How long does it take to ‘be saved?’ An hour? A day? A week? A month? A year?
According to the Apostle Paul, a person who truly ‘believes’ in the Lord Jesus Christ is saved right away. For example:
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.” Acts 16:25-34
There was a ‘keeper’ of a prison who worked in the town of Philippi during the 1st century AD. Philippi was located in the region of Macedonia in northeastern Greece. Like other people living in Philippi at the time, the prison guard was most likely a pagan who worshipped members of the Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses. When he thought his prisoners had escaped following an earthquake that opened all the cell doors, the guard was ready to kill himself. However, when he heard Paul call out to the guard not to harm himself, the guard ran to Paul and Silas and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ Their answer was clear and direct – ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ The keeper of the prison took Paul and Silas to his house where they shared the Gospel with him and his family.
Notice carefully these words: ‘And immediately he and all his family were baptized.’ Paul and Silas would not have baptized unsaved people. That means the guard and his family ‘believed on the Lord Jesus Christ’ and were saved that same night – most likely immediately upon believing. They were lost pagans up until the moment they ‘believed.’ That’s the ‘speed of being saved.’ It happens right away. There’s no waiting period .. no special classes to attend .. no special rituals that take days or weeks to complete. ‘Believe’ and you’re saved.
One important thing to know is what it means to ‘believe.’ The meaning of the Greek word used in the original text is ‘entrust yourself to, have faith based on being persuaded.’ The keeper of the prison and his family, who had spent their lives worshipping false gods, entrusted themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and living God, and were saved – really, truly ‘saved.’
Another interesting aspect of the ‘speed of being saved’ is how long it takes a person to be persuaded. It took the guard and his family a matter of minutes or maybe an hour to be persuaded. It took Paul just a few days to be fully persuaded after the Lord Jesus blinded him on the road to Damascus. It took me five months of intense investigation to be fully persuaded. I’ve met other people who testified to taking years before they were persuaded that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior and worthy of faith and following.
I don’t think the number of hours, days, weeks, months, or years to be persuaded matters as long as the end result is being ‘saved.’ The Greek word for ‘saved’ means ‘rescued, delivered from harm, protected, preserved, made whole.’ That’s what’s important – no matter how long it takes. Once you ‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ’ you will be saved. You will be rescued, protected, preserved, and made whole. Praise the Lord for the ‘speed of being saved!’
“… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10
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In Christ’s Love and Grace,
Mark McGee
GraceLife / Faith and Self Defense / Grace Martial Arts / Substack
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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