WHAT IS SALVATION?
Salvation, in short, is the act of delivering from sin or saving from sin. There is nothing in life—no achievement, possession, or pursuit—more important than receiving salvation while we still have breath. Even though the Bible sometimes talk of salvation in terms of temporal or physical deliverance (Phil. 1:19), the real meaning of salvation in the Bible concerns an eternal, spiritual deliverance.
We may ask, “Deliverance from what?” This deliverance is from God’s judgment of sin, from His wrath (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 5:9) We may also ask, “What has that got to do with us/me? And why do I need to be saved?” It has everything to do with us/you.
We will explain.
WHY DO WE NEED SALVATION?
In John 3:7, Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Why did he need to be born again? Indeed, why do you and me need to be born again?
Are you confused? Nicodemus was also confused. He was the leader of the people, the teacher of the laws, and he could not understand it! He said, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born” (Jn. 3:4). He was not only confused, he was also contemplating on the ridiculousness and foolishness of it all.
Nicodemus was thinking about it and trying to understand it from his own perspective. That was where he went wrong. The Bible tells us, “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18).
Nicodemus was perishing , he needs to be saved and be born again, but he could not understand the way in which he was to be saved. What a conundrum! It was a perfect vicious circle. Nicodemus did not know that Jesus was speaking in terms of eternal, spiritual salvation. Likewise, when we talk of salvation, we need to think likewise. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “We look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”
Now, let us come back to the question why we need to be saved, as we think in terms of eternity.
When God created humankind, he was created to enjoy a relationship with God. This can be seen from Genesis 3:8 when God visited them at the garden at the time of the evening breeze. But when Adam, the first man, disobeyed God by eating from the prohibited tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the relationship that humankind enjoyed with God became broken. This disobedience of Adam amounted to rebellion against God and the curse from it and this sin came to be passed down through all generations of humankind (Read Genesis 3:17-19 for the curse upon Adam).
Therefore, we, Adam’s descendants, have inherited sin, and the curse that came along with it, from him. Romans 3:10 therefore tells us that everyone have come under the power of sin. Romans 3:23 also says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Furthermore, Romans 5:12 says, “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.” The wages of this sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
In other words, because of Adam’s sin, everyone who descended from him have become sinners; and everyone who sins must die an eternal death and eternal punishment (Dan. 12:2; Mat. 25:46; Rev. 20:15). Through Adam, humankind became sinners by nature, and as our nature became transformed, it has led us to spiritual death and depravity. We are sinners not because we sin, but we sin because we are already sinners. King David also lamented, “Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5).
Therefore, even if you have never once remembered doing anything sinful or even if you have been obedient to your parents, you are still a sinner because you are born in sin. You are a sinner because you have descended from Adam. Yes, everyone have descended from Adam, and therefore, everyone is a sinner. There is no escape.
This is why we need to be saved. If not, we would be going to eternal punishment
But, even when we were sinners, God loved us so much that He prepared a way for us, a way of salvation.
What, then, is salvation?
As we explained before, salvation is the act of delivering from sin, specifically, the sin of Adam which has been passed on to all humankind, even to you and me today.
But where is salvation from? Can we not just ask God for for forgiveness? Or can’t God simply forgive us? What do we have to do to be saved? How, where, why?
Human beings are incapable of saving themselves from this particular sin. We cannot save ourselves. What can we give to God to appease Him since everything that we see and know belongs to Him? Yes, something or someone has to die, since the penalty of our sin is death (Rom. 6:23). God cannot just renege on His promises. We have to pay. It is not merely our physical death, but rather eternal death and punishment.
Soon after the fall of humankind, God demanded of the people to offer sacrifices to atone themselves of their sins. Leviticus 17 specifies that there should be slaughtering of animals and spilling of its blood. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement” (Lev. 17:11).
Exodus 30:10 is more succinct and direct: “Once a year, Aaron shall perform the rite of atonement… Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it once a year with the blood of the atoning sin offering. It is most holy to the LORD.”
But this sacrifice is not enough to cleanse every one. Even if they did it once, they will have to do it again and again. And, by the way, it is not eternal and complete. What has an animal’s blood got to do with the sin of man anyway, since he is the sinner? It was only a temporary arrangement through which God may forgive the people of their sins, for a time. This arrangement, to a degree, merely reflects the requirement for the atonement of sin.
But God, loving us to the very end, prepared a way out for us, a way of salvation.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.” Romans 6:23 also says that even though the wages of sin is death, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The same thing is echoed in Ephesians 2:8,9 as well.
Yes, God gave us a gift, a FREE gift – His only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, Himself being God and human, came to offer Himself as a living sacrifice for all our sins. What love! What indescribable love! Because Jesus was human, He could die; and because he was God, His death had an eternal value. His death was the perfect and complete payment for our sin (1 Jn. 2:2). There cannot be any gift greater than this. Jesus Himself said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends…” (Jn. 15:13-14).
Just think for a moment. This is what God has done for us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake, He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Philippians 2:6-8 also says, “[Jesus Christ] who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.”
It is not like Jesus Christ just came and died in a hurry. He felt everything, He felt all the pain, the sufferings and sorrows. He did not come for a holiday. He came to save us. Isaiah 53:2-7 had clearly described Him:
he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
All His sufferings and pains were for you, for me.
Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice. He was blameless, yet blamed because of our sins. He carried all our iniquities and died on the cross for you and me. Therefore, Roman 6:1-14 tells us of our unity with Him in his death, burial and resurrection.
Firstly, Jesus took all our sins and crucified it to the cross with Him.
Secondly, as we have been baptised into His death on the cross, we were buried with Him.
Thirdly, at His resurrection, we remained united with Him so we too might walk in newness of life, in His life.
It says in Romans 6:5-11
If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
His wounds were because of our sins. He suffered in our place. His death on the cross was our death. He suffered our death. He was buried because of our sins, but was raised again because death no longer had dominion over Him. Being united with Him in his death and burial, we remained united with Him in his life (Col. 2:12). His life has become ours. And so, when God looks upon us, He sees Jesus’ righteousness. Romans 3:25 says, “He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed.”
Jesus Christ had become our life.
Yet, how can I be saved?
We have seen that Jesus Christ was a gift, a free gift (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8).
Isn’t it true that where there is a gift, there is always an intended recipient?
That recipient is you!
God gave you His Son so that through Him, you might live and have eternal life, and no longer be condemned to eternal punishment. It is now up to you to take this gift and be saved. It is free. Since God does not want anyone to perish (2 Pet. 3:9), He wants everyone to receive His gift of life.
“Yes, I know, but how can I receive this gift? How can I be saved?”
Is this still your question?
We are saved by faith. First, we hear the good news of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, which we just did (Eph. 1:13). Then, we must believe in Jesus Christ and trust in Him (Rom. 1:16). That is how we receive the gift – by faith.
The same question was also asked by the Philippian jailer to Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31).
Just fully trust in Jesus as He had paid for all your sins. God has already done all the work. All you need to do is receive that gift by your faith (Eph. 2:8-9). Believe in Jesus Christ and you will not perish. As John 3:16 says, everyone who believes in Him shall not perish, if you believe in Him, if you REALLY believe in Him that He saved you, that He died for you, that He was buried and rose again, and that He is the atonement for your sins, you will be saved.
In short, accept Him. Jesus is the ONLY way of salvation (Jn. 14:6). His death was sufficient enough to save us for, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Have you, in faith, received Jesus Christ as your Saviour? If you have, give thanks to the Lord for His precious gift.
Now, be assured that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1-2).
Be also assured that, “And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with Him, when he forgave our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:13-15).