We often hear about being saved, don't we? But just what does that mean? Being saved from what? Being saved for what? And how can we be saved? These are the most important questions that we can ever ask. But where can we find the answers to these very important questions? Why, in the Bible. And the answers are simple. So let's get the answers now, alright? Being saved means being saved from our sins. That is, having our sins forgiven so that we are right with God and that we can someday go to heaven and be with the Lord God forever. But just what are sins? Well, a sin is doing something bad. That is, doing anything that God doesn't want us to do. Disobeying God. To give you just a few examples of sins. Telling a lie is a sin. Not obeying our parents is a sin. Being mad at someone without a good reason is a sin. Or even thinking bad thoughts is a sin. So sins are very easy to do, aren't they? And everyone in the world does sins. Yes, I sin. You sin. Your mama and daddy sin. Your preacher sins. Everyone sins. But why? If sins are so bad, then why do we all sin? Well, we have sinned because Adam and Eve sinned. Huh? What do Adam and Eve have to do with it? Well, you see, Adam and Eve disobeyed God when they were in the Garden of Eden, didn't they? And we are all the great, great, great, great, great grandchildren of Adam and Eve, aren't we? So, it's sort of as if we inherit sin, as if we were all born sick with sin. And that means that we are all sinners, doesn't it? Yes, and we choose to sin too, all of us. And, of course, if we sin, if we disobey God, we should be punished, shouldn't we? Oh, but the Bible tells us that sinners can't go to heaven. Does that mean I can't go to heaven or that you can't go to heaven? No. God loves us so very much that he made a way that we can have our sins forgiven so that we can go to heaven. Our sins forgiven? What does that mean? That means that God has made a way so that it can be as if we had never sinned at all. Imagine that! And then we would also have everlasting life. And someday we would be able to go to heaven and be with the Lord forever. But how can we have our sins forgiven so that we can have everlasting life? Well, that would be very good news, wouldn't it? And there is a special name for this good news. That special name is the gospel, which means good news. But where can we find out about this gospel, this good news? That is an easy question to answer. We can find the answer to this question in the Bible. Oh good, so what is the gospel, this good news about how we can have our sins forgiven? Well, in the Bible it tells us that God loves us very much. So God the Father had it so that God the Son would come down to earth as a human, though he'd still be God at the same time too. Both God and human. And while God the Son was here on earth, He never, ever did any sins. But then, after a while, He would die on the cross. Not for any sins He had done, since He hadn't done any sins, but for our sins. That way, He would take our sins onto Himself on the cross. Yes, He would take our punishment for us. In other words, He would pay for our sins, and that way we could be forgiven. How wonderful! And who is God the Son? Why, God the Son is Jesus, of course! But God the Son died on the cross? Does that mean that God the Son as a human was really dead then? Yes, he was really dead, and he was buried. But he didn't stay dead for long. No. Three days later he was alive again. By the way, all of this fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies. And God the Son stayed alive. Yes, and hundreds of people saw him alive. And after some days he went back to heaven again, where he is still alive in heaven. And all we have to do to have our sins forgiven is to trust in the Son of God, in Jesus. To trust Jesus, who died for our sins and rose from the dead. He did that to save us. Yes, God promised that if we would trust in the Lord Jesus, the sinless Son of God, who came as a human and died for our sins and then was alive again, and if we would ask Him to save us, He would. Then someday we could go to heaven and be with the Lord God forever. And then we'll never sin again when we're in heaven. Yes, Jesus did that for us. And why did Jesus do that? Because he loves us. But wait a minute. That all sounds very familiar, doesn't it? God the Son came to earth as a human, though still being God? Why, that's the Christmas story about when Jesus was born, isn't it? And God the Son died on the cross for our sins, but was alive again three days later? Why, that's the Easter story about when Jesus rose from the dead, isn't it? Yes, these are the Christmas and Easter stories. They are true stories that the Bible tells us. And the Easter story is the gospel, the good news of how our sins can be forgiven, isn't it? So again, just what is the gospel? How can we have all of our sins forgiven and be able to go to heaven someday and be with the Lord God forever? What is the promise that God gave about having our sins forgiven? Why just this? Jesus, the sinless son of God, loves us so very much that he died on the cross for us, taking our sins onto himself. Then Jesus was buried, but then three days later Jesus was resurrected, was alive again, and lots of people saw him alive. His being alive again proved that Jesus had taken our sins on himself and our sins could be forgiven. This also showed that someday we could be resurrected too. We could be saved. Saved from our sins and have everlasting life. All of this is the gospel. And all of this God promised for us in the Bible. And God always keeps his promises, doesn't he? So, how can we be saved? Can we be saved by doing special things? No. Can we be saved by being very, very good? No. The only way to be saved is by believing in Jesus, trusting in Him and what He did for us by dying on the cross and then being raised from the dead. But what should we do after we've trusted in Jesus and been saved from our sins? Why then we should grow up as a Christian? Huh? But how can we grow up as a Christian? Well, we can read the Bible to learn more about God and more about what He wants us to do. And we should obey Him more. in how we think, what we say, what we do, and how we treat other people. And we should pray to him, talk to him, thank him for the good things he's done for us, and ask him for his help, and tell him how we feel and what we're thinking. After all, he is our friend. Also, going to church is a way to worship God and to learn more about him. But what should we do when we sin after we're saved? Well, after we believed in the Lord Jesus, we should try not to sin. Instead, we should try to obey Him. After all, He will then be our King. But when we do sin, we can tell Jesus that we're sorry, and He'll forgive us. Remember, Jesus died for all of our sins. And if you're saved, not only will we be with the Lord in heaven someday, but also when the Lord Jesus comes back to earth someday as king of everyone and everything, we will be with him then too. And he will change us so that we'll have bodies that will never get sick or die again. How wonderful. And that is the answer to our questions about what it means to be saved and how we can be saved, isn't it? I believe this gospel. I've trusted that Jesus died for my sins and then was alive again. And I have prayed and told God that I know I'm a sinner and I've trusted the Lord Jesus to be my Savior. So I know that my sins are forgiven and I will someday go to heaven and I'll be with the Lord forever. Now, if you haven't done this yet yourself, you can do this today by trusting in the Lord Jesus and asking him to save you. Remember, God always keeps his promises.