After their miraculous release from the Philippian jail, Paul and Silas tell their repentant jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). This invitation captures the heart of the entire Bible’s message: God has provided salvation for the lost. Scripture makes it clear that all people need to be saved, and here are several reasons why:
- We need to be saved because we are totally lost in sin.
The Bible teaches the total depravity of the human race, meaning every part of our being is affected by sin (Romans 3:10–12). The early Church Fathers like Augustine emphasized this condition: “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) illustrates our universal need for grace. Augustine wrote, “Original sin is the sin of our first parents by which human nature was wounded and corrupted” (On the Spirit and the Letter). We cannot save ourselves; we need the Good Shepherd to seek and save the lost (Luke 15:3–6).
- We need to be saved because we are under God’s wrath.
Ephesians 2:3 says we are “by nature deserving of wrath.” The early Fathers affirmed God’s justice and holiness—St. Athanasius explained that “God’s wrath is not vindictive anger but the necessary consequence of sin’s opposition to His holiness.” Without salvation, we stand condemned (John 3:18), but Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, is our propitiation who satisfies God’s justice on our behalf.
- We need to be saved because we are in danger of hell.
Hebrews 9:27 tells us “after death comes judgment.” The rich man’s torment in Luke 16:23 warns us of the reality of eternal separation from God. Church Fathers like Gregory of Nyssa taught about the eternal consequences of rejecting God’s mercy. Salvation is necessary to rescue us from this fate.
- We need to be saved because we are spiritually dead.
Colossians 2:13 calls us “dead in our sins.” This spiritual death means we cannot restore ourselves; we need resurrection life from Christ. Early Christians understood baptism as participation in Christ’s death and resurrection, symbolizing new life (cf. Tertullian, On Baptism).
- We need to be saved because our hearts are hardened by evil.
Jeremiah 17:9 describes the heart as “deceitful above all things.” The Apostle Paul echoes this in Ephesians 4:18, speaking of hardened hearts separated from God. St. John Chrysostom wrote, “The Spirit alone can soften the heart and bring it back to God’s truth.” The Holy Spirit works supernaturally to transform us.
- We need to be saved because we are enslaved to sin and Satan.
Romans 3:9 states all are “under the power of sin.” Early Christian writers like Irenaeus taught that sin enslaves humanity and that Christ came to break these chains. Romans 6:18 speaks of freedom in Christ, a liberation from sin’s bondage.
- We need to be saved because we are at odds with God.
Romans 8:7–8 describes the flesh’s hostility toward God. Jesus, called the Prince of Peace, reconciles us to the Father and brings us into His family as adopted sons and daughters (cf. Origen, On First Principles).
Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). This is not a mere suggestion but a necessity—the deepest need of every human soul. The early Church understood new birth as the foundation of salvation, brought by faith and enabled by grace through the Holy Spirit.
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