Bible students who are open to its teachings soon discover that often, the word saved does not mean being saved from the lake of fire. Most readers of this blog are already aware of that. Recently, a friend pointed out another NT verse in which the word saved does not refer to eternal salvation. I had always assumed that the verse refers to salvation from the lake of fire. 

That verse is Acts 2:47. Luke writes, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” I have always been told—and believed—that this verse refers to those who had believed in Jesus for eternal life. Many Jews in Jerusalem heard the teaching of the apostles. They were convinced that Jesus was the Christ and that He would give them eternal life. When they believed that, God saved them from hell and added them to the Church—the Body of Christ. All new believers are added to the Church. That’s what I had thought verse 47 is talking about. 

I should have looked at the word saved in that verse a little more closely. As my friend pointed out, the word has already occurred in Peter’s address. In v 40, Peter tells his audience that they need to be saved from the perverse generation in which they live. I knew that in v 40 Peter was not telling them to be saved from hell. Instead, he was telling them that judgment would fall upon the nation. This would happen in AD 70, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem. 

Peter was talking to believers in v 40. What did they need to do in order to avoid the  judgment that would befall Jerusalem? They had already believed (v 37). Now they needed to turn from their sins and be baptized. It was only then that they would receive the Holy Spirit (v 38). They had received eternal life (eternal salvation) when they believed. If they wanted to be saved from the judgment of God that was coming in the near future, they needed to profess Christ and be baptized publicly. 

What did these new believers do? Those who were obedient to what God was calling them to do did what Peter said. Luke writes, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them” (2:41). 

Did you catch the word added? This cannot mean added to the roll of those who are saved from hell. They already had eternal life. But these obedient believers were baptized in the name of Christ and received the Holy Spirit. They were added to the number of believers who were being saved from the judgment that was going to fall on that perverse generation. 

That is what v 47 means. The Lord gave these Jews eternal life when they believed in Jesus for it. After they believed and were saved from the lake of fire, they were baptized and received the Holy Spirit, which added them to the Church. As they publicly identified with the Lord and the apostles’ teaching (vv 42-46), they were being saved from the perverse generation in which they lived.  

We are not Jews who belonged to that generation. We received the Holy Spirit when we believed. We did not have to be baptized first. We did not have to be baptized and publicly join the church in order to avoid judgment coming upon our nation. Those Jews needed to be saved in a unique way because they lived in exceptional times. 

But there is an application for us. As believers, sin in our lives has deadly consequences, both in this life and at the Judgment Seat of Christ. We, as believers, can be saved from those consequences if we walk by the Spirit in obedience to Christ.  

A similar statement is made in Acts 2:47. There, being saved does not refer to being saved from the lake of fire. My friend was right. I am grateful that he pointed it out to me.