What does it mean to be “saved”? Many people believe that they are saved and will go to heaven if they are part of a church. Other people think that if their good works outweigh their bad works, they will be saved. Others believe that if they pray the “sinner’s prayer,” they will be saved.

But is this how the early Christians – those who learned directly and indirectly from the apostles – understood salvation? The answer is a resounding no.

Bound by sin

The early Christians believed that, without Jesus, all of us are in bondage to Satan because we have chosen to follow his path of sin and rebellion. We are by nature “subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:15), and Satan is our master.

• “The human race . . . from Adam had fallen under the power of death and the guile of the serpent. Each one had committed personal transgression.” – Justin Martyr (c. 160)
• “By means of our first parents [Adam and Eve], we were all brought into bondage by being made subject to death.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “He says, ‘Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain’ [Jude 1:11]. For so also we lie under Adam’s sin because of similarity of sin.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “In the beginning, the corrupting and God-opposing angel [Satan] overthrew the virtue of man – the work and image of God, the possessor of the earth. So Satan has entirely changed man’s nature into his own state of wicked enmity against his Maker.” – Tertullian (c. 197)
• “Every soul, then, by reason of its birth, has its nature in Adam until it is born again in Christ. Moreover, it is unclean all the time that it remains without this regeneration. And because it is unclean, it is actively sinful.” – Tertullian (c. 210)

Set free

Satan bound us in two ways: by chains in this life (such as addictions, destructive habits, and negative thought patterns) and death in the next life (eternal death in the lake of fire). But two thousand years ago, when Jesus died on the cross, He allowed Himself to be bound by our chains and experience our eternal death. The early Christians believed that Jesus paid to Satan the ransom price of His own life in order to set us free:

• “By His own passion, He rescued us from offenses and sins.” – Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
• “Christ has ransomed [us] with His blood. . . . Being numbered with the transgressors, He was delivered up to death, nay, the death of the cross. All this took place so that He might redeem us from our sins. . . . Hades gave back the right it had on us.” – Tertullian (c. 212)
• “Christ is our Redemption because we had become prisoners and needed ransoming.” – Origen (c. 228)
• “He submitted to death, purchasing us back by His own blood from him who had got us into his power, sold under sin.” – Origen (c. 228)
• “A man could not give anything as an exchange for his own life, but God gave an exchange for the life of us all, ‘the precious blood of Christ Jesus’ [1 Pet. 1:9]. Accordingly, ‘we were bought with a price’ [1 Cor. 6:20], ‘having been redeemed, not with corruptible things as silver or gold, but with precious blood’ [1 Pet. 1:9].” – Origen (c. 245)

Jesus said, “How can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?” (Matthew 12:29). The early Christians believed that, in this verse, Jesus spoke of His triumph over Satan on the cross. When Jesus allowed Himself to be bound by chains and death, He (being more powerful than His adversary) bound the captor (Satan) so that He could set free all who were in bondage:

• “When our Lord arose from the place of the dead, and trampled death under foot, and bound the strong one, and set man free, then the whole creation saw clearly that for man’s sake the Judge was condemned.” – Melito (c. 170)
• “Satan is justly led captive, for he had led men unjustly into bondage. At the same time, man, who had been led captive in times past, was rescued from the grasp of his possessor, according to the tender mercy of God the Father.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “It was necessary that through man himself Satan would, when conquered, be bound with the same chains with which he had bound man. This was so that man, being set free, could return to his Lord, leaving to Satan those bonds by which man himself had been fettered – that is, sin. For when Satan is bound, man is set free. For ‘no one can enter a strong man’s house and spoil his goods, unless he first binds the strong man himself’ [Matt. 12:29].” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “Christ fought and conquered. . . . Through obedience, He completely did away with disobedience, for He bound the strong man and set free the weak.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)

Death had held captive every other human being throughout history, but it could not hold Jesus, the Son of God. He rose again, proclaiming victory for Himself and for all who unite themselves to Him:

• “The devil, the traitor angel, thought that all men alike would perish by death. However, because Christ was not born of [human] seed, He owed nothing to death. Therefore, the devil could not devour Him – that is, detain Him in death. For on the third day, He rose again.” – Victorinus (c. 280)
• “He destroyed and conquered man’s enemy. So He gave to His handiwork victory against the adversary.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “The Lord declares Himself to be the Son of man. . . . He did this so that, as our species went down to death through a conquered man, so we may ascend to life again through a victorious one.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “He gained life for us by overcoming death.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)
• “The death of Christ reduced to weakness those powers that war against the human race. And it set the life of each believer free from sin through a power beyond our words. He takes away sin until every enemy will be destroyed and death last of all – in order that the whole world may be free from sin. Therefore, John pointed to Him and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ [John 1:29].” – Origen (c. 228)

One with Christ

How can we be set free from the chains of this present life and the eternal death of the next? We must be “in Christ.” We must commit ourselves to Him. That means placing Him first in our lives, loving Him above all else, and doing what He asks us to do.

We commit ourselves to Jesus in much the same way as a bride commits herself to her husband. She leaves her old life to start a new life with him. She typically changes her last name to match his. If she is committed to the Biblical pattern of marriage, she lays down her dreams and ambitions to help her husband pursue his.

In the same way, when we give ourselves to Jesus, we are entering into covenant with Him. We are, in essence, marrying Him. We lay down our old lives to pursue a new life with Him. Our identity is found no longer in our own stories of success and failure, but in His story. Our ambitions, dreams, goals, and plans are no longer ours but His. We belong to Him.

When we commit ourselves to Jesus, He washes away our past sins and sets us free from our present chains. He makes us completely new!

• “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
• “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. . . . As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” – Psalm 103:10-12
• “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” – Isaiah 61:1-2 NIV

The early Christians wrote:

• “What other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? . . . O sweet exchange, O unsearchable operation, O benefits surpassing all expectation – that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors.” – Letter to Diognetus (c. 125-200)
• “The Lord, being slain, saved us. Being bound, He loosed us. Being sacrificed, He redeemed us.” – Melito (c. 170)
• “When He became incarnate and was made man, he began anew the long line of human beings. And He furnished us . . . with salvation – so that what we had lost in Adam (namely, to be in the image and likeness of God), we might recover in Christ Jesus.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “What man is, Christ was willing to be – so that man may also be what Christ is.” – Cyprian (c. 250)

Staying free

Suppose a man committed a crime but is released from prison because someone paid his bail. Can he ever be imprisoned again? Of course – if he commits the same crime again!

In the same way, being set free from sin and staying free from sin are two very different things. If you return to the same lifestyle that you lived when you were in bondage to Satan, you will end up under his power again. You may have been set free once; but if you walk back into the domain of your old master, it is a bold invitation for him to take you captive again. This is why Scripture warns of the dangers of falling away:

• “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:62
• “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” – John 15:6
• “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” – 2 Peter 2:20-21
• “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?” – Hebrews 10:26-29

Committing one’s life to Christ and then turning away from Him is spiritual adultery. According to Hebrews, it is disregarding Jesus’ precious blood that united you with Him in sacred covenant. The early Christians likewise warned of the dangers of falling away:

• “We ought therefore, brethren, carefully to inquire concerning our salvation. Otherwise the wicked one, having made his entrance by deceit, may hurl us forth from our life.” – Barnabas (c. 70-130)
• “These men of old time . . . for whom the Son of God had not yet suffered, when they committed any sin and served fleshly lusts, were rendered objects of great disgrace. Accordingly, what will the men of the present day suffer, who have despised the Lord’s coming, and have become slaves of their own lusts? Truly, the death of the Lord brought healing and remission of sins to the former. However, Christ will not die again on behalf of those who now commit sin, for death will no more have dominion over Him. . . . We should not, therefore, as that presbyter remarks, be puffed up, nor be severe upon those of olden times. Rather, we should fear ourselves, lest perchance, after [we have come to] the knowledge of Christ, if we do things displeasing to God, we obtain no further forgiveness of sins, but are shut out from His kingdom. And for that reason, Paul said, ‘For if [God] spared not the natural branches, [take heed] lest He also not spare you’ [Rom. 11:21]. . . . It was not to those who are on the outside that he said these things, but to us – lest we should be cast forth from the kingdom of God by doing any such thing.” – Irenaeus (c. 180)
• “Being a believing man, if you seek to live as the Gentiles do, the joys of the world remove you from the grace of Christ.” – Commodianus (c. 240)
• “There is need of continual prayer and supplication so that we do not fall away from the heavenly kingdom, as the Jews fell away, to whom this promise had first been given.” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “It is a small thing to have first received something. It is a greater thing to be able to keep what you have attained. Faith itself and the saving birth do not make alive by merely being received. Rather, they must be preserved. It is not the actual attainment, but the perfecting, that keeps a man for God. The Lord taught this in His instruction when He said, ‘Look! You have been made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you’ [John 5:14].” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “Let no one be disheartened. Let no one despair concerning himself if he has turned aside to the way of unrighteousness because he was overcome by passion, impelled by desire, deceived by error, or compelled by force. For it is possible for such a one to be brought back and to be set free. It is possible if he repents of his actions and makes satisfaction to God, turning to better things.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)

How to stay free

How do we stay free from sin? We stay free in the same way that we were set free – by committing ourselves to Christ every moment of every day.

The early Christians believed that Jesus set us free by His death and taught us how to stay free by His life:

• “He Himself purged away their sins, having suffered many trials and undergone many labors. . . . Having purged away the sins of the people, [He] showed them the paths of life by giving them the law which He received from His Father.” – Hermas (c. 150)
• “[Jesus] passed through every stage in life in order that He Himself might serve as a law for persons of every age, and that, by being present among us, He might demonstrate His own manhood as a model for all men. He also did this so that by Himself He could prove that God made nothing evil and that man possesses the capacity of self-determination. For he is able to both will and not to will, and he is endowed with power to do both.” – Hippolytus (c. 225)
• “At His coming, the Lord cured those wounds that Adam had borne. He healed the old poisons of the serpent. Thereafter, He gave a law to the sound man and bade him to sin no more, lest a worse thing should befall the sinner.” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “He who is freed owes obedience to his Deliverer.” – Cyprian (c. 250)
• “He Himself is virtue, and He Himself is righteousness. Accordingly, He descended so that He could teach these things and mold the character of man.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)
• “When He had determined to set man free, God sent as His ambassador to the earth a Teacher of virtue, who could train men to innocence by healthful commandments. He sent a Teacher who could open the way of righteousness by works and deeds performed before their eyes.” – Lactantius (c. 304-313)

The conflict

Many of the early Christian writers, basing their views on New Testament teachings, believed that within each person is a war between the flesh and the spirit. The flesh is the part of the person that is selfish, desires pleasure, and is naturally bent towards doing wrong; and the spirit is the realm of the conscience, or the part of the person that desires to do right. The soul is the conscious part of our being that chooses to follow either the flesh or the spirit.

Within each person, there is a war between the flesh and the spirit to gain mastery of the soul. The flesh is aided by Satan (for those who are in bondage to him), and the spirit is aided by the Holy Spirit (for those who have committed their lives to Jesus). This is why Paul wrote:

• “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” – Galatians 5:16-17

Daily, we can choose to follow our flesh or our spirit. We can choose to do wrong or do right. We can choose to follow Satan or Jesus. Like repelling magnets, the two choices stand in opposition to each other; and we stand in the middle, with the option of being attracted to either one. As we move closer to one, we find ourselves even more attracted to it and less drawn to the other.

As we move closer to Jesus by spending time with Him, consistently following His teachings, and being around others who do the same, we find ourselves more attracted to Him and less attracted to the world. Eventually the temptations and allures of the world will completely fall away because Jesus will have become everything to us – and everything else will have become nothing.

Conclusion

In today’s churches, Jesus is often portrayed as an airline agent handing out free tickets. But Scripture and the early Christians paint a far different picture: Jesus, suffering on a cross in the place of His imprisoned bride, rising again to proclaim her forgiveness and freedom, now standing before her with the words, “I love you; will you marry me?” A marriage proposal is far different from a free ticket. It is lifelong, and it costs everything.

Salvation is not a prayer. It is not church membership. It is not even good works. It is committing your past, your present, and your future to the One who loved you before time began, gave His life to redeem you from your captor, and rose again to spend eternity with you.

Will you give yourself to Him?