What Is Salvation According To The Bible?

The Meaning, Purpose, and Power of True Biblical Salvation

  When I first got saved, I asked myself many times, what is   salvation according to the Bible? And I did not ask the question   lightly.

  I asked it because I had heard the word used in so many       different ways, that it was difficult to be sure what the   meaning   of salvation really was.

  Some spoke of salvation as exhibiting a life of prayer, some   as   just a feeling of peace and contentment, and some as doing   something as simple as joining a "church".

Yet others saw it only as believing that God exists.

man in church

 Matthew 1:21
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

 The purpose of salvation is not only to forgive sin, but to deliver us from it.

 Many of us were taught that salvation means our past is covered by the blood of Jesus. 

 But that's only part of the work. The Bible teaches that salvation also works in the present, and the future.

 The plan of salvation is not simply about where we go when we die. It is about what we become while we live.

 I know what it is to sit in church and still feel lost.

 I know what it is to hear sermons and still carry guilt, anger, and confusion inside.

 I know what it is to wonder if the peace everyone talked about was real, or if it was only something people learned how to recite.

 That is why the question; are you saved, is not an         insignificant one. It is the most personal question a soul can     face.

 The Scripture does not describe salvation as belonging to an       organization. It describes salvation as belonging to Christ.

 2 Corinthians 5:17
 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are   passed away; behold, all things are  become new.

 Romans 8:9
 But ye are not in the flesh, but in  the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of   God dwell in you. Now if any man  have not the Spirit of Christ, he is   none of his.

 Romans 8:14
 For as many as are led by the Spirit  of God, they are the sons of God.

 When I first read those words, I  realized that true salvation   must  be something that changes a  person on the inside.

 It must reach the thoughts, the    desires, the habits, and even   the things we once love.

 Not by our own strength, but by  the grace of God working   within  us.

Prayer changes things

 There is also something else the Bible makes clear, though many  do not like to speak of it.

 There is an enemy who fights against our souls.

 The devil does not want you to believe that real salvation is possible.

 He will tell you that no one really lives holy, no one can live a consistent holy life.

 We all have to sin a little every day, more or less.

 He will also tell you that everyone struggles the same way forever.

 He will tell you that peace with God is only for a few select individuals, but not for you. However, the Word of God says otherwise.

 John 10:9,10
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 The struggle many feel inside is not proof that salvation is false.

 On the contrary, it is proof that there is a real battle for the souls of mankind.

Christianity and salvation are not about pretending that battle is not there.

 They are about learning how God gives us power to overcome in the fight.

 The plan of salvation begins with repentance. That word is often misunderstood.

 Repentance is not the same as an apology. It is that and so much more.

 It is a godly sorrow for sinning against God that grieves you in your very spirit.

 So much so, that it causes a turning away from your sin, and a turning towards Jesus Christ.

 It is admitting that your life cannot be right without Him.

 Acts 3:19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

 Luke 5:32
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Matthew 3:8
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

  When a person truly repents, there are immediate changes.   The weight of sin lifts. The mind becomes clearer, and the heart becomes softer.

  You sense that God is near again, that is not your  imagination. That my neighbor, is salvation.

  And faith follows repentance. Not faith in ourselves, and not   faith in a preacher, but faith in Jesus Christ.

  Romans 10:9
 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt   believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou   shalt be saved.

  Faith is not pretending to  believe. Faith is trusting that what   God said is true, even when your feelings call scripture into   question.

   When we believe the gospel with our whole heart, the mercy     of  God does what we cannot do for ourselves. It forgives us of   all our past wrongdoing.

 Romans 6:2-6 
  2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer     therein? 3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus   Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with   him by baptism into death: that like as Christ   was   raised up from the   dead by the glory of the Father, even so we   also   should walk in   newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted   together in the likeness   of   his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his   resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,   that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not   serve sin.

Full immersion baptism

   Many people then ask, is baptism necessary for salvation?

  The Bible shows us that baptism is commanded, and it is part   of obedience, but it is not the washing with water that saves the   soul.

   It is the grace of God received by faith. Baptism follows   salvation as a testimony of what God has already done on the     inside.

  An outward demonstration of an inward work.

  Acts 2:38
  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in   the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…

  When these words are read carefully, we see repentance first,   then baptism.

  The order matters. God changes the heart, and then we are able   to obey Him outwardly.

  One of the hardest things for many to accept is that salvation   also means a new way of living.

  Not a perfect life by our own strength, but a life that is no     longer comfortable with sin.

  The Spirit of God begins to correct us, guide us, and       oftentimes convict us.

  That conviction is not a punishment; it is not an accusation.  It   is proof that God loves us and wants to leads us in the way   of   righteousness.

  Titus 2:11-12                                                                                                                                          For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all     men,  12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,  we   should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.

  Notice those words. In this present world. Salvation is not only   for heaven in an afterlife. It is for right now.

  It is for the thoughts we think, the words we speak, and the   choices we make every day.

  I know many who have been hurt in churches. Some were   misled. Some were pressured.

  Others were told that if they questioned a leader, they were     questioning God.

  When those things happen, it can make a person feel as though   salvation itself is not real.

  But the failure of men does not change the truth of God.

  The people of God are not perfect as the world uses the term.   But are seeking after perfection in Jesus Christ.

  James 1:1–4                                                                                                                          James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve     tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 2 My brethren, count it     all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that  the   trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her   perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting   nothing.

 Hebrews 7:25
   Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come  unto   God by him…

  That means He can save completely. Not halfway. Not for a   moment. Completely.

  If you have ever wondered what salvation is according to the   Bible, the answer is this.

  Salvation according to the Bible, is the mercy of God that   forgives our past sin, frees our soul from bondage, gives us a   tender heart, gives us the power to live right, and brings our soul   into fellowship with God.

  It is not just aa outward show, a title, or belonging to a crowd.     It  is a life changed by the grace of God.

  And if you are still searching, you are not alone.

  Many of us have sat in the same place, asking the same       questions, wondering if real peace with God could ever belong     to us.

  It can. Not because we are strong, but because He is merciful.

  Amen.

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