Recently, in forum discussions with non-SDAs, it has become apparent to me that there is a big problem with using the word "saved". Many rightly say that someone who is "saved" cannot be "lost". And those like myself also rightly say, that one can be a baptized Christian, and still never set foot inside the New Jerusalem.
No doubt many other people have considered how to address this problem, but from what I've seen, most people get bogged down in semantics about what the term "saved" means. To many, it means to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and to be baptized. It is true that at that time, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and if you die then, you will be "saved". It is also true that it is possible to not run the race well to the end - to fall away from your first love - to turn away from Christ back to the world you came from. And for someone who does that, and never repents, they will never ever set foot inside the New Jerusalem.
So it is clear that it is possible to be "saved" at some point in life, and yet not making it to heaven.
I find quite a number of fellow Seventh-day Adventists also confused about this word "saved", so am making a suggestion to everyone that we use the phrase "set foot inside the New Jerusalem" instead of the word "saved", when talking about the ultimate destination of a person. That would avoid lots of needless discussion, when you are talking apples, and the other side is talking oranges.
"I am saved" using that idea Leaves the I-J & Seal of God out of the reckoning. That SDA leap into Calvinism shows ignorance of the Sanctuary.
The Lord would teach man the lesson that, though united in church capacity, he is not saved until the seal of God is placed upon him. . . . {7BC 969.3}
The Lord would teach man the lesson that, though united in church capacity, he is not saved until the seal of God is placed upon him, and he is made complete in Christ. {11MR 367.2} {Lt80-1898}
Saved in the "daily" ( holy place)service - put the sinner into the probationary preservation of Christ, pending God's final decision in each individual case according to His conditions of salvation.
In Luke 7:50, her sins were transfered to the Lamb, they were not blotted out yet. They remained in the Sanctuary against her, but Christ was shielding her from their punishment, preserving her in Himself till her case was finally decided when the time for anti-typical blotting out of sins on her page would come.
When her record in Heaven was sealed, closed at her death or close of probation (which ever came first), then this quote from EGW applies - " As the sins of the people were anciently transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary by the blood of the sin-offering, so our sins are, in fact, transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Christ. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. This necessitates an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of his atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigative Judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of Christ to redeem his people; for when he comes, his reward is with him to give to every man according to his works. [Revelation 22:12.] {4SP 266.1}
Notice these Old Testament & New Testament - future tense references to salvation . Notice God's use of now-but future - but not yet - use of language.
Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacobs trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 11:14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
Acts 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Romans 9:27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
1 Corinthians 3:15 If any mans work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1 Timothy 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
Jesus tells us when this now-but future - but not yet - salvation happens - ( give reward ) Daniel 7:9-18 + Matthew 10:42; Mark 9:41; Revelation 11:18 ; Revelation 22:12
So what words would be best to use when talking to people who have the idea that "saved" means a one-shot thing that happens at the moment one accepts Christ as their Saviour?
Well, God has told us thru Ellen White that we are never to say "I am saved". The reason is that none of us know until we die whether we have run the race well or not.
So while we are told to have assurance of our salvation, we are not to ever say "I am saved".
That highlights one of the big problems of using the word "saved", because we are not the ones to judge whether we will ever set foot inside the New Jerusalem or not, only God is.
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EarlySDA -> EarlySDA -> Instead of saying "saved", how about using the phrase "set foot inside the New Jerusalem"?
