Salvation

What is salvation and why do we need it?

If we fully understand its meaning, we will understand that salvation is the most beautiful word in
the Bible. If we were drowning and someone threw us a lifeline, we could certainly understand
that kind of salvation. If we were slaves and someone bought us at the auction market and gave us
our freedom, we could certainly understand that kind of deliverance.

Spiritual salvation is much more meaningful. Salvation is the deliverance from the power or
penalty of sin; redemption. As an event, it is the single most important event in our lives.
Salvation also determines the manner in which we live here on earth (process), and where we will
live in the hereafter.

To approach God and have a personal relationship with Him, we must do so on God's terms. God
desires holiness in His people. "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus
19:2)

Since we obviously have not been holy, we need our sins to be forgiven and cleansed. Without
this forgiveness and cleansing we would be without hope, for the wages of sin is death.
(Romans 6:23)

We need to be separated from sin and set apart to righteousness. This is not something we can do
by our own strength and ability. The disciples of Jesus asked Him, "Who then can be saved?" His
reply was simply, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew
19:25,26)

The gift of salvation was provided for us by God because mankind, by nature, is sinful. He needs
the righteousness of God. "As it is written, `There is none righteous, no, not one...'"
(Romans 3:10)

The greatest gift of love that mankind ever received was the sacrifice of God's Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who died on the cross for our sins. Because He was without sin, He could take the sin of all
mankind upon Himself in one great sacrifice. Through this act, salvation was provided for each of
us by the grace of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The gift of salvation, which we received by faith (belief), provides all we need to live a whole,
healthy life here on earth, plus eternal life in heaven. Some of the benefits of salvation are listed
below.

When we are saved, we are born again.

"Jesus answered and said to him, `Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

When we are saved, we are made to be new creatures.

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

 When we are saved, we pass from death to life.

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 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has
eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."
(John 5:24)

 When we are saved, we are transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of
God's Son.
"For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of
His beloved Son." (Colossians 1:13)

 When we are saved, we also have been adopted by God.

"But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under
the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our
hearts, crying, `Abba! Father!'" (Galatians 4:4-6)

 When we are saved, we enter into a personal relationship with God that gives us
spiritual vitality. This gift of new life will never die!
"I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." (John 10:10b)

The wonderful results of having new life in Christ are offered freely to all who trust in Christ for
salvation.

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those
who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God." (John 1:12,13)

Salvation is supernatural. Through revelation, we discover that God has provided redemption from
being condemned to eternal death because of sin. This provision is available to everyone in the
world.

Salvation actually means wholeness: having all the parts working. It is not just our eternal rescue,
although that is a great thing in itself! It also includes healthy, functioning lives in the present,
with our minds, wills, emotions, bodies and relationships all working as He intended. When a
person experiences the fullness of salvation, he is regenerated; the character of Christ is born
within him, by way of the Holy Spirit.

The salvation experience contains three important dimensions:

1. Past Salvation: Saved from the penalties of 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)

2. Present Salvation: Saved from the power of sin in our daily lives.
"But He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds His priesthood permanently.
Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He
always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:24,25)

3. Future Salvation: Saved from the presence of sin. Our place is reserved in heaven.

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 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great
mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The gift of salvation is God's way of reconciling man to Himself through Jesus Christ. God desires
to be in unbroken fellowship with us, and He wants us to be free forever from the effects of sin.
He desires this so much that He was willing to transfer all the sins of mankind onto His perfect and
only Son, who never sinned. This has broken the cycle of sin and death for all who turn to Him
through faith in Christ. This has made salvation possible for us.

How do we come to Salvation?

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

In a baseball game, skill and strength are required for the players to reach first base. But in the
game of life, we reach this position, not by our own skill and strength, but by the sacrifice of our
Savior on our behalf. God, in His mercy and grace, has provided a way for us to be reconciled to
Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Jesus answered, `Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit.

`Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and
you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone
who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:5-8)

When we receive Jesus, His Holy Spirit gives us life! We become born again through the Spirit of
God, who comes to live inside us!

This new birth, or spiritual birth, is accomplished by the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, who
imparts eternal, spiritual life to us.

"And put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and
holiness of the truth." (Ephesians 4:24)

At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit creates within us a new man, in the likeness of God,
created in righteousness and holiness. This new man is born of the Spirit.

According to the Bible, this is the only way a person can enter the kingdom of God, and it can be
done only through Jesus Christ. The people of the world may believe in many religious men, but
Jesus is the only one who died in our place and rose again from the dead.

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Spiritual birth is a gift from God that is available to all mankind, regardless of their past or present
condition in life. This gift is not based upon age, education, nationality or financial resources. It is
not dependent upon past behavior, or upon ability, nor present performance.

"For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

God has established two simple requirements for us to enter the kingdom:
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him
from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and
with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:9,10)

The requirements are:

1. Believe that Jesus died on the cross for us as a sacrifice for our sins, and that God raised
Him from the dead.
2. Declare openly what we have accepted by faith.

Along with salvation is the act of repentance:

"Solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:21)

What Is Repentance?

"For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading
to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death." (2 Corinthians 7:10)

Repentance is a type of sorrow that produces a change of mind. It is not self-pity, nor is it sorrow
used to manipulate someone into feeling sorry for us. Repentance is simple, sincere sorrow in our
heart, which activates a change in our behavior. It comes in response to our revelation of His love
for us, and our recognition that we have missed His will for our life.

When we see that His love for us was so intense and committed that He sent His only Son to die in
our place, we can also see that our love for Him has not been love at all, but something self-
centered and unfaithful.

Repentance is a change of mind. We must turn from believing we are sufficient to run our own
lives. Instead, we believe only Jesus, conqueror of sin and death at His resurrection is the power of
salvation for us.

"The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not
wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

What Is Faith?

"For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of
himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to
each a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3)

Faith is a gift from God, it is neither earned nor deserved, and each of us has a measure of it.
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"And they said, `Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." (Acts
16:31)

We can see from Scripture that salvation is experienced through faith. Believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ is not just a mental assent that He lived, died for us and rose again. It is evidenced by the
commitment a faithful person displays in his everyday life.

Faith is a quality that is recognized in our lives. It is the evidence that will be presented to the
court on the final judgment day. It will be used to establish the point in question: "Will this one
spend eternity in heaven or in hell?"

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this
about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?
(2 Corinthians 13:5)

Obviously, it is very important that we do not flippantly say we believe, while continuing to live as
if we actually do not believe. We are to examine ourselves carefully to determine if we truly live
in faith.

Faith may be defined as freely trusting God's word concerning His offer of salvation through
Christ. Those who truly believe, commit and submit their souls to God. Having been reconciled to
God through faith in Christ, it follows that we should continue to grow in relationship with Him,
constantly making new discoveries of how wonderful He is. As this growth occurs, our faith
becomes more obvious in our lives, a reflection of what is happening inside us.

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

It is clear that we must exercise our faith to please God. This is accomplished every time we draw
near to Him. It is by coming to Him in this fashion that we get to know Him.

"... truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, `Move
from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you." (Matthew 17:20)

No matter how small our measure of faith, we can exercise it with great results. We have no
excuse, for we all have been given a measure of faith. Our measure of faith is never too small for
us to tackle even the largest of problems in our lives. We attack those problems by using our faith
to come into the presence of the Lord, for the mountains are moved by His Spirit, not by our own
might or power. (Zechariah 4:6,7)

To be able to relate to God through faith is a great blessing. In this world, where we are too often
judged by our performance, it is freedom to our souls to be accepted on such simple terms.

"And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has
the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have
written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you
have eternal life." (1 John 5:11-13)

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Question and Answer:

1. What does the word “Salvation” mean, and how do I receive it?

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2. Is Salvation an event, a process, or both? Explain your answer.

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3. What is Repentance? Do I believe that change is possible?

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4. What is Faith? Read Romans 10:17, what does it tell me about faith?

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5. How can I apply this to my situation, right now?

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