, you can pray these words. Or, you can pray your own prayer. There is no “magic” in the words.
Dear Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner. I confess to you right now that I need you to save me from my sins. I acknowledged that you died on the cross and was raised on the third day to overcome death. I ask you now to be the Lord of my life.
In your name I pray,
Amen
You may not feel any different but if you sincerely prayed that prayer, you are different. Your life will be different from now on because Jesus is Lord of your life. He has a plan for your life. He wants to use you to bring Him glory.
If you have prayed this prayer, please let me or someone else know. I would be honored to show you more of the treasure in God’s word. The instructions for living life with Him are there. It’s an adventure like no other!
If you have prayed and asked Jesus to save you and to be your Lord, write today’s date in your Bible. It’s the day you became adopted into God’s family and became a child of the King. Welcome to the family! You are saved, dear one, and you will be in Heaven one day with the King.