“Saved from what?”
There's a story from the early days of Dr. R.C. Sproul’s teaching career. As R.C. was crossing the campus on the way to class, a student stopped him. Not knowing R.C. was a Christian, the student asked, “Are you saved?” Dr. Sproul responded, “Saved from?what?” That question, which left the man at a loss for words, cuts right to the heart of the gospel. Yet many people, even many well-meaning evangelists, cannot give a sound answer.
Christians must be equipped to answer that question—“Saved from what?”—biblically and confidently. Dr. Sproul reminded us that…
“The gospel is only good news when we understand the bad news.”?
The bad news for sinners is that God’s wrath is revealed against us because of our sin and that this wrath remains on us apart from His grace (see?Rom. 1–3). We need to be saved from sin because sin incurs the wrath of God. But thanks be to God that, as the Apostle Paul says in?1 Thessalonians 1:10, Jesus “delivers us from the wrath to come.”?In the gospel, we are saved?by?God and?from?God.
This fuller view of salvation is breathtaking, isn’t it? But it doesn’t stop there. R.C. also stressed that God saves us from Himself so that we will be purified to experience the vision of His glory. As Christians, we will see the Lord face-to-face forever. That beatific vision of our Savior will fully satisfy our souls. There will be no tears or sadness. For all eternity, we will know God more and more and never reach the full depths of His infinite beauty. Don’t you long for the day when our faith finally becomes sight?
If we fail to get this message right—that we are saved from the wrath of God and saved to enjoy the vision of God—then the gospel becomes diluted and distorted. Like R.C., I’m convinced that a failure to understand that we’re saved?by?God,?from?God, and?for?God has led to pulpits where the reality of hell is never proclaimed or the hope of glory is eclipsed, to flashy personalities who proclaim a prosperity “gospel,” and to churches that offer nothing but a social “gospel,” which is no gospel at all.
So many Christians stand with Ligonier because by God’s grace, we’re determined never to defect from the truth.?This month's support can help send 100,000 free copies of R.C.’s book Saved from What? to people hungry for God’s Word and faithful Bible teaching. Your generosity will help raise the funds needed for this significant printing and distribution.
Because it brings readers to the central truths of the gospel, this short, clarifying book can be used in evangelistic encounters. It can give growing Christians a fuller understanding of God’s saving grace, stimulating courage in sharing the gospel. It can help inquirers encounter the biblical message of salvation through Jesus Christ for the first time. Imagine families reading this book together, pastors and elders equipping their congregations with many copies, and prison chaplains handing this resource to souls seeking answers to this ultimate question.
To thank you for your?donation of any amount?this month, we will send you two copies of?Saved from What?, one for you to keep and one for you to give away as part of your personal outreach. Your generosity will also be used to place this book into the hands of people looking for Ligonier resources, including?prison inmates,?members of the military, and residents of?under-resourced continents?such as Africa. All of this belongs to our goal of distributing 100,000 copies of this key resource to people worldwide.
You can help more people provide a biblical answer to the question “Saved from what?” Thank you for your prayers and generosity?in support of this great work.