Why Does a Person Need to Be Saved?

I talk a lot about “salvation” on this blog, and it is crucial that you know what I am being saved from. This page will answer the question, “What am I saved from?” This page will also answer the question of, “Why do I need to be saved?”

First, when a person reads the book of Genesis he will see that when God made the first humans, He made them without sin.

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Gen 1:27 (NASB)

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Gen 1:31 (NASB)

God is Holy, and He would not have called His creation “very good,” if it had already been tainted by sin. God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden. It was imperative that, to live in the garden, they had to obey certain rules. God commanded Adam that,

The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat , for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Gen 2:16-17 (NASB)

Unfortunately, Eve was deceived by the Serpent and ate of the fruit that had been forbidden. And, Adam shared with her in this sin.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Gen 3:6-8 (NASB)

This sin had immediate consequences and long term consequences.
The immediate consequences to Adam and Eve:

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.  So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. Gen 3:22-24 (NASB)

The delayed consequences to mankind:

To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” Now the man called his wife’s name Eve , because she was the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Gen 3:16-21 (NASB)

But, beyond these consequences is the promise that if Adam ate of the tree he would “surely die.” Not only will Adam and every other human die a physical death, but now we are born spiritually dead. And, unless a person is forgiven of his sins committed against God, he will be sent to hell when he dies. The result of Adam’s sin that most effects us today is that we are born with a propensity to sin. We are born with a nature that prefers to sin and disobey God, rather than Honor Him. Here are some verses to establish that through Adam, sin entered all mankind.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned Romans 5:12 (NASB)

For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 (NASB)

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10 (NASB)

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23 (KJV)

Here are some verses to show that humans have a sin nature before we are even born. The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth. Psalm 58:3 (NASB)
   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5 (NASB)

Surely you did not hear, Surely you did not know; Surely from long ago your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, And were called a transgressor from the womb. Isaiah 48:8 (NKJV)

 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.
Eccl 7:20 (NASB)

These verses have helped to establish that all mankind receives a sinful nature. Now, let’s look again at the punishment for sin.

 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (NASB)

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
James 1:14-15 (NASB)

Sin leads to separation from God – which leads to eternal spiritual death. We are all sinners. We all need to be forgiven for our sins.

This is the bad news. Read about the Good News of how to be saved from your sins in Part Two - How Can a Person be Saved?