When talking about salvation, people make it sound so complex when in fact it really isn’t. Many Christians who claim they’re saved do not really understand what it means to be saved. What is salvation in Christianity?

In our evangelism we often quote Romans 10:9 which says, “that if you confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Saved from what? Why do we need to be saved?

Some also use Matthew 24:13 which talks about standing firm to the end in order to be saved. Again, saved from what? And why do we need to be saved?

The Definition of Salvation

Just a quick glance at the world we live in reveals man’s sinful condition and the awful and sad reality that man will never be able to save himself all on his own. Man’s condition is one which is completely helpless and despite all his efforts to bring about peace and prosperity in a supposedly new society, the world remains in chaos, shattered and torn as a result of sin.

It all started in the Garden of Eden when Adam sinned by disobeying God. As a result, man’s fellowship with God was cut off and he was bound to suffer eternally in hell as punishment for his sin. There is hope, however, as the Bible speaks of God’s gracious plan to provide a solution to man’s problem and we call that “salvation.”

*Read here: Death Penalty for Sin, Eternal Life in Christ

The word salvation is from the Greek word “soteria” which is derived from the word “soter” meaning savior. It is personal and universal and is centered on the life and works of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As used in Scriptures in its broadest sense, the word salvation includes comprehensively the total work of God by which He seeks to rescue man from the power of sin and bestows upon him the abundance of His grace, eternal life and eternal glory.

In theology, however, the major use of the word salvation is to denote a work of God on behalf of men which includes redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, conviction, repentance, faith, regeneration, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, preservation, and glorification.

In simpler terms, salvation is God reaching out to man to rescue him from the power of sin and the eternal punishment for that sin in hell.

Why Do We Need to be Saved?

In order for us to really come to terms with our need of salvation, we first need to realize that we are sinners in need of saving; we’re all fallen. We need salvation as a result of the sin of rebellion as recorded in Genesis 3 and also our own personal rebellion against God and rejection of Him.

We need salvation to escape the penalty and punishment that hangs over all mankind. We need to be saved from eternal destruction and punishment. Man’s offense was against God, and God being holy and just demands justice. The Bible tells us that “we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and the penalty for that sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Secondly, we need to be saved from our state of being alienated or separated from God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “our sin has separated us from God.” If we are separated from God then we will not able to enjoy His presence, His fellowship, His grace, mercy and blessings.

In other words, we will not be with God in heaven for eternity because hell means “separation from God.” Heaven is God’s throne, His dwelling place (Acts 66:1; Acts 7:49), and if we will not be with God in heaven, then we will be spending eternity in hell.

How Did God Save Us?

God saved us by sending His only Son to die on the cross for us. On the cross, Jesus made the once-for-all sacrifice for man’s sin and its penalty which is death. Since the just penalty for sin and death is finite and eternal, only God Himself could pay for it because only He is finite and eternal.

But God being divine could not die so He had to become human in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ who is God, took on human flesh, lived a perfect life of obedience to the Father, even to the point of death (Philippians 2:8).

The Bible says that we are spiritually dead because of sin (Ephesians 2:1) and are cut off from the presence of God, making it impossible for us to make contact with God by our own efforts. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ came; He came to redeem us and to bridge the gap that separated us from God. Jesus came to restore the broken relationship between man and God.

How Do We get Saved?

In Acts 16:29-31 we read how the jailer asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved. And in response, Paul and Silas told him to believe in the Lord Jesus and he and his household will be saved.

God has already done the work for us. All we need to do is receive the gift of salvation that He is offering for free. Salvation is received by grace through faith alone in the Lord Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). This is what makes Biblical Christianity different from all the other world religions, sects and cults. We are saved by putting our trust in something that God has done for us and not in something we can do.

It is because of God’s great love that He Himself made a way for us to be reconciled back to Him. God had to bear the pain of seeing His Son suffer and die so that we will not perish in hell but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Conclusion

This is what salvation means in Christianity; God coming in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life of obedience and set an example for us to follow, to suffer and die on the cross for our sins and to rise again to conquer death and hell, in order set us free from the power of sin and death and to rescue and deliver us from the wrath of God and the judgment that is to be poured out upon all flesh on the earth in a future event known as the Great Tribulation.

Question is: Have you acknowledged your need of a Savior? Have you trusted Jesus for your salvation? If not, trust Him today. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. It’s not yet too late, for God is patient with you because He does not want anyone to perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

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Recommended Resource: The Case for Christ:  A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Stobel

In this revised and updated bestseller, The Case for Christ, Lee Strobel cross-examines a dozen experts with doctorates from schools such as Cambridge, Princeton, and Brandeis, asking hard-hitting questions–and building a captivating case for Christ’s divinity.

Strobel asks challenging questions like:

• How reliable is the New Testament?
• Does evidence for Jesus exist outside the Bible?
• Is Jesus who he said he was?
• Is there any reason to believe the resurrection was an actual event?

Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award and twice nominated for the Christian Book of the Year Award, Strobel’s tough, point-blank questions read like a captivating, fast-paced novel. But it’s not fiction. It’s a riveting quest for the truth about history’s most compelling figure.