I have been asked that question a lot, more recently than when I was a teenager. Go figure! The question are you saved can have a question back. Saved from what? Saved from whom? But, where I want to go with that question is to what I think the motivation and heart of the question really is. Are you saved is really asking the question, how do you interpret the Bible?
What is salvation?
Well, for the one who recently questioned my salvation (asa though any human can know), it was a theological salvation. My salvation was questioned because I did not BELIEVE as he did! For most Americans, salvation is a matter of BELIEF(s). And of course the standard for belief is in the mind of the "believer". Just believing in JAY-ZUS isn"t enough either.
For if you believe in Jesus + something else (that they don"t) you"re not saved! That"s strange as well since Pentecostals believe salvation involves accepting JAY-ZUS + speaking in tongues. Being more specific, it"s been said that.....
>If I believe Jesus is the Son of God, but don"t believe in a virgin birth, I"m lost.
>If I believe Jesus is the Son of God, but don"t believe in an eternal hell, I"m lost.
>If I believe Jesus is the Son of God, but DO believe that love trumps justice, I"m lost.
And so on.
The question "are you saved" means not only how do I interpret the Bible, but how do I see the character of God (benevolent or malevolent), what did Jesus know and when did He know it (Messiah, prophet, or second person of the trinity), but most of all, and this becomes a very unconscious thing, to what degree to I see the boundaries of God"s love?
Rob Bell called this concept "Brickianity" meaning that if you take away one concept, one law, one principle, one belief, or one BRICK, then the whole house falls down. And no, I don"t embrace that either. I"ve spent way too much of my life trying to fit certain doctrines and dogmas into the salvation puzzle that simple will not fit. They are religious pieces which will later be known as "wood, hay, and stubble".
We need to spend more time on Christology than eschatology.
God is LOVE and there is no time that He is not! Salvation is for ALL! And the big secret that most church leaders don"t want you to hear is that "God loves a cheerful giver" and He also loves those who don"t give a dime! The consequences of the latter just make life miserable as the karmic law gives you back what you give- here on earth!